Reflecting on Climate Week NYC 2025: Collaborating to Scale Impact

Circular Fashion Partnership, Indonesia.

In a year marked by geopolitical and economic uncertainty, Climate Week NYC 2025 offered a welcome reminder of the power of collaboration. With over 1,000 events across the city, the week reinforced the message that climate action is not simply a challenge, but a collective opportunity to create better systems for people and planet. For businesses, the week provided an opportunity to strengthen organisational resilience to better mitigate risks against a volatile backdrop.

From Presidents and Prime Ministers to youth activists, artists, and business leaders, the breadth of voices underscored a vital truth: no single sector or actor can deliver the change we need to see by acting in isolation.

For Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), the week provided both an opportunity to convene with stakeholders on bold new initiatives and a platform to forge alliances. It was a chance to demonstrate that the fashion industry, even in a period of turbulence and regulatory complexity, can move decisively towards sustainability. 

Financing the Transition Amid Global Uncertainty 

Global leaders reiterated that finance remains the linchpin of progress. While new pledges were announced, such as the Global Energy Alliance’s plan to mobilise 7.5 billion US dollars for renewables in low- and middle-income countries and Levi Strauss & Co.’s Energy Accelerator Programme in India to increase access to renewable energy for its supply chain, the broader challenge of funding the transition at scale was ever present. As Andrew Forrest of Fortescue noted during a high-level session on renewable energy abundance, prosperity must be built, not merely shared. Similarly, UN climate chief Simon Stiell emphasised that while the tools exist (Stiell stated that over 90% of new renewables cost less than the cheapest new fossil option), they must be deployed rapidly and equitably to meet global climate goals.

At the GFA Assembly at Nike New York Headquarters, finance was a critical discussion point. In collaboration with H&M Group, the roundtable on Driving Climate Finance explored how corporate value can unlock investment in decarbonisation, highlighting pathways and tactics to scale sustainability initiatives across the fashion sector. 

Circularity to Reimagine Change 

Circularity was another central thread throughout Climate Week, with discussions moving beyond compliance towards creating collaborative, resilient, regenerative systems across sectors.

In line with this, during the GFA Assembly, GFA launched the Apparel and Footwear Circularity Map, an annually updated guide that showcases circularity initiatives across the fashion system. It helps brands identify collective opportunities and address critical system gaps. Participants in the corresponding roundtable explored overlapping efforts, missing links, and areas for pre-competitive collaboration to accelerate progress.

Other roundtables tackled urgent themes such as Accelerating Climate Action Through Resale Models, leveraging insights from GFA and Deloitte’s Fashion Impact Toolkit, and strengthening post-industrial textile recycling through the Circular Fashion Partnership: Turkey. These dialogues reflected fashion’s growing alignment with other sectors in driving a circular economy. 

Clear and Aligned Policy 

The regulatory environment remains a critical determinant of success. Policy momentum has been continuously unstable in 2025, with political dynamics complicating international consensus. Clarity and consistency are key for companies seeking to scale action.

During the GFA Policy Masterclass, Federica Marchionni, CEO of GFA, opened the session by underscoring the fashion industry’s responsibility and the urgency of the moment: “The fashion industry, in particular, is at a crossroads: how we design, produce, and manage textiles today will determine whether we contribute to solutions or worsen the problem. Extended Producer Responsibility will encourage better product design and greater transparency, while driving investment in the systems needed to make circularity a reality.”

The session explored evolving frameworks, from California’s Responsible Textile Recovery Act to the EU’s revised Waste Framework Directive, and emphasised the importance of harmonising regulation to enable companies to invest in circular infrastructure with confidence. Speakers from Syre, the American Apparel & Footwear Association, American Circular Textiles and GFA highlighted that while legislation is advancing, coherent frameworks are essential to accelerate adoption and scale action. 

Collaborative Innovation 

Another message stood out across the week: collaboration and innovation must move beyond pilots to systemic deployment. Innovation must be matched with suitable finance and opportunities for scale.

GFA and Ralph Lauren co-hosted Innovation Networking sessions at the Climate and Nature Studio, facilitating strategic meetings between brands, financiers, and solution providers. By connecting these groups, the sessions demonstrated how collaboration can move solutions from pilot projects to industry-wide adoption.

PlasticFree opened access to its global sustainable materials database during Climate Week, aiming to speed up material innovation and promote transparency in fashion and manufacturing. This move aims to help brands source more sustainable materials more efficiently.

Building Alliances 

A major milestone of the week was LVMH joining GFA’s Strategic Partner group, marking a significant step in strengthening cross-industry collaboration. Through this partnership, LVMH will collaborate with industry peers to scale solutions on biodiversity, climate, transparency, and circularity across the global fashion ecosystem.

This spirit of collaboration also resonated in broader events, from GFA’s presence at the Nasdaq Bell Ringing Ceremony, to the Building the Future Summit, which convened leaders across energy, industry, and finance to share transformation pathways.

Alliances are not only forged in boardrooms, but also in the stories we tell and the narratives we shape. BBC StoryWorks research found that 70 per cent agree that the world needs more constructive storytelling and a prerequisite for meaningful alliances is nuanced perspectives and understandings. This was the resounding message during GFA’s involvement in the Climate Storytelling event at BBC Studios. The panel session brought together voices from across disciplines to explore the power of storytelling in shaping public perception, driving action, and fostering hope. 

Looking Ahead 

Against a complex backdrop, Climate Week NYC 2025 demonstrated that fashion is still showing up. GFA’s programme offered tangible pathways for action and reinforced the importance of a structured, collaborative, and commercially viable sustainability playbook. Leaders are increasingly thinking beyond headline commitments, focusing on interventions that create systemic impact rather than individual accolades.

The launch of the Fashion CEO Agenda 2025 at Climate Week further advanced these sentiments. As GFA’s flagship strategic guide, it equips fashion leaders with both overarching ambitions and immediate actions to help businesses future proof while steering the sector towards a net positive trajectory by 2050.

As the global community turns its attention to COP30 in Belém, Brazil, the sense of urgency voiced during Climate Week NYC must carry forward to address the interconnectedness of climate action, biodiversity, and social justice.

For fashion, the path forward demands that the industry align financing with impact, accelerate circularity, and forge alliances across industries and borders. The challenges are immense, but the momentum sustained at Climate Week NYC 2025 demonstrates that the work is not only continuing, it is scaling.

GFA extends gratitude to its partners, collaborators, and the diverse voices, from policymakers to innovators, grassroots leaders to youth activists, who made this Climate Week another milestone in the collective journey towards a sustainable future.