Sustainability Now 2023 Report

Survey Says: Shoppers Will Shell Out for More

Textile Recyclers and Clothing Resellers Weigh In On Fashion’s Circular Future

Reformation Pledges To Be Circular by 2030

Gap Inc.’s ESG Progress Report: Cotton, Worker Well-Being, PFAS and More

Everlane Updates Environmental Impact

Sorona Maker CovationBio Reinforces Sustainable Commitments

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SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT

H&M Sustainability Lead Says Fashion Must Focus On ‘Circularity Now’

ESG Legal Experts on Regulatory Upheaval: ‘Know What Is Coming Your Way’

ThredUp CEO on Resale Economy: ‘Math Says This Stuff Is Super Hard’

How Three Firms are Putting Their Stamp on Circular Fashion

Exploring Cotton’s Role In a Sustainable Future

Taking a Top Down Approach to Sustainability

‘Regulatory Momentum’ Will Root Out Greenwashing

How FGX Approaches Product Development with A Sustainability Lens

Centric Software Delves Into The Mind of the Consumer

You Can’t Be Sustainable Without Traceability

Next-Gen Materials Show Promise Amid Obstacles

A Look Back: The Day Rana Plaza Changed the World

91 94 98

India’s Sustainability Road Show Crafting a More Sustainable Future in Bangladesh Experts Discuss Unions, Minimum Wage in Bangladesh

101 105 109 112

Regenerative Fashion: By the Book

Sustainable Ways to Achieve Y2K-Inspired Dirty Washes

Soles4Souls: Changing Lives With Footwear and Apparel

Patagonia, Levi’s and The North Face Top Kearney’s Circular Fashion Index

Behind the Thread: Himatsingka’s journey towards sustainable practices

Reinventing strategies to reach new markets, categories and adjacencies

Consumers are increasingly seeking products and services that re ect the values of a caring economy. They are leaning towards healthier practices, balanced routines and planet-positive lifestyles that are inclusive and accessible. Himatsingka recognizes wellness, sustainability and the environment as key themes that consumers are consciously embracing. To ful l the expectation of our consumers and future needs, we are reinventing the wheel aesthetically, technologically and functionally.

The re ection of our commitment to sustainability, enhanced comfort, and responsible living are demonstrated with our expanding collection

Executive Summary

In 2015, all United Nations Member States adopted a blueprint to make the world more sustainable by 2030. Timewise, we’re a shade more than halfway there. On the ground, at the stores and in the factories the signposts of progress can be a little harder to quantify.

In this report we talk with Kerry Bannigan, executive director of the Fashion Impact Fund, who points out that just 12 of the 17 SDG targets are on track and that “we have stalled or gone into reverse on more than 30 percent of the SDGs.” The reasons for that shortfall are numerous and nuanced, and while some years lost to the pandemic didn’t help, it’s also become more appar-ent that the road to 2030 was a bit longer—with a bit tougher terrain to traverse—than many had expected.

In search of cohesion, the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the Apparel Impact Institute are touting green initiatives, a circular startup database by the former, and the ongoing Clean by Design of the latter. We take a closer look at what they have to offer on pages 34 and 18.

We also check in with some select companies on their progress, Reformation and Everlane, which have made sustainability a part of their ethos, as well as two others, Gap Inc. and Cova-tionBio, to add some perspective and flush out the array of challenges and different paths to success businesses are taking.

True change needs to be an industrywide undertaking, and one example of this is the American Circular Textiles Group, whose aim is to

provide a “glue” for a fragmented and competitive market so it can come together and discuss what it needs to scale its solutions. Information about their latest report can be found on page 22.

Fashion, however, is a global affair, and good intentions in Europe or the United States must be mimicked in Southeast Asia, where the majority of garments are produced. Initiatives like a new textile recycling program in China (page 10), talking points at events in Bangladesh (page 90) or India’s “Sustainability Road Show,” (page 93) are evidence that the industry’s upstream el-ement is headed in the right direction.

It is also of paramount importance to have a united front. One way to achieve this is through mass gatherings of stakeholders up and down the supply chain. Sourcing Journal hosted one such event in April, the second annual “Sustainability Summit: The Road to 2030.” Catch up on full coverage of the day’s highlights on pages 61 to 89.

And where does the consumer fit in to all this? According to a recent survey, most shoppers say they would indeed pay more for sustainably made products all other things being equal. Learn more on their preferences on page 37.

All in all, as we inch toward the midpoint of this decade, there are plentiful signs that progress is being made, but these gains in many places are offset by the scope of the work left to be done.

Peter Sadera Editor in Chief Sourcing Journal

Green Shoots

Money Trees

Canopy, an environmental not-for-profit and past partner of brands like LVMH, H&M and Ikea, will receive $60 million in funding to advance low-carbon and circular supply chain solutions, it said. The funding comes from The Audacious Project, a collaborative funding initiative housed at TED, the nonprofit behind TED Talks.

China Takes On Textile Waste

China has taken a significant step toward a dual carbon strategy with the creation of a platform to identify sustainable textile products.

Called the “Reborn-China Fibre Zero Carbon Action 2023 – Sustainable Textiles Credible Platform,” its brief is to promote green products and get more consumers to buy them. It is jointly run by the China Chemical Fibres Association and the National Advanced Functional Fibre Innovation Centre.

The new platform is part of a move to establish China’s recycled fiber standard certification system. China is the world’s largest producer and consumer of chemical fibers, which are crucial to the international textile industry. At the launch, Duan Xiaoping, vice president of the China National Textile and Apparel Council, called for a comprehensive waste textiles recycling program to tackle waste-related issues while establishing a steady supply of raw materials for the production of green fibers.

Twenty-six companies have signed on to the platform. It is sponsored by the Department of Consumer Goods Industry under the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and the Suzhou Market Supervision Administration. — Claire Wilson

“Innovative low-carbon solutions, such as regenerated cellulosic fibers from waste textiles or agricultural residues, are showing the potential to reduce our impact on climate and protect forests, so no ancient and endangered forests are put at risk to make fashion,” Leyla Ertur, head of sustainability at H&M Group, said in a statement. “Together with Canopy and other industry leaders, we want to use our size and scale to continue driving demand for low-carbon material solutions while building scalability faster.”

Canopy described the funding influx as a “massive capacity boost” that will accelerate the commercialscale production of low-impact and circular clothing, paper and packaging solutions that don’t rely on pulp from “Ancient and Endangered Forests.” These solutions are derived from what is usually landfilled or burned, including waste textile, waste food scraps and agricultural residues, to create new fabrics, paper, pulp and packaging. These “Next Gen” alternatives produce on average 95 percent to 130 percent less greenhouse gas emissions, 88 percent to 100 percent less land use impacts and five times less impact

on biodiversity, Canopy claimed. By 2033, the not-for-profit plans to “unlock” more than 60 million metric tons of low-carbon Next Gen fiber production, avoid more than 1.3 billion metric tons of emissions, divert nearly 800 million metric tons of agricultural residue and waste textiles from being burned or landfilled and completely eliminate the use of Ancient and Endangered Forests in the paper, packaging and fashion viscose supply chains.

Ancient and Endangered Forests, which Canopy says is a term defined by “leading” conservation and biodiversity scientists and environmental non-governmental organizations, includes forests of at least 50,000 hectares in size where industrial logging hasn’t taken place, rare forest types, forests with high numbers of plant and animal species, forests with high concentrations of rare and endangered species, forests with species which can only be found in very specific regions, forests with key focal species, forests with rare ecological and evolutionary phenomena and forests with high carbon stocks.

“We are very proud to be included in this year’s group of Audacious grantees and believe that Canopy’s creative, collaborative and transformative work will be key in driving supply chain change at scale and, in turn, provide a reprieve to critical forests that are under current and future threats, within the next decade and beyond,” Canopy’s founder and executive director, Nicole Rycroft, said in a statement.

— Chelsea Dobrosielski

_____Employees carry a bag of clothes at a waste sorting center in China.

Deng Yinming/VCG via Getty Images

New Calif. Legislation Aims To Stem Textile Waste

THE

Representing the fifth largest consumer market in the world, the Golden State is responsible for the bulk of America’s clothing consumption. In 2021 alone, Californians purchased 780,000 tons of apparel, according to McKinsey research. The vast majority of those items—740,000 tons, the group estimates—eventually end up in landfills. That’s enough pants, shirts, outerwear, dresses, intimates and swimwear to blanket a region more than five times the size of Los Angeles.

Lawmakers are now seeking to stem the tide of that waste. The Responsible Textile Recovery Act of 2023 (SB 707) would compel producers of clothing and fabric goods to fund the creation of an extended producer responsibility (EPR) program. Such a platform—which the state has implemented successfully with other waste streams, like mattresses, batteries, medical sharps and plastics—would redirect post-consumer waste into recycling and reuse projects developed and managed by the industry.

State Senator Josh Newman, who represents the 29th district including parts of Los Angeles, San Bernadino and Orange County, introduced the bill in February. “California has done some really good and groundbreaking programs using the EPR model,” he told Sourcing Journal, “and textiles seem like an obvious object of this kind of thing because they’re probably the fastest growing source of landfill in California.”

Newman acknowledged that because the industry is a “very variegated space” with a

By Kate Nishimura

wide range of products and producers, both in- and out-of-state and country, constructing a comprehensive program is no simple feat. CalRecycle, the state’s premier recycling agency, has taken the lead on the state’s previous programs, and is currently working to establish solutions for consumer plastics, from trash bags to food and beverage containers. But textile recycling is still largely the Wild West. Innovations are still in their infancy. And organizations working through ways to shred, melt down or chemically deconstruct old goods for use in new products have not yet managed to implement those solutions at scale.

“One of the reasons why there isn’t scale or efficiency within these recycling systems is that there aren’t incentives within the system to sort and segment and dispose of a particular type of textile one way or another— it’s so undifferentiated,” Newman added. One need only look to the intake facilities of the state’s thrifts, from Goodwill to Salvation Army, to comprehend the magnitude of the problem. Thousands of pounds of goods made from all kinds of fibers, from cotton to polyester, nylon, man-made cellulosics and most problematically, blends of all the above, enter the thrift system each day. A 2020 audit of a Goodwill in San Francisco revealed 44 fiber types and 275 unique blends were taken in during a two-day period.

“If you can create a system that makes sense end-to-end, where there’s somebody downstream that has the wherewithal and the economic incentives to sort different

RESPONSIBLE TEXTILE RECOVERY ACT OF 2023 IS A POTENTIALLY VAST UNDERTAKING THAT CURRENTLY LEAVES MORE QUESTIONS THAN ANSWERS.

types of textiles for recycling, the economics tend toward that happening,” the Senator believes. “That’s part of the premise of any EPR system in California—to create that market and then make it work efficiently.”

There are still a number of kinks to iron out before such solutions can be built, brought to scale and enacted, however. The bill’s text refers to textile and apparel “producers” as the responsible parties in the equation. “To the extent possible, everybody who’s involved the value chain should be invested in this,” he said.

Much of the product being consumed— and subsequently trashed—in California comes from overseas locales like China or Bangladesh. “These are these are such big systems,” Newman said of the global fashion industry and the corporations that comprise it, “and so the question is how to assign that value and cost, how to collect it, and then how to redistribute these funds so everybody in the system is incentivized to do their part.”

Parsing roles and responsibilities will be one of the California Product Stewardship Council’s goals as the legislation moves forward over the coming months. The

primary sponsor on the bill, CPSC has helped CalRecycle to execute on all 14 of its EPR programs.

The group’s special project manager, Joanne Brasch, said that brands will be responsible for paying into the EPR program if they are importing goods from overseas. But when it comes to goods made in-state, like in Downtown, L.A.’s Fashion District, cut-and-sew operators, and potentially fabric mills, will be subject to the law. While brands are the ultimate sellers of the products, they will only be forced to pay into a Producer Responsibility Organization (PRO) managing recycling efforts if their supply chain does not. “Typically, what we see in reality is they split the fee [with suppliers], and it’s a part of their contract,” she said.

Producers will pay a fee for each garment, or other item, manufactured and brought to market, but notably, “it’s not the role of the state” to designate that unit cost. Instead, the fee will be determined by the average amount it costs to recycle each product through the EPR solutions that are developed. “California style EPR is not prescriptive,” Brasch said. “It gives the industry the driver’s seat to plan a

▲ Thrift organizations like Goodwill and Salvation Army, among others, will serve as a primary donation point for consumers disposing of used textiles.

Juanmonino/Getty Images

program and a budget that meets all performance requirements.”

The EPR will fully fund the most costly elements of the recycling process, including transportation to sortation hubs, sorting for recycling, and transportation to repair operations and recyclers. Those businesses will be bolstered, but not fully, through a combination of state subsidies and research and infrastructure grants, allowing them to scale different solutions for the multitude of materials and products being funneled into the program, Brasch said. “We know when this program starts there isn’t going to be a solution for all the fabrics,” she added. The EPR program’s sortation functionality will remain malleable as recycling capabilities across the state continue to evolve and grow in scale.

“Our plan is not to create new collection infrastructure, because we already have it,” Brasch added. Thrift organizations like Goodwill and Salvation Army, among others, will serve as a primary donation point for consumers disposing of used textiles. They will conduct some of the initial sorting, placing unsalable goods in a recycling bin for collection. “The public messaging will be, ‘Take your unusables to these eligible

participating thrifts,” where they will be either re-sold, or recycled.

Goodwill has been a pioneer in the circular textile ecosystem for over a century, the non-profit’s Orange County CEO and chair of the Association of California Goodwills, Nicole Suydam, told Sourcing Journal. With 420 collection points across the state, the organization diverted 266 million pounds of goods from being shipped off to landfills last year alone.

The thrift’s “deep commitment to sustainability and our role in waste diversion” is evidenced in its already robust recycling operations for electronic waste, bedding, metals and cardboard, Suydam said. The products are first processed through Goodwill’s internal systems, “and then recycled to well-vetted vendors that share in our commitment to furthering the life of these goods,” she explained.

When it comes to creating an analogous system for textiles, “The greatest challenge will be creating a solid infrastructure to roll this out in a meaningful way across the state,” she believes. “Statewide, about 174 million pounds of textiles are collected by Goodwills every year—that is about 50

percent of all our donation collection.” While the resale of clothing and other textiles is a “very important part of our nonprofit social enterprise model,” funding the group’s philanthropic goals and providing jobs for community members, the executive said the new EPR program will create new, yet unknown opportunities for unsalable goods.

“With the implementation of this new EPR program, we are ready to be at the table to understand how Goodwill can be further utilized as collection sites, sorting and recycling systems and much more,” she said. Moving forward, the group will have to work with stakeholders, including the Senator’s office and CPSC, to determine “what tasks will need to be completed by clothing and textile producers, and what will be asked of us as secondhand collectors and stewards.”

At this point in time, those roles remain nebulous—and industry insiders are both curious about the tasks they will be asked to undertake, and apprehensive about the potential impacts to their businesses.

Mateo Neri, a partner at Los Angeles apparel producer UStrive Manufacturing who specializes in apparel recycling, said brands should bear the largest share of the burden in funding new solutions for apparel waste. “The manufacturer is just making what the brand is asking to produce,” he said. “If a brand is saying, ‘We need a million units,’ and half of that gets sold and the other half gets landfilled, that’s not a manufacturer’s responsibility.”

On the other hand, mandated textile recycling could create new revenue streams for California textile and apparel producers that are able to devise solutions for waste. UStrive’s Repurpose pilot program aims to facilitate textile recycling by auto-sorting using AI technology. “For companies like ours that are trying to do this, there has to be more funding, because creating and scaling a plan is very costly,” he said. Machinery alone can cost millions.

“You want the supply chain to be working together,” said Andrew Schulenberg, marketing lead for L.A. textile mill Laguna

▼ 740,000 tons of apparel eventually end up in California landfills annually according to McKinsey research.

Fabrics and materials science company Circular Systems. L.A.’s Fashion District is home to dozens of businesses poised to take on the challenge of making new goods out of discarded duds, he believes. “You want people to have a vested interest in this and commit to the offtake of the [inputs] that are the result of the recycling.”

That’s where a mill like Laguna could play a role. “Once the recycling facilities are up and running, there’s a need for support from a fabric standpoint,” he said. The company could take on recycled yarns to use in its fabrics, which are purchased by a multitude of California manufacturers and brands. The group prioritizes sustainable fibers, which are in high demand, working with organic cotton, Tencel and hemp. It is also engaged with Texloop, a subsidiary of Circular Systems, which creates recycled cotton fiber made from shredded pre-consumer textile waste.

Not all discarded textiles will be fit for textile-to-textile recycling, Schulenberg acknowledged. “If [waste] can’t be used for textiles, it could go into shoddy, which is a short staple fiber that’s used for insulation and other industrial purposes,” he said. But whether it’s recycled or downcyled, Schulenberg believes there’s ample opportunity to create productive—and lucrative—new business as a result of the legislation. “No one’s really been looking at the value of this waste,” he said.

Isaac Nichelson, founder of Circular Systems, the creator of Texloop, said the sector is in the midst of “the creation of a circular industry and a new textile economy” that stands to impact “the whole value chain.”

