THANK YOU to all who participated in the recently concluded Fashion Intelligence Symposium, with the theme, Fashion and Social Impact. We were delighted with the turnout, the feedback, and the suggestions for the 2018 symposium. We welcome any additional comments you may have.
Murray Hill Institute is grateful for our on-going collaboration with the Fashion Institute of Technology Center for Continuing and Professional Studies, represented by the managing coordinator, Joan Volpe, and Arthur Dunn, the assistant coordinator, and with Villanueva University, represented by Paloma Diaz-Soloaga. A special thank you to the speakers who shared their vast experience and helpful advice: Jean-Emmanuel Shein, Director, Global Corporate Social Responsibility, UNIQLO USA, Laticha Brown of the Fashion Institute of Technology, Mary Sheehan Warren, Owner of ISYFashion and Adjunct Professor, CUA Business School, Jenny Chen of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Kara Eschbach, Co-Founder, CEO & Editor In Chief, Verily, Alida Boer, founder of MARIA’S Bags, Judi Limbers, Social Entrepreneur and Founder, The Dress Shoppe, Manuela di Prima, founder of Maison Di Prima.
CLOSING REMARKS FASHION INTELLIGENCE SYMPOSIUM
Fashion and Social Impact
April 29, 2017
Paloma Díaz Soloaga, Complutense University
The fashion industry is the second largest polluter in the world, just after the oil industry. Production of raw material, textile manufacture, clothing construction, shipping and finally, retail: besides other contaminants, all those phases mean a big carbon footprint on the environment.
But today we have heard so many professionals who are conscious of this impact and want to make a difference. This has given us a renewed awareness of how important it is to change the way we have been doing things for decades.
As a matter of fact, there are many initiatives around the world that are trying to look at fashion from a different perspective. In particular, many young designers and entrepreneurs are paying attention to all these facts and applying their knowledge to this amazing industry, creating new concepts and business which give priority to not only to what benefits themselves, but also to what helps them make a positive contribution to society.
As Jean-Emmanuel Schein from UNIQLO has said, our mission in this moment of history, is not only to be “nice people” but to understand and apply social responsibility to solve problems. Their vision at UNIQLO is to "make the world a better place through our business." Solving problems, as Laticha Brown explained this morning, has also to do with the way digital technology is solving problems for the consumer (for example, designing slacks with phone chargers built in). On a deeper note, Mary Sheehan Warren pointed how shopping for fewer quality items or vintage clothing—as opposed to fast fashion which has little staying power—can be a smart response to the negative impact that too much fashion consumerism can have on our personal life and happiness.
This means that we must each try to find new ways of realizing that we are part of a whole and that it is necessary to look at the big picture rather than merely looking out for our own personal interests. This is not only an emotional reaction but also a realization that our actions affect the common good and that we all have a responsibility to work together to make a better world for everyone.
I want to give thanks to all the speakers for their contributions that made possible the Third Fashion Intelligence Symposium and to the Fashion Institute of Technology and Murray Hill Institute for their efforts in continuing the collaboration of three different institutions with same interests and goals (FIT, MH and Villanueva University): to form students and young professionals and prepare them to become the next generation of leaders in the fashion industry.
And special thanks to Teresa Carale, the President of Murray Hill Institute, since she is the real soul of this wonderful event that has as its main goal to mentor young professionals and encourage them to make a positive impact on the fashion industry. To all of you, many thanks and see you here, next year, at our Fashion Intelligence Symposium 2018!
