Conde Nast Diversity

CONDÉ
CONDÉNAST
NASTCOLLEGE
COLLEGEONLINE
ONLINECOURSE
COURSE FUTURE LEARN - ETHICS & DIVERSITY IN FASHION
Louise McCabe
Future Learn Course
A Condé Nast College
An Introduction
Diversity
Ethics &
In Fashion
IMAGE:GETTY
FUTURE LEARN - ETHICS & DIVERSITY IN FASHION
CONTENTS
01 Introduction
02 Ethics and Fashion Brands
03 Ethical Manufacturing
04 Ethical Communication
05
CONDÉ NAST COLLEGE ONLINE COURSE
Avoiding Mistakes
Image: Getty
06 Conclusion
CONDÉ NAST COLLEGE ONLINE COURSE FUTURE LEARN - ETHICS & DIVERSITY IN FASHION
BRANDS
ETHICS IN FASHION
What ‘Ethical’ Means
DOING THE RIGHT THING ACROSS YOUR BUSINESS
A system of decisions, policies and programmes to

ensure your brand is:
● Operating on moral principles
● Avoiding causing harm to others or the environment

● Complying with the law
Image: pina messina on Unsplash

Why It Matters
BUSINESS HAS A RESPONSIBILITY TO ACT IN AN

ETHICAL WAY
Some of the reasons and benefits:
● A fundamental moral issue
● National and local laws
● Customers prefer ethical companies
● Employees want to work for ethical companies

● Investors assess ethical policies and progress
● Ethical procedures support the success of a

business
● Diverse teams outperform others
Image: Brock Wegner on Unsplash

ETHICS IN FASHION
MANUFACTURING
What are the Issues?

THE IMPACT ON PEOPLE, ANIMALS AND THE
ENVIRONMENT
The production, use and disposal of fashion brings with it a

wide range of challenging issues, including:
● Over-use of natural resources in raw materials

● Environmental damage
● Pollution
● Climate change
● Over-production and waste
● Poor working conditions

● Low wages
● Modern Slavery
● Exploitation of vulnerable people
Image: Marília Castelli on Unsplash
Ethical Programs
STRATEGY, TARGETS, ROADMAP AND A TEAM
A good brand will treat ethics and sustainability as they would
with any other business strategy.
● High level strategy

● A responsible senior person
● Resource dedicated to implementing the strategy
● Targets, codes and policy aligned with global standards
● An action plan
● Reporting
Examples of activity on ethical trade:

● Auditing supplier factories against an agreed code

● Working with suppliers on improvement actions
● Funding programmes on key issues like wages or gender
equality
Image: Marília Castelli on Unsplash ● Advocacy work to improve regulation and standards
Take Action
KNOW WHAT YOU STAND FOR AND MAKE A PLAN
● Agree where your brand stands on controversial

topics and where you ‘draw the line’
● Write it down
● Agree a checking and sign off process
● Train your teams on cultural issues and keep up

to date
● Have a plan ready so everyone knows what to

do when things go wrong
ETHICS IN FASHION
COMMUNICATION
Making a Difference
THE ROLE OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS
Tell your customers how you are making progress on

ethical and sustainability issues
Encourage customers to make ethical shopping,

laundry, and disposal choices by providing
information and guidance
Spell out your commitments across a range of social

issues
Demonstrate your brand’s commitment through

language, tone, imagery, and cultural understanding
Image: Marten Bjork on Unsplash

Reputation
LOOK AT YOUR BRAND THROUGH

CUSTOMERS’ EYES
Ethical errors can have multiple negative

impacts:
● Angry, offended customers
● Negative PR
● Loss of profit
● Time wasted troubleshooting
● Drop in share price
● Lower morale amongst employees
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/hm-apology-racist-image-website-child-
MISTAKES
HOW TO AVOID
Image: BBC
Image: Getty
Source: Acme Coffee

Carefully
Consider Brand Communications
Representation
MAKE SURE YOUR FASHION COMMS ARE INCLUSIVE
Have a strategy and take action to increase the diversity of

models in your brand communications.
Some of the areas to celebrate are:
● Race and ethnicity
● Diverse skin tones
● Gender and sexuality