“It looks like a really interesting future for the apparel system,” he said. “It’s a big opportunity” that will create jobs and new

facets of business surrounding sortation, recycling, yarn spinning and textile production. But today, “there’s not even proper infrastructure, or even optimized technology, for the sorting” of textiles, and that will be the program’s biggest hurdle, he believes. Regional support and private-sector funding will be a “critical factor” in developing scalable solutions. “We want to be a part of that and are just now gearing up to start to investigate what is available in terms of forthcoming additional support,” he said.

Even for an established materials sciences company that isn’t starting from scratch, developing the domestic capability

740,000

to recycle tons of used garments will take time and considerable resources. “It could take years of development to move beyond pilot capacity,” he explained. But a number of emerging technologies show promise when it comes to effectively recycling used cotton garments, along with cotton-poly blends, and “Those are going to be two of the larger waste streams.”

Nichelson echoed sentiments that textile recycling isn’t just an environmental necessity, but an opening for solutionoriented innovators. “I think upcycling should always be a goal with as much of any waste stream as possible and getting more value out of it just makes sense,” he said.

TOTAL TONS OF APPAREL THAT END UP IN CALIFORNIA LANDFILLS ANNUALLY.

Source: McKinsey research.

IT’S ONE INSANE MEMBRANE

OUR FIRST NON-PFAS, EXPEDITION-GRADE WATERPROOF + BREATHABLE FABRIC TECHNOLOGY ENGINEERED FROM A PLANT-BASED* MEMBRANE. CRAZY, RIGHT?

‘Stage is Set’ for Fashion’s Collective Climate Action

NOW COMES THE BRIDGING OF THE GAP BETWEEN ASPIRATION AND EXECUTION, ACCORDING TO THE APPAREL IMPACT INSTITUTE.

For the Apparel Impact Institute (Aii), everything boils down to numbers.

Certainly, the multistakeholder organization, whose tentpole initiative, Clean by Design, has transitioned hundreds of mills in countries worldwide to greener, more efficient practices, cannot function without them. It’s data, after all, that underpins the Sustainable Apparel Coalition spinoff’s ability to identify, fund and scale projects that reduce the fashion industry’s prodigious impact. And it’s data that demonstrates whether its efforts are headed with sufficient speed in the right direction.

Aii’s most recent impact report summed up 2022 with some new figures. Over the past year, 380 facilities serving nearly 30 brands completed one of the San Francisco-based group’s programs, whether Clean by Design, its carbon tech benchmarking assessment or its carbon target setting. (Another 220 facilities were actively participating in at least one of these.) Together, graduates of its initiatives staved off 56,346 metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, equivalent to taking 12,127 cars off the road. They also saved enough water to fill 714 Olympic-sized swimming pools and as much energy as would keep 3,504 washing machines chugging for a year.

Also expanding in 2022 was Aii’s reach, which increased from 19 regions worldwide to 28. Today, it covers a wide swath of the planet, including Bangladesh, mainland China, Guatemala, Egypt, India, Mexico, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, Turkey and Vietnam, all of

By Jasmin Malik Chua

which required localized tweaks to “activate” the organization’s solutions.

“We’ve always kind of known that it can’t be top-down; it almost has to be bringing the right resources to a region and letting them make them uniquely their own to solve for the problems,” said Aii president Lewis Perkins. “Because their problems are also slightly different.”

Overall, factories made more than $8 million in investments, reaping $4.8 million in savings in return. To put it another way, the average facility shelled out more than $501,000 to recoup nearly $300,000.

To be sure, decarbonization doesn’t come cheap, particularly at the outset. According to Aii’s research, it will cost the fashion industry $1 trillion to fully decarbonize its supply chain by 2030. In June, the organization announced the launch of the Fashion Climate Fund, a $250 million collaborative that is rallying funds from donors such as H&M Group, the H&M Foundation, Lululemon, PVH Corp., Target and The Schmidt Family Foundation to “unlock” $2 billion in blended capital to help the sector meet its goal of halving carbon emissions by 2030. As 2023 kicked into gear, Aii opened its inaugural call for submissions for the Climate Solutions Portfolio, which will dole out grants from the fund.

Things are only going to ramp up now that the “stage is set” for industry engagement and collective action, Perkins said. Now comes the bridging of the gap between aspiration and execution, something that watchdog groups, from Stand.earth to the

NewClimate Institute, say is stymying measurable progress. Aii and the World Resources Institute (WRI) estimate that the apparel industry generated 1 gigaton of CO₂ equivalent in 2019, or roughly 2 percent of that year’s global greenhouse gas emissions.

“The story of Aii, and the industry as a whole, is that 2022 was a big increase year in programmatic engagement, adoption and resourcing,” Perkins said. “From my perspective, the big story is there’s growth happening and actual climate action within Scope 3 of the supply chain.” It’s Scope 3, where a brand or retailer’s indirect operations reside, after all, where as much as 90 percent of a supply chain’s emissions are generated.

One point of pride is that the organization managed to expand its program coverage from two carbon-reduction interventions, as identified by Aii and WRI in their 2021 “Roadmap to Net Zero” report, to five, meaning that it’s tackling not only energy efficiency and energy but also maximizing material efficiency, scaling sustainable materials and practices, and eliminating coal in manufacturing.

Historically, Aii has homed in on lowhanging fruit to “whet the appetite” of users involved, said Kurt Kipka, its chief impact officer. Over time, however, it has seen manufacturers shift those efforts from an “almost purely cost-savings standpoint” to a “more strategic path,” which paved the way for other opportunities.

“The groundwork that we laid with a couple of interventions that we started with really did pay dividends for us as we look to expand that work, both with manufacturers and brands that we’ve worked with historically, but also new brands and manufacturers who are just getting started, [while] recognizing that everyone is coming at this challenge from a different perspective but can also benefit from aligned language consistent tools and resources,” he said.

But make no mistake, cost-effectiveness is still a key consideration for its initiatives, which ring up to $17 per metric ton of CO₂ equivalent reduced compared with an average of $67 per metric ton for alternative, external decarbonization strategies such as solar thermal and offshore wind.

“I don’t think that’s the only metric that you

▲ In 2022, 380 facilities serving nearly 30 brands completed one of the Apparel Impact Institute’s impact-reducing programs.

can look at when you’re thinking about a solution,” said Ryan Gaines, Aii’s chief financial officer. “But as we get into reviewing those other solutions that are out there, it’s an important benchmark to think about which ones are going to be the most cost-effective and at least to implement first. I think eventually you have to go deeper and deeper into the hard-to-reach and more expensive-to-reach carbon, but at least it helps us to start to prioritize with the limited funding that is available today.”

As 2023 barrels forward, Aii is in “build mode” around the financial unlock that it hopes the Fashion Climate Fund will accelerate.

“And so bringing more partners not just from the philanthropic or the brand engagement, but also the banks that we’re talking to and the other financial institutions that will participate in a lot of the loan models that we hoped to create,” Perkins said. “For us, it’s about building out that level of resource where we’re really starting to look at that sort of pre-seed pilot model scale approach that we’ve been pitching through our programs all along.”

For Kipka, this is the year Aii will be diversifying its projects and partners through the Climate Solutions Portfolio. So far, it has received more than 100 applications, which an advisory council

comprising experts such as environmental scientist Linda Greer, Textile Exchange Climate+ director Beth Jensen and Lululemon director of product sustainability and environment Crispin Wong is reviewing.

“I have a lot of hope, as I’m reaching the end of that review process that we’ve landed on a really strong subset of the

applications,” he said. “But there’s still so much room for growth, and if anything keeps me up at night, it’s that we might just miss something that might slip through the cracks. But those are the types of things that our advisory council is going to continue to dig into revisiting those criteria, making them more focused, and even framing our ask more succinctly based on key categories of filling that innovation gap.

From my perspective, the big story is there’s growth happening and actual climate action within Scope 3 of the supply chain.”

LEWIS PERKINS, Aii

Coalition Champions Circular Fashion As ‘Economic Empowerment’

RACHEL KIBBE, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF THE AMERICAN CIRCULAR TEXTILES GROUP, EXPLAINS WHY FEDERAL POLICY IS CIRCULAR FASHION’S “BIGGEST GAP.”

Fashion in the United States is struggling to close the loop on itself. Strategic, bipartisan legislation that supports circular business models, according to a new report, can help.

Published last month, the white paper is the brainchild of Rachel Kibbe, founder and executive director of the American Circular Textiles Group, a.k.a. ACT, a coalition of reuse and recycling stakeholders that includes Arrive, Fashionphile, Recurate, Rent the Runway, The RealReal, Thrilling, SuperCircle and ThredUp. The goal of the platform, Kibbe said, is to provide a “glue” for a fragmented and competitive market so it can come together and discuss what it needs to scale its solutions. And one of the levers it’s settled on is public policy. If regulation can promote cleaner transportation, boost jobs and hone national competitiveness, she asks, why can’t it do the same to make clothing more sustainable?

“There is a long history of government action to curb pollutive industries,” said James Reinhart, CEO of ThredUp, the secondhand e-tailer that has inked partnerships with high rollers like Gap, Madewell and Kate Spade. “We have seen regulation and incentives for everything from plastic bags to electric vehicles. We also know that one company alone cannot solve all the world’s fashion problems, which are both humanitarian and environmental.”

Kibbe said that the only parts of circular

By Jasmin Malik Chua

fashion that can be deemed scaled or scalable are the ones that have existed for “hundreds of years,” meaning resale, repair and rental. These are well and good and should be encouraged, since, she said, it’s beautiful that “clothes can be reused.” End-of-life scenarios for a ratty pair of sneakers or a hole-riddled sweater, however, are more “nuanced,” she said. Garments can’t be recycled the way a yogurt container can, meaning that what you put in is what you get out. Right now, the types of fiber-to-fiber technologies that are bubbling up aren’t being underpinned by the types of policies that can spur their wider adoption. Fixing that will also help reuse, repair and rental in a “rising tides lifts all boats” kind of way, she said.

State and federal governments, according to ACT, which recently welcomed Debrand, H&M Group and Reformation into its fold, could dole out grants or subsidies, provide consumer and business tax incentives, create extended personal responsibility schemes— much like the one California is currently mulling—and increase oversight over waste polluters. There’s infrastructure to be shored up, consumers to be educated and startup costs to defray. The right type of policies will “kill a lot of birds with one stone,” said Kibbe, who is also the founder and CEO of the Circular Services Group, a sustainability consultancy based in New York City.

“I think policy is the biggest gap because there’s no framework laying out a way to make this economically viable to be able to compete with linear fashion,” she said. Encouraging brands, particularly those firmly entrenched in their ways, isn’t easy without supportive policies, she said. Kibbe isn’t so much advocating for “finger-pointing” scrutiny as she is for a “level playing field” where everyone is expected to participate and contribute. Reusing, reselling, renting and recycling clothing should be as easy as dropping an empty Coke can into a blue bin, she added.

“Fashion is complex, textile recovery is complex, and policy-making is complex,” said Amelia Eleiter, CEO and co-founder at Debrand, which specializes in reverse logistics and textile recycling. “ACT is led by passionate and experienced changemakers who are dedicated to developing the most effective and meaningful policy that will enable scalable systems change for textile recovery and end-of-life solutions.”

Kibbe sees ACT’s job as akin to turning an ocean liner around; it requires all hands on deck, whether brands, manufacturers, innovators, philanthropists, lawmakers or consumers.

“We want to engage with the whole industry and outside stakeholders—it’s not just fashion,” she said. “We have a seat at the table with transportation and energy because fashion takes transportation and it takes energy.”

Besides reducing virgin resource extraction and nipping waste in the bud, a circular economy that prioritizes the waste hierarchy also brings with it benefits such as job creation, supply chain protection and better product value and sustainability. The Ellen MacArthur Foundation estimates that circular fashion represents a $560 billion economic opportunity. If America “acts swiftly,” Kibbe said, public policy can usher in a “new era of productivity” for an array of skills, including clean chemistry and energy, technology, resale, logistics, sorting, repair, recycling and textile manufacturing while

keeping domestic resources in circulation and whittling clothing’s environmental impact. Similar efforts in the European Union can serve as an inspiration, she added.

“This is a huge problem—and it’s a huge opportunity,” Kibbe said. “And I think that the

biggest thing I want anyone who reads or skims the paper to take away is that we all want there to be more economic empowerment in this country. We all want customers to have more value. We all want there to be more jobs, and we all want to live on a planet that can sustain itself.”

▲ Reusing, reselling, renting and recycling clothing should be as easy as dropping an empty Coke can into a blue bin, says the American Circular Textiles Group.

Fashion is complex, textile recovery is complex, and policymaking is complex.”

AMELIA ELEITER, Debrand

Sustainable style, your way

Sustainable

belong to everyone.

Addressing the ‘S’ in ESG

THE FASHION IMPACT FUND’S KERRY BANNIGAN SAYS THE INDUSTRY IS FALLING BEHIND. By

Kate Nishimura

When it comes to ESG goals, too many fashion firms seem to believe the “S”—which stands for social—is silent.

That’s according to Kerry Bannigan, executive director of the Fashion Impact Fund, which supports women-led businesses and promotes equity and economic inclusion within the industry. The group’s partnership with the United Nations, dubbed the UN Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network, was formed in 2021 “to provide an impartial platform for the industry and the UN system, and to bridge the work of the sector’s changemakers to global leaders and governments,” she said. Today, the Network has brought together 199 members from 64 countries on a centralized online platform.

Guided by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the group’s key objective is to mobilize the industry’s collective expertise, innovative spirit and advanced technologies to drive sustainability and social change.

While brands have made progress since the 17 SDGs were officially established in 2015, “Balancing competing priorities” remains a “significant challenge for companies,” Bannigan said. Between juggling the pressures of pushing profitability with achieving environmental and human impact, certain key objectives are lagging behind.

“Some people believe that sustainability is only about environmental issues,” Bannigan said, but being truly sustainable involves taking a wholistic view of all business impacts, including “social and economic issues, such as fair labor practices and supply chain transparency.” The fashion industry was built on an “extremely

exploitive platform” that operates worlds away from the Park Avenue or Paris-based home offices of decision-markers. That extreme disconnect has inhibited both understanding and progress, she believes.

“When we look at people and planet, I feel like people is where it falls behind in most sustainability plans,” she said, “And the reality is, you can’t divide the two. We need social justice. We need fair labor practices. And this is a crucial thing that needs to happen.”

Brands have undoubtedly moved beyond “embracing ignorance” regarding their supply

what was happening,” Bannigan explained. Brands are facing questions from employees, from the models showcasing the clothes to “the person doing comms, social media marketing and branding,” she added. “They’re questioning, ‘Who are we? What are we doing?’—it’s a more comprehensive approach that cannot be ignored.”

This year marks a midpoint for the SDGs, which were adopted by UN member states in 2015. The call to action was to achieve all of the goals, which include eliminating poverty and hunger and reducing inequalities, promoting health and wellbeing, education, gender equality, clean water and sanitation, affordable clean energy, decent work and economic growth, by 2030. They also call for investments in innovation and infrastructure, sustainable cities and communities, responsible production and consumption, climate action, and partnerships.

chains, but there’s more work to be done. Just a few short years ago, it was not uncommon to find a global fashion firm embroiled in a worker rights crisis claiming it did not know about the conditions on the ground because of practices like subcontracting. The fashion supply chain is notoriously opaque, but organizations have been feeling the pressure—not just from consumers, but from their own employees—to shape up and become more transparent.

“There are more people rising up internally in this sector, whereas before that was not

“Whilst the United Nations Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network is seeing an increase in member commitments to achieve change, there is a critical need globally across all sectors to advance sustainable practices, supporting regulations and financial distribution to the solutions,” Bannigan said. Thus far, organizations haven’t come far enough.

In this critical moment in the global effort to achieve the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, just 12 of the SDG targets are on track. What’s more, “we have stalled or gone into reverse on more than 30 percent of the SDGs.” The UN’s latest report also highlighted a financing gap of about $4.2 trillion—a deficit that highlights a key challenge for stakeholders across the globe. “Implementing sustainability initiatives can

When we look at people and planet, I feel like people is where it falls behind in most sustainability plans.”

KERRY BANNIGAN, Fashion Impact Fund

require significant investments in time and resources.” Those commitments are an even higher hurdle to jump for smaller companies with less financial wiggle-room.

Because companies can only focus their efforts on so many objectives at once, an imbalance in priorities has emerged in recent years. “I see the fashion industry aligning more so with a subset” of the SDGs, Bannigan added, including responsible consumption and production, climate action and partnerships. Many groups have honed in on developing portfolios of sustainable materials and are gravitating to business models that address waste, from resale to on-demand production. But “what the industry is lacking extreme progress on…. is gender equality,” she said, first and foremost, along with promoting safe working environments and opportunities for economic growth.

“These commitments were made at a time when people were inspired to drive action”—whether that purpose came from the will of consumers or pressure from the industry at large. But today, many organizations are struggling to advance because they did not engage in enough feasibility reporting in the early days. “There

was not enough due diligence to see what the reality was, and what it would take to make [their goals] happen,” Bannigan said. “Big companies have made bold statements and ambitious commitments, because the world needs it and people and planet are in dire and critical conditions,” she added. But the clock is ticking, and the industry isn’t meeting its benchmarks.

