Setting Priorities and Work Focus
Participants: Members of the APPG Co-Chairs, Parliamentarians, Professor Dilys Williams, Special Advisor to the APPG, Trewin Restorick, CEO Hubbub Foundation, APPG Secretariat: Tamara Cincik & Fashion Roundtable team.
The agenda of the meeting included as main subjects:
1) What has been the short and long-term impact of COVID19 on the sector?
2) What role can the APPG play in ensuring post COVID19 we see a fairer and more sustainable industry?
3) Who should we collaborate with to be as effective as possible?
The themes covered aspects of the fashion sector in the context of the accelerating socio-ecological crisis in light of Covid-19. The members shared ideas and insights on the prospects of The New Normal for fashion and overall the society. The discussion included the theme of SMEs as exemplars of sustainability in cultural, social, economic and environmental terms and their vulnerabilities in terms of the lack of recognition of their value and their vulnerabilities due to a policy landscape that foregrounds economic growth at any cost. This theme was presented with a view to look at ways in which they could be supported in their critical contributions to the UK. It was reported that Centre for Sustainable Fashion (CSF) was finalising a report to the APPG, reviewing the EAC Fixing Fashion recommendations in relation to supporting SMEs.
It was agreed that the CSF report, the Hubbub report and the Fashion Roundtable report (on the EAC recommendations) should be cross referenced and edited in light of Covid-19 to offer an evidence base to government from which a question will be asked in parliament about how the government is supporting fashion in relation to the two facets of the accelerating social-ecological crisis, the pandemic and Climate Emergency.
