Our partners & network – GLOBAL FASHION AGENDA

Change requires industry-wide collaboration

Strategic Partners

Our Strategic Partners are a small group of hand-picked companies, representing different market segments and geographies, who lead by example in their dedication to drive sustainable progress and provide essential leadership to support Global Fashion Agenda’s mission. They act as a first sounding in shaping our sustainability agenda and play an active role in content development, in particular by shaping and signing off on the CEO Agenda.

We’re proud to work with some of the world’s leading companies, all of whom play a vital role in driving sustainability in their sectors.

ASOS

“Being part of Global Fashion Agenda’s Strategic Partner group presents a unique opportunity for ASOS to work together with other brands and retailers to take global sustainability and ethical trade efforts forward. It’s only via collaboration and sharing learnings and expertise that we can truly achieve meaningful and lasting change.”

ASOS is an online retailer for fashion-loving 20-somethings around the world, with a purpose to give its customers the confidence to be whoever they want to be. Through its market-leading app and mobile/desktop web experience, all of which is available in ten languages and over 200 markets, ASOS customers can shop a curated edit of 85,000 products, sourced from 850 of the best global and local third-party brands and its mix of fashion-led in-house labels. ASOS serves its 23 million active customers from fulfilment centres in the UK, US and Europe, delivering ASOS packages to almost every country in the world.

Bestseller

“The task at hand is a great one. It is only through collaborations with industry-wide stakeholders and initiatives that we can begin to tackle these challenges, such as climate change, loss of biodiversity, human rights issues and circularity. As a company with a wide reach, we know we have a large responsibility and sustainability is increasingly embedded in our culture and in everything we do.”

BESTSELLER is an international family-owned fashion company founded in 1975 in Denmark. Today, the company has more than 17,000 dedicated employees globally. BESTSELLER provides fashion clothing and accessories for women, men, teenagers and children. The company houses a variety of brands, which include: JACK & JONES, JUNAROSE, JACQUELINE DE YONG, MAMALICIOUS, NAME IT, NOISY MAY, OBJECT COLLECTORS ITEM, ONLY, ONLY PLAY, ONLY & SONS, PIECES, SELECTED, VERO MODA, VILA CLOTHES and Y.A.S. BESTSELLER’s products are available to purchase online, as well in 2,750 branded chain stores and in 15,000 multi-brand and department stores across Europe, the Middle East, North America, Latin America, Australia and India.

Fung Group

“Today we can leverage the latest technology to create solutions for the industry’s deepest challenges – and in doing so, build a better, more sustainable fashion industry. We need everyone’s collaboration and willingness to make this happen.”

Fung Group is a 114-year old multinational corporation that manages complex supply chains for brands and retailers around the world. It offers end-to-end supply chain solutions, which include: product design and development, raw material sourcing, factory selection, production management and quality control, to in-country logistics, global freight management and e-logistics. With more than 230 offices and distribution centres in over 40 markets across the globe, and an extensive network of suppliers, Fung Group’s goal is to create the supply chain of the future to help customers navigate the digital economy while at the same time improve the lives of the billion people working across the supply chain.

H&M Group

“If we want to continue to provide and enjoy fashion, we need to do it in a sustainable way, but we can’t do it alone. The GFA presents a unique opportunity to gather the industry around a common agenda for change and transformation and make everyone move together in the same direction. Such broad collaboration and partnership is key for the H&M Group and our mission to provide sustainable fashion now and for years to come.”

H&M Group’s business idea is to provide fashion and quality at the best prices in a sustainable way. Its aim is to make fashion sustainable and sustainability fashionable. One of the ways that H&M Group does this is by making sustainable fashion choices available, attractive and affordable to as many people as possible. H&M Group uses its size and scale to lead the change towards a more sustainable fashion future.

Kering

“Collaboration is essential to address our collective challenges and move the sustainability agenda forward in the fashion industry. GFA’s unique ability to convene leaders across fashion’s various sectors remains imperative to Kering and its own mission. By being able to add the luxury segment’s different perspectives and various models for both business and sustainability to the agenda and also leverage luxury’s overall influence on fashion trends remains important to our own mission.”

