UN agencies developing a playbook for sustainable fashion communication

To create awareness about sustainability The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and UN Climate Change are to co-publish a new ‘playbook’ on how the global fashion industry should share information on sustainability with consumers.

The playbook titled the ‘Sustainable Fashion Communication Playbook’ has been launched to show how fashion communicators – including marketers, brand managers, image-makers, media, and influencers can help advance the Paris Agreement and the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

The playbook will focus on countering misinformation, reducing messages perpetuating overconsumption, redirecting aspiration to more sustainable lifestyles, and empowering consumers to demand greater action from businesses and policymakers.

The book appreciated the global importance of the fashion sector but is highlighting the wide-ranging impacts, of unsustainable patterns of consumption and production contributing directly and significantly to the planetary crisis, as well as social injustice.

“While addressing production impacts is essential, doing so alone will not be sufficient to transform the industry in time,” says a statement from UNEP.”Shifting consumption patterns must be a core priority, which means confronting the dominant linear economic model and its accompanying narrative of newness, immediacy, and disposability.



Earlier this month, UNEP launched a new report which aimed to set out a roadmap for sustainability and circularity in the global textile value chain.