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As the Danish capital warms up for fashion week, we meet emerging and established designers on this season’s schedule

The Scandinavian fashion scene is world-renowned for its much-loved labels and forward-thinking design. Their attitude to creating, whether that's from established or emerging designers, is something we can all be inspired by when seeking to act more sustainably.

Copenhagen Fashion Week (CPHFW), taking place for spring/summer 2023 next month, is a hub for these big ideas and inspiring conversations. For the second season, we’ve worked with CPHFW and Creative Denmark to find out how we can all be more responsible – whether brand or consumer.

"We need a stronger commitment to combat the climate crisis," Cecilie Thorsmark, the CEO of CPHFW, explains. "Current action by fashion industry is being countered by its huge production volumes, and as a result, climate impact continues to increase."

Earlier this year, the IPCC report confirmed that we need to act "now or never" to prevent climate disaster. Terrifying statistics circulated and scientists gave their final warning: we must act immediately.

CPHFW is already doing its bit to reduce fashion's impact, by setting out sustainability requirements that brands need to meet in order to show on its schedule. Developed in 2019, the guidelines cover 18 minimum standards with six focus areas, including design processes, material choices and working conditions. "We revise it each season to make sure they reflect industry developments and that they continue to accelerate actions on issues needed," Thorsmark says.

Of course, not only do brands need to be responsible, but the effort must come from shoppers, too. Thorsmark advises to keep up to date with certifications – as it can be hard to know who to trust – and to properly care for what's already in your existing wardrobe, reducing the need to buy more.

"While this can sound a bit boring, there are better options for renewing your wardrobes, such as secondhand and borrowing clothes from friends and family," she advises. "Updating your wardrobe calls for more creativity."

Ultimately, the big change needs to come from fashion’s powerful stakeholders. "While we can recommend shoppers to reduce their consumption of newly produced clothes, the responsibility doesn’t lay with them," notes Thorsmark. "Industry stakeholders themselves must shift to alternative business models that reduce production and increase the use-phase of clothes. We need a stronger push from legislation, with policy measures that incentivise actions and innovation and raise the bar for the whole industry."

Although the current climate crisis feels overwhelming, there are plenty of brands working towards a more responsible future. Here, some of the labels showing at this year’s CPHFW discuss exactly how they are being responsible in three key areas: show production, working conditions, and consumer engagement.

With Meme Marta Fagiuoli (head of womenswear at Samsøe Samsøe), Tobias Birk Nielsen (creative director at Iso Poetism) and Frederik Berner Kühl (founder of Berner Kühl)

Berner Khül: "Backstage, we use the permanent racks from our studio, which were bought pre-used, and use hangers made out of biomass. With the set design, we work with a small architecture studio in Copenhagen, Emoli Works. Together we're trying to find ways of either renting the equipment we need or repurposing it after use."

Iso Poetism: "Building installations and sets always start with asking what can we up-cycle and use that's already in our studio or environment. It's been my mantra since I was a student and has naturally become part of our brand identity."

Samsøe Samsøe: "Planning and executing a responsible show is a small but significant contribution. Our show is an opportunity for us to walk the talk on responsibility in the industry – from set design and show production to the casting of talents, packaging, transportation, and the way we talk about shows as a brand and industry."

Berner Khül: "I try to reflect the society we live in, meaning we want all different kinds of people. We try to find interesting characters with interesting backgrounds, as the cast is an important part of telling the story."

Iso Poetism: "For us, it’s been a no-brainer to represent everyone of all skin colours and backgrounds in our look-books and runway castings since our very first season."

Samsøe Samsøe: "When casting talent, we're very aware of the impact and responsibility we carry by having a large audience, including young people. It's important for us that employees, talent, and creative teams – along with our audience – see themselves represented in the brand. It's important to showcase the collection on various types of bodies, sizes, identities, and personalities."

Berner Khül: "We don’t tend to talk about our sustainability endeavours. We try to be very transparent in what we do, but we don’t promote it all over. Too many brands are using it as a marketing tool, and it should never be like that. We are in a state where we simply have to change our industry."