A global Luxury group, Kering manages the development of a series of renowned Houses in Fashion, Leather Goods, Jewelry and Watches: Gucci, Saint Laurent, Bottega Veneta, Balenciaga, Alexander McQueen, Brioni, Boucheron, Pomellato, DoDo, Qeelin, Ulysse Nardin, Girard-Perregaux, as well as Kering Eyewear. By placing creativity at the heart of its strategy, Kering enables its Houses to set new limits in terms of their creative expression while crafting tomorrow’s Luxury in a sustainable and responsible way. We capture these beliefs in our signature: “Empowering Imagination.” In 2019, Kering had nearly 38,000 employees and revenue of €15.9 billion.

Nike

“At Nike, sustainability is embedded into everything we do. It’s a driving force for innovation and has delivered a pipeline of products, technologies, manufacturing and business model innovations. We look forward to working with Global Fashion Agenda to accelerate sustainability in the industry.”

Nike, based near Beaverton, Oregon, is the world’s leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities. Wholly-owned Nike subsidiary brands include Converse, which designs, markets and distributes athletic lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories; and Hurley, which designs, markets and distributes surf and youth lifestyle footwear, apparel and accessories. Read more about Nike’s earnings releases and other financial information and stay updated on Nike news. Nike’s latest Sustainable Business Report also details how Nike is working towards creating a more sustainable future.

PVH

“We are excited to be part of the Global Fashion Agenda Strategic Partner group. Our unwavering commitment to upholding human rights and preserving the environment guide our actions and drive our efforts. We know that our collective resources with likeminded partners will create lasting value for not only PVH, but the fashion industry at large.”

PVH Corp. is one of the most admired fashion and lifestyle companies in the world, powering brands that drive FASHION FORWARD — for good. The company manages a diversified brand portfolio, including the CALVIN KLEIN, TOMMY HILFIGER, Van Heusen, IZOD, ARROW, Warner’s, Olga and Geoffrey Beene brands, as well as the digital-centric True&Co. intimates brand, and markets a variety of goods under these and other nationally and internationally known owned and licensed brands. PVH has over 40,000 associates operating in more than 40 countries and generated $9.9 billion in revenues in 2019.

Sustainable Apparel Coalition

“The Global Fashion Agenda’s Pulse Report gives the SAC an opportunity to share how the Higg Index can empower the global value chain toward greater performance improvement. From the Copenhagen Fashion Summit to the CEO Agenda, GFA’s events and resources support our members and other industry stakeholders in strengthening social and environmental sustainability.”

The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) is the apparel, footwear and textile industry’s leading alliance for sustainable production. The SAC is responsible for developing the Higg Index, a set of standardised supply chain measurement tools for all industry participants, that assesses facilities, brands and products to evaluate their environmental, social and labour impacts across the supply chain. With the Higg Index, the industry is addressing inefficiencies, resolving damaging practices and working to achieve the environmental and social transparency consumers demand. By joining forces, the SAC is helping to address the urgent, systemic challenges that are impossible for any one entity to change alone.

Target

“We’re a proud Strategic Partner of the Global Fashion Agenda, helping create and drive change in the fashion and retail industry. GFA’s mission aligns with Target’s commitment of making our business more sustainable, leading to a stronger supply chain and operations, serving our guests for generations to come.”

Guests are at the heart of everything Target does. Target believes in making smart decisions and taking action across its business to care for the planet, while serving guests’ needs. Target is committed to using resources responsibly, and designing its operations, products and services to be sustainable.

Associate Partners

Our Associate Partners are a group of select companies who are sustainability leaders or have the aspiration to improve their sustainability performance, representing companies of varying size, segment and geographies. They provide additional feedback and input in content developed by Global Fashion Agenda.

Allbirds

“At Allbirds, our mission is to make incredible products that have the lowest carbon footprint possible, with the ultimate goal of becoming an entirely carbon-negative company. We’re proud to join Global Fashion Agenda to work closely with like-minded brands who also believe that we must collaborate around sustainability rather than compete.”

Allbirds believes in making better things in a better way. The company is on a mission to prove that comfort, design and sustainability are not mutually exclusive by making premium footwear from renewable materials, designed for everyday life. It launched its first product in March 2016, the Wool Runner, which was dubbed “the world’s most comfortable shoe” by TIME Magazine. Allbirds has gone on to sell over a million pairs of shoes in its first two years of business and continues to introduce new proprietary sustainable materials, including Tree made from eucalyptus fibre and SweetFoam™ derived from renewable sugarcane.

Crystal International

“As one of the global leaders in the apparel manufacturing industry, we focus on stakeholders’ interests and have been committed to operating our business in a sustainable manner since 2008. Through partnership with Global Fashion Agenda, we shall drive industry peers to gear towards sustainability for the betterment of our future.”

