This roundtable is open only to currently enrolled Columbia University students. To register, you must sign in with your UNI.
The Center on Global Energy Policy (CGEP) at Columbia SIPA and the Fashion, Energy, and Climate Network invite you to join Session 2 of our “Fashion in the Energy Transition” talk series on Trade and Fast Fashion.
Global trade has shaped the fashion industry for decades, from the rise of international textile trade to today’s highly concentrated fast fashion supply chains. In this session, network founder Sally Qiu will speak with Trevor Sutton, Director of the Program on Trade and the Clean Energy Transition at CGEP, to explore why trade and trade policy are increasingly central to fashion’s decarbonization.
We will discuss how trade dynamics influence where and how fashion is produced, affecting embedded emissions through local power systems, industrial energy use, and logistics. We’ll also examine how tariffs, standards, and other trade measures can reshape fast fashion and overproduction, shift sourcing and investment, and either accelerate or hinder access to cleaner energy and lower-carbon production. The conversation will also touch on how trade policy intersects with circular economy strategies, as well as the links between trade and agriculture-based fiber and their sustainability implications. Finally, we will examine the trade dimensions of fashion waste and its uneven impacts across the Global South.
About the series: Fashion in the Energy Transition talk series connects the dots between the fashion value chain and the global energy transition, highlighting fashion’s often overlooked role in climate and energy conversations through interactive discussions with CGEP experts.
For more information about the event, please contact [email protected].