Kingpins Announces Commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals in Global Collaboration with the Conscious Fashion Campaign and the United Nations Office for Partnerships

NEW YORK | February 26, 2020 | Kingpins Show, which has made sustainable development and social responsibility central themes of its shows globally, is proud to be named an official partner of the Conscious Fashion Campaign, in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships.

The seminal denim supply chain event, Kingpins Show was founded by Andrew Olah, a denim industry veteran, educator, and advocate for transparency, environmental responsibility and innovation. Since its debut in 2004, Kingpins has acted as a platform for thought leaders, innovators and denim creatives to gather and exchange ideas to push the denim industry forward.

In 2014, Kingpins introduced Kingpins Transformers, a summit series that spotlights members of the denim community who are committed to creating, implementing and sharing the changes that need to happen in the jeans industry to make it more environmentally viable, socially responsible and financially sound. The events aim to target and engage a participating audience of denim professionals, educators, and government officials with panels and presentations featuring exceptional industry transformers in each stage of the jean supply chain.

To achieve the 2030 agenda the Conscious Fashion Campaign urges industry event leaders to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into their business models, incorporate circular production solutions, highlight key innovations and facilitate knowledge share. The initiative champions fashion as an influential sector to address the world’s most pressing issues and lead a future that leaves no one behind. The campaign is dedicated to driving change through advocacy, education and engagement of industry stakeholders to create a sustainable future for all.

In collaboration with the Conscious Fashion Campaign and the United Nations Office for Partnership, Kingpins Show is committing to promoting and supporting the Sustainable Development Goals within the denim industry at its events, globally. Kingpins produces events – both Kingpins Shows and Kingpins Transformers summits – in New York, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and London, and has plans to expand.

“The concepts of sustainability and transparency are key to how we approach our events,” said Andrew Olah, Founder of Kingpins Show. “It informs everything from the exhibitors we select and the requirements we make of them, the speakers we present, the production of our shows – all of it. And we’re always looking to expand not only our own commitment to cleaner denim, but to engage with the industry and give them the tools to do better. This is why we are so excited to collaborate with the Conscious Fashion Campaign and the United Nations Office for Partnerships. We are on the same page and having their voice join ours, having their team members come and speak directly with our audience and learn our industry and help us find ways to employ the SDGs – it only helps make the message that much more clear.”

Kerry Bannigan, Founder of the Conscious Fashion Campaign, adds: “From our initial conversations it was evident that Andrew is leading his team with the Sustainable Development Goals at the forefront of their global vision. For us to be able to integrate this framework from impact marketing to sustainable operations is a vital step in guiding the denim sector to create concrete strategies for action.”

“Fashion provides an important platform to drive education and engagement in the Sustainable Development Goals. While some industry leaders have taken encouraging steps towards sustainability and responsible practices, more needs to be done. The United Nations Office for Partnerships welcomes the leadership and vision of Andrew Olah around shifting the Denim industry towards sustainability and look forward to working with the Transformers Foundation and the Conscious Fashion Campaign on a stronger action for the Goals,” said Lucie Brigham, Chief of Office, United Nations Office for Partnerships. 

In 2019, Kingpins Show made two key requirements of its Kingpins Amsterdam exhibitors: 1) all exhibiting mills had to meet a Corporate Social Responsibility standard by 2020 in order to continue to exhibit at the event; 2) all exhibitors had to agree to sustainable chemical management protocols by the end of 2020. 

In 2020, Kingpins released its first white paper and called upon the denim industry to change the way in which it approaches and markets “sustainable” products. The white paper, which covered the state of the cotton industry, was packed with data and clearly stated Kingpins’ belief that all cotton fiber should be transparent and have its input data, carbon footprint and water usage in the public domain, verified by an independent third party. 2020 will also see the Kingpins Transformers summit series be spun off into it’s own non-profit entity – The Transformers Foundation. This shift away from Kingpins Show will allow Transformers to act independently and continue to strongly advocate for change and innovation in the denim industry.

To learn more please visit http://www.kingpinsshow.com/

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About the Conscious Fashion Campaign: 

The Conscious Fashion Campaign, in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships, seeks to inspire worldwide prominent fashion industry tradeshows, fashion weeks, conferences and speaker series to implement responsible marketing, operations and logistics that are mindful of social, economic and environmental impact. To achieve the 2030 agenda the Conscious Fashion Campaign, founded by Kerry Bannigan, urges industry event leaders to integrate the Sustainable Development Goals into their business models, incorporate circular production solutions, highlight key innovations and facilitate knowledge share. The Conscious Fashion Campaign commits to actively support the Decade of Action and Delivery for Sustainable Development by bridging the gap between the United Nations and global major fashion events to enable the Sustainable Development Goals to scale and create multi-stakeholder partnerships with concrete strategies for action. www.consciousfashioncampaign.com   

About the United Nations Office for Partnerships:

The United Nations Office for Partnerships serves as a global gateway for catalyzing and building multi-stakeholder partnerships to advance the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). UNOP provides a platform for effective partner engagement and works to leverage the assets and expertise of a broad range of partners in furtherance of the SDGs. As a member of the UN Fashion Alliance and the advisor to the Conscious Fashion Campaign, UNOP facilitates awareness, advocacy and engagement to achieve the SDGs within the fashion and textile industry. https://www.un.org/partnerships/

About Kingpins:
The Kingpins Show is an invitation-only, boutique denim sourcing show featuring a highly-edited selection of vendors that include denim and sportswear fabric mills from the U.S., Japan, China, India, Italy, Turkey, Egypt, Pakistan, Thailand, Spain and Mexico; wash houses; full package manufacturers; trim providers; and makers of technology, wash chemicals and business solutions. Kingpins, which launched in 2004, produces biannual shows in New York and Amsterdam, as well as annual shows in Hong Kong and China.