Founded in Hong Kong in 1970, Crystal International Group Limited is a global leader in the apparel manufacturing industry. The Group has a diversified product portfolio comprised of five categories, namely Lifestyle wear, Denim, Intimate, Sweater and Sportswear and outdoor apparel. Crystal International currently operates a multi-country manufacturing platform, with around 20 production facilities in five countries, which include Vietnam, China, Cambodia, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. The Group presents differentiated value-added “Co-creation” business model and also strongly focuses on sustainability development. It was ranked 17th out of 50 in Fortune Magazine’s “Change the World” list in 2016, which recognises companies with significant social and environmental impact through business. In 2020, the Group was selected by World Benchmarking Alliance as a keystone company of the SDG2000: the most influential 2,000 companies, in recognition of the capability to move towards a more sustainable future and achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Erdos Group

“Cashmere, the precious resource of Earth, represents human’s nature advocation and emotional inheritance. As the inheritor, innovator and the promoter of cashmere industry, popularising the sustainable development concept has become the mission of ERDOS Group. Therefore, our cooperation with an organisation of Global Fashion Agenda can enhance and disseminate cashmere sustainability in fashion industry.”

Established in 1979, ERDOS Group is one of China’s top 100 private enterprises. ERDOS Cashmere Group is a subsidiary of ERDOS Group and is the leading player in China’s cashmere industry. The Group boasts the world’s largest scale production, most complete industrial systems, most mature marketing network and most advanced technology and equipment in the cashmere apparel industry. For nearly 40 years, ERDOS Cashmere Group has consistently set new standards in the development of China’s cashmere industry. It was the first enterprise to carry out intensive cashmere processing and was crowned as “The Leader of the Cashmere World,” in addition to the recognisable government standard and was the first “Chinese Famous Trademark” in the garment industry.

Everlane

“The fashion industry’s impact on the environment is becoming greater and greater, it’s time for companies to start taking sustainability seriously. Fortunately, many companies have responded and are working towards more sustainable practices in their supply chain, but this is something the whole industry needs to be acting on. Our responsibility is to dedicate time and resources to developing new materials and products that are more sustainable, and to educate consumers so they can make better decisions.”

Everlane launched in 2011 with the mission to make the right choice to be as easy as putting on a T-shirt. They partner with the best ethical factories around the world, source only the finest materials, and work diligently to build a more sustainable supply chain. To hold themselves accountable, they share these stories with customers and reveal the true cost behind every product they make. Building on the brand’s transparent values, Everlane has put sustainability front and centre. The company committed to eliminate all virgin plastics from its supply chain by 2021 and to transition its supply chain to certified organic cotton by 2023. Everlane currently works with over 30 factories and has seven retail locations.

Ganni

“At GANNI, we believe that sustainability is rapidly becoming a prerequisite for doing business in the fashion industry but also a moral obligation. And as with any other moral matter, we all need help and guidance to get there. Partnering with Global Fashion Agenda gives us access to knowledge and offers opportunities to collaborate with like-minded players in the industry, as well as nudges us in the right direction on a daily basis.”

Founded in 2000, Danish fashion label GANNI has developed exponentially over recent years with its Scandi 2.0 sense of style full of personality, contrasts and experimentation. Based in Copenhagen and owned and run since 2009 by husband-and-wife team Creative Director Ditte Reffstrup and Founder Nicolaj Reffstrup, GANNI is represented in more than 400 of the world’s finest retailers as well as through 21 concept stores across Denmark, Norway and Sweden.

TAL Apparel

“For the tremendous task ahead of us of creating a sustainable fashion industry, we believe in open dialogue, alignment and coordination along the whole supply chain. Global Fashion Agenda provides a wide-reaching platform that reaches the senior management of organisations in the supply chain. Alone we go faster, together we go further.”

TAL Apparel is a pioneering garment manufacturer that has created supply chain solutions tailored to the exact needs of retailers and brands for more than 70 years. A world leader in manufacturing excellence, the company has 10 factories in five countries and over 25,000 employees. Sustainability has always been a key pillar at TAL. They have been implementing GHG Emission Intensity and Water Footprint Reduction programmes since 2010.

