Shaping Fashion

Shaping Fashion x Covid-19

Shaping Fashion is adapting to the Covid-19 pandemic. The current pandemic has amplified the fashion industry’s broken model of extreme waste and overproduction. In a time of pause and renewed desire to support one another amid uncertain times, we must instill a culture of clothes keeping and caring. Plus, this is a great time to call for a sustainable fashion industry after Covid-19. Now that the Coronavirus pandemic requires us to stay home and stay safe, Shaping Fashion and Fashion Revolution have joined forces for digital activation and empowerment of citizens. What are the Shapers doing?

 

Cross-hub Shaping Fashion Committee projects

The Shaping Fashion Committee is organizing three online webinars to inform people about the impact of Covid-19 on the fashion industry and to activate citizens on actions they can take to shape a more sustainable fashion industry: 

 

• 15 April 16.00-17.00 CEST: Kick-off Shaping Fashion x Fashion Revolution Week 2020 (Global Shapers and Fashion Revolution partners only) Link to register is closed: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/tickets-virtual-kick-off-shaping-fashion-x-fashion-revolution-week-2020-102196536592 Over 50 people participated.

 

• 23 April 15.00-16.30 CEST: What's in my Clothes webinar (general public) RLink to register is closed: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/shaping-fashion-whats-in-my-clothes-webinar-tickets-102338930496 . Over 400 people registered for the event and over 200 people attended the webinar.

 

• June 2020 (TBD): Who made my Clothes webinar (general public)

 

Next to that, the Shaping Fashion Committee is creating thought leadership pieces (WEF Agenda) on the impact of Covid-19 on the fashion industry and organizes social media campaigns in partnership to raise awareness on sustainable fashion.

 

Shaper Hubs' Shaping Fashion projects

This year around 40 hubs are participating in Shaping Fashion projects, either during Fashion Revolution Week or beyond. Projects include supporting vulnerable women by providing them work through making masks, writing a handbook on how to make medical masks and take care of them, online webinars on mask making and sustainable fashion, open studios digital tour videos where local sustainable entrepreneurs share their impact stories, virtual sustainable shopping events, social media campaigns to highlight the impact of Covid-19 on the local fashion industry and stimulating re-using and up-cycling clothes, online hackathons to help fashion brands on Covid-19 challenges they face and much more! 

 

For the latest update on what hubs are organizing, see: https://tinyurl.com/rahnhuq. If hubs would like to join the project they can do so by adding their Hub to this overview to receive invitations to meetings and email updates at any time. 

 

Global Shaping Fashion Social media campaign

We invite all Global Shapers Hubs to join us in a coordinated social media campaign to draw attention to Shaping Fashion and Fashion Revolution Week, as well as highlight the importance of sustainable manufacturing and consumption of fashion from an environmental and social standpoint, especially in a world after Covid-19. We’ll pose four key calls to action: 

 

1. Calculate your Closet Mass Index: whilst in physical isolation, we can still act in solidity offline in our homes and the Closet Mass Index is a great exercise for that. Over the years we gather quite some clothes, but do you actually know what you really own? The Closet Mass Index is a tool to measure the volume of your closet in a qualitative way to gain insight in the health of your closet. Results can be submitted to the landing page: https://dirtylaundryamfi.wixsite.com/mysite and people are asked to share their stories on social media


2. #Whatsinmyclothes: ask your favorite brands what materials your clothes are made of, also in light of Covid-19, we’re asking for responsible management of the potential ‘garment waste’ given consumption has dropped significantly.


3. #Whomademyclothes: the COVID-19 crisis has exposed an industry already in crisis, we will call upon brands to uphold the human rights of every worker in the supply chain. Ask brands how they’re upholding their sustainability commitments in the crisis.


4. Take 5 simple steps: 1: Ask #whomademyclothes and #whatinsmyclothes – demand transparency from your favourite brand, 2: Assess your closet – know and treasure what you own, 3: Wash smart – only when needed, cool temperatures, eco-detergent, air dry, 4: Upcycle, Repair and Share – make each piece last and 5: Shop less and buy well – second-hand, ecological and ethical garments, only what you truly love and what will last.

 

The committee collaborated with a visual designer to create an informative and inspiring video that explains the five steps for sharing over social media and launched it on April 22nd, Earth day. Access the video here: https://vimeo.com/410629194

 
About Shaping Fashion

Launched in 2018, Shaping Fashion is a global initiative to scale sustainable transformations in the fashion industry through the Global Shapers network. Over the years the cross-hub collaboration included over >55 different hubs! Every year during Fashion Revolution Week in April hubs collaborate with local teams of industry experts to organise events, workshops, clothes swaps and film screenings to push for change in their communities. Beyond that, hubs co-create longer term projects with lasting positive impact on the sustainability of the fashion industry.

In 2020 >40 hubs participate in Shaping Fashion activities that are linked to Covid-19: Accra, Almaty, Amsterdam, Bangalore, Bangkok, Beijing, Berlin, Bucaramanga, Bucharest, Buenos Aires, Cebu, Copenhagen, Cordoba, Cuernavaca, Dallas, Detroit, Dublin, Dusseldorf, Edmonton, Gabarone, Hong Kong, Hyderabad, Iloilo, Johannesburg, Lusaka, Luxembourg City, Medellin, Mexico City, Milan, Minneapolis, Minsk, Mumbai, Muscat, Ottowa, Santa Cruz, Shanghai, Taipei, Toronto, Vancouver, Vientiene. 

 

So join the movement for eco-ethical fashion!

Under the leadership of Amsterdam Hub, hubs around the world organised meaningful events, workshops, clothes swaps and film screenings to call for revolutionary and ethical change in their communities.

For example, Vancouver Hub gathered industry experts and next generation fashion designers to provide insights on the challenges, opportunities and innovations facing sustainable fashion.

The hub also hosted an upcycling workshop to mainstream circular economy models to make ethical, sustainable fashion the norm – and Dusseldorf Hub hosted similar events too.

Check out more highlights from: Corrientes Hub, Lahore Hub, and Davao Hub.

Other participating hubs include: Iloilo Hub, Lusaka Hub, Lyon Hub, Milan Hub, Quito Hub, Raleigh Hub and Taipei Hub.

Recently, Amsterdam Hub presented the project to Dutch Prime Minister, Mark Rutte, and asked if there were any areas where their expertise might be helpful.

After the meeting, the hub reflected: