The Collective Fashion Justice manifesto aims to strengthen the global appeal directed at brands and the clothing industry.
As the Milan Fashion Week begins, the spotlights of the entire world are pointed towards the proposals of the brands that will parade in the coming days on the most prestigious catwalk in the sector.
We leave any comments on the aesthetics, creativity, tradition and innovation of fashion proposals to the experts, but we make our own by relaunching the appeal of Collective Fashion Justice by joining the Total Ethics Fashion Manifesto to ask brands and first and foremost Italian fashion houses to give priority to the life and wellbeing of people (employed at every level of production), to respect for the planet (exploited and degraded by fashion production) and animals (without resorting to the false promises of protection typical of the so-called “responsible” certifications
The 2030 deadline is fast approaching, but the entire fashion system, despite the declarations and commitments made within the scope of well-known international coalitions on sustainability, risks not reaching the goal of the Sustainable Development Goals, too often used as a claim and less and less as a real and concrete awareness of the need for a radical change in the production model and supply of raw materials.
Workers, the planet, and our animal companions have always been victims of the profits of luxury brands, and not only that.
Without going too far to Asian countries lacking regulations and controls, we cannot forget the judicial investigations that in the last year have involved, here in Italy, well-known global brands for having commissioned production to companies specifically created to maximize profits through illegal practices such as gang mastering, irregular employment and exploitation of workers in factories, lack of safety conditions, non-compliant machinery, irregular and clandestine labour, price exploitation (with fashion items paid a few dozen euros to production but resold to the end customer for thousands of euros).
Even for the exploitation of animals, which for the clothing industry are nothing more than mere resources for the supply of materials (for leather, fur, feathers for padding or decoration, yarns), brands rely on supply chain certifications designed by the producers themselves to reassure consumers about the good treatment of animals.
Certifications that, if analysed in the management protocols, never ensure any better treatment than the minimum legal parameters and that in any case do not guarantee a natural life (in terms of quality and lifespans) for each animal that is part of the supply chain.
To encourage fashion companies to be more sustainable and ethical, at least as regards the use of animal materials, we at LAV have long since created the Animal Free Fashion rating: a path towards the progressive disposal of animal materials divided into four main steps with related ranks (V = stop the use of fur; VV = fur and feathers; VVV = fur, feathers, skins; VVV+ = fur, feathers, skins and yarns).
Through the dedicated website, LAV gives value to the corporate policies of fashion companies, making them public, and making a database of Next-Gen Materials (sustainable materials of new generation and free of animal components) available.