Zalando

“Zalando’s sustainability vision is to be a sustainable fashion platform with a net-positive impact for people and the planet. This means constantly improving our own business and making it easy for customers to spot and shop more sustainable fashion. We collaborate with strong partners to face the fundamental sustainability issues of our industry and shape a more sustainable future for fashion. That’s why we’re excited to have Global Fashion Agenda by our side as a key partner and believe that we can make a difference together.”

Zalando is Europe’s leading online platform for fashion and lifestyle. Founded in Berlin in 2008, the company brings head-to-toe fashion to more than 29 million active customers in 17 markets, offering clothing, footwear, accessories and beauty. Its assortment of international brands ranges from world famous names to local labels. Zalando’s platform is a one-stop fashion destination for inspiration, innovation and interaction. As Europe’s most fashionable tech company, it works hard to find digital solutions for every aspect of the fashion journey, for customers, its partners and every valuable player in the Zalando universe. The company’s goal is to become the Starting Point for Fashion.

Strategic Knowledge Partners

Global Fashion Agenda’s Strategic Knowledge Partner is the management consulting firm McKinsey & Company, who shares our commitment to shape the sustainability agenda in fashion through the joint creation of thought leadership and insights. As a global leader in sustainability topics, and with the fashion industry as a strategic priority, McKinsey supports our thought leadership on a strategic level, leveraging their extensive network and in-house capabilities.

Knowledge Partners

Global Fashion Agenda’s Knowledge Partners provide subject-matter expertise that help qualify Global Fashion Agenda’s work. For example, The Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a global thought leader on the circular economy, officially supports Global Fashion Agenda’s work to accelerate the fashion industry’s transition to a circular fashion system.

Convening of the Conveners

The Convening of the Conveners is a group that gathers to support sustainability in fashion. It consists of several strong organisations, who are driving positive change from different perspectives. Global Fashion Agenda is part of this group to secure global alignment, support each other and pool resources to secure maximum impact.

Commitment Signatories

Commitment signatories consist of fashion companies that sign a Global Fashion Agenda commitment focusing on a specific topic. We support signatories in setting and achieving targets by providing toolboxes, webinars, network meetings and reporting on their progress. Signatories provide input on their experience to support the further development of tools that help guide the implementation of targets and assessments.

Special Advisers

The Special Advisers to the Copenhagen Fashion Summit consist of fashion insiders who provide insights on industry profiles, current focus topics as well as different segments and geographies to support the development of the Summit programme.

Veronica Chou,

Investor

Veronica Chou

Investor

Veronica Chou is a major investor in the Karl Lagerfeld brand and has a portfolio of investments in consumer tech companies such as Refinery29, RewardStyle, The Tot and in China, the largest women’s shoe company, 2nd largest supermarket, etc.

As President of Iconix China, a business which she founded in 2008 and successfully sold in 2014, Veronica introduced 12 American brands to the Chinese market and opened over 1000 stores. Currently, Veronica is working to launch a yet to be named smart sustainable lifestyle brand.

Miroslava Duma,

Founder and CEO, Future Tech Lab

Miroslava Duma

Founder and CEO, Future Tech Lab

Miroslava Duma is a Young Global Leader by World Economic Forum, the founder of several innovative ventures, digital entrepreneur, philanthropist and active investor. She has been cited as “a force of the fashion industry” by the Financial Times and is a member of the host committee of Stanford Philanthropy Innovation Summit.

In 2017, Duma founded Future Tech Lab, an investment company and accelerator that focuses materials science and bioengineering. Future Tech Lab helps new technologies and sustainable innovations connect, collaborate and create products and brands to evolve the fashion industry and help reduce its social and environmental footprint. She also co-founded PANGAIA, a direct-to-consumer materials science company bringing breakthrough textile innovations, proprietary technologies and patents to the world through lifestyle products.

Julie Gilhart,

Fashion Consultant

Julie Gilhart

Fashion Consultant

Fashion industry veteran, Julie Gilhart, is a creative business consultant for a set of clients, including online e-commerce platform Amazon and luxury goods group Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessey. Previously, Gilhart was Senior Vice President, Fashion Director at Barneys New York for 18 years, where she oversaw creative, design and business direction.

As an adviser to the CFDA, she worked with them to establish the CFDA + Lexus Fashion* Initiative for Sustainability. Gilhart sits on the boards within fashion, is an Ambassador for 1% For The Planet, is a founder of non-profit Fashion Girls for Humanity and supports several philanthropic efforts.