The process of assessing and reporting progress remains fraught with difficulty—an imperfect science. “Measuring progress can be complex and requires accurate data collection and analysis,” the executive director said, and that can require specialized expertise. Fashion brands have complex, multitiered supply chains comprised of multiple suppliers and distributors, sometimes spread across regions and time zones. Companies have invested in audits and certifications, along with traceability technology, to help gauge the impact of their efforts to create a more sustainable supply chain, but these technologies and programs can be cost-prohibitive to access. “In some cases, a lack of regulatory frameworks or incentives can make it harder for companies to prioritize sustainability initiatives,” she

added. “This can make it difficult for companies to justify the investment required to achieve sustainable outcomes.”

That’s where the UN Conscious Fashion and Lifestyle Network hopes to provide a sense of direction and community. “Given the significant impact of the fashion and lifestyle sectors on society and the environment, the Network is dedicated to fostering transparent, inclusive, and transformative engagement of global stakeholders to drive urgent action for sustainability,” Bannigan said. “The network works towards this goal by sharing knowledge and best practices, supporting research and development, facilitating collaborations among stakeholders and hosting convenings during high-level United Nations conferences.”

The UN is a critical player in global sustainability efforts, and its active participation in discussions related to sustainability and the SDGs is essential, she believes. With 193 member countries, its reach and influence are as significant as any global organization, facilitating cooperation and collaboration across different sectors and countries. “The UN provides a platform for multilateral cooperation and dialogue on sustainability issues, allowing for the exchange of ideas,” Bannigan said.

Moreover, the organization is uniquely positioned to assist not only in the development, but the implementation of global policies related to sustainability. “The organization can provide guidance and support to governments, businesses, and other stakeholders in implementing sustainable practices and policies,” from technical assistance to capacity building. “The UN’s active participation in discussions related to sustainability and the SDGs is crucial for achieving a more sustainable and equitable future for all,” Bannigan said. “Its efforts can ultimately lead to a more sustainable world where all individuals have equal access to opportunities and resources.”

▼ Kerry Bannigan

Higg MSI Controversy Cited in Sustainability Labeling Trends

APPAREL BRANDS MAY BE SHIFTING THEIR ECO EFFORTS AND GROWING MORE SENSITIVE TO GREENWASHING ACCUSATIONS, CENTRIC PRICING DATA SUGGESTS.

By Chelsea Dobrosielski

Flagging growth in sustainable labeling indicates apparel brands might be shifting their environmental efforts and growing more sensitive to greenwashing accusations, recent Centric Pricing data suggests.

Each of the three countries in the market intelligence platform’s survey—the U.K., U.S. and Germany—saw product counts of generically labeled sustainable goods increase from January 2022 to January of this year. This growth, however, came in slower than in previous years, Centric Pricing, formerly known as StyleSage, reported, with counts peaking in October and since declining. The U.S. saw the largest year-over-year increase, 15 percent, while Germany experienced the smallest, 6 percent.

Product counts of certified sustainable products plummeted, meanwhile. In the U.S., these numbers peaked in April, but ultimately fell 34 percent year over year in 2022. In the U.K. and Germany, counts fell consistently throughout the year, falling 48 percent and 54 percent, respectively, by January 1.

Centric Pricing attributed the drops “in part” to last year’s Higg Materials Sustainability Index controversy. Though counts of certified sustainable products were already on the decline in the first half of the year, this downward trend accelerated in the second half, after the Sustainable

Apparel Coalition removed the published Higg Index seal and scorecard from participating online retail platforms. The move came weeks after the Norwegian Consumer Authority warned H&M Group and outerwear brand Norrøna that using Higg MSI data in sustainability claims would

be considered “misleading” and a breach of greenwashing laws.

The next month, H&M found itself at the center of a class-action lawsuit in the U.S. over what the plaintiffs called “false and misleading” environmental scorecards and advertising. Across the pond, Britain’s Competition and Markets Authority revealed that it was investigating Asos, Boohoo and

Even as regulatory pressures increase, it raises questions as to whether brands may be deprioritizing some of the tougher sustainability challenges as other financial pressures are faced.”

CENTRIC PRICING SURVEY

George at Asda over concerns their sustainability claims misled consumers. Months later, H&M stripped its “Conscious Choice” indicator from its online store worldwide. Zalando followed suit soon after.

On the consumer side, demand for sustainable goods grew in 2022, with sold-out rates rising 23 percent for certified sustainable products, Centric Pricing found. These rates grew just 12 percent for generically labeled sustainable products and 9 percent for everything else.

“Even as regulatory pressures increase, it raises questions as to whether brands may be deprioritizing some of the tougher sustainability challenges as other financial pressures are faced,” Centric Pricing wrote in the report’s conclusion.

The analytics platform also observed a

shift in the type of categories in which recycled materials were most used. Across the U.S., U.K. and Germany, shirts and outerwear led the way, outstripping sweaters and sweatshirts, the report’s previous leader.

As inflation drove up prices around the globe last year, certified sustainable products grew substantially more expensive for the consumer. In Germany, the average original price of certified sustainable products jumped 31 percent year over year, significantly faster than the 19 percent increase generic sustainable products experienced and above the 17 percent bump of all other products. In the U.S. and U.K., inflation proved much more dramatic, with prices of certified sustainable products up 75 percent and 116 percent year over year, respectively.

▲ An H&M store in London.

Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images

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Embattled Higg Co Gets a New Name

THE TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM THAT HOSTS THE POPULAR HIGG INDEX SUITE IS REBRANDING. By

Jasmin Malik Chua

Higg Co is no more.

The technology platform that hosts the popular Higg Index suite of social and environmental measurement tools is rebranding to Worldly, a move that it said it made, in part, to cut the confusion over who the organization is and what it does.

The Higg Index, which is owned by the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), the trade group from which Higg Co spun off in 2019, will retain its name. The SAC will also retain a shareholder stake in the new company.

Riffing off a reporter’s analogy, Jason Kibbey, Worldly’s CEO, compared the SAC to a movie studio and Worldly to Netflix. Worldly will continue to “broadcast” the SAC’s “films,” i.e. the Higg Index, to which it holds an exclusive license, but it might also do the same for a different “studio.” And, should it spy a gap in the market, it will create “films” of its own.

The latter point, fueled by heated conversations over the past year about the Higg Materials Sustainability Index’s ability to accurately capture a material’s footprint, is another reason for the identity change, Kibbey said. Higg Co, he said, realized it needed to be more of an intelligence hub, one with the flexibility to evolve in line with changing market and regulatory demands.

“Like where is the world going in terms of data and claims and making [them] actionable?” he asked. “And I think what we recognized is that we actually needed to be building some new tools that would allow a lot of the parts of the value chain that have just not been touched yet.”

These include what Kibbey described as the “huge percentage” of Tier 2 production, which includes yarn spinning and fabric milling, that’s never been measured in terms of carbon, water and even social impact. That’s data that needs to be freed, he said.

“We started hearing requests from our customers and hearing from some of the factories that they wanted something really light and easy that could get carbon and water data quickly,” he said. “And so we

knew that we actually needed to launch this as a new product and launch other new products to meet the challenges of due diligence as well as other things that are going to be outside of the Higg index [but] still very complementary.”

Worldly’s “All Quiet on the Western Front,” to continue the Netflix analogy, is the Factory Data Solution, which it says is an “industryfirst” effort to capture and share real-time

If we can really show where investment and changes are making a difference, we hope that that unlocks more capital to create more change...”

JASON KIBBEY, Worldly

utility bill data from factories across the supply chain. It has tapped inspection and certification giant SGS to help it determine the accuracy of the data at scale, though it may recruit others as the scheme grows.

As Higg Co, Worldly had been collecting utility bill data for many years, only “in summary,” Kibbey said. Factories, he added, were telling the organization that they wanted a simple way to validate and share that data that takes a few minutes a month rather than a “large annual reporting process.” Brands were also looking for ways to understand their supply chain—what’s getting better, what’s getting worse and where they can target investments to drive the biggest improvements, he said.

“One of the things is that the reporting burden on the factories is pretty heavy and often really complicated,” Kibbey said. “And we just wanted to make this as absolutely simple as possible so that they can be demonstrating their impact really quickly without hundreds of hours of work. We just want them to be able to do it in a few minutes.”

Kibbey said he expects several thousand factories to get on board with the tool over the next year. In time, however, he hopes it will become “ubiquitous” and “reach a lot of the corners of the fashion industry that just haven’t been touched.”

“[A question like] how many factories are there is even hard to [answer],” he said. “A lot of that is because there are a lot of these smaller upstream suppliers that are doing the knitting or the spinning for the thread or they’re doing the dyeing or the finishing that are kind of off-grid. And they can often be invisible in the value chain and that is who we really want to target with this.”

To be sure, the Factory Data Solution isn’t a means to an end in itself, Kibbey said. What Wordly hopes for is that it spurs more and faster investment.

“If we can really show where essentially investment and where changes are making a difference, we really hope that that unlocks more capital to create more change because

the need for vast decarbonization across the value chain is really critical,” he said.

The “pressure for change” from stakeholders, customers and even internally from within a company has “never been stronger,” Kibbey said.

“What we really need now is help in figuring out how do you accelerate that change,” he said. “Where do you make investments? How do you actually know that when you’re you’re putting money and time into changing your value chain, that it’s moving the needle?”

So why “Worldly”?

“One of the reasons for the relaunch is I think we’re walking into a world where regulations such as mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence value chains [are] going to become a norm, and so brands who may have just been thinking that sustainability is nice to have, are now going to integrate this with into their business practices,” Kibbey said. “They need essentially systems and platforms that allow them to do that.”

It’s “no secret” that brands are coming up short on their carbon ambitions, he said.

“Ultimately we want to support the whole fashion sector and other consumer goods sectors in actually catching up with the science-based targets that they’re falling behind on because we need to see acceleration right now,” Kibbey said. “I want to continue to be an optimist.”

▲ The Higg Co is now Worldly.

Ellen MacArthur Foundation Rolls Out Circular Startup Database

THE LIST INCLUDES COMPANIES FROM NEIMAN MARCUS AND CHLOÉ TO THREDUP, VESTIAIRE COLLECTIVE AND YKK.

By Claire Wilson

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has rolled out the list of textiles and fashion companies on its Circular Startup Index, that puts together Neiman Marcus, Tapestry and Chloé with seamstresses, tailors and resale platforms like Vestiaire Collective.

New names bring the number to 500 and represent the full version of the foundation’s current searchable circular startup database, designed to give businesses leads to pursue in their own transition to a circular economy. Those 500 companies come from a range of sectors, industries and centers around the globe, and is said to be the most comprehensive listing of the world’s existing circular business players.

Textile startups on the database include Sojo, a London-based app that hooks people up with seamstresses and tailors to alter pre-worn or vintage garments, By Rotation, a wardrobe lending platform, and Recurate, a resale-as-a-service platform that struck deals for secondhand sales with 7 For All Mankind, Michael Kors and Mara Hoffman. Resale platforms alone continue to grow in leaps and bounds, and will be worth an estimated $42 billion globally by 2027, according to the 2022 report by thredUp resale platform. The report also said the whole global second hand market would hit $350 billion that year.

ThredUP, Neiman Marcus, Vestiaire Collective, Chloé, and YKK, the Japanese

maker of fasteners, were added to the circular list last year. Most companies in the database were already part of the foundation’s community and were selected for incorporating one or more of the

principles of the circular economy into their business models. They include eliminating waste and pollution, circulate products and materials, and regenerate nature.

The index is designed to pair innovation with capital, which is the biggest hurdle for startups aiming to scale circular businesses.

James Repenning, CEO of Denver-based Again & Again which is about to launch a

We have already started working with one of the businesses we found on the Index and are inspired by the ongoing opportunity to engage some of the most forward-thinking businesses in the circularity space.”

HUGH MCCANN, D.S. Smith

men’s clothing line, has been part of the foundation since 2021. He signed onto a webinar where, he said, he found businessrelated things he never knew existed despite a career spent in recycling. “We found a very major textiles supplier that had a circularity idea with no one to pilot it,” he said, but wouldn’t give the supplier’s name. “The apparel is going into our first new shop that opens in July.”

That location in Denver will be a barbershop staffed by ex-convicts who will wear the clothing line as they work. The clothes will be made from organic fabric at the outset and sold in the store-cumbarbershop, which will also have a recycling repository. Called R&R Head Labs, two more units will open later this year in Boston and

Chicago. Repenning is also CEO of the barbershop startup.

D.S. Smith, a UK-based multinational packaging business, also found a partner on the database, according to Hugh McCann, senior circular growth manager for the company.

“We have already started working with one of the businesses we found on the Index and are inspired by the ongoing opportunity to engage some of the most forward-thinking businesses in the circularity space,” he said.

Thousands of business owners are already innovating for a future without waste and where products and materials are reused. Foundation executives hope more circular startups will become part of the Index and find their ideal collaborators.

▲ ThredUP is one of the companies to be named to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s Circular Startup Index database.

Survey Says: Shoppers Will Shell Out for More Sustainable Stuff

DATA FROM THE SHOPPING REWARDS APP SHOPKICK SHOWS CONSUMERS’ AWARENESS AND AFFINITY FOR ECO-FRIENDLY PRODUCTS IS GROWING.

By Kate Nishimura

Consumer awareness surrounding sustainability has been on an upward trajectory for some time, and data shows that the appetite for eco-friendly products persists even in an inflationary economic environment.

Shopping rewards app Shopkick, which surveyed more than10,000 individuals across the U.S. from March 24 through March 30, found that 63 percent consider a product’s sustainability profile as much as its affordability when making a purchase.

The majority of American shoppers have been privy to conversations surrounding climate change, and have been inundated with messaging from brands, media outlets and environmental groups about the importance of conscious consumption. Seventy-two percent said they are familiar with the sustainable product alternatives available at retail, and more than half (55 percent) said they consider a brand’s sustainability practices when they make a purchase. Most consumers (86 percent) said they want companies to offer more environmentally-friendly options across their product lines.

Consumers have become willing to vote with their wallets for brands that align with their values, and sustainability has become a sales-driver, rather than a perk, in recent seasons. Nearly two-fifths of Shopkick respondents said they were willing to pay

more for sustainable products, and of that contingent, 70 percent said they would pay up to $5 more than unsustainable market alternatives.

What’s more, a lack of focus on environmental impact could come back to bite brands in the long run. Only about half of those surveyed said they would still buy from a brand that wasn’t committed to sustainability, and 23 percent said they’d

SHARE OF RESPONDENTS THAT SAID THEY WOULD HOLD OFF ON A PURCHASE UNTIL THE SELLER PRODUCES A GREENER ALTERNATIVE.

hold off on purchasing until the label produces a greener alternative. Nearly one-fifth said they would abandon a brand that didn’t share their environmental outlook and switch to one that aligns more closely.

The shift could be taking place quicker than many companies anticipated. Two out of every five shoppers surveyed said they

purchase more sustainable products now than they did just one year ago. They also said they plan to ramp up conscious consumption over the course of the next 12 months.

While those attitudes persist across retail channels, from e-commerce to malls and big box stores, a sizable majority (78 percent) of those surveyed said groceries were the “most important” product category to consider when it comes to sustainable consumption. Over half of the respondents said they’re attempting to offset their single-use plastic intake by purchasing durable, recyclable solutions like steel straws and glass Tupperware, along with products with less wasteful packaging.

Across the e-commerce sector, brands are turning to recyclable and biodegradable packaging options, from compostable poly-bags made from biopolymers to fully recyclable mailers.

Shoppers are also keen to support brands that they believe are responsible producers, with three-fifths citing a desire to reduce production waste through their purchasing decisions. Globally, shoppers are displaying a greater affinity for semi-personalized, made-to-order products that eliminate overproduction. Apparel brands are increasingly looking to on-demand strategies to cut down on waste, manufacturing only what they’ve already sold.

▲ A new survey from Shopkick reveals that consumers are invested in shopping sustainably.

Textile Recyclers and Clothing Resellers Weigh In On Fashion’s Circular Future

SECONDHAND CLOTHING AND RECYCLED TEXTILES WILL BE A $9 BILLION SECTOR BY 2027, AND RECORD SMART CONFERENCE TURNOUT SIGNALS STRONG INTEREST.

By Matt Hickman

When most people think about recycled clothing, they think of charity, Goodwill, Salvation Army, secondhand donations—dot-org, not dot-com.

But the fact is, recycling clothes and textiles is already a big business and one that’s only going to grow bigger for years to come.

According to a study by Markets and Markets, the textile recycling market was valued in 2022 at $6.9 billion and expected to reach $9.4 billion by 2027, and by 2050 apparel will account for a quarter of the world’s carbon production, potentially raising demand for recycling.

It’s a trend Adam Baruchowitz saw coming back in 2004 when he started Wearable Collections, by putting bins inside of New York-area apartment buildings that he’d pick up and sell as secondhand or as recyclable textiles. A decade later, he was setting up a collection table shop at farmers markets and by the eve of Covid, he was collecting and re-selling 2.5 million pounds of material each year and hosting 31 greenmarket events each week.

The value proposition Baruchowitz identified early on came from the sorting end of the chain.

“You’re getting paid for 50 percent of the stuff [secondhand clothing], which the sorters will make money from. The other 50 percent from the rags and stuff, they lose money on, so I’ve been more obsessed with

this 50 percent [of textiles], thinking that when you change the economic value proposition of that 50 percent, now you’re changing the incentive base to collect,” he told Sourcing Journal. “And when you change the incentive base to collect, you’re

likely going to divert more from landfills and there’s going to be more reason for more people to get into the game.”

