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Sixty-eight per cent of respondents in a UK survey said they had experienced or witnessed discrimination in the fashion industry based on appearance or beliefs, according to the Representation and Inclusion in the Fashion Industry report released recently by the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for Textiles and Fashion (T&F APPG) chaired by parliament member Lisa Cameron.
Eighty-three per cent of the survey’s evidence submissions believed that the government should play a role in demanding better representation and inclusion in the fashion industry, while 83.7 per cent stated that if a fashion brand is shown to be non-inclusive, this would impact on their decision to shop with them.
Other key findings include lack of inclusion and representation in the fashion industry, the need for sustained structural change and a strong, transformational leadership.
The report looks at the role of the fashion professional and the impacts which a lack of diversity and inclusion has, not only on the individual, but also the economic impacts on the business revenue of a brand and on the wider economy.
It also offers solutions to address the social, cultural and far-reaching implications of a less inclusive fashion industry.
The report addresses three key areas of diversity and inclusion: disability, race and LGBTQ+, while acknowledging the urgent need for further research on more areas, which will form future work by the T&F APPG’s secretariat Fashion Roundtable, a press release from T&F APPG said.
The T&F APPG’s Representation and Inclusion Advisory Committee along with the Fashion Roundtable conducted five parliamentary evidence sessions, which included submissions from designers and creative directors, models and model agents, and fashion educators.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
Sixty-eight per cent of respondents in a UK survey said they had experienced or witnessed discrimination in the fashion industry based on appearance or beliefs, says the Representation and Inclusion in the Fashion Industry report released recently by the UK All-Party Parliamentary Group for Textiles and Fashion chaired by parliament member Lisa Cameron.