Dio Kurazawa,

Founder, The Bear Scouts

Dio Kurazawa

Founder, The Bear Scouts

Dio Kurazawa, founder of The Bear Scouts, assists influential brands with the implementation of innovative sustainable practices through the creation and implementation of socially responsible supply chains. Also serving as head of denim of globally leading trend-forecaster WGSN, Kurazawa has more than 20 years in the fashion industry.

Kurazawa and his team start every project with sustainability as a core focus and through a wide array of efforts, The Bear Scouts promote sustainable innovations that are not only trend driven but environmentally sound and based on critical assessments of past experience, in the philosophy that sustainability is an ever-expanding forward process.

Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe,

Founder and Executive Chair, African Fashion International

Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe

Founder and Executive Chair, African Fashion International

Humanitarian and social entrepreneur, Dr Precious Moloi-Motsepe founded African Fashion International in 2007 with a mission to share African fashion with the world, stimulate growth of the fashion and textile industry in Africa, advance economic and social development, preserve African cultures and empower women.

During African Fashion International’s inception, Dr Moloi-Motsepe partnered with the Design for Life initiative to support education and the diagnosis of breast cancer for women from rural communities. In 2017 she became the first recipient of the Fashion 4 Development Franca Sozzani Award for her work in propelling African designers to international platforms and in creating jobs for local artisans.

Jan Olesen,

Managing Director, MARIOTESTINO+

Jan Olesen

Managing Director, MARIOTESTINO+

Since 2007, Jan Olesen has been business partner of world-renowned photographer Mario Testino and managing director of Testino’s creative agency MARIOTESTINO+. The agency supports Testino to realise the breadth of his creative output and enterprise including activities such as creative direction, brand strategy, graphic design, film, books, exhibitions and partnerships. Clients count Burberry, Carolina Herrera, Chanel beauty, Dolce & Gabanna fragrances, Versace and Lancome among many more.

In 2012 Olesen and Testino launched MATE – Museo Mario Testino, in Testino’s hometown of Lima. The not-for-profit cultural foundation works to empower artists, students and the people of Peru through immersion and training in visual culture.

Bandana Tewari,

Lifestyle Journalist and Sustainable Activist

Bandana Tewari

Lifestyle Journalist and Sustainable Activist

As Vogue India’s Editor-at-Large for 13 years, Bandana Tewari reported extensively about and experienced a rapidly evolving global fashion industry. Coupled with her unrestrained and independent voice, understanding of socio-political dynamics of fashion and trademark forward-thinking, she is considered one of India’s foremost fashion authorities.

Member of BoF500, Tewari has written extensively on a variety of topics from indigenous ‘made-by-hand’ economies of India and Indonesia, to LGBTQ representation in global fashion, informing and educating consumers and global luxury brands about heritage and culture. Her pieces have appeared in publications such as The New York Times, Wallpaper* and Tank. She sits on the advisory boards of NEST and Eco Chic Design Awards.

Amber Valletta,

Actress, Model and Entrepreneur

Amber Valletta

Actress, Model and Entrepreneur

Amber Valletta, actress, model, entrepreneur and activist, is the founder of Master & Muse, a premiere lifestyle brand for responsibly made fashion. Valletta is committed to advancing smarter consumption and environmental awareness through entrepreneurial endeavours and brand partnerships.

An industry icon, she has been the face of many prestigious names in fashion and graced countless magazine covers. After moving to LA, Valletta found success as an actress, transitioning seamlessly between modelling and acting over the last 25 years. She serves as a mentor for the CFDA’s Sustainability Committee and is on the advisory board for Fashion +, Cradle-to-Cradle’s initiative in fashion and the Environmental Media Association.

Shaway Yeh,

Group Style Editorial Director, Modern Media & Founder, yehyehyeh

Shaway Yeh

Group Style Editorial Director, Modern Media & Founder, yehyehyeh

Shaway Yeh is one of China’s key opinion leaders on fashion and culture. Under her editorial direction, the influential lifestyle publication Modern Weekly has reached China’s elite readers with the latest international news, trends, phenomena and discussions in the fields of style and culture. Yeh extended the publication’s creative panache and unique editorial point of view to digital platforms.

In 2017 Yeh became co-creative director of the global video channel NOWNESS. Using her media outreach to discuss and represent issues related to sustainability and innovation, she founded the agency yehyehyeh the same year to push forward the fashion agenda among Chinese brands and designers by bringing together sustainability, creativity and innovation.