Zalando reveals Copenhagen Fashion Week Sustainability Award finalists

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Jun 2, 2021

Zalando has picked two UK labels and a Danish one as finalists for the Zalando Sustainability Award at Copenhagen Fashion Week that happens this summer.

Taking place from August 10-13, it sees Mother of Pearl, Nikolaj Storm Copenhagen and Teatum Jones vying for the award that encourages fashion brands to “explore sustainable alternatives and recognises strategies that contribute to a more sustainable industry”.

The finalists will be added to the show schedule and will present their collections during one of Europe’s highest-profile fashion weeks.

This is the second season of a three-year strategic partnership and the inclusion of the two Brit labels comes after it has been opened to international applicants.

The company said the award, plus its partnership with CFW, “represents a great opportunity for finalists to leverage the platform in unison and drive positive change”.

Its director of Sustainability, Kate Heiny, said it received plenty of applications and the award is growing in popularity so “creates an opportunity for further work together with brands on growing the choice for customers in more sustainable items and making it visible across Europe. As a platform, we want to use our influence to grow more sustainable choices and are happy to see that many brands want to partner with us in this mission.”

The three finalists were selected by an international jury consisting of industry thought-leaders, leadership representatives from Zalando, and the CFW show committee. The jury comprised Cecilie Thorsmark, Editor-In-Chief of soon-to-launch Vogue Scandinavia; model Martina Bonnier; environmental activist and sustainability consultant Arizona Muse; trend forecaster WGSN’s CEO Carla Buzasi; and sustainability and brand advisor Dio Kurazawa. Heiny and Zalando’s director of design and luxury, Anaheta Berenberg, were also on the panel.

So what do the finalist (and the eventual winner) get? Each will receive funding for production costs and debut their designs in the ‘Zalando Greenhouse’, which is the official CFW hub that will showcase the latest in sustainable fashion both on and offline. The winner also receives €20,000 and a partnership with Zalando in developing an exclusive capsule collection that “represents sustainable advancements and innovation”.