But finding that quality second-run clothing gets harder and harder as the gospel of sustainability spreads and more and more consumers sell their best used items through online channels like Poshmark.

Out in western New York, St. Pauly Textiles has been profitable in the recycled

When you change the incentive base to collect, you’re likely going to divert more from landfills and there’s going to be more reason for more people to get into the game.”

ADAM BARUCHOWITZ, Wearable Collections

clothing business, but second-generation owner Joe Howlett has never seen it as busy as it is now.

“A lot of that comes down to people being more cognizant of their finances and wanting to get something at a much more reasonable price, but in addition to that, people are becoming more conscientious of the environment,” Howlett told Sourcing Journal. “Educating the general public that we don’t want this stuff going into the landfill is just a matter of getting that mindset.”

St. Pauly Textiles in Farmington, N.Y. was started by Howlett’s father in 1996 and has little trouble filling up its donation sheds.

“Basically, what we do is set up relationships with different non-profit groups collecting clothing, usually using it as a fund-raiser,” Howlett said. “We’re purchasing the product that comes in and we’re able to sell it.”

Whereas Baruchowitz seeks out quality secondhand clothing to maximize his profit on the recycled rest, Howlett puts his focus on resale first and recycled textiles a distant second. Howlett believes that as momentum for recycling mounts it will eventually run afoul of the fashion industry, which relies on consumers regularly buying new products to maintain profits.

“Our biggest focus is trying to get the highest quality clothing to go around the world; that’s one of the biggest pushes we need to have across the board,” he said. “I know it’s not a popular thing for people who manufacture clothing to make it at a higher quality—which essentially means it’s lasting longer, which means people aren’t buying new. But for sustainability in the future, we have to have higher quality clothing in the second market. Fast fashion is a detriment.”

Earlier this year in Dubai, Howlett was one of a record 204 attendees for the annual convention for SMART, the trade organization representing recycling in the clothing and textiles industries since 1932.

“What the companies have always done in the industry is to look for a way to make some money for their waste, or at least get rid of the cost of waste,” Steve Rees, SMART president and founder of his own textile

recycling company Wipeco, told Sourcing Journal. “More and more municipalities and more and more governments are trying to figure out landfill issues and textiles are one of the last behemoth things… It’s at a point where it’s gone from companies to a real focus on communities.”

Wipeco Industries is an industrial supply company which produces wiping rags from a mix of secondhand clothing, reclaimed linens from hospitals and hotels and other businesses, as well as unused partial rolls of fabric. He said pushes for labeling on clothing that will allow a garment to be tracked through a QR code would be especially helpful for recyclers needing to separate certain fabrics before they can be mashed into a pulp and repurposed.

“Right now we can break down 95 to 100 percent cotton goods, only some polyesters and for any blended materials—unless it’s being chopped into fiber, it doesn’t work,” Rees said. “So any info on a garment that can be scanned quickly can definitely help stream textiles into higher value.”

Ninety companies and 14 nations were represented at SMART, including India and Pakistan, where Rees said a majority of the

▲ Recycling Banks for clothes and shoes.

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recycling workforce exists now. This makes Dubai a strategic site for a conference because of its geographic location and its relatively easy visa protocols.

“A lot of our conversation right now is based on closing the loop,” Rees said. “The talk was about how, as an industry, we need to have a seat at the table.” Governments and municipalities have to “get the message out” that people shouldn’t just throw their clothes and textiles in the garbage, Rees said.

Howlett, a regular at these conferences, said there was a “buzz” in Dubai he hadn’t felt before.

“I think there was an energy that’s difficult to quantify,” he said, adding, “The buzz was, ‘hey, we all need to work together and get better.’”

Howlett said the push to make recycling the norm will take a combination effort from for-profit and non-profit organizations alike.

“The need is so strong that everyone wants to be part of it,” he said. “I’ve always been taught that you don’t have to be a nonprofit to do the right thing.”

The collection bins inside of buildings that Baruchowitz helped pioneer nearly 20 years ago, is being taken to the next level of technology by Dallas-based CheckSammy, which earlier this month presented its novel approach to recycling of not just clothing but electronics and plastic devices too at the Aspen Ideas Summit.

Operating since 2018, CheckSammy has programmed its bins from coast to coast to signal when they are more than 75 percent full. That triggers a fleet of more than 5,000 gig economy drivers to come get the haul and deliver it to hubs, called “sustainability centers,” where advanced technology is used to separate and bundle and bale each product type, providing statistics of how much of each type was present in each load.

“We’re aggregating on mass specific commodities and it’s in one door and out the other,” CheckSammy co-founder and CEO Sam Scoten told Sourcing Journal. “We’re basically collecting the product, putting them into bailing machines where

we get 1,000-pound bricks, then they’re on a 53-foot [truck], like a Jenga, and they’re on to the next destination.”

Scoten said the process of hiring thousands of drivers is not so different from a ride-sharing service.

“Our typical hauler will have a 20-foot box truck, but it could also be a 53-foot rig, or a semi,” Scoten said. “The onboarding process makes sure that they’re fully insured, fully compliant and they’re permitted in the jurisdiction that they’re working.”

Scoten said placing bins inside of residential settings proves to be the best for getting the coveted secondhand clothes of quality.

“You have to control the source and the source is typically going to be from the individual’s closet, i.e., their residence,” Scoten said. “The benefit of a multifamily structure is you could have 100 residents or 500 to 600 and you have to have a mechanism to come back to collect, and that’s been the beauty of the bin-and-bag process is that process starts by educating not only the property management, but by educating the suppliers of the textiles, which would be the residents.”

When the QR coded bins and bags

▲ Wearable Collections table at a greenmarket event in New York City.

Courtesy of Wearable Collections

are brought to the center, they are weighed immediately.

“We actually narrow it right down to exactly what is inside the bag,” Scoten said. “Is it men’s wear? Women’s wear? What’s the seasonality? Are there children’s products in there? We can get very granular on the data and then we hand those items off to either institutional buyers or charitable entities.”

Scoten said today CheckSammy is the largest sustainability operator in North America, a superlative they claim thanks to vertical integration.

“We’re a for-profit entity…We’re about maximizing shareholder returns, but we’re also about doing the right thing,” Scoten said. “We found the system was broken where you have one company doing the operations, another is doing the data collection, a third is going to do the de-branding and so on. But we’re a one-stop shop… We can come to our clients and say when we collect, we will show you the data right down to the poundage, what it is we’re taking off the property, the cadence, and customize that process over a period of time by cutting costs and then coming back to them with their sustainability [figures].”

That process has allowed CheckSammy to remain profitable every year it’s been in operation, even through the pandemic.

“It’s a very powerful marketplace that we built and it is a profitable way of approaching [recycling] but at the same time mitigating the waste to landfill and nobody has done what

by the pandemic. With social distancing putting a halt to farmers markets, he had to sell his fleet of “Feed the Monster” emblazoned trucks, and dismiss the staff of Wearable Collections, which is now Baruchowitz alone.

He’s now hosting about eight greenmarkets per week, down significantly from the 31 pre-Covid, but with his expenses cut to the bare minimum, the former Wall Street day trader can see the second life of his American Dream.

“There’s a lot of pressure on do-gooders to do good, you know? I want to prove out through a company that you can do well by doing good,” Baruchowitz said. “You know how many billions of dollars needs to be invested to really change this for the better? This is not like some moonshot prize, this is systemic change that needs to happen, and who benefits from that?”

While he believes in environmental cause, the word “sustainability” is one Baruchowitz would to see chucked into the landfill.

we’ve we’ve done if you look at the couriers to the waste operators, to some of the bespoke recyclers that are out there,” Scoten said. “It’s phenomenal. But it all comes down to the core and the core is the logistics.”

Baruchowitz’s business was all but leveled

“I don’t even like to use the word sustainability,” Baruchowitz said. “I’m strictly talking about circularity because circularity means something to me. It’s like thinking about the end of life at the beginning phase and taking responsibility for it in the middle.”

We found the system was broken where you have one company doing the operations, another is doing the data collection, a third is going to do the de-branding and so on.”

SAM SCOTEN, CheckSammy

Revolutionize your supply chain management with ProductDNA® - the ultimate tool for brands who want to work smarter, not harder. Reduce the complexities of mapping out your supply chain - our comprehensive solution will put all the data you need at your fingertips. Ensure compliance with social and environmental regulations, back up your green claims, and even implement circular models - all in one convenient place.

Reformation Pledges To Be Circular by 2030

AS A CERTIFIED CLIMATE NEUTRAL COMPANY, EACH YEAR

THE BRAND MEASURES ITS CARBON EMISSIONS AND OFFSETS 100 PERCENT OF ITS FOOTPRINT.

By Kaley Roshitsh

Reformation’s latest impact report highlights circularity goals, with the aim of being a circular fashion brand by 2030.

The brand has been charting its renewed sustainability roadmap since the pandemic. In 2020, Reformation pledged to be “Climate Positive by 2025,” and now equally ambitiously, it hopes to be “Circular by 2030.” Last month, Reformation launched handbags made to be recycled as evidence of its commitment.

“Sustainability has been so integral to our DNA from the beginning,” Kathleen Talbot, chief sustainability officer and vice president of operations at Reformation, told WWD ahead of the report’s release.

As a certified Climate Neutral company, each year Reformation measures its carbon emissions and offsets 100 percent of its footprint. The measurements incorporate its “RefScale,” a methodology developed by the brand in 2015 and verified by Sustainable Business Consulting.

“We’re not trying to create our own measuring stick,” Talbot reiterated, pointing to its verified science-based targets and ongoing work with the Carbon Disclosure Project.

The brand centers future hopes on circular fashion around its clothing being designed for circularity, worn often, kept in use and made with better materials. It anchors this definition in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s wider one of a circular economy as one that eliminates waste and pollution, circulates products and materials, and regenerates nature.

Talbot said circular design is an “underleveraged” and “less clearly defined ambition” in fashion, and one the company is betting on.

Brands like Reformation, Rent the Runway and Everlane are all among the values-led cohort of young sustainable apparel companies that had hit the scene by 2010. For Reformation, the company, according to

Reformation predominantly relies on organic cotton, viscose and Lyocell as its top fibers but said it is transitioning away from virgin fiber use given high water and emissions impact. Certified silk and Leather Working Group-certified leather make up a much smaller portion of Reformation’s sourcing, or 7 percent of its material footprint, but have higher impacts (per the Higg Index data cited in the report).

a recent Bloomberg report, claims to be profitable, with sales doubling in four years to $300 million.

Its sustainability roadmap is close in line with growth. By the numbers, 0.5 percent of Reformation garments were excess inventory from direct product that were donated, 16 percent of business is circular (resale, rental or vintage), 15 percent of materials are textile-totextile recyclable, 68 percent of materials were recycled, regenerative or renewable and 17 percent of materials were deadstock, recycled or next-gen fabrics.

“One of the things that, hopefully, comes out with our materials mix is we’re not just trying to look for pilots and capsule collections here. We’re talking about fundamentally making some sourcing transitions,” said Talbot. “The most notable, from a climate perspective, is our 90 percent recycled cashmere quality which ended up becoming the core 2022 sweater program.” Recycled silk, specifically Eastman’s Naia “Renew” acetate, was another callout in the report for material substitutes alongside a number of regenerative sourcing programs like C4.

“The dream of a sustainability program is that it can be a true win-win. It can help further your mission and it also is accretive to margin,” Talbot continued.

Reformation was one of the first to partner with ThredUp under its Resale-as-a-Service model in 2018. In 2021, Reformation made a pledge to recirculate 500,000 garments in five years — the brand is already 80 percent there through its partnership with ThredUp. (This is separate from the 0.05 percent figure in the report, which is from direct production).

The dream of a sustainability program is that it can be a true win-win. It can help further your mission and it also is accretive to margin.”

KATHLEEN TALBOT, Reformation

On-demand tailoring service Hemster

began a pilot last year with Reformation that is now live for e-commerce customers for free if the item costs at least $118, and in 14 stores across the U.S. “We can confirm it is a value-add program, not just a sustainability initiative,” Talbot said.

Reformation and Everlane were among the few brands endorsing the Fabric Act, per the 2022 Remake transparency report. Reformation also received praise in the Remake report for its progress on living wages and financial aid to help decarbonize its suppliers under its “Factory Forward” initiative, which launched in 2022. The program currently helps five factory partners in measuring, reporting and assessing their impacts. Its significance is that the factories are responsible for nearly half, or 47 percent, of Reformation’s tier one production.

It’s not all straightforward, though the brand aims to make its climate impact data as digestible as possible for its Insta-worthy “Refbabes” (a hashtag used by shoppers and influencers alike).

Reformation said it is on track with the 1.5-degrees Celsius pathway to decarbonize its supply chain per the Paris Agreement, and as vetted by the Science Based Targets Initiative. Reformation produced 36,822 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents in 2022, which is up 8 percent from 34,028 mtC02e the previous year.

“There’s two things there to unpack,” Talbot said. “We have intensity targets with the Science Based Targets [Initiative] for our Scope 3 emissions. Because we’re not a heritage and mature business, we know we’re going to be growing. Our total emissions from 2021 to 2022 went up 8 percent, but our business grew nearly 5 times that. We’re really committed to say we need to bring down the carbon intensity of our products. You can still decarbonize in line with these targets even as you are growing and establishing the company.”

“We fundamentally believe if you can achieve those things, you can — and should — have a net positive impact even while you are producing clothes,” she added.

▲ A model in a sparkly black knit Reformation dress made from deadstock.

Getting Ahead of Compliance with Trimco’s ProductDNA® Platform

The expectations and workflows of CSR/ ESG teams have increased exponentially in recent years, creating bottlenecks in strategy implementation and control. Trimco Group’s ProductDNA® platform, recently nominated for a Drapers Sustainable Fashion Award in the “Best Use of Technology for Good” category, facilitates productivity with real-time data to help brands navigate the massive number of regulations worldwide.

Since its launch in 2022, ProductDNA® now supports more than 70 brands with their sustainability goals worldwide, mapping out global supply chains and their social and environmental compliance, backing up material claims and paving the path to a Digital Product Passport (DPP).

Here, James Petrie, Market Development Director for ESG solutions, Trimco Group US Inc., explains how the platform answers the demands of regulators, control authorities and the market to minimize the impact of fashion on people and the environment.

Sourcing Journal: Since ProductDNA® was introduced, international regulations have really stepped up. What are the laws that brands and retailers need to focus on? James Petrie: More countries have taken the initiative to introduce local regulations on social and environmental compliance. The EU has recently stepped up its greenwashing crackdown, introducing a series of criteria against publishing misleading environmental claims while actively working on the release and implementation of the Digital Product Passport initiative.

Due to different regulations and lack of consensus, however, it’s been hard for global retailers and brand owners to navigate all the requirements in their markets. It is why we created ProductDNA® and assigned an internal task force to focus on regulations alone.

The French AGEC Law, the introduction of EPR schemes worldwide, and social due diligence initiatives such as California’s Garment Worker Protection Act in the U.S. or others in Norway, Germany or the Netherlands, are regulations that require implementation today, with the continuous addition and redrafting of other requirements ahead.

What is important to note is that companies should not wait for regulations. The biggest mistake for compliance is waiting until deadlines are set. While this

is understandable, starting the work now will benefit them in the long run. Brands must find the right partner to support them to implement such initiatives, and Trimco Group has made this our mission.

The EU will soon require certain products sold in that market to have a digital product passport (DPP). How can this be a positive opportunity instead of a burden for brands?

J.P.: As an embedded specialist of the supply chain, we know how to tackle the burdens of compliance, and we have applied our own technologies to support traceability strategies in accordance with up-to-date regulations. This is how ProductDNA® was born. With four different modules, a Certificate Manager, Product Manager, Digital Manager and a

Packaging Manager, ProductDNA® is a platform that has been designed to accelerate transparency, traceability and circularity in the supply chain of all brands that want to make a change.

While it might seem like a burden to start with, the implementation of a DPP project can open a world of opportunities in terms of communication, transparency, and Product-as-a-Service (PaaS) business models. Not only can brands communicate about mandatory documentation and social and environmental compliance, but they can also manage repair, resell and recycle initiatives for the end-consumer.

How can RFID, used on tags, also boost sustainability?

J.P.: Achieving optimized sales performance and improving data management are crucial factors in eliminating excess inventory waste. Data gained from implementing RFID serves many purposes, one being the monitoring and transparency reporting on sustainability measuring points— including overproduction metrics and control. As RFID is already a passport for garments, shoes, accessories and other retail product groups, it is a natural step to use the technology for Digital Product Passport purposes as well.

The biggest mistake for compliance is waiting until deadlines are set.”

Gap Inc.’s ESG Progress Report: Cotton, Worker Well-Being, PFAS and More

THE OLD NAVY PARENT’S 2023 ESG REPORT HIGHLIGHTED SOURCING ACHIEVEMENTS AND WORKER PROGRAM PARTICIPATION. By

Chelsea Dobrosielski

Gap Inc. recently released its annual environmental, social and governance report touting progress in its goals to expand access to clean water and improve opportunities for women.

