We have outsourced fashion production. 52% of our clothing, textiles comes from outside Europe. China is number one. Number two is Bangladesh. Number three is Turkey. Because it was cheaper. Because the real price of clothes wasn’t taking in account. It’s about human rights and about sustainability. There hasn’t been a real price tag put on that system. So it appears to be cheaper. But only on the first sight.

„In an ideal situation, a functional fashion industry would elevate and support fashion and the leap of design and inspiration. And we know the current situation, and this is also why we need to have a watch like this. It’s not like that. Actually it feels like the opposite. It’s like if you try to do things responsible the right way, you get stopped and blocked.“

Lisa Lang

According to Lisa Lang, the actual situation is comparable to what astrophysicans call the an event horizon. Because of the timing. People might feel like everything is becoming very concentrated, very fast. And it’s getting worse. When you – coming back tot he event horizont picture – get too close to a black hole. Then doesn’t matter how much energy and how much activity you put in, you will get pulled in.

Lisa Lang always gets asked why all this is happening now and her answer is: „it started a long time ago“. That’s why Lisa Lang takes the audience on a fact-based journey, drawing on her many years of expertise and knowledge of the textile industry. She’s talking about turning points like the expiry of the WTO Textile Agreement, the EU Parliament Re-shoring Initiative, the Culture & Creative Industrial Ecosystem, the Launch of the European Green Deal, The Green Deal Industruial Plan, the Competitiveness Compass… and putting everything together to explan the the how and the what.

About Lisa Lang:

Futurist and technologist Lisa Lang founded ElektroCouture in 2014 to explore the aesthetic potential of wearable tech. She later launched a company to merge fashion, technology, and traditional craftsmanship for B2B innovation. Lisa has advised the German Ministry of Labor and EURATEX, and served as Director for EU Affairs at EIT Climate KIC and chairs the UNFCCC Creative Taskforce. Named among Forbes Top 50 Women in Tech, she is known for connecting people to create beautiful, forward-thinking products. Today she’s Executive Chairwoman oft he Sweden based Open Connector Alliance and Chairwoman of Münch Fashion Award.