Fashion and beauty companies are redefining philanthropy as a core business function, not a standalone initiative, as industry leaders stressed at Monday’s Social Impact Summit in New York, hosted by the Social Impact Fund and the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) Foundation.

Industry insiders see a shift: brands are moving from transactional giving to embedded, systemic impact. Building on this shift, the summit’s theme, “Style and Substance,” challenged the industry to integrate impact into the business plan rather than treat it as an afterthought.

“We’re meeting at a time of immense challenge; the culture we’re trying to build is being tested by high winds,” said Craig Cichy, executive director of the Social Impact Fund. “In this environment, philanthropy is no longer a luxury or a must-have. It’s a mandate, it’s a design requirement, and it’s the first step of any business plan.”

In a panel focused on fashion and beauty philanthropy, executives from Macy’s, Kate Spade and Mac Cosmetics stressed the need to move beyond one-off charitable efforts toward scalable, long-term impact embedded in operations.

American fashion industry titan and consultant Fern Mallis moderated the panel, titled “Trailblazers in Fashion and Beauty Philanthropy.” The fashion week pioneer framed the shift as a move away from brands “writing checks” toward actively reshaping their engagement with communities.

“These leaders are proving that, in 2026, a brand’s soul is just as important as its aesthetic,” Mallis said.

At Macy’s, that translates into integrating giving directly into the customer experience. Specifically, the retailer’s roundup referenced its campaigns, which have (collectively) generated millions of dollars annually; participation rates serve as a main indicator of engagement.

Sam Di Scipio, vice president, corporate communications, giving and volunteerism at Macy’s, said the model demonstrates a larger effort to align social impact with everyday retail interactions, rather than isolating it as a separate initiative.

“It has to move beyond the poster,” she said. She described how Macy’s “Mission Every One” platform integrates impact across operations. The department store’s “Future of Style” fund, meanwhile, works to create a commercial pipeline for students, with winning FIT designs produced and sold at Macy’s Herald Square.

For Kate Spade, the focus has been on scaling long-term investments in women’s mental health, working to reach 250,000 women globally by 2030.

Taryn Bird, executive director of social impact at Kate Spade New York, stressed the need to address structural needs. She described the Tapestry-owned label’s approach as investing in well-being’s “root system” of well-being rather than the more visible (but less sustainable) outcomes.

“When this industry is deployed intentionally, it has the opportunity to impact the lives of women around the world,” she said. Kate Spade’s “flower framework” is a research-backed model that supports foundational systems; the approach, per Bird, ensures efforts are “culturally competent and community centered.”

“We take something that is incredibly invisible and we make it visible,” Bird said. “We make it warm, we make it inviting and we make it empowering.”

At the same time, speakers acknowledged that increased attention to purpose has raised the bar for credibility. As more brands enter the space, authenticity has become a defining factor in whether initiatives resonate.

“If it’s fake… it doesn’t stick,” said Nicola Formichetti, global creative director at Mac Cosmetics. “When it’s a marketing thing, we can see through it.”