Global Leadership Award in Sustainable Apparel

The textile industry is facing many challenges. A high use of natural resources, major environmental effects and social inequality are all potential threats also to future economic growth and social welfare in the industry. The Global Leadership Award in Sustainable Apparel (GLASA) was launched in 2013 to inspire good leadership and intelligent innovation throughout the textile industry in a direction that is environmentally and socially sustainable.

GLASA was a forum for relevant stakeholders that are central to increasing the pace of the textile industry’s sustainability efforts. Every year a renowned jury convened to appoint five finalists who had all made significant and transformative advances in the field. Axfoundation and Association of Swedish Fashion Brands was main partners of the Sustainable Fashion Academy, founders of the award. The primary focus for Axfoundation was on the workshop which is always held in connection with the awards ceremony.

GLASA 2013

The 2013 Global Leadership Award in Sustainable Apparel went to The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) and The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP). The aim of the award was to highlight best practices, innovative solutions and effective leadership in order to learn from and inspire other players in the industry and to propose critical areas that have the potential to accelerate sustainable transformative change.

The award was given in cooperation with the Sustainable Fashion Academy (SFA) and the Association of Swedish Fashion Brands (ASFB). In conjunction with the award, the foundation, together with the SFA, arranged a workshop for leading international representatives from the textile industry, the Environmental Protection Agency, Department of the Environment, WRAP and DEFRA, who gathered to listen to and learn from the award winners but especially to discuss what a sustainable textile industry will look like by 2030.

GLASA 2014

The GLASA Award went to KERING. The group implemented and developed, in a groundbreaking way, the method Environmental Profit & Loss, EP&L. The method puts economic values on the environmental consequences of a company’s activities, not only within its own operations, but also for the whole supply chain and the planet earth.

The EP&L provided a full analysis of a company’s footprint in key areas of sustainability such as water use, water pollution, waste, greenhouse gas emissions, air pollution and land use. It provided a clear understanding of the relationship between business and the natural capital.