September 20th marked the end of fashion week in New York city and the beginning of NY climate week. The fact that these two events happen back-to-back is extraordinary, as they are inextricably linked, yet wholly at odds with each other. By Tamara Giltroff

September 13th marked the beginning of “Mercedes Benz Week” in New York; September 20th marks the end of Fashion Week and the start of New York Climate Week – “Climate Week NYC” – an event organized by a partnership that includes The Climate Group, the UN, the UN Foundation, the City of New York, the Government of Denmark, Tck Tck Tck Campaign, and The Carbon Disclosure Project. As part of the week, world leaders will gather today in the largest-ever gathering of heads of State and government on climate change.

“No issue better demonstrates the need for global solidarity,” UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon emphasized. “No challenge so powerfully compels us to widen our horizons.”

These are momentous times in the city; and also strikingly contradictory times. These two events make for a beautifully rich illustration of the complexities and challenges of global climate negotiations and the task ahead to redefine economies in what we now are beginning to except is a finite world. They also make for an illustration of life’s polarity: half escaping ourselves in creative expression, consumption and performance, and half living the hard environmental, social and political realities of globalization.

‘Fashion’ lies at the heart of our consumer-driven and status obsessed society that wants what it wants in the here and now; it’s also a symbol of the externalization of the true costs of consumption. “I Shop Therefore I Am’, said Barbra Kruger, but we have become so overwhelmed by the status and meaning of consumption that it’s now clear we have lost our connection to the planetary resources and human capital required to make all the stuff we want. It’s hard to rewind on this.

‘Climate’, on the other hand, requires a longer term look at the planet and our economic systems. When we stop to take this longer look, we much ask ourselves and how, and even if it will be possible to carry on with the rate of fashion cycles and material consumption as we know it, into this century. The climate debate puts a value on carbon and natural resource use, and our impact on society and economy, and asks us to rethink industries with this value in mind. Paul Dickenson, the CEO of the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) , at their launch event this Monday morning told his audience of Fortune 500 companies who have committed to disclose their carbon emissions that there is one word for the growth opportunity in our impending carbon economy: “dematerialisation” – creating value through non-material services that reduce resource use.

The fashion industry and climate change (or ‘environment’) are inextricably linked, but also wholly at odds with each other. Together, they offer a symbol of the human challenges ahead in this transition. Fashion is the fuel that feeds consumerism; consumerism, in its current guise, is the fuel that feeds climate change. It’s incredible to think of these two global events in New York in September literally happening back to back.

The fashion industry, and related ‘consumer spend’, is often used as a measure of the sort of activity that defines whether or not our economy is flourishing. Fashion is global, uber glamorous, highly creative and drives wealth – both in the necessity it creates to earn more and more to be able to buy more and more each season, and in the resulting sales of all sorts of goods (not just clothes). Fashion is a genius at driving the aspiration to consume and dispose. Fashion makes a good buck, and like many industries it uses a healthy chunk of planetary resources and human capital to keep the spend and consume wheel moving.

The ‘climate industry’ poses a vast geopolitical challenge; for some it is a major threat to the free market and ruling corporations because it presents a ‘limit to growth’, and for others it is the innovation opportunity of the 21st century, presenting the potential for new forms of wealth creation and real prosperity. It is not that glamorous (yet) though it is becoming popularized (see Hugh Jackman participate in the opening ceremony of Climate Week). Compared to the fashion industry it is disastrous at creating meaning and a vision for people to follow. It is (obviously) global but still largely the domain of the ‘climating classes’ – senior business leaders, policy makers, NGOs, some investors, and grass-roots entrepreneurs. Hence, I’m guessing those writers who cover the major fashion pages for Conde Nast probably didn’t stick around for Climate Week. The ‘climate industry’ is growing in importance, meaning and advocacy, but does not have the power and influence on people that fashion does to create movements, community, creativity and ingenuity. Richard Edelman, CEO at Edelman, at the very same event as Paul Dickenson, described the ‘lack of face’ or global symbol for climate change and “losing the communication battle” around global negotiations

Why is a look at these two ‘industries’ and their respective ‘New York Week’s’ in anyway meaningful? I think because the two are inextricably linked, the two are somewhat dependent on each other and both can also learn from each other. I echo the sentiment of James Cameron rounding up the Climate Disclosure Project launch event at the start of Climate Week when he suggested that both business and policy makers need to go boldly and confidently forward with global discussions and agreements being prepared for COP15, whilst accepting the seriousness of the science and knowing that these negotiations are also inadequate. What he’s suggesting is a level of collaboration and innovation from industry that gets us to these agreements and then beyond the inadequate targets, into a wholly new innovation space. To get there will require the sort of brand expertise that industries like fashion are so good at; and it will require that industries across the board reinvent themselves.

Reprinted courtesy ofPSFK

Tamara Giltsoff is an independent Sustainability Strategy and Innovation consultant, working with corporations, NGOs, the public sector and agencies. Most recently she was the Managing Director and Head of Strategy for OZOlab – the green business incubator (OZOlab.com).