On Thursday evening, the Fashion Council Germany, together with its Mannheim branch LOCAL ONE, invited people to the first fireside dinner in Heidelberg under the theme of “New Normality with Circularity”. At the same time, a round table initiated by the city took place in Mannheim on the same day, in which regional circular economy in retail, waste management and the design landscape was discussed and approaches to implementation were sought.

The discussion about circularity was taken up during the fireside dinner by FCG partner eBay Germany, who, as one of the leading recommerce platforms, are experts in the field and are implementing a number of local initiatives across Germany.

Tanja Vojkic, Category Lead Fashion at eBay Germany, expanded on the topic in her keynote speech: “Sustainability and, in particular, circular economy are hot topics in the fashion industry. Young, up-and-coming brands are demonstrating groundbreaking new circular economy models, which I think is fantastic. The concept of circular economy has always been an integral part of our corporate DNA. Whether online or through local initiatives, investing in various categories such as used or refurbished fashion demonstrates belief in the power of the economy to create positive social and environmental impacts."

eBay Germany has been an official partner of the FCG since 2023 and is implementing various innovative projects and formats in collaboration with the FCG.

The evening was also supported by the Mannheim-based jeans brand GOLDGARN DENIM, who during the dinner drew attention to their GOLDGARN Charity initiative, in which they cooperate with regional artists such as Jens Richter or Antighost Siebdruck and initiate global water projects. The FCG networking format "Firesidechat" has been taking place regularly in various major cities in Germany since 2018 - most recently as the opening of Berlin Fashion Week.

Since 2023, the events have mainly been held in a more intimate setting as "Fireside Dinners". The focus is particularly on exchange and the establishment of new cross-industry contacts. The local edition in Heidelberg also strengthened the national network of the Fashion Council Germany and further expanded the connection to the Rhine-Neckar region and the companies based there.

The successful evening gives us a positive outlook for the next fireside dinners as part of the Techtextil + Texprocess trade fair in Frankfurt am Main and outside Germany for the delegation trip of the Fashion Forward Network project to New York City in April.

(Photo-Credit: Simon Lasnier)

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