JAAF presents 6th Responsible Fashion Summit themed Circularity-in-Action

Sri Lanka’s Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) signed on as presenting partner for the sixth annual edition of the Responsible Fashion Summit (RFS). 

Focused on the theme ‘Circularity-in-Action’, this year’s event will be hosted on November 8, 2021, at Shangri La Hotel, Colombo. 

Notably, this year’s event will be hosted as a hybrid virtual event, with a restricted physical audience and a live stream for a wider local and global audience.

“Sri Lanka apparel is proud to serve as a partner to the Responsible Fashion Summit. Circularity in fashion is an absolute priority for our industry, given that we have always been ahead of the curve when it comes to sustainability and ethical manufacturing practices.”

“This event serves as an opportunity to bring together Sri Lanka’s most dynamic and innovative players in the field of sustainable, ethical and circular fashion, in order to collectively assess new opportunities to make our industry more sustainable and relevant to global, environmentally conscious brands and consumers. We are confident that these invaluable collaborations across industry lines will further accelerate Sri Lanka’s progress towards becoming the most sustainable apparel manufacturers in Asia,” JAAF Chairman A. Sukumaran stated. 

Circularity in fashion refers to business models that enable responsible design, sourcing and production of clothes, shoes or accessories towards sustainable and effective circulation in society, for as long as possible, in their most valuable form, before being safely returned to the biosphere when it fulfils its complete lifecycle. 

Accordingly, all products are manufactured to be easily disassembled and for component materials to either be broken down by nature or returned to production, in order to drastically reduce consumption and cut down on negative environmental impacts. 

These concepts will form the basis of all deliberations at RFS 2021, with the broader goal of going beyond shifting mindsets, by promoting knowledge and experience sharing, in addition to showcasing the local and global industry’s cutting-edge technical innovations, with the ultimate goal of accelerating the emergence of a circular Sri Lankan economy.     

“Since inception Responsible Fashion Summit has been driven by the desire to walk-the-talk, this edition has been planned in a very interesting times. RFS is not only unique to Sri Lanka but also to Asia, it also showcases Sri Lanka’s efforts while bringing focus to key solutions that the global supply chain needs. As the apex industry body for Sri Lanka, I am glad JAAF has come on board this year. We hope to achieve more this year and keep the momentum going. There will be a lot empowering discussions and an important evaluation tool to be launched. I invite all with interest in sustainability to join in,” Responsible Fashion Summit Founder Ajai V. Singh said. 

Since its launch in 2018, RFS has continuously served as an essential platform for showcasing ideas and innovations with potential for global impact and a forum for open dialogue between international and local industry leaders and experts.

The upcoming edition of RFS will feature four high-profile panel discussions. The first panel on the topic ‘Impact of Circularity in Design’ will feature David Abraham (Abraham & Thakore, India), Arujuna Hettinakanam (In-Cube Global) and Himanshu Shani (11:11, India). 

The second panel will focus on apparel supply chain under the theme ‘Readiness, Challenges and Opportunities regarding Circularity in Fashion Supply Chains’ and will include Nissanga Warnapura (Hela), Thusitha Cooray (Hirdaramani) and Omoyemi Akerele (Nigeria). 

Meanwhile, the third panel will be under the theme ‘Influence of Circularity in Textile Innovation’ and will be comprised of Moyne Perera (Stretchline), Nalaka Senaviratna (Eco Spindles), Paige Earlam (Plexus-Cotton, UK & Africa) and Joy Nunn (Purfi US & Belgium).  

The sessions will be concluded with the fourth and final panel featuring Stuart Rogers (HSBC), Didul Kotagoda (Former Chairman, SLAB), Charini (CHARINI), Tharanga Gunasekera (HSBC), on the topic ‘Standardising Sustainable Design-based SMEs and the introduction of the Responsible Meter’.

In addition to the above, there will be three POV presentations by eminent industry experts like Tarun Tahiliani from India, Robert Lou from China and Sharika Senanayake from Sri Lanka.