 |
| Sung-Joo Kim discusses sustainability in fashion at Davos |
The panel discussion, organised by Sung-Joo Kim, Founder and Chief Visionary Officer of Sungjoo Group and Chairperson of MCM, took place at The Female Quotient’s Equality Lounge. The session, titled "The Future of Fashion: How Women Are Leading the Way in Sustainability", also featured Shelley Zalis, CEO, The Female Quotient; Vanessa Kingori, Publishing Director, British Vogue; Miki Tsusaka, Managing Director & Senior Partner, Chief Marketing Officer, Boston Consulting Group; Marisa Drew, CEO Impact Advisory and Finance, Credit Suisse; and Jeehae Kim, Corporate Sustainability Leader, MCM.
They discussed how fashion can support women as the catalyst for sustainability and heard from mission-driven brands such as MCM that are changing the game.
“Greta Thunberg’s words, ‘You’ve stolen my dreams and my childhood’, went straight to my heart. I’d rather stop my business today if we can’t make a difference. We need to focus on reversing our direction and creating sustainable fashion,” said Sung-Joo Kim, adding: “As a company, we’re working to cut our carbon dioxide emissions in half, as Greta Thunberg has told us.”
Her words came just days after MCM launched its new underwear collection made from biodynamic Egyptian Giza cotton, becoming the first brand to use such an ecological and ethical fabric in this way. The packaging is a reusable, biodegradable EVA pouch with an FSC-certified, recycled paper hangtag.
BCG’s Miki Tsusaka added her voice to the Davos discussion: “As an industry, fashion is a huge offender in terms of sustainability. Brands can’t afford not to listen to the consumer. More than half of consumers care about sustainability from the brands they purchase. The fashion industry is worth $2 trillion. If they invested even just 1% a year, we could get to our 2030 sustainability goals.”
The Female Quotient, which hosted the Equality Lounge at Davos, brings leaders together to activate change through pop-up experiences at conferences, events and college campuses. The movement is described as the largest global community of women in business working together to transform workplace culture.
You can view the full panel discussion at the following link: https://m.facebook.com/FemaleQuotient/videos/319873885571959/
Also attending the Davos summit was Prince Albert of Monaco, a great champion of sustainability as head of the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation, which has donated millions of dollars to environmental projects.
 |
| Sung-Joo Kim at Davos with Prince Albert of Monaco, her classmate at Amherst College in 1981 |
