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Designer and environmentalist Stella McCartney has been known to rally the industry to seriously reconsider fashion’s impact on the environment and wildlife. In 2003, her U.K locations switched to renewable energy. By 2005 she was offering a denim collection made from organic cotton. Jump to 2021 and the British designer called on policy makers to impose stronger regulations on the industry in an effort to negate its harmful impacts. During the United Nations Climate Change Conference (Cop26), the designer once again called on policy makers to offer incentives and encouragement for brands who are doing their part to minimize their contribution to the climate crisis. This year, her latest battle cry for the planet is funding sustainability in the form of a $200 million fund ” to invest in sustainable solutions and founders for better business and a cleaner future.”
“I am proud to annouce the launch of the SOS fund in collaboration with my dear friend Craig @CollabFund,” was the message posted on Stella McCartney’s Instagram. “Our $200M fund invests into cleaner businesses, founders and sustainable solutions — creating a brighter, more hopeful future for us all. I couldn’t be more excited for what’s to come!”
The Collaborative Fund invests in “entrepeneurs working on climate solutions”. To date, their projects include innovative biomaterial companies like AlgiKnit, a kelp yarn manufacturer, Bolt Threads, a mushroom leather brand which Stella McCartney has previously collaborated with on limited edition collections.
Stella McCartney has long been an advocate for vegan fashion, taking actionable steps to make her brand more sustainable since her eponymous luxury fashion house debuted in 2001. Since her first collection, the designer has vowed to never use animal furs, skins or feathers and her handbags have become a mainstay with vegans. Taking it a sustainable step further, the brand debuted several ‘mushroom leather’ pieces in an effort to move towards more plant-based materials and away from plastics. Yet, at the Cop26, Stella was quick to point out how designers are often penalized for sustainable practices like these. She explained how she is taxed 30% importing plant-based shoes into the U.S. “But If I put pig leather in, [the tax] is gone,” she said. “We should get tax breaks. We have to change policy and force the industry.”
“The future of fashion looks bleak unless we step up,” the designer expressed to an audience at The New York Times‘ Climate Hub at the Cop26.
At the Ccop26 Stella McCartney further crusaded for sustainable fashion through her exhibit of “nature positive” fashion innovations. Titled, the “Future of Fashion: An innovation conversation with Stella McCartney,” the designer showcased garments and accessories made from Mylo, a type of ‘mushroom leather’, regenerative organic cotton and nylon sourced from post-consumer waste materials. Attendees included The Prince of Wales, actor Leonardo DiCaprio and other Cop26 delegates.
A football pitch is disappearing from the Amazon every minute and 80% of that area is being used for animal agriculture.
Stella McCartney
The future of fashion and our planet is vegan. I hope that by representing our industry and revealing my current material innovations at COP26, I can inspire action among private sector and government leaders by driving more nature-positive investments and incentives.
