Arizona Muse and Dana Thomas Headline Pure London’s Power of One® Sustainability Content Programme

Pure London, the UK’s leading trade fashion buying event which takes over Olympia London from the 17th – 19th July 2022, has announced model and activist Arizona Muse and Dana Thomas, author of Fashionopolis and Vogue’s newly appointed Contributing European Sustainability Editor, as keynote speakers headlining the show’s Power of One® sustainability content.

Kicking off the Power of One® sessions, Thomas will deliver an insightful keynote address on Sunday 17th July at 11am that explains why it is not only important but imperative to be eco-responsible in fashion, from field to form.

On Monday 18th July at 2pm, Thomas will be in conversation with Muse sharing their passion for raising awareness around the climate emergency, biodynamic farming, and some of the positive solutions for businesses keen to support a regenerative and sustainable future.

Arizona Muse is a model, environmental activist, and the founder of DIRT, a charity that supports and promotes Biodynamic Farming as a solution to soil degradation and the climate crisis as a whole. The 33-year-old mother of two is one of the world’s most recognizable models, having fronted campaigns for fashion’s biggest brands, including Chanel, Estée Lauder, Prada, Louis Vuitton and Yves Saint Laurent, and graced the cover of over 40 international Vogue magazines.

Over the past six years, Muse has become a passionate and renowned advocate for sustainability and environmental regeneration, and one of fashion industry’s leading voices on the topic. In 2021, she launched DIRT, an organisation for the regeneration of the land that collaborates with farms and biodynamic agriculture projects, and acts as a link for companies willing to support producers and contribute to establish more sustainable processes. DIRT has an ambitious portfolio of collaborations with different initiatives, including a biodynamic wool-producing farm in England, a mine regeneration project in Uganda, and a foundation that helps rescue, protect and reintegrate trafficked children and women in Romania by offering them shelter and work on biodynamic farms.

Muse, who also acts as a sustainability consultant for fashion brands who wish to minimize their environmental impact, sits on the board of non-profit The Sustainable Angle, the UK’s leading resource for sourcing sustainable materials. She also contributes to Fashion Revolution, a team of business leaders, policymakers and brands who work together towards radically changing the way clothes are sourced, produced and consumed. She is an ambassador for Greenpeace and Women For Women, and has collaborated on campaigns with Oxfam and various UN organizations including UNDP, UNEP and UNFAO.

Muse says: “My environmental activism began nearly seven years ago, when I realised I didn’t know where my clothes were made, who made them, or what materials were used in the process. Ever since, I have been on a fascinating and eye-opening journey to learn the truth about how clothes are made, and the impact this has on planet Earth. This journey has always led me back to the origin of where materials come from - the soil. It is now my life’s mission to raise awareness for the climate emergency and how the regeneration of soil is one of the greatest tools that we have in the face of it. 

Fashion has a long, long way to go but I am optimistic about its future. The solutions are there, now it is just a matter of using them. I’m excited to meet the Pure London audience and discuss these solutions with Dana.”

Thomas began her career writing for the Style section of The Washington Post, and for fifteen years she served as a cultural and fashion correspondent for Newsweek in Paris. Today, she is a leading voice in the climate movement, contributing to multiple outlets across the world on the subject – most notably in her role as European Sustainability Editor for British Vogue. She is also a bestselling author (Deluxe: How Luxury Lost Its Luster and Fashionopolis: The Price of Fast Fashion) as well as host of her own climate change-focused podcast The Green Dream where she welcomes experts, creators, and changemakers from politics to fashion for conversations on all things sustainable. Her latest episode sees her in discussion with previous Pure London keynote speaker, fashion eco-warrior Katharine Hamnett.

Thomas says: “Little by little, sustainable, responsible, conscious fashion’s piece of the pie will get bigger, and that will mean less unsustainable fashion out there, and less damage to humankind and Mother Earth. As David Attenborough has said, you can’t have infinite growth on a finite planet. Fashion is going to have to pivot (and fast) in many different areas — sustainable sourcing, traceability and transparency, de-growth — to meet the Paris Climate Agreement goals. Greenwashing may be a temporary solution to boost a brand’s image, but there are systemic changes that need to be made, and brands that don’t take those changes seriously will not survive. There are a host of cool start-ups in sustainability — be it sourcing, production, or product afterlife — that the sector should embrace, and support financially. I’m honoured to be invited to talk about this and more at Pure London.”

On Monday at 3.30pm join Annick Ireland, Founder of Immaculate Vegan, Marilyn Martinez, Project Manager at Ellen McArthur Foundation, and Rachel Kan, Founder of Circular Retail for a talk about Vegan Fashion and the Circular Economy.

Gloria Sandrucci, Event Director, Pure London says: “We are incredibly excited to welcome such inspirational expert heavyweight guests to Pure London. Since launching our Power of One® initiative in 2019 we have committed to supporting the journey of our brands and retailers towards sustainability. Consumers want visibility and transparency, they want to know they are buying sustainable and eco-friendly fashion. Driven by consumer demand and facilitated by the impact of social media, ethical fashion is no longer a buzzword. Fashion with a conscience is now an essential, not just a niche concern for retailers. While wholesale fashion has always worked in a slower and more considered way compared to fast fashion, there’s a huge need and appetite across the board to learn and do more.”