Between Courage and Cowardice: Global Fashion Summit Grapples with a Mixed Mood

This year’s Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen, held under the theme “barriers and bridges,” reflected the fashion industry’s blend of optimism and disillusionment. Attendees voiced concerns over falling behind on climate goals and criticized the rollback of environmental policies in the EU and US as weakening momentum. A key shift in this year’s event was giving the stage to underrepresented voices such as suppliers and garment workers, including Bangladeshi activist Kalpona Akter. The summit took aim at “greenhushing”—brands’ tendency to stay silent rather than take genuine action on sustainability. EU speakers stressed that water management is crucial for resilience, and Kering highlighted water as a top industry priority. The Next Gen Assembly of young innovators called for holistic and inclusive sustainability strategies, emphasizing the importance of youth voices. Paul Polman’s keynote urged brands to “lead or be led,” demanding bold and decisive action. Over 20 closed-door roundtables were held to encourage collective decision-making, though their outcomes have not yet been disclosed. Overall, the summit exposed the industry’s current deadlock—caught between courageous ambition and cautious inertia.