This year, Climate Week NYC is taking place from September 21-27. Climate Week has never been a more important event. With activism swelling and timelines for critical temperature points narrowing in, it is especially important to us to acknowledge this event and our environmental impact. In honor of Climate Week, the Nest Summit hosts their annual event at Jacob Javits Center, NYC alongside the UN General Assembly. The summit showcases the progress of leaders in the sustainability sector and trailblazing efforts from global innovators. 

The fashion industry, we are aware, plays an important role in these efforts, as it accounts for a substantial portion of the world’s pollutants. At Katla, our core mission to lead the industry in efficient, sustainable and ethical practices has guided our business. Because of our efforts, our Founder and CEO, Áslaug Magnúsdóttir, was invited to speak alongside industry pioneers on the Climate Week panel discussion: Sustainability in The Fashion Industry. 

Listen here to what Áslaug and fellow leaders Amanda Hearst (Co-Founder & Chief Brand Officer of Maison De Mode, Activist, and Co-Founder of Well Beings), Marleen Vogelaar (CEO, Ziel Inc. PBC), and Steph Stephenson (Co-Chair, Cordes Foundation), discussed about the future of fashion, and the importance of sustainability in the industry.

We asked the panel members to share a message about the future of the industry and their hopes going forward;

"Shop less, shop better. As consumers, we all have so much power to impact the fashion industry. If we all shop less, we will create less waste. And when we shop “better” (organic, vintage, fair trade) we are telling brands what kind of products we want to invest our money in.” Amanda Hearst

"It has never been a more critical time to expedite change in the production cycle within the fashion industry. As we strive to sustain a minimal waste model using on-demand manufacturing and ethically sourced fabrics, we are optimistic that consumers will make the right choices when given the chance.” Áslaug Magnúsdóttir

"It will take all stakeholders to move towards a more sustainable fashion industry so we must work as a collective - consumers and brands alike - to educate, encourage and inspire each other to take action. Consumers must demand transparency, sustainability and traceability from the brands they purchase from - and brands have a responsibility to continuously be improving and iterating on their sustainability practices, while authentically communicating their values to their customers in order to build trust and connection on a more human level.” Steph Stephenson

"Every garment counts, so both consumers and brands & retailers should only buy what will be worn regularly.” Marleen Vogelaar