Copenhagen Fashion Week raises the bar with revisions to its sustainability standards

For years, Copenhagen Fashion Week has been doing pioneering work in promoting sustainability within the fashion industry via its much-anticipated bi-annual events. The invaluable efforts culminated in 2023, when CPHFW became the first of its international counterparts to require brands to meet its Sustainability Requirements to secure a coveted spot in the show schedule.

Now, following the introduction of the current framework in 2020 and its implementation last year, CPHFW is unveiling the first revisions to the Sustainability Requirements. The updated version serves as mandatory admission criteria for brands featured on the official show and presentation schedule as of January 2025. These revisions are not only informed by the lessons learned and industry developments of the past year but also by the impending rollout of new sustainability regulations for the fashion industry by the EU, which marks a reality check for one of the most polluting industries in the world.

“Since we first enforced the Sustainability Requirements on the show brands of Copenhagen Fashion Week back in 2023, it has been our ambition to annually amp up the requirements in order to keep pushing the brands and to continue setting the standard for fashion weeks globally,” explains Cecilie Thorsmark, CEO of Copenhagen Fashion Week. “Therefore, we are excited to launch the first edition of updated Sustainability Requirements. With the updates, we are not only raising the bar for brands on our schedule, but we are also reflecting industry developments and learnings as well as the upcoming EU policy landscape.”

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With the Sustainability Requirements, CPHFW aims to minimise the event’s climate impact, resource consumption, and waste creation, all while bolstering the sustainability efforts of brands, considering the influential role fashion weeks play in the wider fashion ecosystem. The new updates won’t change the structure of the old framework; it will still comprise the same two divisions: Minimum Standards (which must be met for admission to the schedule) and Additional Actions (which brands can and are encouraged to take based on their business model, but won’t determine their acceptance to the CPHFW program).

As before, the Minimum Standards continue to encompass the same six focus areas: strategic direction, design, smart material choices, working conditions, consumer engagement, and show production. With the new revisions, CPHFW introduces three additional Minimum Standards, while also elevating several existing ones from the commitment to the implementation stage. In the Additional Actions category, 31 new entries have been added, with a strong emphasis on social sustainability.

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“As new regulations are introduced and focus on the industry is sharpened politically, the framework will help strengthen the focus not only on compliance, but on continuously extending the scope of fashion and sustainability,” says Frederik Larsen, the co-founder of CPHFW Advisory Board member In Futurum.

While the revised Sustainability Requirements will apply to all brands in the CPHFW show roster starting from the autumn/winter '25 edition, there are a few exceptions. Brands that are new to the schedule, as well as labels that last participated in the event before the AW23 showcase, will be granted two seasons to meet the requirements. Brands enrolled in the CPHFW NewTalent program must fulfil the criteria by the end of their participation in the talent scheme; however, they will receive support throughout the process.