Iso Poetism: "During our brand journey, we've become more reflective and conscious of the materials we’re using. Starting with using natural dyes, using cold water dyeing techniques to minimise water usage, as well as using fibr recycled textiles that offer some new unexpected finishings, textures and history which a virgin textile would never be able to match."

Samsøe Samsøe: "When it comes to product sustainability, durability is a top priority and we work to our long-lasting garments made of quality materials, using the highest grade certified and traceable materials across all our collections."

Marie and Julie Skall, founder and owners of Skall Studio and Suzi Christoffersen, head of Corporate Social Responsibility at Wood Wood

Skall Studio: "We ask all factories to comply with general international social and environmental standards and our code of conduct and our supplier contracts are very detailed in terms of working conditions, discrimination and harassment and protection of female workers. We're proud to say that our factories in India, which make most of our cotton and linen styles, recently became GOTS (The Global Organic Textile Standard) certified. We also have a specific focus on animal welfare and an animal welfare policy."

Wood Wood: "We have a code of conduct based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) and other principles. The OECD works to ensure a greater sense of well-being worldwide, by advising governments on policies that support resilient, inclusive and sustainable growth. We actively discuss these principles with all new suppliers, and each year, we follow up with all suppliers to ensure they work within the code's framework."

Skall Studio: "It's important for us to build long-term relationships, so when we spend time in the factories, we spend time on the floor with the people working there to better understand how they work. We aim for team culture, not just a buyer and customer relationship. We support our suppliers when problems occur. Our suppliers don't just work for us, they work with us."

Wood Wood: "Next year, we'll be using our internal set of criteria to rank our suppliers and their performance. When we have production sites in risk countries, we take extra precautions to ensure our factories have responsible working practices and conditions. As well as visiting the factories ourselves, we also require that these factories are inspected and certified by a third party."

Alan Blond, co-founder at Sunflower, Naja Munthe, designer and owner at Munthe and Maria Bare Johansen, head of PR and marketing at Gestuz

Sunflower: "The most sustainable part of a Sunflower product is its quality and timeless appearance, so our shoppers have a garment for life. Our communication is about word of mouth and if a customer is interested they're free to read more about the product on our website where we're as transparent as possible."

Munthe: "It's so important for us to reach people on social media, whether that's Facebook, TikTok or Instagram, where every week we dedicate a whole day to communicate our responsibility journey. We talk about topics like the fabrics we use or stories around production and suppliers."

Gestuz: "It's becoming standard to work with different parts of sustainability, and we want to also inspire other brands by being more informative. We communicate on Instagram, as well as sending out newsletters, either with product tagging or as dedicated newsletters. We also visibly indicate the products on our website which are made of certified or documented materials."

Sunflower: "Our pieces are made by skilled labour and great factories – by default this results in a product that will last longer. By doing this deliberately, we hope that our customers will buy less but better."

Munthe: "A huge part of a responsible production is to make clothes that have longevity, so you can re-sell it, pass it on or just simply store it well. We tell our shoppers how to properly take care of the clothes and if something is broken we encourage them to repair it. We encourage people to never throw out clothes; at Munthe if we have anything left from former collections, we donate it to the Red Cross which will then send it to refugee camps around the world."

Gestuz: "We have a product care guide that shows how to prolong an item's life span and we believe a lot in the emerging re-sell market, which also provides a longer lifespan for products if they are good quality, so that someone else can love your pre-loved item."

Sunflower: "Right now we are a young brand. We're thinking of ways to reduce stock and give our stock or unsold items a second life through redesigning. We're always helpful when it comes to repairs, too."

Munthe: "Design and quality must increase the lifespan of the item, so shoppers can pass it on, sell it or save it. We have a great collaboration with renting platform Rent the Runway, where people can rent for a specific occasion or a couple of weeks. This is something that we'll see more of and, in the future, we will be looking more into this type of service."

Gestuz: "We focus on quality materials and timeless pieces, so they can be a wardrobe favourite for many seasons. We’ve increased our wear testing to ensure the right fit and this year we’re launching our own re-sell platform. Our wish is to make it easy for our customers to prolong the lifespan of our pieces, by selling or buying in an easy way."

With thanks to Copenhagen Fashion Week and Creative Denmark