Kingpins joins Conscious Fashion Campaign in collaboration with U.N. Office for Partnerships

By

Gabriella Lacombe

Published
Feb 28, 2020

Denim trade show, Kingpins Show, has become an official partner of the Conscious Fashion Campaign, in collaboration with the United Nations Office for Partnerships. 

Launched in December 2019, the Conscious Fashion Campaign engages global industry events to commit to the achievement of its 'Sustainable Development Goals.' To achieve its 2030 agenda, the campaign urges industry event leaders to integrate these goals into their business models, incorporate circular production solutions, highlight key innovations and facilitate knowledge share. 

As an official partner, Kingpins announced that it has committed to promoting and supporting the Conscious Fashion Campaign's goals within the denim industry at its global events. Currently, Kingpins hosts events in New York, Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Guangzhou, Hangzhou and London, and said it plans to expand to new, to-be-announced cities in the future. 

"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," said Andrew Olah, founder of Kingpins Show.

"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.” 

Founded by Olah in 2004, Kingpins has focused much of its programming on ethical responsibility and innovation. In addition to hosting trade shows focused on sustainability, the show also required exhibitors at its Amsterdam show to meet a Corporate Social Responsibility standard by 2020 in order to continue to exhibit at the event, in addition to requiring these exhibitors to agree to sustainable chemical management protocols by the end of 2020.

“Fashion provides an important platform to drive education and engagement in the Sustainable Development Goals," said Lucie Brigham, chief of office, United Nations Office for Partnerships. 

​"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." 

Earlier this month, the trade show announced the transformation of Kingpins Transformers, a summit series originally launched in 2014, into a non-profit focused on "actively addressing and facilitating change in key areas of the denim supply chain: social responsibility, sustainable cotton, responsible chemical management and consumer education."  

In addition, Kingpins released its first white paper this year, which addressed issues within the cotton industry and called upon the denim industry to "change the way in which it approaches and markets 'sustainable' products," Kingpins said.