New York Fashion Week ended, and the city is gearing up for next week’s 74th UN General Assembly. Sustainability is a thread that’s woven between both: this year, the General Assembly plans a focus on climate change, and in fashion, CFDA designer Gabriela Hearst led the charge for the first-ever carbon neutral runway show.
Hearst, a Native of Uruguay who grew up on her family’s 17,000-acre ranch, has been committed to sustainable luxury, designing with conscientious materials and using biodegradable packaging. This NYFW, she focused not just on making her collection sustainable, but also the runway show itself.
The designer teamed up with production company Bureau Betak to achieve the carbon-neutral fashion show. Together, they focused on minimizing transportation, packaging and energy use, and eliminating waste. Every element of the show was carefully thought through from the food used for catering to the models. Hearst wanted to cast women who were based locally to reduce travel and thus carbon emissions from cars and planes, for example.
Carbon-neutral status is not just about minimizing carbon footprint, however. The carbon emissions need to be offset by funding an equivalent amount of carbon savings elsewhere.
Hearst partnered with EcoAct, an international strategic consultancy organization with a focus on climate and carbon challenges. Together, they determined the amount of carbon she’d need to fund. Those funds were then donated to Hifadhi-Livelihoods Project in Embu and Tharaka Nithi Counties of Kenya, to aid their efforts to fight climate change and improve livelihoods.
The designer couldn’t have picked a better moment to pioneer this. Fashion Weeks and the events industry as a whole have been criticized for being wasteful.
“I love what I do, but I have to find ways that I’m not adding to the problem,” Hearst told Vogue.com. “I thought that this was the best thing that really engages me toward the show. If we don’t know our impact we can’t reduce it. The goal is to set an industry standard.”
Hearst’s efforts are already having a ripple effect. Powerhouse brands such as Gucci are pledging to become carbon neutral. We hope to see this important conversation continue during this year’s General Assembly and future fashion weeks.