The Old Navy parent’s 2023 ESG Report highlighted growing participation in programs it created to support women at work, at home and in their communities. As of Jan. 28, 2023—the end of Gap Inc.’s fiscal year—nearly 1.3 million women and girls had participated in the company’s Personal Advancement & Career Enhancement (P.A.C.E.) and Reimagining Industry to Support Equality (RISE) initiatives.

Gap Inc. first introduced P.A.C.E. in 2007 with the goal of providing women and girls with “foundational life skills, technical training and support.” In 2019, it partnered with BSR, HERproject, CARE International and ILO-IFC Better Work to create Empower@Work. Now known as RISE, the program aims to drive collaboration across the apparel industry and streamline women’s empowerment programs in factories to reduce redundancy and expand reach and impact. This year will see Gap Inc. begin to transition its P.A.C.E. Workplace program to RISE, the company noted. Gap Inc. had initially aimed to reach just 1 million women and girls through its P.A.C.E. initiative by last year—a goal it reached a year early in 2021.

The company is currently shooting for 100 percent of its “strategic” factories to

participate in P.A.C.E./RISE by 2025. So far, 94 percent have “institutionalized” the programs as part of their human resources management systems. Just 35 percent, however, have at least 50 percent of their female workers enrolled in either program.

Last year, Gap Inc. exceeded its goal to facilitate improved access to clean water and sanitation for 2 million people by 2023. By the end of the 2033 fiscal year, it had reached more than 2.4 million people. The company established a new goal for 2030 of

▲ A Gap store in Los Angeles.

Gary Hershorn/Getty Images

reaching 5 million people. Also by 2030, it is now aiming to reduce water use and “replenish water to nature” equivalent to the water used in manufacturing apparel at company-operated facilities.

Gap Inc. made sizable progress in transitioning away from PFC-based finishes as well. In 2020, 7 percent of apparel and accessories units with water repellent or stain resistant properties were produced without PFAS. In 2021, this increased to 38 percent and last year it jumped to 95 percent. As of Jan. 1, “most” products available for purchase were produced without PFC-based finishes. “Due to transportation and store inventory timelines and strategies,” however, some styles with PFC finishes remained available for purchase, the company noted.

Gap Inc. has similarly set goals around reducing its carbon footprint. By 2030, it is targeting a 30 percent reduction in Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions and a 90 percent reduction in Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions. In both cases, it is using 2017 as its baseline. It also intends to use 100 percent renewable energy for owned and operated facilities by 2030. The company only reported data from 2021, noting that last year’s data will be available later in 2023. In each case, it said it was on track to reach its target.

Last year, Gap Inc. sourced 81 percent of

its cotton from “more sustainable” sources—Better Cotton, verified U.S.grown cotton, organic, in-conversion, recycled or regenerative cotton—and 16 percent of its polyester from recycled sources. It has set goals of sourcing 100 percent of its cotton from more sustainable sources and at least 45 percent of its polyester from recycled sources by 2025.

The company is also working to purge wasteful packaging. It intends to eliminate unnecessary or problematic plastics from packaging to consumers by 2025 and from packaging to businesses by 2030. By the end of 2022, 49 percent of Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic shopper bags had transitioned to paper bags.

Similarly, the company wants half of all plastic packaging to be 100 percent recycled content for consumers by 2025 and for packaging to businesses by 2030. By the end of 2022, half of the content in its polymailers and 100 percent of the content in the polybags it uses in logistics were from recycled sources.

In addition to increasing participating in its P.A.C.E. and RISE programs, Gap Inc. has also set goals for women’s empowerment at its partner factories.

By 2025, it is aiming for 100 percent of its strategic factories to achieve gender parity at the supervisor level. By the end of 2022, only

100

PERCENTAGE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY TARGETED FOR OWNED AND OPERATED GAP INC. FACILITIES BY 2030

18 percent had achieved this. At the same time, 49 percent of supervisors in Gap Inc.’s suppliers’ strategic factories are women.

The company also intends for 100 percent of its factories to implement prevention and response management systems, as well as training to address gender-based violence, by 2025. So far, 46 percent have accomplished this. Fifty-three percent of factories had all employees trained on gender-based violence prevention.

Gap Inc. signaled it was on track for 20,000 youth to participate in its This Way ONward program by 2025. Since it launched the program in 2007, 15,000 youth have participated. Four percent of Old Navy entry-level store employees were hired through the program, Gap Inc. said. The company has set a goal of hitting 5 percent by 2025.

Calik Denim Expands its Scope of Eco-Innovation

With the motto “Passion for Denim, Passion for Life” to heart, Turkish denim mill Calik Denim is all about sustainability.

Serhat Karaduman, CEO of Calik Denim, discusses the company’s latest novelties.

Sourcing Journal: What are some of Calik Denim’s latest sustainability initiatives?

Serhat Karaduman: Envisioning a globe with eco-innovative, conscious and trendy people, we proudly launch our AW 24-25 Collection, REVIVISCENCE, which elevates our eco-conscious innovations to the next level. Innovations include raw materials obtained from sustainable sources such as recycled, hemp and organic fibers, as well as the novelties containing regenerative cotton.

The new collection includes articles with regenerative cotton content, which have a vision of protecting and improving soil health. With the aim of making the entire collection with regenerative cotton content in the coming period, we have included regenerative cotton articles in our D’enovated, Fix-Fit, Selfsized concepts this season.

Our B210 technology, so named because it is more than 99 percent biodegradable in nature in 210 days, launches its second season. With the motto “Future to Nature,” it can be applied to all fabrics of Calik Denim. This innovation can be applied to fabrics containing synthetic fibers, including all elasticity and even super-stretch. It has been approved non-toxic by London-based and multinational assurance, auditing, product testing and independent certification company Intertek, with no negative effects on germination rate or visible damage to plants.

Keeping a focus on recycled contents, Calik has expanded its RE/J collection of 100 percent pre- and post-consumer recycled content. RE/J stands apart from other 100 percent recycled fabrics in the industry with its vintage-authentic denim look and desired elasticity, utilizing value-added recycled fibers such as ECOLycra and Reprieve PES during production. Sustainability is maximized in all product families in the concept by applying Dyepro, Calik Denim’s zero water usage and no chemical waste dye-technology to all RE/J products in the new season.

What are some new styles/treatments in denim for AW24/25 and how is

Calik addressing those trends in a sustainable way?

S.K.: Considering issues such as the global climate crisis, +1.5 degrees climate action, and globally accepted sustainability regulations, the ecoconscious production model and products are at the forefront again this season. Many global brands that are advancing with conscious production and traceability targets also create their demands in this direction.

At Calik Denim, we provide regenerative cotton articles in the new collection, together with our leading technologies B210, Re/J and E-Denim. And in this way, we combine current trends with sustainable production and lead the industry in this regard.

How is Calik approaching waste, water output and wastewater reuse?

S.K.: As one of the leading global denim fabric manufacturers with its 60 millionmeter production capacity and innovations, the management of water consumption is among our priority issues.

We measure all our processes end-toend with the Transparency Monitoring System (TMS). In addition, with our “Passion for Denim, Passion for Life” strategy, we measure and report resource usage together with our 2025 Sustainability Targets. Our production continues with the aim of minimum water consumption in dyeing and finishing processes with our established Dyepro and D-Clear technologies.

The dyeing method Dyepro is completely water free, and no chemical waste occurs during dyeing as the chemicals are reused. In addition, our D-Clear technology offers considerable saving values for both indigo/sulphur dyeing and finishing steps of production. D-Clear benefits include: decreasing water consumption from 10 liters to 6 liters at indigo/sulphur dyeing process per kg of yarn; Making possible to use only 9 grams of chemicals per liter at finishing process instead of using 150 grams; and reducing water consumption from 6.4 liters to 1.1 liter at finishing process per meter of fabric.

Calik’s B210 enables even synthetic fiber-containing denim fabrics to dissolve in nature within 210 days.”

Everlane Updates Environmental Impact

THE CALIFORNIA BRAND SAID IT WILL RECEIVE THE B CORP SEAL OF APPROVAL THIS QUARTER. By Kate Nishimura

Everlane is closing in on B Corp certification, according to the California fashion label built on the premise of “radical transparency.”

The news comes as the San Francisco brand’s second annual impact report details an accelerating transition to sustainable inputs. Released on Earth Day, the report indicates that Everlane, which says it should be a B Corp by quarter’s end, spent much of last year developing a supply chain to source eco-friendlier raw materials.

“We’re really excited to share a lot of progress that we’ve been able to make, specifically around the adoption of preferred fibers and materials,” sustainability director Katina Boutis told Sourcing Journal. Given that roughly 60 percent of its greenhouse gas (GHG) impact is driven by materials, Everlane has been focused on making “pretty massive transitions” to recycled, responsible and organic inputs, she added Everlane is trying to derive all of its inputs from organic, renewable and responsible sources by 2025. To aid in this goal, it has added three material certifications—the Organic Content Standard (OCS), the Responsible Wool Standard (RWS), and the Responsible Alpaca Standard (RAS)—to its existing Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) brand certification, establishing greater traceability across those fibers.

The brand has transitioned to using 75 percent certified organic, recycled or regenerative cotton, up from 66 percent in 2021. Nearly all materials (96 percent) containing polyester and nylon are now

made from Global Recycled Standardcertified recycled fibers. Everlane is still working to find 100-percent recycled versions of trims and elastane. A forestry policy partnership with CanopyStyle guides the brand’s man-made cellulosic sourcing.

Everlane had aimed to transition to 100-percent organic cotton by the end of 2023, up from 75 percent at the end of

2022, but it’s had trouble sourcing greater volumes in a competitive global market, Boutis said. Though prized for its quality and sustainability profile, organic cotton still makes up just 1 percent of the world’s cotton output, she said, describing how buyers “fighting for” a very small amount of fiber is leading to “a lot of price volatility.” Meanwhile, regulations including the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) in the U.S. and supply chain due diligence legislation in the E.U., is driving brands to source cotton, and especially the

We’re trying a few different things to develop a more responsible portfolio, instead of just focusing on one fiber that is challenged in availability.”

KATINA BOUTIS, Everlane

organic stuff, beyond China.

While Everlane continues to increase its organic cotton uptake, it has looked for alternatives such as recycled cotton. Earlier this month, it launched the low-carbon Tread-Bare sneaker, which featured a 100-percent recycled cotton upper, natural rubber sole and recycled plastic trims. “We want to use more and more recycled input but there is the fine balance of maximizing the amount of recycled content you can have, while also maintaining the quality and durability and longevity that you need in a product,” Boutis said. “We want them to have long lifetimes with the buyer, and then maybe even second and third lifetimes with someone else after that.”

It’s looking into other channels for betterfor-the-world cotton. Everlane recently attained Organic Content Standard (OCS) certification, and has created a program to verify “in-conversion organic cotton” from farms engaged in the process of becoming certified organic. “It takes about three years or more for a farm to make a transition from conventional practices to organic, so it’s quite a long time where farmers are investing and they don’t necessarily have a specific market that they can sell into,” Boutis said. Everlane said the program aims to give farmers a way to sell their crops as they are moving through the certification process. “We’re trying a few different things to develop a more responsible portfolio, instead of just focusing on one fiber that is challenged in availability,” she said.

The company last year introduced its first product lines made with regenerative material, in the form of traceable regenerative cotton. “Organic materials have a much lower emissions factor compared to conventional cotton, and that’s similar for regenerative materials,” Boutis said.

Everlane’s work with several farming groups to begin sourcing regenerative cotton effort will continue this year. The brand’s partnership with the Rodale Institute

produced a capsule collection of graphic T-shirts and beanies.

Addressing material impacts has helped the brand move closer to its goal of halving greenhouse gas emissions by 2030. So far, it has achieved a 20 percent reduction since the baseline measurement year of 2019. It also achieved its 2021 goal of streamlining its supplier base “That was a very big strategic priority for us,” Boutis said. “It has made a lot of the work we’re doing a lot more aligned and more efficient, which helps for a lot of different reasons, but particularly for sustainability.”

Everlane currently works with 48 Tier 1 factories across 11 countries and 62,900 workers, and 72 percent of those partners have social and environmental certifications that go beyond local laws and industry standards. About two-fifths of those partners currently use renewable energy sources at their facilities. The company has mapped 100 percent of its Tier 1 and Tier 2 suppliers, and has achieved 80-percent visibility into Tier 3, which encompasses raw material processing operations like yarn-spinning.

“We’re focusing on that kind of like yarn-formation to wet-processing stage and trying to engage with our suppliers and work with them on understanding and benchmarking their own electricity and energy performance and then designing reduction efforts in tandem with them,” Boutis said. “It not only helps our own footprint, but it also helps their entire operation, which will have impacts for all of the rest of their clients and the rest of the industry.”

▲ Everlane’s Earth Month sweatshirts were made with recycled cotton and recycled polyester.

How Insole Innovation Advances Circular Footwear Production

Twenty-six years ago, OrthoLite introduced a comfort solution aimed at completely changing the interior environment of the shoe. But the company has since built a brand focused on creating more sustainable products and processes, recently launching OrthoLite Cirql, a compostable, circular foam biopolymer designed as an alternative to conventional plastics.

CB Tuite, chief sales officer for OrthoLite, dives deeper into the insole innovator’s development of Cirql, its partnership with circular biomaterials provider Novamont and other recent recyclable product offerings.

Sourcing Journal: What are some of the latest sustainable developments from OrthoLite?

CB Tuite: We’re constantly investing in efficiencies like using renewable energy sources such as solar power at several plants, plus manufacturing processes like automated die cutting, auto foaming and auto molding technologies.

With our dedicated in-house recycling facility, we’re investing in the development of more sustainable solutions by capturing and repurposing all waste material.

We’re also developing products and formulations with a higher recyclable content, enabling us to use waste we produce in our products. One of our most recent product formulations is OrthoLite

HybridPlus-Recycled, which blends 7 percent recycled rubber powder and 43 percent recycled polyutherane (PU) foam to achieve 50 percent recycled content. All products with recycled content are GRS or RCS certified. Using bio-oils, our comfort technologies can reduce the percentages of petroleum, and these are all thirdparty validated using BETA labs.

How will the Novamont partnership and OrthoLite Cirql help advance circularity in the footwear industry?

C.T.: OrthoLite Cirql is another breakthrough technology validating OrthoLite’s leadership position in underfoot comfort, performance and sustainability. OrthoLite’s current suite of formulations address and support material strategies for brands looking to utilize

either recycled or bio-oil technologies, and Cirql will help lead the footwear industry toward true circularity while supporting OrthoLite’s mission to continually innovate across all parts of the shoe.

Partnering with Novamont is central to the successful development and introduction of our vision of OrthoLite Cirql—to deliver the world’s first scalable, circular footwear material.

We’re excited about this partnership because it combines Novamont’s proven and trusted biopolymer with our clean foaming process. The material can be returned to the production cycle by low-energy, advanced chemical recycling, keeping materials in use or back to nature as fully compostable through selected industrial composting methods and processors. As a result, we are giving the shoe a meaningful end-of-life use rather than being discarded in landfills.

How has the current sustainability landscape shaped the priorities/goals you have for this year?

C.T.: From the beginning, OrthoLite has stood for transparency. This year, we will continue to deliver existing solutions and new innovations that are all third-party validated. Our strategy has always been “science based” and we track, measure and benchmark our impact across people, products, processes and the planet. We rely on trusted, third-party certifications and guidance provided by leading organizations like Higg, GRS and RCS. We continue to engage with industry leaders, trade associations and think tanks to update our knowledge and give back to the community as we all are on the path to progress.

Any advice for footwear brands and retailers as they seek out new sustainable materials?

C.T.: It is a very dynamic time when it comes to designing less impactful footwear. As a 26-year partner to many of the world’s greatest footwear brands, we take great pride in supporting the process of guiding footwear designers and developers through innovation and building a product that suits the needs of the consumer and the planet.

Partnerships with your trusted suppliers will be more valuable than ever in this ever-evolving landscape and we’re looking forward to supporting our brand partners during this tipping-point time.

“

POWERED

Sorona Maker CovationBio Reinforces Sustainable Commitments

A RENEWED COMMITMENT TO SUSTAINABILITY PRACTICES ALIGNS WITH UN SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS. By Claire Wilson

CovationBio has released its first sustainability report to reinforce its commitment to further sustainability efforts in four key areas outlined by the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDG), less than a year after launching as an independent biomaterials company.

Those four areas include decent work and economic growth (SDG 8), responsible production and consumption (SDG 12), climate action (SDG 13), and commitment to life on land (SDG 15). The report by the Delaware company is a high-level assessment of its performance in these areas, and lays the groundwork for a plan of action that supports the company’s mission to make high-performance biobased materials like Sorona, a partially bio-based polymer, and Susterra, a 100 percent plant-based propanediol, accessible to all. Both materials are used in different clothing applications, Sorona in athleisure and athletic wear, swimwear, outerwear, suiting and faux fur for such brands as Stella McCartney, Tommy Bahama and Lilly Pulitzer, and Susterra in outdoor apparel and footwear. Names of companies using Susterra are confidential.

CovationBio sustainability leader Lauren Johnson said integrating the company’s business and sustainability strategies was a natural. The company, she noted, is not a new player in the biomaterials arena but the team’s fervor has been renewed.

“Although CovationBio is a new name in the world, our team, our people, our products have been in the business of more sustainable materials for almost 20 years,” she said. “Our products are designed to be biodegradable, sustainable, and scalable.”

