Ethical Brand Directory had the honour of welcoming Kerry Bannigan from Conscious Fashion Campaign on our supporting small businesses webinar series on the 16th of April 2020.
Kerry Bannigan Founder of Conscious Fashion Campaign
Kerry Bannigan is the Founder of the Conscious Fashion Campaign and works closely with the United Nations Office for Partnerships. She is a social impact event creator, producer and entrepreneur curating global activations and initiatives that advocate sustainable development.
Roberta Interviews Kerry Bannigan on the Sustainable Development Goals(SDGs)
Our founder Roberta Lee chatted with Kerry and asked questions about how small ethical brands could begin their journey with the Sustainable Development Goals (and for tips for staying on track). We’ve included some of the questions below.
Roberta: Many still don’t know about the Sustainable Development Goals, even though the framework was created in 2015, why are they important?
Kerry: The SDGs are important as they are a framework that can help people guide on development and progress as we are now in a place where we need to see how we can come together and have a unified language. The sustainable development goals can be used as a practical tool to measure reaching milestones when auditing and reporting.
Roberta: How can smaller, independent brands like those on the Ethical Brand Directory get involved in the Sustainable Development Goals?
Kerry: Take a look at the Sustainable Development Goals and see which resonates with your brand the most. Maybe pick a few and make them your primary goals. The key is that they have to be realistic expectations and align with your brand.
Roberta: What’s the best way to measure and report back on the Sustainable Development Goals without looking like you are ‘greenwashing’ or ‘purpose washing’
Kerry: Find the sustainable development goal that makes sense for you and dig deeper. Look at the targets and indicators that are provided with the specific goals. See how you can align more with the target versus the goal itself. From there make sure you can send out the message properly, it’s important to be able to share transparency. You have to be able to communicate the work that you are doing clearly.
Roberta: What resources are available to help small businesses get started with the Sustainable Development Goals Framework?
Kerry: The Conscious Fashion Campaign website provides a brief breakdown of the Sustainable Development Goals. There is also the SDG Compass & SDG Action Manager which might be more helpful for those who are further along in achieving their goals. Other useful resources include Common Objective, Fashion Roundtable and the British Fashion Council.
Supporting Small Business Webinar: Q&A on The SDGs with Kerry Bannigan
Q: I’m just one person, aren’t the SDGs for large corporations?
A: TBC we have written to Kerry to get her response and will update the blog as soon as we get a reply
Q: What’s the best way to measure my impact? Where do I begin? The SDG framework is overwhelming. It seems like a lot of work and I don’t have the finances to pay someone to do it.
A: TBC we have written to Kerry to get her response and will update the blog as soon as we get a reply
Q: What’s the most impactful SDG for a fashion brand to focus on?
A: TBC we have written to Kerry to get her response and will update the blog as soon as we get a reply
Q: I’m not a fashion brand but I promote fashion – what SGDs should I focus on?
A: TBC we have written to Kerry to get her response and will update the blog as soon as we get a reply