When fashion week kicks off in Copenhagen this week it is with a number of new green initiatives. Danish Fashion Institute sharpens focus on sustainability during Copenhagen Fashion Week
Clothes can be used again and again
Each Scandinavian consumes an average of 15 kilos of clothing annually. Manufacturing it costs 58,000 liters of water, 48 kilos of chemicals and 6,400 MJ energy. Besides that, 80% of the clothing we dispose of still has 75% of its potential lifespan left, according to the latest figures from Deloitte. But imagine if all the clothes we no longer wear could get a new life and be of benefit to other people and the environment.
The distance between idea and action doesn't have to be a long one, which is why Danish Fashion Institute created a huge Fashion Exchange Market on City Hall Square on Saturday, August 10, from 10:00-16:00. Anyone can meet up with pieces they no longer use and swap them for other interesting styles - all for free!
Denmark's Minister for the Environment Ida Auken will open the Fashion Exchange Market at 12:00, and states: "I am delighted to have the privilege of opening the clothing swap, which will help us reuse more of the clothes that we otherwise throw out. The fashion industry is amongst the industries that have the most adverse impact on health and environment. Therefore it is important that the fashion industry takes responsibility of prolonging the life of their products."
Stepping up to the greener stores
Another green fashion week initiative is "The Green Walk", which is the name of a route through the shopping streets of Copenhagen featuring shops that do something special for the environment. Together with the CEO of Danish Fashion Institute Eva Kruse, the Copenhagen Mayor of Environment Ayfer Baykal, will launch this year's green walk by visiting stores along the route, such as H&M.The stores are excited about the attention and Catarina Midby, Head of Fashion & Sustainability Communication at H&M, states: "We look forward to conveying the initiatives that H&M is taking to become more sustainable, through our Conscious Collection and new recycling system, in which everyone can hand in used clothes in H&M stores and get a discount on new purchases."
Electric cars leave a sustainable footprint
As something new Copenhagen Fashion Week has established a partnership with the car rental company Sixt and carmaker Nissan who this season are the official transportation partners. Thus it will be with a stunning quadron of Nissan's CO2-neutral "Leaf" cars transporting fashion week's most prominent guests around town from show to show. Nissan Leaf is the first modern electric car awarded "European Car of the Year" in 2011.
Eva Kruse, CEO in Danish Fashion Institute and Copenhagen Fashion Week, states: "I think it is the right signal to send that we - as a fashion week - in every possible way help to minimize the environmental impact. And when the cars at the same time look smart, it all comes together."
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