In 2017, the British Fashion Council, Vivienne Westwood and the Mayor of London joined forces in a campaign to bring the fashion industry together to lead in ambitious climate action. The Fashion SWITCH to Green campaign encouraged the fashion community to join Vivienne in switching to a renewable energy supplier or to a renewable energy tariff.
The Fashion SWITCH to Green campaign saw twenty UK brands signing up to be a catalyst for change on how the industry is powered including Christopher Raeburn, E.Tautz, Harvey Nichols, Kering, Marks & Spencer, Oliver Spencer, Positive Luxury, Selfridges, Stella McCartney, steventai, Teatum Jones and Vivienne Westwood.
Julie’s Bicycle, a pioneering non-profit organisation, mobilising the arts and culture to act on the climate and ecological crisis, provided due diligence and impact measurement support on Fashion SWITCH to Green. Results from Year 1 of the campaign estimated a total of 355 million kilowatt hours sourced from green energy, avoiding the equivalent of 125 tonnes of CO2 emissions, from electricity used by fashion brands in a total of 1,109 UK retail stores signed up to the campaign.
Inspired by new research that found more than one billion people will be displaced or forced to endure insufferable heat by 2070, Vivienne recently ramped up her SWITCH campaign in partnership with WePresent, the editorial platform of WeTransfer, and the Serpentine Gallery.
‘FIRST STEP TO SAVE THE ENVIRONMENT: SWITCH TO GREEN ENERGY. WE MUST RELY ON COOPERATION AND COLLABORATION TO MAXIMIZE OUR IMPACT AND WE MUST ACT NOW!
WHAT'S GOOD FOR THE PLANET IS GOOD FOR THE ECONOMY.’
— Vivienne Westwood
