“For me, it starts and finishes with people. Think about the effect we have on people, how you make them feel, how we communicate.”

That people-first mindset now shapes how he sees one of fashion’s biggest challenges: the gap between endless sustainability talk and meaningful action.

The Problem: Conferences Without Clarity

Simon’s biggest frustration is how the textile industry handles sustainability.

“We have lots of sustainability conferences… but what I miss sometimes is, okay, what happens next?”

He describes a sector weighed down by acronyms — ESPR, CSRD, CSDDD — while still running on outdated processes. Brands talk about change, but the follow-through is patchy. The result? Confusion, delay, and missed chances to cut waste and emissions.

The Three Pillars of Change

The article Simon had read before coming on the show, Get Ready for the EU’s Eco-Design and Digital Product Passports, gave him a phrase he couldn’t shake:

“For some reason the words holy trinity came to me… because the article was talking about the three things that are so important in industry: one, regulation; two, digital tools; and three, fibre innovation.”

For clarity, he frames them as three pillars:

• Regulation gives brands a clear North Star on durability, repairability and recyclability. “There’s nothing more sustainable than a garment that lasts.”

• Digital Product Passports can cut waste from endless samples and offer traceability. “In a few years, we’ll be looking back saying, gosh, why didn’t we do this sooner?”

• Fibre Innovation is where Hyosung places its bets: recycled elastane, mono-material garments, and new bio-based fibres from corn and sugar cane. “Either we’ll invent something that will help us with the recycling, or a new product will evolve that delivers the benefits of elastane but supports a more efficient recycling process.”

The Elephant in the Room

Still, Simon doesn’t dodge the harder truth:

“On a personal level, I would find it hard to disagree that we probably have all the things we need right now and don’t need lots of extra stuff.”

He knows innovation won’t solve everything if fast fashion’s appetite for more keeps growing. But his view is pragmatic: “Trying to do something to move us in the right direction is better than nothing and waiting around for a perfect answer.”

The Magic Wand: Clarity

If given the chance to change one thing about the industry overnight, Simon wouldn’t ask for new tech or subsidies. He’d ask for focus.

“We have lots of sustainability conferences, events, discussions, panels… My challenge would be, how can we almost do a meta-analysis of all of those different things? That highlights four or five critical things… and then you’ve got such a powerful platform. For me, clarity of purpose is really important. And that leads to action.”

Leading Responsibly

For Simon, responsible leadership isn’t about perfection. It’s about persistence. Progress over paralysis. Collaboration over competition.

“None of us can do this on our own. The problems are too big. We need to collaborate.”

That, he argues, is the only way to turn fashion’s three pillars into more than words.