● Different body shapes and size
● Modells with visible and hidden disabilities
● Skin markings like scars, birthmarks, tattoos, and stretch

marks
Image: Jeffery Erhunse on Unsplash

Cultural Appropriation
BE RESPECTFUL OF CULTURES AND TRADITIONS
● Do your research into the cultural or religious

context
● Look through the eyes of someone from that culture

- is your brand being respectful?
● Seek advice
● Never associate other cultures with ‘fancy dress’

● If in doubt, don’t go ahead
Image: @NativeApprops on Twitter.com

Symbols and Scripts
LOOK BELOW THE SURFACE - WHAT DO THEY

REALLY MEAN?
● Get a translation of any script or language you don’t

speak fluently.
● Suppliers may not have the most accurate translation
● Look beyond shapes patterns - research what they

mean in different cultures
● Keep a list of banned symbols and train your team
● If in doubt about a symbol, do not use
Image: Kent News on BBC News http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7002765.stm

Photoshoot Ethics
ENSURE DIGNITY, SAFETY AND RESPECT FOR EVERYONE
● Health, safety and dignity policies
● Train the team in appropriate procedures
● Provide facilities to ensure privacy for models
● Designate a senior person on set for safeguarding
● Pay people properly

● Pay people on time
Image: Qord Amsterdam on Unsplash

CONCLUSION
Summary
WHAT WE’VE COVERED

● Ethics and diversity are business priorities for fashion
brands
● A failure on ethical issues can cause serious reputational

damage
● Brands should take a strategic approach, setting high

level strategy, and investing time and resource into their
programmes
● Marketing and communication teams play a role in

communicating progress and demonstrating what the
brand stands for
● Brands need to have plans and procedures in place to

avoid cultural and other errors
Remember to look through customers eyes and keep

learning! Image: Sirio on Unsplash
For further information or support, please visit:
WWW.CONDENASTCOLLEGE.AC.UK
COLLEGEONLINE
NASTCOLLEGE COURSE
ONLINECOURSE
The information in this presentation is confidential and property of Condé Nast College;
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02 Ethics and Fashion Brands

DOING THE RIGHT THING ACROSS YOUR BUSINESS

A system of decisions, policies and programmes to

● Operating on moral principles

● Avoiding causing harm to others or the environment

● Complying with the law

Image: pina messina on Unsplash

BUSINESS HAS A RESPONSIBILITY TO ACT IN AN

Some of the reasons and beneﬁts:

● A fundamental moral issue

● National and local laws

● Customers prefer ethical companies

● Employees want to work for ethical companies

● Investors assess ethical policies and progress

● Ethical procedures support the success of a

● Diverse teams outperform others

Image: Brock Wegner on Unsplash

What are the Issues?

The production, use and disposal of fashion brings with it a

● Over-use of natural resources in raw materials

● Poor working conditions

● High level strategy

Examples of activity on ethical trade:

● Auditing supplier factories against an agreed code

KNOW WHAT YOU STAND FOR AND MAKE A PLAN

● Agree where your brand stands on controversial

● Agree a checking and sign off process

● Train your teams on cultural issues and keep up

● Have a plan ready so everyone knows what to

THE ROLE OF MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS

Tell your customers how you are making progress on

Encourage customers to make ethical shopping,

Spell out your commitments across a range of social

Demonstrate your brand’s commitment through

Image: Marten Bjork on Unsplash

LOOK AT YOUR BRAND THROUGH

Ethical errors can have multiple negative

● Angry, offended customers

● Time wasted troubleshooting

● Drop in share price

● Lower morale amongst employees

Source: Acme Coffee

Have a strategy and take action to increase the diversity of

Some of the areas to celebrate are:

● Race and ethnicity

● Diverse skin tones

● Gender and sexuality

● Different body shapes and size

● Modells with visible and hidden disabilities

● Skin markings like scars, birthmarks, tattoos, and stretch

Image: Jeffery Erhunse on Unsplash

BE RESPECTFUL OF CULTURES AND TRADITIONS

● Do your research into the cultural or religious

● Look through the eyes of someone from that culture

● Never associate other cultures with ‘fancy dress’

● If in doubt, don’t go ahead

Image: @NativeApprops on Twitter.com

Symbols and Scripts

LOOK BELOW THE SURFACE - WHAT DO THEY

● Get a translation of any script or language you don’t

● Suppliers may not have the most accurate translation

● Look beyond shapes patterns - research what they

● Keep a list of banned symbols and train your team