PROJECT isn’t simply a shopping event, it’s an opportunity for brands, retailers, and industry professionals to gather and discuss the industry's future; with one of the most pressing topics focused on sustainability.

MMGNET’s recently launched “Sustainability Now" guide’s primary point is that it’s time to start shifting the responsibility of making sustainable choices from the consumer onto the larger organizations at play.  As noted in the guide, "as the world barrels toward doubling the 1.5°C of warming cautioned by the Paris Agreement, it is clear that our reactionary approach to sustainability isn’t working, and neither is the trend of pinning environmental responsibility on the consumer. The burden is rightly shifting to larger organizations that are in a better position to effect significant change.”

Don Pietranczyk, VP pf Experience & Education at MMGNET shares that “as a member of MMGNET, PROJECT must continue evangelizing the good that comes from focusing on sustainability. As an industry leader, we are responsible for not only providing information that will help the fashion industry begin the much-needed shift towards sustainability but also to actively participate and exemplify how we, as a show and a company, are doing our respective parts as well.”

Read on to discover key sustainable movements, onsite activations, and highlights of sustainable brands featured at PROJECT's August event.

Key Sustainable Movements

Emmanuelle Rienda, founder of Vegan Fashion Week and Ad Infinitum curator, gives her expert insight on the key movements that are helping push fashion towards a more sustainable future:

1. Deeper integration of technology enhances transparency and accountability across supply chains: Rienda specifies, “blockchain for traceability, AI for efficient material usage, and advanced recycling processes will likely become more mainstream."

2. Circular Fashion Economy: “The reuse, repair, and recycling of materials, fundamentally challenges the traditional linear fashion model of ‘take-make-dispose’,” Rienda illustrates, adding that  “brands are increasingly designing clothes with their entire lifecycle in mind, ensuring that garments can be recycled or repurposed at the end of their life, thus promoting zero waste.” 

A great example of a PROJECT brand that aligns with this movement is B-Corp Dutch wallet brand Secrid: “Over the last two years, we set up over 1,500 Care and Repair points. These retail partners can repair our products, free of charge… the chance to repair rather than replace products is a fundamental step towards a sustainable world,” shares Oscar Menzel, the brand’s Head of Global Business Development.

3. Slow Fashion: “Contrasting with fast fashion's rapid production cycles, slow fashion advocates for quality over quantity, emphasizing durable design, ethical manufacturing processes, and reduced environmental impact. This movement encourages consumers to invest in fewer high-quality pieces that last longer,” shares Rienda.

For example, Secrid aligns with this movement as it has always been produced locally: “Our entire production takes place in Europe which minimizes the impact of transport…It also means we have a very direct control over quality, minimizing waste in the production but also ensuring a quality product that will serve customers for many years,” Menzel explains.

PROJECT x Hey Social Good Rankings and Awards

PROJECT teamed up with Hey Social Good, a social impact tech company that uses data science and analytics to review and verify the environmental, social, and governance practices of private and public businesses, then awards medal rankings of platinum, gold, silver, and bronze. Pietranczyk explains the benefit of working with Hey Social Good: “By introducing brands to the work done by Hey Social Good, they can learn what they’re doing right, what they can do more of, what they can start to do, and what they can do better. That conversation alone begins an awareness, and awareness is where change begins.” Here’s a list of the brands that participated in the August 2024 PROJECT Las Vegas, and how they ranked: 

GOLD MEDAL IN SUSTAINABILITY: Mavi

SILVER MEDAL IN SUSTAINABILITY: Bed Stu, Dolce Vita, ESNTL LAB, Freedom Supply Co., Minnetonka Moccasin, ONE432, P.J. Salvage, Secrid, That Gorilla Brand

BRONZE MEDAL IN SUSTAINABILITY: Besida, Chalet Et Ceci, Democracy Clothing, Eileen Fisher, KEAAN, Kut from the Kloth, Lanhtropy, Leisure Lab, Level 99, Little Donkey Andy, Mavrans, Mauritius, Mersea, MODRN STUDIO, Michael Stars, Nana Judy, Offleisure, Organsk Copenhagen, Palladium, Steve Madden Apparel, Steve Madden Women's, Swahlee, The Shirt Bar, Victoria Shoes / Calzados Nuevo Milenio S.L.