- Marjorie van Elven
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“We cannot wait until 2030 to find out if the world has achieved its
sustainability goals. By then it will be too late”. Guided by this wake up
call, a new institute was created to help fashion companies make sure they
reach the sustainable development goals set by the United Stations and
answer to IPCC’s call to significantly reduce carbon emissions over the
next 11 years to keep global warming to a maximum of 1.5C.
Launched today by Maxine Bédat, founder of extinct conscious fashion
brand Zady, the New Standard Institute aims to be a data and innovation hub
for the fashion industry and its stakeholders, identifying research gaps
and opportunities for improvement as well as developing science-based
industry benchmarks.
The new organization plans to create an open source tool with verified
data, research and resources to clarify what “sustainability” means and how
the industry can go about achieving it, from mapping the supply chain to
setting concrete targets for energy, water and chemical management, and
finally developing internal policies to measure and report progress.
Consumers are also invited to use the platform to push for change by
learning exactly what to demand from their favorite fashion brands. “A
recent survey of fashion CEOs found that fashion companies attribute the
major responsibility for driving the industry towards sustainability to
consumers above any other group”, said Bédat in a statement. That’s why the
New Standard Institute is inviting consumers to sign a petition on its
website before launching the open source tool. “You have the
ability to drive change in this industry”, added Bédat, addressing
consumers directly.
Photo: Maxime Bédat, courtesy of New Standard Institute