CovationBio has reported making considerable progress in the seven months

since its founding, according to areas covered in the report. In the category of decent work and economic growth, it reported an excellent safety record in the first few months. CovationBio outlined only minor injuries in the workplace and said a committee has been named to determine the root cause of these in order to eliminate them.

As a responsible energy consumer and producer of biomaterials (SDG 12),

Although CovationBio is a new name in the world, our team, our people, our products have been in the business of more sustainable materials for almost 20 years.”

LAUREN JOHNSON, CovationBio

CovationBio is planning to up the proportion of renewable electricity it uses to power its manufacturing locations which now rely on fossil fuels. At the end of 2022, it sourced all of its electricity from the grid, with local mixes ranging from 6.5 percent and 13.7 percent renewables.

In climate action (SDG 13), CovationBio is creating a plan to reduce direct emissions from its sites and lessen its carbon footprint. It measured a total of 94,000 metric tons of greenhouse gases (GHG) from its own manufacturing locations and the electricity it purchases. It is already planning to investigate low to zero GHG options for electrical power and steam to reduce GHG, and it is committed to working with organizations like the Renewable Carbon Initiative (RCI) to support reduction of reliance on fossil fuels.

In its commitment to life on land initiative (SDG 15), CovationBio initiated a partnership last year with Truterra, the farmer-led

organization whose goal it is to improve stewardship of U.S. agricultural land. CovationBio owns 49,902 acres of land enrolled in Truterra, on which it cultivates all the corn feedstock used to make Sorona polymer and Zemea and Susterra propanediols. A sustainable agriculture business of Land O’Lakes and program delivery partner, Truterra engages farmers who work at improving soil health, increasing crop yields, decreasing fertilizer use and employing a range of regenerative agricultural methods. Last year it joined a partnership with Primient Covation, formerly DuPont Tate & Lyle BioProducts, which it acquired June 1 and renamed.

Founded in 2022 in Newark, Del., CovationBio builds on its Dupont legacy of groundbreaking scientific innovation and continues to deliver novel solutions at scale across multiple industries, including apparel, carpeting, cosmetics, food and packaging.

▲ CovationBio has released a sustainability report seven months after formation.

Hyosung Develops Fibers for Fashion’s Diverse Sustainability Demands

What makes a raw material sustainable? It depends on who you ask. “The industry agrees on sustainability, but it has not decided which way to go—is it recycled, bio-based, biodegradable or something new?” said Simon Whitmarsh-Knight, global marketing director, textiles at synthetic manufacturer Hyosung, which positions itself as a total textile supply chain solution provider. “While the industry is still deciding, we are in a very strong position where we can offer solutions across these categories.” WhitmarshKnight spoke to Sourcing Journal about Hyosung’s efforts to make polyester, nylon and spandex more sustainable.

Sourcing Journal: Set the record straight: What does the industry get wrong about the environmental impact of synthetics?

S.W.K.: There’s nothing more sustainable than a garment that lasts, and synthetic fibers help to provide sustained performance and easy care, thus garments can be used for longer. Our fibers have inherent performance without the use of

S.W.K.: Hyosung was the first company to develop recycled nylon made from castoff fishing nets in 2007 before the industry was ready. With increased concern about ocean pollution, interest in our regen ocean nylon has also increased, so we’ve scaled up production in our Vietnam and South Korea plants and taken steps to have the fiber GRS (Global Recycle Standard) certified. To support industry desire, we can develop regen ocean nylon made with 100 percent post-consumer recycled nylon or a blend of 50 percent pre-consumer recycled nylon and 50 percent post-consumer nylon from fishing nets.

Last year, Hyosung commercialized the first bio-based spandex. What does this launch mean for the apparel industry?

topical chemical treatments, so the fiber performance lasts as long as the garment. Lastly, the textile industry is doing a great job with developing high-quality sustainable synthetics made from recycled pre- and post-consumer waste along with bio-based materials as an alternative to conventionally made synthetics.

Speaking of recycling, Hyosung’s regen® yarns are made from both pre- and post-consumer plastic waste. How have you scaled up this circular platform since its outset?

S.W.K.: After the industry rush to recycled, interest in other sustainable solutions such as bio-based increased. We predict the demand for textiles made from bio-derived materials will grow since they swap petroleum-based resources for plant-based inputs such as corn. We hope our launch of creora bio-based spandex, made with 30 percent renewable resources, provides a solution for brands and retailers seeking bio-sourced natural and synthetic materials. We will continue to invest in our creora bio-based spandex with the intention of offering a version made with 70 percent renewable resources in the second half of 2023. Our ultimate goal is to develop creora bio-based spandex made from 100 percent renewable sources.

Beyond fiber innovations, how is Hyosung working to lower its carbon footprint?

S.W.K.: Hyosung aims to lower greenhouse gas emissions by converting to high-efficiency facilities, preventing unnecessary energy loss by managing process requirements through smart factory construction and changing from

fossil fuels to eco-friendly fuels. Hyosung’s Gumi and Ulsan plants in Korea established a plan to reduce 14.5 percent of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 and are conducting reduction activities every year.

In 2022, we began reporting overall company greenhouse gas reduction activities through CDP (Carbon Disclosure Project). Responding to climate change is an important task for our corporate operation, and Hyosung is committed to continuous investment and improvement.

In addition, we are supporting these efforts throughout the value chain as we collaborate with our customers to help them secure their SGS and GRS certification.

The industry agrees on sustainability, but it has not decided which way to go—is it recycled, bio-based, biodegradable or something new?”

Better Cotton 2030 Targets Look to ‘Galvanize Change’

THE NEW COMMITMENTS COVER SOIL HEALTH, WOMEN’S EMPOWERMENT, PESTICIDES, AND SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS.

By Jasmin Malik Chua

Better Cotton has set new targets to bolster farmer incomes, improve soil health, empower women and reduce the use of pesticides by 2030.

The commitments, designed to “galvanize change” at the field level, will sit alongside an earlier pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50 percent per metric ton of Better Cotton lint produced by the end of the decade, the world’s largest sustainable cotton program revealed Monday. They also dovetail with the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and build on the agreements reached at COP27 to achieve action-based climate mitigation outcomes for cotton farming communities.

“Driving impact at the field level is imperative for Better Cotton’s ambitions in what is a defining decade for our planet,” said Alan McClay, CEO of Better Cotton. “Our new impact targets will allow us to continue taking measurable steps to support more sustainable cotton production. Pushing further towards regenerative and climate-smart agriculture, we can ensure cotton farmers and farm workers are equipped to address their environmental impact, futureproof their operations and adapt to the often unpredictable effects of global warming.”

More than 22 million metric tons of cotton are produced annually across diverse landscapes, making the fiber one of

the world’s tentpole renewable resources. As a result, it provides opportunities to address poverty, tackle sustainability and promote equality.

By 2030, Better Cotton aims to sustainably increase the net income and resilience of 1 million cotton farmers and

workers. It plans to see, across all program participants, improvements in soil health, along with a reduction of the use of synthetic pesticides by at least half. The initiative also intends to provide 1 million female cotton workers with resources that promote equitable farm relationships, climate resilience or improved livelihoods while ensuring that one-quarter of field staff with the power to make decisions are women.

Our new impact targets will allow us to continue taking measurable steps to support more sustainable cotton production.”

ALAN MCCLAY, Better Cotton

The announcement comes on the heels of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recent synthesis report, which warned that each increment of temperature rise will trigger more extreme climate and weather events, including blistering heatwaves and heavier flooding, increasing the likelihood of crop failure, species extinction and harm to humanity.

“Better Cotton continues to train an ever-growing global community on more sustainable farming practices,” McClay said. “The impact targets will improve conditions across more than just cotton production, reaching beyond farming communities to

benefit their landscapes, supply chains and ultimately consumers.”

A 2021 study commissioned by sustainability nonprofit Forum for the Future predicted that under a “worst-case scenario,” all cotton-growing regions will be exposed to increased danger from at least one climate hazard and as many as seven over the next two decades, including heat stress, flooding, extreme wind, increased risk of wildfires and higher incidence of landslides. The worst-affected regions, it said, will likely be northwestern Africa, including northern Sudan and Egypt, and western and southern Asia.

▲ Better Cotton is the world’s largest sustainable cotton program.

Lance Nelson/Getty Images

Cone Denim Meets Consumer Demand with Recycled Cotton Certification

As a denim manufacturer, Cone Denim knows the value of creating forwardthinking denim fabrics to inspire the denim design community and cater to sustainability-conscious consumers. For its Fall/Winter 2024 collection, Cone Denim introduced its first fabric made of 100 percent post-industrial recycled cotton, Bonzai, at Kingpins in Amsterdam.

Steve Maggard, president of Cone Denim, told Sourcing Journal about how the manufacturer is reacting to more demand for sustainability, and highlighted the company’s journey into certified recycled cotton.

Sourcing Journal: What are some of the latest sustainable developments from Cone Denim?

Steve Maggard: Cone Denim has established a supply chain for certified recycled cotton in Mexico. While both of our mills in Mexico are already Recycled Claim Standard (RCS)-certified for fabrics, we went a step further in having our fiber supplier-certified. Our RCS certification now includes verification and documentation of recycled cotton used in the manufacturing of Cone Denim fabrics in the Western Hemisphere.

We are also proud of our water conservation efforts in Mexico, which help us reach our 2025 sustainability goal to reduce water usage by 25 percent. Our Zero Liquid Discharge wastewater

treatment system at our Parras, Mexico mill plays a key role in reducing our water footprint by saving up to 100 million gallons of water a year.

How has Cone Denim made strides in traceability via its partnership with Oritain?

S.M.: In 2020, Cone Denim adopted the highest level of end-to-end traceability possible through our partnership with Oritain. Cone Denim’s partnership with Oritain covers our global manufacturing footprint, which includes our operations in China and Mexico. In March, Cone Denim extended the partnership to ensure cotton traceability and further support our customers globally.

Oritain conducts an independent, quarterly audit of our facilities to analyze, with scientific certainty, that the samples across our operations are

compliant and not identified as coming from a restricted risk origin.

How has the current sustainability landscape shaped the priorities/goals you have for this year?

S.M.: Over the past five years, we have invested more than $13 million in new equipment installation and advanced processes that lessen the environmental impact of Cone Denim’s operations. We have a roadmap with established targets across water conservation, energy reduction, waste reduction and sustainable product development to support the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.

This year we will continue to focus on these goals with initiatives that include solar panel installation at our mill in Jiaxing, China, and installing additional metering in our facilities to quantify our water reduction efforts. Cone has also developed a new color technique process using the Jeanologia G2 Dynamic technology called DYE-NAMIC. This new color application process reduces water consumption on average by 92 percent compared to traditional overdye.

What inspired Cone Denim to make the decision to get recycled cotton-certified?

S.M.: Our customers are prioritizing recycled cotton content in denim to meet their sustainability goals. The demand for recycled cotton continues to grow and along with this demand, we recognize that our customers benefit from having third-party verification on where recycled content is sourced.

We are working with brands requesting up to 30 percent recycled cotton in fabric construction. The close relationships we have built with our customers as trusted partners in meeting their sustainability goals have allowed us as a mill to make the necessary investments in manufacturing. Procuring certified recycled cotton for denim manufacturing in this hemisphere is more complex since the waste streams are not as established as those in the Eastern Hemisphere. Cone Denim’s closed-loop recycling process in Mexico establishes a small footprint for producing recycled yarn. Our customers will have transparency and confidence in knowing the recycled fiber coming into our manufacturing process is certified, post-industrial waste recycled cotton.

“

We are working with brands requesting up to 30 percent recycled cotton in fabric construction.”

SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT

The Road to 2030

PROMISES VS. PROGRESS

On April 25 the industry gathered in New York to network, brainstorm and sow the seeds for sustainable change.

SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT

H&M Sustainability Lead Says Fashion Must Focus On ‘Circularity Now’

AT SJ’S SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT, H&M’S NORTH AMERICAN SUSTAINABILITY LEAD DESCRIBED HOW THE FASHION GIANT SUPPORTS SUPPLY CHAIN TRANSFORMATION.

By Kate Nishimura

H&M’s North American head of sustainability urged the fashion industry to prioritize progress over promises, and focus on “circularity now.”

At Sourcing Journal’s Sustainability Summit in a conversation moderated by managing editor Jessica Binns, Abigail Kammerzell said the Swedish fast fashion titan has moved on from goal-setting to impact-measuring to bolstering circular progress across its supply chain, to create impacts across the industry at large. “We’re a big one, and we have a lot of responsibility in the industry,” she said. “It’s up to us, with our size and scale, to amplify, accelerate, innovate and support those smaller players.”

The company is taking the lead by reinvesting into its global supply chain, helping suppliers optimize their own operations for more sustainable, circular practices. The company’s green investment arm invested 200 million euros ($219.3 million) into initiatives like transitioning suppliers from coal to renewable energy, including installing solar panels. Many are already producing their own energy, “but how do you transition to renewables throughout the entire supply chain?” she said. H&M launched 17 projects over the past year that target eliminating 180,000 tons of CO2 emissions from global apparel manufacturing. “50,000 [tons] are H&M operations, and the rest of it is the broader

fashion industry,” she said. “We all work in the same factories and facilities.”

“It’s really about working one-on-one with the factories, working with labor organizations, working with NGOs, and also providing that path to make it easy for suppliers to opt into sustainability similar how you have to make it easy for your customers to opt into sustainable choices,” Kammerzell said.

The company has long promoted

▲ Abigail Kammerzell and Jessica Binns, managing editor.

innovation. H&M’s Co:Lab invests in upstarts focused on areas including fabric recycling, helping them to work through concepts and scale their businesses. Kammerzell cited Los Angeles polyester recycling startup Ambercycle as an example. It partnered with H&M in 2021 on a Circular Design Story collection that featured recycled polyester derived from post-consumer apparel. H&M is seeking to “find the right players and partners” and help them unlock their innovations “for everyone.”

“We’re very early—often first—to try new technologies and new ways of looking at things,” Kammerzell added.

Furthering its circular ambitions, H&M recently launched a partnership with ThredUp through its Resale as a Service (RaaS) platform. The resale marketplace “has an amazing business model” for enabling brand-owned secondhand selling. “The whole vision behind it is that you actually navigate to our Pre-Loved page from the H&M retail site,” Kammerzell said. “Our mission is for current shoppers at H&M to now mix in secondhand with their wardrobes, and that’s a very different business model and a different point of view

than a lot of brands have had in the past.” Kammerzell said H&M views resale as a way to increase brand value, and help consumers access even more product.

chemical textile recycling machine prototype debuted in 2018, and machines have since been installed in Indonesia, Cambodia and Turkey.

Now, H&M is tackling the issue of textile collection and sortation through a joint venture with recycling company Remondis. In February, the partners announced the formation of Looper Textile Co., which aims to extend the use of about 40 million garments this year alone. Garments are reclaimed through H&M’s in-store take-back program, and through Europe’s municipal collection programs. H&M hopes to become more directly involved in the infrastructure for circularity, it said in February. “We are providing the feedstock for recyclers for used clothing,” Kammerzell said Tuesday. The recently launched platform will add to the retailer’s portfolio of solutions, further helping it give its products “a second life.”

H&M’s ongoing textile recycling efforts include a project with HKRITA dubbed the Green Machine. Launched in 2016, the project focused on creating a scalable solution for textile waste that would chemically recycle fibers for use in new yarns and garments. Their first industrial

When asked what keeps her up at night, Kammerzell referenced the need for scalability and speed in developing and implementing circular solutions. “All of us need to have the ambition and desire,” she said. “I don’t want us to get fatigued. I don’t want us to get distracted.”

Our mission is for current shoppers at H&M to now mix in secondhand with their wardrobes, and that’s a very different business model and a different point of view than a lot of brands have had in the past.”

ABIGAIL KAMMERZELL, H&M

SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT

ESG Legal Experts on Regulatory Upheaval: ‘Know What Is Coming Your Way’

“ESG NEEDS

Forced labor and greenwashing are some of the biggest ESG issues companies face today.

When it comes to forced labor, attorney Matthew H. Clark said companies must prioritize due diligence to ensure they know their product and vendor supply chains inside out.

There are ways to be proactive, said Clark, a shareholder at Dentons and co-chair of the multinational law firm’s U.S. ESG practice. “You want to know what is the impact on your business,” he said, but that’s not possible “if you don’t know what is coming your way.” Reporting frameworks— including out supply chains—offer guidance on whether companies are sticking to the United Nations’ guiding principles on business and human rights. “This is an area where you need to understand where your product is coming from and where your vendor is obtaining their product,” he said, urging companies to focus on reporting, remediation and mitigation.

“You want to make sure that you have a process in place to actually address these issues. And then training, training, training, making sure that you’re testing your process,” Clark said.

“The scope of ESG and sustainabilityrelated advice—ESG is overwhelming—is really big; it’s really broad. It touches every aspect of your business,” Clark said. Dentons, he continued, suggests focusing

on growth, protection, operate and finance.

As a company grows, “ESG needs to be woven into the fabric of your expansion,” he said, explaining that ESG must be part of the due diligence companies conducts on their vendors, included in how they evaluate targets for acquisition, and in all commercial agreements. Protect addresses reducing risk, such as having a common sense approach to reducing greenwashing claims.

