Polimoda joins the United Nations (UN) Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network, the online platform focusing on the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals in the fashion industry.
Polimoda has joined forces with the United Nations Office for Partnerships to help design the future of the fashion industry centered on sustainability, inclusivity and climate action. For the first time, an academic institution joins the UN Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network, a UN-hosted platform that connects key industry stakeholders, media and governments around the world to accelerate the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). Its key objective is to mobilize expertise, innovation, technology, and resources towards a sustainable and inclusive COVID-19 recovery, with the SDGs as a guiding framework.
In New York City, Director of Polimoda Massimiliano Giornetti met with the UN Office for Partnerships team and spoke with United Nations Office for Partnerships Chief of Office Lucie Brigham, revealing important insights about the collaboration and discussing project details.
“We’re excited to collaborate with Polimoda for people and for the planet and co-create opportunities with young talented creatives to keep the promise of the Sustainable Development Goals,” said Annemarie Hou, Executive Director of the UN Office for Partnerships. “Together we can design a better, more sustainable future for all.”
“Polimoda has been dedicated to supporting and promoting inclusivity, diversity and sustainability for years and I believe this has become the true cultural substratum of our school today,” explains Massimiliano Giornetti, Director of Polimoda. “Our community is committed to the dissemination and implementation of sustainable development in the fashion world. This change is essential in transforming the industry from being seen as a status symbol to a symbol of sociological and cultural evolution and awareness.”
“Italy is proud of its cooperation with a high number of Universities and Academies that are actively engaged towards the implementation of the UN Agenda2030. This number further grows today thanks to the meaningful alliance between Polimoda and the United Nations Office for Partnerships, with a specific focus on SDG4 and SDG5. The sector of sustainable fashion has traditionally been a fertile ground for many collaborations between Italy and the UN, guided by a multi-stakeholder approach that brings together Governments, civil society, academic institutions and private sector players,” shares Ambassador Maurizio Massari, Permanent Representative of Italy to the United Nations. “We have a common goal and only together can we achieve it: building a sustainable, just and equal future for all, leaving no one behind.”
The collaboration between Polimoda and the UN Office for Partnerships aims to promote and implement initiatives advocating for sustainability in the fashion industry along with a strong focus on inclusivity, equality, education and employment opportunities. From dedicated events for students and the fashion community to creating key spaces for conversations to bring awareness to young professionals in the sector, the educational programs will include training modules rooted in the Sustainable Development Goals.
A Sustainably Focused Generation of Creatives
Polimoda unites with the UN Office for Partnerships
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Master classes taught by leading experts from the UN Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network, dedicated exclusively to the students, will be created. Furthermore, Polimoda in collaboration with the UN Office for Partnerships, will provide strategic advice and guidance on the integration of SDGs within the Master in International Fashion Business. Polimoda plans to convene a series of events to highlight projects and best practices related to the SDGs. The community will learn about the projects, research and case studies of its students, alumni and partners in the field of sustainability through the school’s digital channels.
The next step of the project is the curation and activation of a series of master classes within the Master in International Fashion Business, a nine-month course that, starting this edition, will be enriched by lessons on sustainable development and topics such as inclusivity, ethics and consumption and production patterns in the global fashion industry, held directly by the experts of the UN Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle network. From carbon neutral materials to equitable representation of women in fashion media, the Master programs will tackle topics that will help accomplish the SDGs.