Dr. Anna Brismar is the founder and owner of Green Strategy, a consulting company specializing in circular issues and the sustainability of the fashion, clothing and textile industries on a global scale.
She is also the founder and developer of Circular Fashion Framework and the developer and owner of the leading online platform circularfashion.com, which is the first platform dedicated exclusively to circular of fashion, clothing and the textile industry. In addition, she is the founder and head of Circular Fashion Network, an international network of professionals working on circular and sustainability issues related to fashion, clothing, and textiles.
As the head and owner of a green strategy, Dr. Anna Brismar offers high-quality consulting services and tailored advice for fashion brands, clothing companies, international chains, and textile organizations on how to develop, advance and communicate their companies on a sustainable basis.
Anna Brismar and Educational Background
Anna has more than 15 years of experience as a consultant and researcher in the field of environment and sustainability. Before establishing the Green Strategy in 2012, Anna worked as a sustainability consultant for various international organizations, such as the World Bank, Stockholm International Water Institute and the European Parliament. In addition, she has international research experience from the Stockholm Environment Institute in York, England, and Austria.
Anna has a Ph.D. in the field of interdisciplinary water, environment and development at the University of Linköping, Sweden. Prior to that, she took a Biology Master (MSc) degree at Stockholm University which focused on the problem of water resources in developing countries. In recent years she has also studied environmental management from various universities in Stockholm.
Anna Brismar and World of Fashion
She asserted that as consumers we can influence fashion brands to advance in a more sustainable direction. When facing the bad side of the fashion industry, it will be very easy to feel hopeless and you want to shout: “What should we do?”. She suggested to develop a more sustainable fashion industry, both producers and consumers need to take action to support true business practices by changing current thinking and behavior.
Basically, three main conditions need to be created by fashion and apparel companies to support more sustainable consumption practices.
First, consumers must be given the choice to access more sustainable and circular products and services. Ideally, fashion brands must sell and only provide clothing, accessories, and shoes that have been produced in a more sustainable and circular manner from an environmental, social and ethical perspective.
In practice, fashion products that have been designed, sourced, produced, transported and marketed in a sustainable and circular manner. For example, products should contain only organic, biodegradable and recyclable materials. Avoid using synthetic fibers that cannot be decomposed.
Secondly, consumers should be encouraged to rent clothes, accessories, and shoes, or buy used goods, rather than buying newly produced items. In addition, consumers must be given choices for repairs and custom made items based on orders. The choice to buy fashion-on-demand is currently only available in some stores in Sweden but is likely to become a major business offer in the future.
Third, consumers need to be given deeper knowledge about the production process and the supply chain as a whole. For this purpose, fashion brands must work to create far greater transparency as part of their business. For example, a list of suppliers with factory names and addresses must be accessible online and in stores.
April 2017, Anna Brismar was awarded as “One of the 101 Most Powerful Sustainability Professionals in Sweden” by Swedish organization Aktuell Hållbarhet, an educational and professional news platform on sustainability in Sweden.
