Published
Jun 7, 2021
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French Federation launches two digital tools to measure ecological impact

Published
Jun 7, 2021

The Federation de la Haute Couture et de la Mode, the organization that controls the calendar of Paris runway seasons, has unveiled two new digital devices designed to allow fashion houses participating in the next women’s runway season in September to measure their ecological impact.


The digital tools will be operational in time for the fall fashion week this year - Image: Shutterstock - Shutterstock


 
The Paris-based federation hired the international consulting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) to develop the two tools, which were in part financed by DEFI, the French semi-state support group for fashion. Both will be fully operational for Paris Fashion Week this fall, which runs from Monday, Sep. 27 to Tuesday, Oct. 5.
 
A first element also offers each participating house the ability to  calculate upstream of the organization of its event - whether runway show, life presentation or showroom - the best choice of service providers to reduce its environmental impact and optimize the social impact.

PwC combined the expertise of its sustainable development teams; data analytics teams and the PwC Experience Center, working closely with the Federation. The goal: to calculate 120 KPI of quantitative and qualitative data of the houses.
 
In Paris, the Federation’s steering committee included show producer Bureau Bétak, DLX press agency and the Palais de Tokyo, where the organization stages Sphere, its incubator for fledgling talent.  The federation’s main board is made up of senior executives from the key fashion powers in France – such as LVMH, Kering, Chanel and Hermès.



The city's next fashion week will be in June, for menswear, with heavyweights like Louis Vuitton, Dior and Yohji Yamamoto on the agenda - Photo: Dior Men - Fall-Winter 2021 - Menswear - Paris - © PixelFormula


  
“All of the ecosystem's stakeholders have been involved in its development: Houses of all sizes, production agencies, press and communication agencies, modeling agencies, the main places where PFW events take place, institutions. It was developed in 2020, tested in early 2021 and will be fully operational in September 2021,” the federation, which is managed by its executive vice president Pascal Morand, said in a release.
 
Morand unveiled the project on Friday, June 4, the eve of World Environment Day, making Paris the first fashion capital to offer this sort of service for fashion houses. All told, around 80 houses will stage catwalk shows, presentations, phygital events or fashion videos during the city’s fashion season this autumn.

Fashion weeks worldwide have become increasingly conscious of their environmental impact as thousands of participants – models; photographers; hair and make-up artists; magazine editors; influencers and buyers – fly into each of the four great international capitals – London, Milan, New York and Paris – and travel incessantly between events in 12-hour working days.

Another new departure is a tool to enable houses to support the eco-design of their collections by measuring the environmental and social impact on their entire industrial value chain.


Louis Vuitton - Fall-Winter 2021 - Womenswear - Paris - © PixelFormula


 
Designed in conjunction with the Institut Français de la Mode, the city’s key fashion school, it was tested with several volunteer brands before its deployment. Once again, PwC combined the expertise of the sustainable development teams, the data analytics teams and the PwC Experience Center. Its technical committee is made up of DEFI; the Fédération Française du Prêt-à-Porter Féminin; the Federation of Knitwear, Lingerie & Swimwear; Alliance du Commerce; Première Vision; ReFashion; Création & Image; IFTH; CETI and COFREET. It has been in development since early 2021, is being tested this June and will be fully operational in September.
 
Additionally, since 2019 the federation has been actively committed to making Paris Fashion Week and the city’s Haute Couture season carbon-zero in transport terms. Since January 2020, the federation has used a fleet of zero-emission DS Automobiles as the official transport of its runway season, while its fleet of Paris Fashion Week shuttle buses and scooters are fully electric.
 
To reduce travel within the city, the federation helped set up a shared space within the Palais de Tokyo that hosts over a dozen events at each fashion week. That will continue in September 2021. Waste at the Paris Fashion Week Center at the Palais de Tokyo is 100% recycled and recovered.
 
 
 

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