by ABFRLadmin | December 23, 2019
What do you get when you put fashion innovators, corporates, leaders, vendors, consumers, businesses and startups in one room? You get a group of people working towards a common vision and purpose for an entire industry. And thats exactly what we tried to do at the very first CAIF Conclave, with Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd and The DOEN Foundation as Anchor Partners, on November 26 and 27, 2019.
Starting the event on an encouraging note, Vikas Bali, CEO, Intellecap, said, Three Ps are required to make anything successful: Purpose, People and Passion, and with the help of these, we can create a more sustainable world.
Ashish Dikshit, Managing Director, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail said We are witnessing the beginning of a transformational change in the industry today where everyone is becoming a co-creator. The apparel and textile industry has been an important sector for the country as it has one of the countrys largest workforces, strongest economical aspirations and is a creative horsepower of designers and creators.
As an industry, we bring different pieces and elements together on a big scale and impact a large number of people. One single piece of garment reflects the entire ecosystem that goes into making it. At ABFRL, we are hoping to find solutions to one of the industrys biggest challenges of reducing the usage of single-use plastic packaging. We are confident that the newly announced Open Innovation Challenge will help address these issues.
ABFRLs Sustainability Program called ReEarth addresses the significant economic, environmental and social issues that humanity faces today. We have done pioneering work in sustainable and circular fashion.
We are delighted to partner with CAIF and work alongside with innovators and start-ups to address the biggest challenge of reducing the usage of single-use plastic packaging, said Dr. Naresh Tyagi, Chief Sustainability Officer, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail, Member, Governing Council, CAI
Every corner of the room was buzzing with ideas, innovation and meaningful conversation as industry stakeholders came together to find a solution to the problems faced by the textile and apparel industry, with the help of circular fashion. In fact, key stakeholders developed a common roadmap for 2020 at the closed-door CAIF Governance and Advisory Council Meeting
During sessions, attendees were enlightened about key issues like the importance of traceability in the supply chain. Padmakar Panday, ABFRL, stated the three things needed for sustainability to become mainstream: need for a strong business case, driving business value out of sustainability and regulation at an industry level.
The Open Innovation Challenge was launched by CAIF and ABFRL together, inviting creative minds to come up with solutions to create a plastic-free environment within the supply chain. Whats even more exciting is that the best innovations will be implemented in ABFRLs business practices and will be shared with the industry at large.
In between sessions, attendees visited the lively Bazaar to view products from the countrys most innovative start-ups and brands, such as perfect-fit swimwear made from recycled polyamide. They ended the day by attending the Sankalp Awards, where disruptive enterprises were recognized for their path breaking work, and also witnessed sustainable and circular fashion at the dazzling Circular Fashion Show
“I had a tremendous amount of learning and networking at the CAIF Conclave, it is a definite step taken towards sustainability in the industry. Being very passionate about sustainability myself, meeting industry leaders, startups, academic institutions and government organisations lead to a wide range of solutions to the current issues and possibilities for the future.
It was a proud moment to witness ABFRL being the torchbearer of this important initiative for the future of the Indian fashion industry,” said an attendee, Charvie Mishra who is a Fashion Management Trainee in ABFRL.
The responsibility lies with us, as an industry, to take this spirit ahead, collaborate with each another and bring about a much-needed positive change.
