Eliminating Hazardous Chemicals from Fashion and Construction Value Chains

The construction and fashion industries are among the most chemical-intensive industries. With the fashion industry being one of the largest industries in the world, with an estimated value of $1.5 trillion, and the global construction industry with an estimated value of US$9.7 trillion in 2022, Circular Innovation Lab, in collaboration with the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), has targeted the issue of hazardous chemical use in construction and fashion value chains.

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This World Circular Economy Forum (WCEF) 2024 Side Event, hosted by Circular Innovation Lab in collaboration with UNEP in Geneva and online, delved into cross-cutting and policy issues within the construction and fashion value chains while introducing the Global Coordination Project of the Global Environment Facility’s (GEF) Integrated Program (IP) on Eliminating Hazardous Chemicals from Supply Chains. This high-level panel discussion offered a comprehensive exploration of key challenges and opportunities, shedding light on the strategic initiatives driving clean, circular, regenerative, and transparent supply chains.

The event discussed stakeholder coordination amongst actors in coordination projects, including co-finance partners, innovators, knowledge producers, influential stakeholders and end users. It additionally focused on the gender disparities and the transformative potential of gender equity to drive sustainable practices in value chains, with the overarching goal of fostering long-term sustainability in the fashion and construction industries and encouraging the desired behavioural change in global actors, leading to transformative systemic changes in the value chains.

This was a Side Event of the World Circular Economy Forum 2024 (www.WCEF2024.com). WCEF2024 is guided by the latest scientific evidence on the most impactful circular solutions and explores how to turn them from theory to action.