On September 30 - October 1 2021, Adrianople Group representatives were present in Milan, Italy as attendees for Hub-e, an event about growth and sustainability in fashion, media, and the leisure industry. The event was organized by Instituto-E, a Brazilian initiative for conservation and sustainability, together with the British Chamber of Commerce for Italy and ICR Cosmetics.

Fashion becomes sustainable

On September 30, following Milan’s Fashion Week and simultaneous Youth4Climate conference that had just concluded in Milan, the MTV Lounge event was organized by the British-Italian Chamber of Commerce. The event was done in cooperation with HUB-E and Industrie Cosmetiche Riunite. Adrianople Group was present for this event.

An evening of networking was open to a range of attendees: media executives, architects, fashion designers, artists and data scientists were all welcomed into the venue in Milan’s Magna Pars hotel.

The recurring subject discussed at the event was the lack of environmental and social sustainability of Milan’s recently-concluded Fashion Week and the fashion industry in general. Partnerships were concluded on how creative media and emerging technologies can be used to decrease the waste present in the fashion industry. 

On the same day, Milan’s Bridge to Glasgow took place, organized by the British-Italian chamber of commerce. It was conceived as a forerunner to COP26, an upcoming climate conference in Scotland that will feature personalities such as US president Joe Biden and climate activist Greta Thunberg. 

Sustainability becomes fashionable

On October 1, The HUB-E presentations and awards ceremony took place, as the second day of the HUB-E event. Instituto-E founder Oskar Metsavaht presented the strides toward environmentally and socially friendly fashion made by his sustainable apparel firm, Osklen. 

Documentary films were featured that explored sustainable value chains in the fashion industry: The founder of Milan’s Fashion Film Festival Constanza Etro, as well as the team of Planit, an Italian sustainability action network, spoke about activating members of the fashion industry to reduce waste and enact more sustainable strategies. 

Another notable attendee of the event was the Fundo Cristo Redentor, a Brazilian social entrepreneurship fund that devotes 80% of its fund management fees to social and environmental causes. It was one of the organizations decorated with the HUB-E award for sustainability.

The Adrianople Group’s main interest was in how the industries of fashion, leisure and travel are moving towards sustainability, exploring which roles special economic zones can play in that development. Most of the attendees were Italian entrepreneurs and business executives, with a notable presence of British-Italian Chamber of Commerce representatives as well as Brazilian sustainability leaders.

The audience was somewhat aware of Special Economic Zones - those in the British Chamber of Commerce were interested to explore how the UK’s Freeports may contribute to sustainability, and those in the fashion industry were aware of garment and textiles production taking place in SEZs.

Conclusion

Both events were extremely insightful about which strategies artists, entrepreneurs and non-profit leaders are taking to increase environmental and social sustainability and the awareness thereof in the fashion industry. Our company was able to learn about many initiatives and projects being developed that will promote recycling practices and a less wasteful business model with fashion and clothing.

Instituto-E and its co-organizers are on the forefront of a new type of event, and a new type of network-building. Adrianople Group will be attending future Instituto-E events and hopes to include Special Economic Zones in the sustainable development initiatives that Instituto-E has in store.