Global Fashion Summit 2023 - Boston | Global Fashion Agenda | 26 September 2023 | Revere Hotel in Boston, 200 Stuart St, Boston, MA 02116, USA

The new edition is the second time that the event will be hosted outside of Copenhagen and the first time in North America since its inception in 2009. At the Boston Edition, we will present content on the theme of ambition to action with a particular focus on retailers.
The United States is home to some of the world’s most renowned fashion brands and leading retailers – it was the largest apparel market in the world in 2022. An estimated 1.8 million people are employed in the US fashion industry, with 79 percent of these people working for apparel retailers. By bringing the forum to the City of Boston – the cultural and financial centre of the Northeastern United States – the new Edition will include even more retailer voices in the programme to form a deeper understanding of the challenges, differences, and opportunities towards a more sustainable value chain.
Major objectives for sustainability action are in place. Yet across the globe, industries are not on track to meet them, and pathways of improvement are often unclear. Despite forceful aspirations for change, it is crucial that the fashion industry now leverages its potential by employing proven strategies for impact.
This will dive further into the theme of the 2023 Copenhagen Edition: ‘Ambition to Action.’ It will build on the conversations and learnings from the event in June, with a deeper focus on the perspectives of retailers across multiple content streams. Retailers play a vital role in shaping consumer behaviour and driving industry change as they serve as the primary point of contact between brands and their customers. By engaging retailers, the Summit will facilitate collaboration towards a more equitable and sustainable value chain overall.
During such an unpredictable time for global and national economies, sustainable retail is also a strategic response that can help insulate businesses from broader market uncertainty. This is primarily because a sustainable and net-positive fashion industry is associated with greater resilience and long-term value creation, enabling retailers to better weather volatility.
While the sustainability attitude-behaviour gap in consumers has been historically significant, current trends suggest a gradual closure due to a rise in environmental consciousness, particularly amongst younger generations. Enhanced data can further expedite this closure, allowing customers to align their purchasing behaviour with their sustainable attitudes. Retailers who effectively communicate their sustainability efforts can garner customer loyalty.
Truly embodying Ambition to Action requires a unanimous mindset shift from leaders. The Summit will pave the pathway to net-positive and demonstrate the opportunity for the industry to subvert its current path by putting back more into society, the environment and the global economy than it takes out.