And businesses must have a system in place so employees and vendors can report non-compliance. Operate means companies must not only have a robust compliance program but should also test it every day. As for financing, Clark said banks are looking for companies that bake sustainability into their operations. “It is easier to run a business that is promoting sustainability,” he said.

Clark pointed to the hard and soft laws related to ESG, saying companies must be

TO BE WOVEN INTO THE FABRIC OF YOUR EXPANSION,” SAID DENTONS U.S. ESG CHAIR MATTHEW H. CLARK. By Vicki M. Young

ESG is overwhelming—it’s really big; it’s really broad. It touches every aspect of your business.”

MATTHEW H. CLARK, Dentons

aware of both. Taxable regulations, laws and other regulations control the market at the federal level, while companies should keep tabs on individual state laws and regulations as well. Regulatory guidance such as the FTC’s Green Guides, and its supplier and vendor code of conduct, is one example of the “soft laws”.

“We’re seeing that these codes of conduct are changing, reflect initiatives that are important to customers, and results [that] suppliers have to commit to, for example, protecting local communities, new asset testing, access to public information,” Clark said.

Dentons associate Jessica Argenti said the firm created an ESG Statements Checklist for clients. While not industry specific, it does offer greenwashing guidelines.

“The first thing to think about is [whether] the data first of all is accurate. Is it ambiguous, using words like ‘green’ and ‘sustainable’? Without a little bit more, accountability could be deemed misleading,” Argenti said. “Does your claim over exaggerate? Does it over exaggerate future performance? Or maybe [the claim’s] under exaggerated, cherry picking information and leaving something out?”

Argenti noted that if comparisons are being made, companies must be sure they’re not being selectively self-interested in sharing only certain data, as well as whether the claim looks at a “fair sample” when making the comparison. The claims also need to be substantiated.

“This is where internal controls and very robust documentary evidence is super

important, and not just when the claim is made [but also] keeping other processes in place during the life of the claim,” Argenti said. Substantiation should account for the full lifecycle of the product or service, she said, and companies must ensure disclosures are consistent across the organization, including social media platforms and global communications.

These efforts will help mitigate against greenwashing, she said.

Argenti also touched on proposed legislation in the pipeline, such as the New York Fashion Act. “It currently is in committee [and pending in the New York State] Consumer Protection Committee, and if it’s passed, it will require very extensive environmental disclosures and penalties for non-compliance for any company doing business in New York. It is incredibly broad [and applies to firms generating] $100 million or more in revenue,” she said.

▲ Matthew H. Clark and Jessica Argenti.

SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT

ThredUp CEO on Resale Economy: ‘Math Says This Stuff Is Super Hard’

“RETAIL IS DETAIL, AND IT’S A TOUGH BUSINESS,” THREDUP CEO JAMES REINHART SAID. AND SO IS CONVINCING BRANDS TO INVEST IN SECOND-LIFE INITIATIVES.

By Alexandra Harrell

The fashion industry has ramped up its focus on circularity in recent seasons, with an eye toward addressing a product lifecycle’s (beyond designing and producing) environmental impact.

And one area of interest—and possibility—for finding the sweet spot between ambitions and action is the second life of garments. ThredUp’s annual resale report predicted that the U.S. resale market will grow to $70 billion by 2027—nine times the growth of the broader retail sector. The global secondhand market is expected to nearly double by then, reaching $350 billion. By next year, 10 percent of the global apparel market is expected to be made up of secondhand apparel.

So what’s contributing to this explosion of interest?

ThredUp CEO James Reinhart attributes it to a generational shift. “When you look at the data, which is provided by GlobalData—a big independent provider— they look at consumer preference, consumer behavior and people who say, ‘Hey, I’m going shopping secondhand today; am I going to shop secondhand more in the future?’ and when you look at these cohorts of young people, you’ll get their revealed preferences,” Reinhart said during a panel titled “Apparel’s Afterlife: A Look at Fashion’s Second Act” moderated by Sourcing

Journal features editor Kate Nishimura at

the second annual Sustainability Summit.

“So, I think that, ultimately, what’s driving it is those of us who maybe already buy and sell secondhand, but it’s this generation, two decades’ worth of consumers, that are going to rise up and be big players,” Reinhart said.

While Gen Z has consistently cited sustainability as their No. 1 priority—their wallets indicate otherwise. Trend research suggests that while younger people try to buy environmentally friendly products, 76

▲ Rohit Burman, Liz Hershfield, James Reinhart, Buddy Teaster and Kate Nishimura.

percent agreed that they don’t make enough money to support their values.

One of the ways that brands try to alleviate this pain point is through resale-asa-service (RaaS) via platforms such as ThredUp, which has launched nine new RaaS partners this month alone. Madewell, for one, joined forces with the resale powerhouse in 2019 before expanding into Madewell Forever in 2021. Its sister brand, J. Crew, partnered with ThredUp in January.

J. Crew learned from Madewell’s initiative and realized a seamless experience was critical to its success, said Liz Hershfield, senior vice president, sustainability, at J. Crew Group and senior vice president, sourcing, at Madewell.

“It just made perfect sense to partner with someone who’s already an expert at [resale], and then we could obviously provide the brand perspective and [make it] feel as part of our brand and as part of our experience, so it made sense to work with ThredUp,” she said during the panel.

Tommy Hilfiger partnered with Depop in January to court climate-conscious consumers with curated preowned Tommy Hilfiger and Tommy Jeans from the PVH-owned brand’s retail stores, e-commerce channels and archives.

“[The launch] goes back to us seeing whether consumers are testing different channels, trying different approaches,” Rohit Burman, vice president, sustainability and

inclusion at Calvin Klein Global and PVH Americas, said. “Also localizing in different contexts. So we’re in 13 countries and continuing to gather insights.”

There are obvious benefits for brands getting into the resale game, whether it’s through platforms such as ThredUp or Depop or re-commerce providers like Archive and Trove, as they can retain equity in their products on the secondary market. But second-life initiatives pose more challenges

can turn that stuff that’s not good enough for resale [and] doesn’t have to be recycled yet into food, shelter, education for people in many places of the world.”

Reinhart agreed with Teaster, saying that ThredUp rejects half of the items it receives. The company gets 150,000 items daily—2.25 million garments a month that aren’t eligible for resale.

than just ensuring the clothing quality can stand the wear and tear of multiple owners.

“Resale has been super exciting; it’s gotten attention focused on it, it’s got people thinking about it in a way they’ve never been thinking about it before. And one of the ways that works is they have a high bar—you have to have good, quality stuff,” Buddy Teaster, president and CEO of nonprofit Soles4Souls, said. “Well, there’s a big gap between that standard and recycling, that’s 50, 60, 70 percent of the stuff out there. Shameless plug, that’s where Soles4Soul

“It’s not because [these items] can’t serve the Soles4Soul community; it’s not what anyone wants in their store. There needs to be a full stack solution to this because the economics are the thing, right? Let’s not bury the lede: Retailers and brands are incentivized to sell new stuff and make more money. Full stop,” Reinhart said. “So getting people to sell used stuff, like we’re trying to do, is getting them to sell stuff where they make less money. And getting them to make stuff—whether it’s ‘upcycled,’ call it whatever you want—it costs more money, lower margin, full stop.

“We can’t fight the elephant in the room, which is we’re in the math business here, and the math says this stuff is super hard,” Reinhart continued. “And we’re trying to figure out how do we make the math better for all our partners. At the same time, [Burman] is trying to figure out, ‘Man, it cost more money to upcycle this stuff and I can’t even sell it for [the cost],’ right, so that to me is really the struggle. Retail is detail, and it’s a tough business.”

Retail is detail, and it’s a tough business.”

JAMES REINHART, ThredUp

Connecting the Fashion Industry for Sustainable and Ethical Journeys

Sustainability is an industry-wide responsibility. That’s why Informa Markets Fashion—the largest wholesale fashion event organizers in the U.S.—is part of the solution by supporting the fashion industry in becoming more socially and environmentally responsible.

Kelly Helfman, president at Informa Markets Fashion, and Andreu David, vice president of Sourcing at Magic—a division of Informa and a domestic and international gathering of manufacturers, suppliers and service providers from apparel and footwear manufacturing and more—discuss how Informa Markets Fashion and technology is helping retailers and industry professionals increase their sustainable offerings and practices.

Sourcing Journal: How much progress would you say the fashion industry has made in sustainability in recent years? Do you think there’s room for improvement?

Andreu David: There has been incredible progress regarding sustainability in fashion, especially through technological innovations. Technology has helped the fashion industry find ways to reduce waste and support eco-friendly and ethical practices—from what we source to how we track inventory.

While these innovations will improve our positive environmental impact, there is still considerable room for improvement. We must focus on defining what sustainable fashion truly means across the industry in the U.S. and then create standards as the environmental, social and governance (ESG) framework to follow.

What advice have you given brands and retailers to help them improve their sustainability standing?

A.D.: It is essential to have full transparency with your sourcing partners to ensure that your ethos aligns with their

practices. Sustainability is not only about suppliers’ raw materials used but also includes their mission and operations.

Along those lines, companies need to vet their suppliers based on mutual goals. What role does Informa play in the sustainability conversation?

Kelly Helfman: There is an industry movement when it comes to creating a more ethically conscious business as a response to growing consumer interest. At Informa Markets Fashion, we will keep the momentum moving that started three years ago with the introduction of our verification program, Verified Sustainable, which all Informa Market Fashion’s brands—including Magic, Coterie, Project and Sourcing at Magic— participate in to ensure we are staying truly sustainable.

This program works with businesses on their sustainable and ethical journey and assigns a verification level once the business has been thoroughly vetted on their social and environmental footprints. Additionally, the commitment to sustainability is unlike ever before. In fact, our Verified Sustainable program has seen a 20-30 percent increase in applications and medal rankings each season. This validates the growing interest of businesses moving towards sustainability. We will continue to use our platform to provide resources, industry insights and panel discussions with industry experts on up-to-date topics to our fashion community. Additionally, Sourcing at Magic will continue to build a community that allows for opportunities to meet and network with businesses who can support brands on their path to social good.

What can we expect from Informa Markets Fashion’s upcoming events?

K.H.: Informa Markets Fashion events will continue to be the meeting place for the fashion industry where attendees can fill their sourcing and buying needs, network with industry peers and take in education sessions with expert panelists on industry relevant topics including sustainability, technology, trends and fashion entrepreneurship.

Additionally, we recently announced our newest show, Sourcing at Magic New York slated for September 19-21, 2023, co-located with Magic New York and Coterie New York.

It is essential to have full transparency with your sourcing partners to ensure that your ethos aligns with their practices.”

SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT

How Three Firms are Putting Their Stamp on Circular Fashion

CIRCULAR MATERIAL DEVELOPERS ALT TEX AND CYCLO RECYCLED FIBERS AND TRACEABILITY PROVIDER AWARE SHARE THEIR GROWTH STORIES

AND CHALLENGES.

By Glenn Taylor

Three forward-thinking companies that are pushing the envelope in developing circular, traceable fibers and raw materials peeled back the curtain on the process, and some of the challenges that stand in front of their growth at the Sourcing Journal Sustainability Summit.

Alt Tex is a biomaterials startup that develops biodegradable and carbon-neutral alternatives to polyester out of food waste using fermentation technology. Chief executive officer and co-founder Myra Arshad noted that while the firm is still in its early stages, it has maintained an advantage due to its ability to blend nearly any other fiber with its own.

“That’s really exciting because polyester, which is what we’re trying to replace, is very frequently blended with cotton. What that does is it takes an otherwise biodegradable material like cotton, and it renders it completely unbiodegradable, it’s very difficult to separate the two,” said Arshad in a panel moderated by Sourcing Journal founder Edward Hertzman. She said the Alt Tex technology alleviates this concern, noting that “we’re able to integrate when mixing with cotton, the properties of polyester, but maintain the biodegradability of the end garment.”

Thus far, Alt Tex has raised $4 million, but Arshad said that for the firm to reach critical mass—which she defines as replacing approximately 30 percent of polyester—the company would need “nine figures” worth of funding. But for the time being, Alt Tex is

focusing on integrating its technology with existing fermenters.

“When investors invest in these spaces, they’ll invest in one company just to have that stamp on their website, and that’ll be it,” said Arshad. “But the reality is that when we talk to suppliers every single day, it’s clear that there aren’t enough recycled

or circular fibers to satisfy demand from brands. So investors need to understand that the investment needs to be continuous and needs to be lateral and it needs to be in the entire ecosystem, and not in a one- or two-off.”

Mustafain Munir, director and CEO, Cyclo Recycled Fibers, said as his company scales, he is seeing more competition arise in the firm’s home market of Bangladesh, as well as neighboring countries like Pakistan and India.

The reality is that when we talk to suppliers every single day, it’s clear that there aren’t enough recycled or circular fibers to satisfy demand from brands.”

MYRA ARSHAD, Alt Tex

“The overall capacity to recycle, let’s say 100 percent, cotton waste, or cotton-rich waste is growing quite a bit,” said Munir. “And the brands are demanding more of it, so there’s a general overall improvement in the amount of volume used.”

However, the proliferation of recycled cotton also comes with a higher propensity for greenwashing, he said. In particular, Munir called out a problem in the certification chain, where he said businesses often use their spinning waste and call it recycled.

Munir said that the problem typically occurs in the carding process within textile spinning, when individual fibers are separated from each other before being realigned to improve quality. While cotton fiber can be 40 percent recycled before entering the stage, the final spun yarn may contain as little as 10 to 20 percent recycled cotton, he said.

Citing Sourcing Journal and AlixPartners’ 2022 survey report, Hertzman said that fewer than 20 percent of companies are tracking their sustainability progress.

Traceability platform provider Aware is hoping to help fill this industry void, offering an integrity solution that combines both a physical tracer and blockchain technology.

Aware, a partner of Cyclo, provides users with a “digital product passport” of each item of clothing, according to founder and managing director Feico van der Veen.

During the panel, van der Veen even scanned Munir’s shirt with a tracer to show how the digital product passport works, revealing that the shirt was 50 percent recycled cotton and 30 percent organic cotton. To create the digital product passport, the company creates digital twins which represent the materials at the factory level that are placed on the public blockchain. Additionally, Aware’s systems will add a QR code to every final product for mobile scanning.

Van der Veen said the solution is coming at a time when more companies are feeling pressure to prove the sustainability of their garments.

“The dilemma is consumers are asking for much more transparency, they’re much

more demanding. They don’t accept just a hangtag or certification anymore. And in Europe, by 2030, all sustainable products must have a digital product passport,” said van der Veen.

He cited the internal pressures brands are now feeling as they set their own sustainability goals.

“It goes through the designers, the buyers, the buying officers to the factories, through the tangled supply chains and creates a dilemma on how to implement their own goals,” said van der Veen. “All the big brands try to get control of their supply chain, but it’s extremely difficult.”

Van der Veen also noted one more pressure point, calling the certification standard often “complicated” and indicated that in some instances, companies will come up with their own fraudulent certification.

All three firms are backed by the Singapore-based sustainable fund, Presstar, which invests exclusively in companies that are reducing water consumption and chemical pollutants in the textile supply chain while positively impacting CO2 emissions.

▼ From left: Myra Arshad, Mustafain Munir, Feico van der Veen and Edward Hertzman.

SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT

Exploring Cotton’s Role In a Sustainable Future

IN A PANEL DISCUSSION ON “REROUTING FOR A MORE SUSTAINABLE FUTURE IN TIME,” COTTON INC.’S JESSE DAYSTAR EXPLORED COTTON’S RESILIENT ROLE.

By Lauren Parker

We have to look at solutions that we can achieve in the time we have to achieve them,” said Dr. Jesse Daystar, chief sustainability officer and vice president, sustainability, Cotton Incorporated.

In a moment when too many players in the industry are setting unattainable sustainability goals, the planet’s dire climate status should force companies to replace lofty ambitions with realistic actions.

The panel, “Rerouting for a More Sustainable Future in Time,” explored the resilient role cotton can play in this context.

As it celebrates the 50th year of its famed Seal of Cotton trademark, Cotton Incorporated’s video touted the company’s commitments to reduce U.S. cotton production greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 39 percent by 2025, while acknowledging that just reducing cotton production impact at the field level will not achieve shared climate goals. Even bringing field level cotton production to zero GHG emissions would only reduce overall garment impact by approximately 10 to 20 percent.

In order to assess overall impact, Daystar said, the industry must look beyond just cotton production and also consider things like energy choices and dyeing processes.

“Cotton impacts alone won’t get us to our goals,” he said. “Cotton represents just 13 percent of the impact of a T-shirt, so even if you cut that in half, it’s still only 7 percent. What can we do to pull down carbon emissions even further?”

According to Cotton Incorporated’s LCA, replacing fossil fuel energy in the apparel

manufacturing process with renewable energy technology could reduce a garment’s impact by 30 to 50 percent, and indeed, many brands have made commitments to sourcing renewable energy, or getting purchasing agreements with renewable energy sources.

However, without solid supplier partnerships, visibility into energy usage or dyeing and finishing processes is trickier. “It’s really hard when you have supply chains all across the world and you might not have long-term relationships,” said Daystar, citing the Sustainable Apparel Coalition as helpful for quantifying environmental impacts of products.

