The Future of Food & Fashion

The Future of Food & Fashion: As we sweat it out with heatwaves and fires, our crops are either drying up or getting flooded. And it’s only going to get worse as G7 leaders have watered down their climate pledges. So this month, we look to food and fashion (two sectors that can deliver big climate gains) for solutions that can help us make up for lost ground.

On the future of food, we look at how the alt-protein market can get its sizzle back, a new sustainable food hall in Hong Kong as well as how 600+ F&B entities have come together to save water plus, the 5 ways fungi could change our world.

As for fashion, the 2^nd BoF Sustainability Index ranking fashion’s biggest names is out and we do a round-up on how fashion is doing too little and moving too slow in the climate fight. So read on to see who’s doing what.

Proteins and related products (dairy etc.) are more water and energy intensive foods so the alt-protein market erupted. Even China’s President Xi spoke about alt-proteins and their role in ensuring food security as they can be a weapon against climate change.

But somehow, despite the huge climate savings and that the warnings from the UN that we are facing a “hurricane of hunger”, alt-proteins have lost their sizzle. We sat down with Varun Deshpande, Founder of the Good Food Institute, to see what can be done to regain investor & consumer interest.

Meanwhile, KIN, a new sustainable food hall in Hong Kong is showing how F&B operators can lead the sustainability charge. KIN aims to transform the industry by mainstreaming responsible food sourcing, carbon free delivery and its app to minimise food waste and ensure water consumption. Get all the details in our interview with KIN’s Co-Founder, Matt Reid.

Also in Hong Kong, 600 different sites are saving water across malls, hotels, restaurants, offices and buildings through the ‘Enterprises Cherish Water (ECH2O) campaign’ by Green Council and the HKSAR Water Supplies Department. Get all the details of the campaign and what’s next with Green Council’s Felix Lam.

You know what else can save water? Fungi, yes, a food but also so much more. In fact, Mitchell Jones shares 5 ways fungi could change the world from cleaning water to breaking down plastic plus more. We are going to need this as microplastics are now found in meat & dairy – ugh. So thanks to its versatility, fungi could be a holistic and impactful solution for many of the challenges we face – including saving water from pollution!

Fashion, as we’ve written about many times, matters for the climate. Fashion is responsible for 8-10% of global greenhouse gases. And yet, there has been very little robust action from the industry to reduce emissions.

The second edition of Business of Fashion’s (BoF) Sustainability Index is hot off the press – CWR sits on the Council that helps develop the targets. This year the Index has doubled in size now covering 30 of fashion’s biggest companies. See what else is new and which brands have done the best & worst in our interview with Index lead, BoF’s Sarah Kent.

Mini spoiler alert!: BoF’s 2022 Index is not an inspiring read. And actually, after reading it and other recent industry news it’s clear that fashion is still moving too slowly and doing too little in the climate fight.

Get our roundup of the latest worrying trends including the troubling growth of Shein, a popular upstart that is promoting not fast but ultra-fast-fashion and the questioning of 10 leading sustainability certifications including the Higg Index, ZDHC and others.

We know for many of the problems, we have various solutions, yet we are stalling. Unless we change this the future of food and fashion and their impacts on our climate future are likely to be dire. Why can’t we shift to alt-proteins now? And do we really need another tank top?

The industries need to act but so do consumers. Everyone is in this climate fight. Our future depends on what we eat and what we wear today. If you would like some tips on what you can do on these fronts, check out these cheat sheets on food waste, diet and fashion. The carbon savings you can make will AMAZE you.

Be it food or fashion innovations or simple habit changes, it’s all about getting creative with climate change. So start at home – take a look inside your fridge and wardrobe and get inspired!

We are also getting creative … building on last year’s dances, we are teaming up with the HK Ballet and M+ to bring an artistic and emotive take on climate change this August. So stay tuned and watch this space!