CPHFW Releases First Sustainability Requirements Revisions

As the first global fashion week, Copenhagen Fashion Week has since 2023 required brands to live up to Sustainability Requirements in order to be admitted to the show schedule.

Today, Copenhagen Fashion Week is launching the first revision of the Sustainability Requirements. With the revision, a substantial number of updates will replace the current framework which was first announced in 2020 and came into effect in 2023. The updated Sustainability Requirements will as such be the new mandatory admission criteria for brands on the official show and presentation schedule as of January 2025.

"Since we first enforced the Sustainability Requirements on the show brands of Copenhagen Fashion Week back in 2023, it has been our ambition to annually amp up the requirements in order to keep pushing the brands and to continue setting the standard for fashion weeks globally. Therefore, we are excited to launch the first edition of updated Sustainability Requirements. With the updates we are not only raising the bar for brands on our schedule, but we are also reflecting industry developments and learnings as well as the upcoming EU policy landscape."
– Cecilie Thorsmark, CEO, Copenhagen Fashion Week

After one year since the Sustainability Requirements initially came into effect, Copenhagen Fashion Week has updated the framework to continuously push the industry's sustainability efforts. As such, only brands that comply with the new updates by January 2025 will be admitted to Copenhagen Fashion Week's show and presentation schedule. The revisions are not only based on industry developments and learnings from the past year, but also close observations and mapping of the EU policy landscape against the sustainability requirements framework.

"From the very beginning, the aim of the framework has been to push the industry forward, and to create a common language that is relevant for fashion companies. With the revisions, Copenhagen Fashion Week continues this effort. As new regulations are introduced and focus on the industry is sharpened politically, the framework will help strengthen the focus not only on compliance, but on continuously extending the scope of fashion and sustainability".
– Frederik Larsen, Co-founder, In Futurum

Copenhagen Fashion Week has made updates to the framework

• Three new Minimum Standards have been added
• The bar for Minimum Standards has been raised as many Minimum Standards move from commitment stage to implementation stage
• 31 additional actions have been added with a strong focus on social sustainability

The framework itself has not been changed and, as such, it still comprises the six focus areas of strategic direction, design, smart material choices, working conditions, consumer engagement and show production for a holistic approach to sustainability in the fashion industry.

"The revisions of the requirements are important. We need to ensure that the framework reflects the developments of the legal landscape for fashion and textiles which currently is unfolding from the EU. In addition, we are also keen on integrating the valuable learnings from applying the framework and the input received from other stakeholders, making actions more clear and concise."
– Marie Busck, Head of CSR & Sustainability, Dansk Fashion & Textile

Find out more on the Sustainability Requirements, the Sustainability Requirements Revisions to the Minimum Standards and the Additional Actions.

Copenhagen Fashion Week thanks its Advisory Board of industry experts, Knowledge Partners In Futurum and Dansk Fashion & Textile as well as Sustainability Committee Rambøll for their extensive feedback throughout the process.

Copenhagen Fashion Week also thanks its Executive Board for their support and feedback.

Disclaimer: The Sustainability Requirements are a framework used in the application process of Copenhagen Fashion Week (their application may differ for external partners) and are not a certification scheme or audit. Hence, they are not an additional or new reporting system but have been developed as an essential part of the application process for brands wishing to showcase their collections at Copenhagen Fashion Week.

They were established in recognition of already existing guidelines, tools, codes of conduct, standards, certifications and/or agendas, many of which have been taken into account in their development stage for a shared focus. Brands who follow and support existing agendas should therefore be able to comply with Copenhagen Fashion Week's requirements.