OUR VISION

Vegan Fashion Week® is a nonprofit organization. We designed a fashion ecosystem supporting businesses in their transition to sustainable practices and educating consumers through events, research, education, and advocacy.

Our platform strives towards making substantial changes to the way fashion is produced, promoted and fashion weeks executed. We encourage the industry to take steps towards more responsible business practices to protect animals, humans and the planet. We inspire radical change in the way that our clothing is sourced, produced, promoted and consumed. We are pushing for greater transparency from brands and engaging our community through creative concepts, innovative events and inspiring informative content.

“Vegan Fashion Week is a leading platform at the intersection of sustainability & ethics. This gives us the responsibility and the potential to set the record straight and to create impactful change in the fashion industry at large." - Emmanuelle Rienda

Sustainability Action Plan

Since its inception, Vegan Fashion Week has been syncing ethics and sustainability in the fashion industry by developing an unmatched Sustainability Action Plan: Accelerating industry change by Reinventing Los Angeles Fashion Week – Reducing negative impacts (on animals, humans and the planet), Innovating by replacing animal products in the supply chain and Promoting vegan fashion with creative excellence and organic influence. Vegan Fashion Week is already marking history by having initiated a culture shift in 2018 and is on its way to reduce fashion's impact globally. The initial guidelines covered the minimum sustainable requirements to meet in order to join the platform and the action plan is revised each year to make sure it is aligned with industry standards.

Sustainability Council

“All industry players and thought leaders – including fashion weeks – have the responsibility to infuse positive change in the way fashion is produced, consumed and advertised. We must unite and act immediately to stop the devastating effects of animal exploitation and climate change on the planet” urges Emmanuelle Rienda, President of Vegan Fashion Week

For its fifth edition, Vegan Fashion Week is forming an official Sustainability Council composed of industry leaders and fashion experts to discuss how the platform and mission can be improved. Vegan Fashion Week’s Board of Directors and industry experts such as LiveKindly’s founder Jodi Monelle, are also actively involved in the process. This year, the Sustainability Council will discuss the targets of our 2023-2025 Action Plan. It will showcase our commitments, challenges and ambitions in living up to our strategy, discussing the barriers we faced in the past and our plans to overcome them in the future. This action plan is important for the platform as it gives us the opportunity to reflect on the past years, to fulfill our wish for transparency, to create improvement opportunities and to strengthen our community. An emphasis on collaboration between all stakeholders in the industry, including the City of Los Angeles, trade shows, industry events, nonprofit organizations and, of course, fashion companies, will ultimately drive the change we desire.

The Sustainable Development Goals

Vegan Fashion Week supports the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Our sustainability strategy is founded on the SDGs, the following eight in particular, to map the sustainability potential of Vegan Fashion Week.

SDG 8: Decent work and economic growth to promote sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all.
SDG 10: Reduce inequalities to achieve gender equality and empower all women and girls.
SDG 11: Sustainable cities and communities to make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable.
SDG 12: Responsible consumption and production to ensure sustainable consumption and production patterns.
SDG 13: Climate Action to continue our work to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts.
SDG 14: Life below water to conserve and sustainably use the oceans, seas and marine resources for sustainable development.
SDG 15: Life on land to protect, restore and promote sustainable use of terrestrial ecosystems, sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, and halt and reverse land degradation and halt biodiversity loss.
SDG 17: Partnerships for the goals to enhance the Global Partnership for Sustainable Development, complemented by multi-stakeholder partnerships that mobilize and share knowledge.

Sustainable Event Production

In addition to the fashion presented during its shows, Vegan Fashion Week is aware of the fashion industry’s substantial environmental and social impact. For this reason we are intensifying our efforts to become a more sustainable event and industry platform through an updated sustainable event production strategy.

The Sustainability Action Plan presents how the event will transition, for example by reducing its climate impact by 50% and rethinking waste systems in all aspects of event production, with zero waste as the goal by 2025. Importantly, the plan also focuses on the bigger picture by outlining how Vegan Fashion Week will implement sustainability requirements and set new standards for participation to push the industry toward necessary, comprehensive change.

Showroom Accelerator

The showroom accelerator is a platform designed to accelerate the transition to sustainable business practices in the fashion industry. We advise brands to help them build a sustainable ecosystem from ideation, sourcing, production and public relations. Our unique program provides confidence that the business is operating in line with international standards and best practice whilst remaining innovative. Designers have a access to an innovative and animal-free material library, a permanent showroom, a strong industry network and the necessary tools to achieve a unique certification aligned with the sustainable development goals.

VFW Mentorship Program

We are creating an international community of emerging fashion talents influencing the industry, in a highly saturated and extremely competitive space. Ticket purchases and additional donations benefit the VFW Mentorship Program, which help us provide continued support to increase exposure and business opportunities in the US market and beyond. The application for the 2023 cohort will open soon, subscribe to our newsletter for more information.

Global Sustainability Accelerator