The Quantum Redesign of Fashion

  1. Start with CEOs and a community of industry experts to recognize and chart the challenges.

  2. Dive into the data and initiate the research to determine effective, profitable and pragmatic solutions.

  3. Engage all stakeholders across fashion’s value chain to scale solutions.

Watch for more about our holistic approach

From Then to Now


2014

FMC is Born

With the industry reeling from the tragic Rana Plaza factory collapse, and environmental challenges continuing unabated, a call to action became the catalyst for a top down approach – convening leaders to envision a different and more responsible future for fashion. In April, 2014, 16 CEOs started a conversation that would set a course for the industry.

2015

Expansion

16 CEOs expand to 30, and the liaison community is formed - organizational leaders assigned by the CEOs to support and guide the collaborative efforts across brands, retailers and suppliers. Key elements of transformation are identified and work gets underway to begin the shift.

2016

Profitability & Sustainability

Working with Bloomberg to understand and engage the influence of the financial markets becomes a focus, as profitability and sustainability become the defining intersection of the work. Engagement with the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) supports the formation of the standards that would become the work of the current International Sustainability Standards Board under IFRS.

2017

Fashion Conveners

With brands and retailers calling for coordination among the non-profit / NGO community, FMC funds and forms the Fashion Conveners, a global coalition of nonprofits working individually and collectively with the industry’s most influential businesses to accelerate action though partnership.

2018

Quantum Redesign

FMC supports French President Emmanuel Macron in the creation of the Fashion Pact, forging a nature-positive, net-zero future. Later that year, the concept of the Quantum Redesign of Fashion evolves, expressing the interconnectedness of the nodes of the ecosystem – further attaching sustainability’s success to business transformation across every element of the value chain.

2019

CEOs @ Vogue

FMC partners with Vogue as Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour hosts the convening of 46 CEOs at CondĂ© Nast’s new HQ in NYC. At this meeting FMC launches “the placemat” – a collection of 8 areas of remediation alongside the solutions and industry commitments to change.

2020

Pandemic, Policy & Rockefeller

The Pandemic shifts the CEO Convenings to a virtual format and brings new urgency to multiple challenges. The format expands the group as geography is no longer a barrier, and leaders from around the world turn the now 50 CEO group into a global presence. In 2020, FMC dives into the policy pool with key partners including the American Apparel and Footwear Association, the Council of Fashion Designers of America, and the Accessories Council in supporting alignment to to sensible legislation that helps the industry advance on a paced and supportive path. FMC joins Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors as a sponsored project, now connected to a vast network of deep global expertise in support of our mission.

2021

Impact Index & RISE

A inquiry from a CEO at an earlier convening spurs action with the Liaison community to develop a uniform framework for product level sustainability attributes – and the Impact Index is born. In Fall 2021 the first FMC “keep the change” initiative meets consumers at the point of sale, asking them to round-up. Raising $150,000, FMC becomes the catalyzing funder for RISE, the premier collaborative women’s empowerment and educational initiative from BSR, ILO Better Work, GAP PACE and CARE – with a goal to bring a new educational stack to millions of workers around the world.

2022

Scaling Solutions

FMC co-authors the first edition of the Scaling Solutions report, a first-of-its-kind pragmatic sustainability playbook for industry. The Impact Index continued to develop with a year-long series of Brand and Retailer Roundtables leading to the formation of the draft that would eventually shape the launch framework the following year.

2023

Impact Index Launch and Plastics

The second edition of Scaling Solutions expanded the research and allowed organizations of differing maturity to engage in transformation in practical ways. WWD supported the launch of the report with the Sustainability Forum, a gathering of C Suite leaders engaging at scale. Later that year, FMC formed the Plastics Coalition, aiming to bring polybag recycling to retail nationwide. The Impact Index framework was finalized, supported in its creation and review by 50+ brands and retailers. Recognizing the collective action of the effort, GS1 US supported the expansion and adoption of the attributes in December of 2023, codifying each of them in the next update.

2024

A New Era

A growing team extends our capacity for additional programming, and the launch of new research and initiatives in women’s empowerment and regenerative agriculture. FMC co-authors the third edition of the Scaling Solutions report with Accenture and WWD, launched at the CEO Sustainability Forum. Flipping the script on its approach, the report approaches sustainability targets through the lens of business process, and a new era of growth and impact begins.