The pre-selection for the festival is based on the designers' sustainability level, where this year they must meet at least ten sustainability criteria to participate. We have created an online questionnaire with 34 questions. The questions cover six sub-themes: strategy, design and production, packaging, social responsibility, transparency and customer relations, and cultural sustainability.
The minimum threshold is adjusted annually:
In 2024, the threshold was 4
In 2025, the threshold was 8
In 2026, the threshold is 10
We contribute to the sustainable development of designers through training sessions and seminars. We also offer designers the opportunity for individual mentoring with experts, tailored to their needs and interests. In addition, we provide all participating designers with the opportunity to receive additional online feedback from the sustainability award jury after the shows. This feedback addresses their work as a whole—design, styling, collection concept, presentation, marketing logic, and sustainability aspects.
From 2024, we recognize one outstanding designer dedicated to sustainable practices with an award that helps accelerate the designer's sustainable development. Read more about the award HERE.
*The sustainability criteria for the Estonian Fashion Festival have been developed based on the sustainability requirements of Copenhagen Fashion Week 2022 and the self-assessment tool developed within the Fashion for Change (EU) project. The statements take into account both the Sustainable Development Goals as well as the EU Textile Strategy and the Ecodesign Regulation for Sustainable Products.