France and Denmark prioritize a sustainable fashion industry with new partnership

France and Denmark have committed to improving sustainability within the fashion industry, with the signing of a new ‘memorandum of understanding'.

The document was signed by the prestigious educational center Institut Français de la Mode and Global Fashion Agenda, a leadership forum on fashion sustainability, on the occasion of French President Emmanuel Macron's state visit to Denmark this week.

According to a Global Fashion Agenda release, the statement of intent signals a mutual wish from both organizations to "strengthen their ties" and "establish more partnership agreements to accelerate sustainability in the fashion industry." 

"The French fashion industry is one of the world's most powerful and influential, which is why we already work closely with sustainability pioneer and leading French luxury group Kering, but signing this MoU is vital to accomplishing broader changes in French fashion companies and to creating concrete initiatives to educate and guide industry leaders towards new business models that will secure the future of people, profits and the planet," said Global Fashion Agenda CEO Eva Kruse in a statement.

"Working with Global Fashion Agenda is a great opportunity to promote sustainability at all levels of the fashion industry, and increase awareness among executives, designers and researchers," added Dominique Jacomet, Director General of Institut Français de la Mode.

Potential collaborative efforts between the two organizations include working on leadership roundtables together, or issuing joint communications regarding sustainability policies and issues.

The move is not the only recent international alliance focused on the environmental impact of the clothing industry -- earlier this year, The Arab Fashion Council (AFC) and the British Fashion Council (BFC) entered into a multi-year partnership with the aim of establishing a sustainable fashion infrastructure in the Arab world.