Like many mixed race people, being in a binary world often isn’t easy; navigating multiple heritages whilst society tried forces you to choose which box you really fit into can be confusing, frustrating and tricky. It’s something even your own parents can struggle to understand. But since last year, a new platform called Mixedracefaces has been giving a voice to mixed race people, including me and giving them a unique experience of exploring their identity with other people like them.

Last month, the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Textiles and Fashion organised a meeting to discuss visas and employment in the garment manufacturing sector. Fashion Roundtable, which provides the secretariat for the Group, also launched a survey to collect data and insights from the garment manufacturing sector, which closes on the 6th of September.

Radio 4’s Fast Fashion: The Environmental Impact aired last week and featured a sample of accounts from some of the biggest authorities in the fight for fashion to become more sustainable: Dilys Williams FRSA, the Director of Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF), activist and designer Katherine Hamnett, Co-founder and Creative Director of Eco-Age, Livia Firth, Stella Klaxton of Nottingham Trent’s Clothing Sustainability Research Group, and BA Graduate Amber Kim.

Caroline Lucas, Green Party Leader and MP for Brighton Pavilion, called on an all-female emergency cabinet to work for reconciliation. Lucas’ letter, called on Heidi Allen MP, Kirsty Blackman MP, Yvette Cooper MP, Justine Greening MP, Sylvia Hermon MP, Liz Saville Roberts MP, Anna Soubry MP, Nicola Sturgeon MSP, Jo Swinson MP and Emily Thornberry MP to form the all-party cabinet group. The letter attributed the state of emergency not only to Brexit, but also the failure of dealing with the climate crisis.

“LFW is not a showcase of mass produced hyper sale mega brands, these are small companies with marginal turnovers. All of whom buy into sustainable business practice and so will those who work closely in their ateliers. These are the very people who support XR and see themselves as a part of that message.”

By Jack Tindale, Policy Connect.

Mr Johnson’s handover of power was notable not just for speed but for its brutality. Theresa May’s purge of the supporters of George Osborne when she assumed the Premiership in 2016 was noted at the time, but now seems to be an act of supine mercy in contrast to the massacre that took place on the evening of 24th July. 

The world is in dire need of a waste solution when it comes to clothing. The fashion industry moves so quickly, and it’s leaving a trail of quickly-discarded clothing in its wake. Businesses need to ensure they have a responsible waste management system in place, such as those provided by Reconomy, to ensure less waste hits the landfill. 

Undoubtedly #MeToo and Time’s Up have cast a spotlight on the myriad aspects of gender inequality in society. Notably, there’s a renewed interest in the injustices of gender inequality in the workplace. Though fashion companies are traditionally considered to have more female-centric workplaces, the industry isn’t immune from the equal pay debate. In fact, earlier this year fashion brands were called out as some of the worst offenders.

On 23 July, Fashion Roundtable were joined by creatives across the sector to celebrate the launch of the new All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Creative Diversity. The new group, featuring cross-party Parliamentary Members, was founded by Ed Vaizey and colleague Alex Pleasants, in order to identify and tackle obstacles facing diversity in the creative sector.

On 22 July 2019, Fashion Roundtable’s CEO Tamara Cincik was joined by Pauline Op de Beeck, Client Executive of Carbon Trust and Melanie Traub, Managing Director at People Tree, to deliver an informative and enlightening panel discussion on ‘Defining Sustainability, Where does the fashion industry go now?’

On 23rd July, Fashion Roundtable’s second Fashion, Politics and Empowerment Workshop looked at marginalisation, policy and empowerment through the lens of the fashion industry. 

On Tuesday 23rd July, Rt Hon Lord Deben, John Gummer, former Secretary of State for the Environment and now Chair of the Committee on Climate Change, and Tony Juniper CBE Chair of Natural England, provided evidence to the Environmental Audit Committee, chaired by Mary Creagh MP. 

Sustainability is an issue that cuts across party lines. In ‘Ode to Boris: Will Brexit really matter if Europe and the world are burning?’ Amy Nguyen examines what the latest Downing Street developments, with a very right reshuffle of the cabinet formed with the sole objective to deliver Brexit by October 31st, will mean for the sustainability and environmental agenda.

Luxury fashion has an almost complete absence of size inclusivity, and while the high street offers broader ‘plus size’ ranges, it suffers a lack of size standardisation which, when coupled with poor quality mass manufacturing, has led to cripplingly high return rates for retailers and stark inconsistencies in sizing— all of which has left consumers baffled and frustrated.

Our latest parliamentary meeting aimed to bring forth the significant concerns of manufacturers across the UK about hiring skilled labour after Brexit. Read a full run down of the minutes.

Our unique event, ’Global Britain, Local Stories’ successfully fused narratives from politicians, designers, curators, and educators in order to deliver a deeply informative and interesting depiction of culture and sustainability within fashion. The event stimulated compelling stories about the importance of locality and identity within contemporary designer’s work, encouraging the audience to consider the multitude of cultures and identities which exist simultaneously within our local communities, which can be utilised to unite communities

“Fashion like politics and indeed the FTSE 250 needs to recognise that inclusion and representation have to be core to systemic change. If businesses and politics are to represent those they serve then we have to see a radical transformation to create a sector which is inclusive and representative of all of us. From the power of the purple pound, to the estimated 60% growth of the modest fashion market to 2021, for businesses to connect with our consumers those in charge need to recognise the need for change in order to be effective and valued in these growing and important markets.”

We examine the shift in attitudes sparked by the likes of Stella McCartney, the menace of microfibres, water and energy conservation, as well as providing some eco-friendly laundering tips.

Manufacturers, machinists, academics and policy makers gathered on Monday 8th of July to discuss visas and employment for the UK garment manufacturing industry.

We already know fashion has a huge footprint and can have extremely negative impacts on the environment, but the story of fashion and modern slavery is only just beginning. As Clare Press reports…