The fashion industry has 10 years to do its part to avoid catastrophic climate change and an urgent duty to improve the welfare of the workers who make it tick. But while fashion brands have stepped up their sustainability commitments, measuring progress in a comparable, standardised way has been elusive, until now.

The Business of Fashion’s inaugural Sustainability Index benchmarks the performance of fashion’s biggest companies against ambitious environmental and social goals across six of the most important topics for sustainable innovation in the coming decade:

Transparency

Emissions

Water & Chemicals

Waste

Materials

Workers’ Rights

What progress have fashion companies made in living up to their rhetoric in these sustainability categories? What does fashion need to achieve next over the next decade to truly clean up its act?

Fashion Revolution Week is the time when we come together as a global community to create a better fashion industry. It centres around the anniversary of the Rana Plaza factory collapse, which killed 1,138 people and injured many more on 24 April 2013. This year, as we mark 8 years since the tragedy, Fashion Revolution Week will focus on the interconnectedness of human rights and the rights of nature. Our campaign will amplify unheard voices across the fashion supply chain and harness the creativity of our community to explore innovative and interconnected solutions.

Digital technologies have enormous potential to affect large-scale change in low-income countries, particularly when it comes to increasing access to and usage of financial services. Recognizing the critical relationship between technology and economic opportunity, Accion Global Advisory Solutions works with financial service providers to bring meaningful digital products and services to micro-, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) globally.

Even with mobile penetration on the rise, not all MSMEs have the same needs; just because digital products are available does not mean MSMEs will avail them. Furthermore, while there is some evidence about the benefits of digital adoption on business growth and financial health, there is limited evidence to compare impact outcomes across different digital product types.

Recognizing these measurement challenges, Accion developed the MSME Digital Maturity and Product Impact Assessment in 2020. Accion is currently using this framework to implement a longitudinal study across seven countries to understand better how digital products impact customers' lives.

Each year, we look forward to hosting hundreds of like-minded industry-leaders and conscious fashion advocates IRL to share ideas, find practical solutions, and discuss the future of sustainable fashion. While the format in which we connect may look a little different, we’re excited to curate a fully-immersive digital experience featuring the same great speakers and inspiring conversations highlighting diverse voices across fashion's entire value chain.

From innovative and engaging conference keynotes and sessions to workshops, networking, and digital exhibitions, we are excited to share our reimagined event paired with dynamic digital content to bring you everything you’ve come to know and love about SFF IRL — digitally from wherever you are around the globe.

Celebrate Earth Day virtually with the Be Social Change community to learn about the world’s largest environmental movement and what you can do to make every day more sustainable. 

At the 2021 Earth Day Virtual Connector, join a global online community and hear from amazing leaders and organizations sharing practical ways each of us can protect and restore our planet. This event will also include interactive online networking where you’ll meet and connect with inspiring, purpose-driven people who are innovating within the world of sustainability and making a positive impact for a greener planet with their daily decisions.

Join acclaimed activist, speaker, and videographer Life Escobar for a virtual workshop about the power of storytelling in social change movements. Life will speak to their experience crafting and documenting stories in war zones, in places of political upheaval, and as part of their own journey of healing.

In this moment in time, the unifying power of stories is not to be underestimated. Gain skills for personal and professional storytelling through this online workshop. Hear from Life how to identify and convey stories that will lead to change as well as gain excellent storytelling skills.

Learn to share stories that will build a movement, foster empathy and compassion, transform understanding, and lead to true social change.

Build skills in:

storytelling

communication

empathy-based stories

story arcs

movement building

crafting stories

This workshop is for you if you’re:

wanting to unleash the power of storytelling to build a movement or create impact within your communities

facing difficult conversations where storytelling could lead to breakthroughs

wanting to speak in ways that bring people into the work and missions you care about

ready to make an empathy-centered impact

Social Innovation Summit 2021 will be held virtually on June 8-10, bringing together the top leaders from around the world for a unique series of discussions, debates and networking opportunities. Each session included a different combination of speakers, formats, workshops, breakouts, networking opportunities, and VIP Sessions focused on a specific social impact theme: Responsible Leadership in Times of Crisis; COVID Relief; Economic Empowerment & The Future of Work; Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging; Impact Investing, SDGs, & Philanthropy; Mental Health and Wellness; and Education, Youth & Next Gen Learning.

The Social Innovation Summit is an annual event that represents a global convening of black swans and wayward thinkers. Where most bring together luminaries to explore the next big idea, we bring together those hungry not just to talk about the next big thing, but to build it.

Social Innovation Summit has always prided ourselves on being a community of people who are motivated to take action. In this time of crisis, our network can rise to the occasion and we can serve as the virtual convening place where the most important conversations take place for vital partnerships to be quickly developed and quickly engaged.