The Circular Fashion Manifesto for the commitment to circularity of 26 fashion firms

The Circular Fashion Manifesto was officially presented at SDA Bocconi School of Management on September 19, with the involvement of the 26 partners of the Monitor for Circular Fashion, a research observatory part of the SDA Bocconi Sustainability Lab and powered by Enel X.

The Circular Fashion Manifesto is answering the UNECE “Sustainability Pledge” inviting all actors in the garment and footwear industry to take action for traceability and transparency to accelerate the sustainability and circularity of value chains in this industry, in line with the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

For the first year the Circular Fashion Manifesto is also answering the Call for Commitment of European Commission DG GROW with 8 actions of the Textiles Ecosystem Transition Pathway, published by the European Commission on June 6, 2023.

The Companies of the Monitor for Circular Fashion have been highlighting the consistency of the existing "Circular Fashion Manifesto" and the related actions already implemented since 2021.

"With the commitment to the Textile Transition Pathway of the European Commission, the companies of the Monitor for Circular Fashion confirm that they continue to work on 8 common actions, including: promote and implement sustainable and circular business models; seek common methods to assess and compare the sustainability performance of products; improve the level of traceability and transparency of value chains through the digital passport; support the development of skills for green and digital transition and increase access to and interaction with SMEs.” says Francesca Romana Rinaldi, Director of the SDA Bocconi Monitor for Circular Fashion

“As part of efforts to accelerate the resilience and the green and digital transformation of the European industry, the transition pathway for the textiles ecosystem, outlines 50 actions, including the promotion of circular and sustainable practices and the support for SMEs to innovate and to grow internationally.” says Valentina Superti, Director of the European Commission DG GROW (Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs) as an invitation to stakeholders.

“The Monitor for Circular Fashion was an early adopter of the UNECE call to action the Sustainability Pledge for traceability and transparency, which has now received more than 100 pledges from leading brands, NGOs, industry associations and initiatives across 29 countries, involving a larger network +700 partners,” said Maria Teresa Pisani OiC Trade Facilitation Section Chief, UNECE. “We at UNECE call on the industry to take concrete and targeted measures to help consumers make informed and better choices, and thus move the needle towards sustainable fashion”.

The Monitor for Circular Fashion supported the firms in the development of 10 pilot projects, with the goal of establishing teamwork between ingredient brands, brands & retailers and service providers, building reliable sustainability claims to fight greenwashing, implementing and testing industry specific KPIs into a real-life product, referring to the circular fashion activities and implementing the eco-design principles into a real-life product. Some of the pilot projects developed through the years include Think leather by Holding Moda, Gab Group, Quid and Temera, Eco-designed jeans by Kering, Candiani Denim and Temera, Trace me by Vitale Barberis Canonico, Quid and Temera, Repairing T-shirt by Oscalito, Albini Group, Crule and Temera, Component shoe by Candiani Denim, Vibram and Temera, Anima by Save The Duck, RadiciGroup, Vibram, Temera and Certilogo, M-pocket by Manteco, RadiciGroup and Temera, Re-Gen H          by Hogan, ICEC, Sciarada, Unic, and Temera, Traced leather Varina ballet flat by Ferragamo, ICEC, UNIC, BCN and Temera, and Ela Sweatshirt by Vivienne Westwood, Oscalito, Albini Group and Temera.

The annual multistakeholder event of the Monitor for Circular Fashion will take place on October 11 2023, where the research report of the Monitor will be presented, and it will will include keynote speakers from European Commission, UNECE, EURATEX, Patagonia and the 26 firms part of the Observatory.

SDA Bocconi School of Management

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