▲ Jessie Daystar and Edward Hertzman

Cotton’s contribution to a garment’s overall impact might be relatively minor, but Cotton Incorporated is still looking at ways to bring the number down. Going “one layer down” brings you face to face with cotton’s growing process, and that means fertilizers. Cotton is a plant that needs food, and about 60 percent of the climate change impacts occur as a result of using nitrogen and other fertilizers, he said.

The U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol, an industry-wide initiative launched in 2020, was recently awarded a grant by the USDA for the U.S. Climate Smart Cotton Program. This five-year pilot program aims to provide technical and financial support to 1,650 U.S. cotton farmers and involves a variety of stakeholders, including those from the supply chain, academia, and sustainability.

Cotton Incorporated is one of the partners involved with the U.S. Climate Smart Cotton Program.

By sharing the risk, and getting $90 million investment, Cotton Incorporated is helping growers get to programs and implement new practices.

“It’s a risky situation when a grower has to put in hundreds of thousands of dollars to buy seed and plant and maybe not see a

return on their investment, [yet] realizing this is what probably needs to happen to pull down these greenhouse gas emissions,” Daystar said. “It’s going to take some time for that to become economically viable in many situations.”

Regarding circularity, Cotton Incorporated is working with composting facilities to take

issue, and also help with that nutrient issue and reduce the fertilizer needs of the plant.”

Bioenergy is another area ripe for exploration. After a cotton garment is used, recycled and re-used according to its durability, why not burn it for energy? “Right now we’re cutting down trees to create bio energy, why are we not using our old clothing for bio energy?”

Finally, reducing carbon is key. As Cotton Incorporated looks to the Climate Smart Cotton Program, it’s going to be reducing impacts on the field, as well as pulling carbon into the ground. “A ‘carbon inset’ is sort of like a ‘carbon offset,’ but the inset is a benefit or verified outcome that is going to be sold to somebody in the value chain or somebody sourcing from that area, in this case, the United States,” Daystar said.

pre-consumer and post-consumer cotton waste garments and turn that back into soil. “This could go on our farms, which would capture carbon in the ground,” said Daystar. “This is very beneficial to reduce the waste

Technology is a solution for many of these challenges, and in fact, technology over the past 40 years has improved water use efficiency by roughly 81 percent, made possible by innovation technologies such as waterless and foam dyeing, plus highefficiency/low-energy irrigation systems.

“The tipping point is here,” said Daystar. “Now, it’s [more] ‘Can we just make the impact, less bad?’”

Cotton represents just 13 percent of the impact of a T-shirt, so even if you cut that in half, it’s still only 7 percent. What can we do to pull down carbon emissions even further?”

JESSE DAYSTAR, Cotton Incorporated

SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT

Taking a Top Down Approach to Sustainability

SUSTAINABILITY LEADERS AT HANESBRANDS, WALMART AND REFORMATION DISCUSSED HOW THEIR COMPANIES EMBRACE AND ENFORCE THEIR MANDATE.

By Claire Wilson

The pandemic and the some of the problems it created thrust logistics and sourcing into the limelight at many companies because it was almost impossible to get goods, according to Peter Sadera, editor in chief of Sourcing Journal who was moderating a panel called “A Seat at the Table.”

He predicted sustainability will soon turn a corner and experience the same sort of reputational spotlight. And in many ways, it is already happening. Companies have named sustainability experts to their staffs yet each comes at it from a different angle.

Kathleen Talbot, chief sustainability officer and vice president of operations, Reformation, is the first person to have that in her title in the company which she calls “mission driven,” with a sustainability ethos at its core. Over her nine years with the apparel company, she worked her way from the bottom up, gaining experience in general operations that has made her a more pragmatic and effective leader. She has a masters degree in sustainability and has worked in it her whole professional life.

“I know what the business impacts are and I know what I’m asking of my colleagues and my team,” she said.

Also on the panel were Marco Reyes, senior director of sustainability, Walmart, who has worked for the retailer for more than two decades and watched sustainability come to the fore, and Chris Fox, chief sustainability officer, Hanesbrands, Inc. He is trained as a lawyer and worked in corporate responsibility for

years before being named to his current position. Unlike Walmart’s Reyes, his job involves factories with all the environmental and sustainability challenges that implies. Some 70 percent of Hanesbrands’ total unit volume is produced in those plants.

All three executives boast support from the top of their organizations, which is a privilege, according to Reyes. “We have that lever to go and enact change to transform industries for the better,” he said. “Our thinking is, how do we solve for shared value? Good for business, good for people, good for the planet?”

He feels a responsibility to democratize sustainability, to bring together NGOs, governments and other retailers to set the bar in a way so that everyone makes progress, drives technology and makes sustainability an idea that is available to many.

Fox said he asks himself if sustainability is a meaningful consumer proposition. In other words, “is it affordable to the folks we’re selling to” who shop for low-cost products at Walmart?

Customers are not the only group that has to be convinced—staff have to be brought on board, too. Walmart holds meetings quarterly, and sustainability and regeneration were the subject of the last one, Reyes said. The message is always there: not only is this who we want to be, this is who we’re going to be.

“You have to provide paths for everybody to onboard,” he said.

He gets champions and sponsors in the

executive ranks and their business units, develops roadmaps, executing strategies then tracking progress, giving people exposure but also holding them accountable. They have yearly sustainability milestone meetings where they discuss where they can do better and do aisle-byaisle walkthroughs to compare and discuss products and packaging. “We’re making big, big transformations and really changing mindset so it doesn’t become another step or another check in the box,” he said.

At Reformation, Talbot said company policy for internal engagement involves quarterly sustainability reports the way some companies do with financials. The company

and calculators for them to apply to their own businesses and create change. It lays out non-negotiables, like treatment of workers or uncertain ways of sourcing.

Further, Walmart encourages people to recognize good behaviors. An incentive program gives an award to one of the top tier of suppliers and offers access to special events and leadership interactions.

has instituted a department sustainability scorecard that reaches the sub-department level, so directors are accountable for goals and metrics they’ll track each year. She reports that 90 percent of the teams understood their roles, and their individual contribution to Reformation’s mission and purpose. “That’s everything to me,” she said. “That’s my measure of success.”

At Walmart, success is measured in transparency, Reyes said. The message given to staff and collaborators is abundantly clear so it can serve as a model for others to follow. The retailer states its goals, saying “this is what we’re trying to do,” and what we would love for you to do, too, and admits it when it falls short and tries to improve.

“We try to lead by example,” Reyes said.

Walmart gives partners a platform, tools,

“And by the way, we’re building and becoming a regenerative company,” he said. “That means we’re going to continue in that path of working with suppliers that are moving in that direction with us.”

Fox noted a hard lesson he learned in sustainability when Hanesbrands was spun off from Sarah Lee in 2007. The company had to turn over every rock possible to save money in order to pay down some debt. The goal at the time was to cut its $100 million energy spend by 25 percent. Fast forward about 15 years and the investments made in renewable energy are paying off. Hanesbrands has big biomass plants attached to both of the large textile mills and one mill is completely renewable.

“We’ve saved hundreds of millions of dollars through our sustainability efforts,” he said.

▲ From left: Chris Fox, Marco Reyes, Kathleen Talbot, Reformation and Peter Sadera.

Our thinking is, how do we solve for shared value? Good for business, good for people, good for the planet?”

MARCO REYES, Walmart Inc.

How One Manufacturer Created a Fully Recycled Polyester Pocketing

Creating a new sustainable product can sometimes be tricky. However, Cotswold—a vertically integrated manufacturer, converter and distributor founded in 1954—is bringing its customers quality and value from fiber to a finished product with the development of its technical textiles and apparel fabrics.

Here, James McKinnon, CEO of Cotswold, discusses how the company is continuing its sustainable efforts into 2023 and beyond with its innovative advancements.

Sourcing Journal: How does Cotswold bring its customers quality and value from fiber to a finished product while keeping sustainability top of mind?

James McKinnon: Our primary goal is to continue improving our manufacturing operation while working closely with our supply chain partners to reduce leadtimes and use less energy in every aspect of transportation.

Our ongoing efforts to support a circular eco-system through fiber innovation support sustainability and increase opportunities for natural resource conservation. We work diligently within free trade zones and local vendors to reduce our carbon footprint related to transportation, while contributing and supporting local economies.

What role do you feel your company plays in the sustainability question in 2023?

J.M: At Cotswold, sustainability and compliance have become a primary consideration for our business. We have established our corporate goal for 2023—a 10 percent reduction in movement of materials by outlining clear standards of transparency and access to the DNA of our product, complete with origin of labor and raw inputs. Along with HIGG and other industry leaders in the compliance revolution, we are establishing our own well-defined corporate guidelines, supporting our corporate commitment to sustainability.

What are some of the latest sustainable fabric developments and applications from Cotswold Industries?

J.M: MAX REPREVE is Cotswold’s line of 100 percent recycled polyester pocketing that is rapidly growing and becoming a significantly important product within the apparel community. MAX REPREVE is a new sustainable

pocketing initiative which ensures all of our products have the maximum amount of REPREVE® recycled polyester content—from global textile solutions provider Unifi, Inc. (UFI). MAX REPREVE uses only certified U-Trust® REPREVE® recycled polyester fiber in every yard and follows all best practices and global apparel sustainability programs. By doing this, we hope that mass adoption will lead to an immediate positive impact in

the way the apparel industry is addressing its sustainability concerns.

How much progress would you say the fashion industry has made in sustainability in recent years? Do you think there’s room for improvement?

J.M: Progress is made incrementally. The supply chain continues to recognize the benefits of integrating all aspects of sustainable sourcing and manufacturing into its products and services. Overall, as the industry continues to change and grow, this will continue to shape and redefine all aspects of our business going forward.

How has the current sustainability landscape shaped the priorities/goals you have for this year?

J.M: While our business is global, our sustainable innovation is driven domestically here in the U.S. For us, sustainability is a never-ending process of evaluation and improvement. This is a commitment we have made to ourselves and to the industry.

While our business is global, our sustainable innovation is driven domestically here in the U.S.”

SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT

‘Regulatory Momentum’ Will Root Out Greenwashing

IN LIEU OF CLEAR DEFINITIONS AND REGULATIONS FOR WHAT IS “SUSTAINABLE,” ECO-FRIENDLY COMPANIES DO THEIR BEST WITH WHAT THEY’VE GOT.

By Matt Hickman

The Road to 2030 was paved with scientific talk, but there was an outlier that focused instead on semantics.

“Greenwashing: The Ultimate Disconnect,” explored the challenges of identifying and regulating false advertising claims and explaining the concepts in terms simple enough to be understood by the average consumer.

Olaf Schmidt, VP of textile and technologies for Messe Frankfurt, framed the importance of the issue by noting that 90 percent of all companies make some sort of claim of sustainability, but only 58 percent back it up.

“I don’t know what I find more concerning, deliberate or non-deliberate greenwashing,” said Annie Agle, senior director of impact and sustainability at Cotopaxi, a carbonneutral outdoor goods company. “What sort of kind of improvement is necessary to realize before you can say that a product is truly eco-friendly, right?”

The U.S. standard for truth-in-advertising is set by the Federal Trade Commission, which in December authorized a regulatory review of its “Green Guides,” the bible for what advertisers can and can’t say regarding eco-friendly claims. The guides haven’t been updated since 2012 and don’t mention the word “sustainability”.

“America is obviously 10 years behind the EU in terms of thoughtful regulation… but we’re starting to see a lot of regulatory momentum,” Agle said, pointing to state laws passed in states like New York and California,

especially as they relate to claims made by companies that continue to use PFAS, aka forever chemicals, in their products. “I do think that’s necessary because if there’s not a standard for behaviors, you can’t really standardize claims. If no one has the same definition of what good behavior actually must be, we can’t really talk about what behaviors are actually good and what are beyond compliance.”

Schmidt, whose company is one of the world’s largest sustainable exhibition organizers, putting on 50 events in 11 countries, said Messe Frankfurt tries to

▲ From left: Annie Agle, Katina Boutis, Olaf Schmidt, and Jasmin Malik Chua.

ferret out greenwashers, but without clear-cut language and laws just, there’s only so much he can do.

“As a fair organizer, we always say we can’t cause the textile industry to become more sustainable—that’s not possible,” Schmidt said. “We can only offer some platforms to present sustainable products, sustainable solutions, and to be in contact with the international audience and I think that’s very important.”

When putting on trade shows in his native Germany, Schmidt said Messe Frankfurt is able to put together a “green directory.”

“It’s a catalog with a list of sustainable companies and we have an independent jury or experts who screen all exhibitor and only companies who take care on sustainable topics and have certification are listed in this guide,” he said. “At the end, we know not every company is sustainable, so it’s only possible to give visibility to the companies who are more sustainable.”

One way to disable greenwashing is to codify what it means to be sustainable or eco-friendly with actual scientific barometers.

Cotopaxi gets there from the outset, jumping right into the claims of being certified carbon neutral, a position Agle said is made easier by it being such a young company.

“We’ve really designed the majority of our products from scrap materials—not just deadstock, but scrap materials that would end up in the landfill or incineration—so our carbon intensity score is already under 1 percent,” Agle said, referring to metric that measures the amount of carbon emitted divided by $1 of

revenue. “I think it’s an important metric for growth and how to measure how successfully you are decoupled from environmental impacts, while trying to continue to realize economic prosperity, hopefully not just for your company, but for society as a whole.”

Katina Boutis, director of sustainability for Everlane, said that while the pending B Corp fashion brand she works for can’t make claims like carbon-neutral, or carbon-

negative, setting and delivering realistic and science-based objectives has worked well.

“We’ve set pretty progressive targets around climate ambitions, not the least of which is to reduce our per-product carbon emissions by 55 percent by 2030,” Boutis said. “I think some of the nuance in the language has really come into why we’ve chosen to take this path… In the absence of some of these definitions or governance measures for how to properly account… we’ve really chosen to focus our efforts on aggressive reductions as quickly as we possibly can using science-based targets as a way to benchmark ourselves.”

I don’t know what I find more concerning, deliberate or non-deliberate greenwashing.”

ANNIE AGLE, Cotopaxi

SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT

How FGX Approaches Product Development with A Sustainability Lens

THE EYEWEAR IS ON THE PATH TO CONVERT ITS ENTIRE PRODUCT ARRAY TO SUSTAINABLE MATERIALS BY 2026.

By Sarah Jones

Eyewear maker FGX International is on the path to convert its entire product array to sustainable materials by 2026.

Three years into this sustainability journey, the EssilorLuxottica subsidiary behind the Foster Grant brand and licensed glasses for labels such as Steve Madden, Frye and Dockers has been steadily growing its range of sustainable eyewear. In 2021, the company released 7 million pairs of glasses made of sustainable materials, and in 2024, this figure is expected to reach 40 million.

“We call it a journey, because we’ve learned a long time ago, it’s going to continue over many, many years,” said Eric Rhea, vice president, R&D and sourcing at FGX International, during the “Eyewear Sees a Clear Path to Sustainability” panel at Sourcing Journal’s Sustainability Summit, moderated by Sourcing Journal managing and technology editor Jessica Binns. Rhea added, “It’s very complex…You open up one door, and it goes into another door and another door and another door, and you don’t know what you don’t know until you go there.”

Part of this complexity stems from eyewear’s multi-input composition; a simple pair might include upwards of five materials. To begin its pivot toward more sustainable products, FGX International had to research the materials available in the market to determine which inputs it wanted to use. Then, because the company doesn’t own its own factories, it had to find the right

production partners that had the capabilities and certifications necessary to work with these inputs and meet its standards.

FGX’s sustainability strategy came with an initial production efficiency tradeoff. Giving an example, Rhea said that injection molding for conventional materials could produce

150 pieces per hour, but swapping out sustainable materials led this production rate to fall to about 70 pieces in an hour. After years of learning and testing, production rates have returned to their original levels, and the company is sharing its findings and working with partner chemical firms to spread knowledge through the entire supply chain to help it scale the use of these materials.

In addition to remodeling the eyewear

It’s very complex…You open up one door, and it goes into another door and another door and another door, and you don’t know what you don’t know until you go there.”

ERIC RHEA, FGX International

itself, FGX International is also shifting the materials it uses in its packaging to lower its impact, such as incorporating recycled inputs or using potato starch in place of plastic. The company is also considering the end-of-life impact of packaging, including suggestions for consumers to find new uses for it—perhaps it turns into a cat toy or a pencil cup.

Matthew Coon, senior vice president, product design and development at FGX International, partly attributed his company’s quick progress on its goals to a “task force” that aligns organizational areas including finance, legal and accounting. This group meets on a weekly basis to discuss the targets and actions toward these goals. “We empowered that team to bring their

solutions, their questions, their challenges, and empowered that team to make a decision,” he said.

Although eyewear is a fashion item, it is also functional, and sustainability cannot come at the expense of performance, Coon noted. He referred to this as “invisible” sustainability, which involves delivering lower impact products even if the consumer isn’t making purchase decisions primarily based on eco-friendliness.

“We are very proud of being accessible eyewear that anybody can afford, and as part of that, we are also very sensitive to people’s pocketbooks,” said Coon. “And they aren’t always willing to pay more for sustainability, especially if it negates something that they used to have in their eyewear.”

▲ From left, Matthew Coon and Eric Rhea with Jessica Binns.

Centric Software Delves Into The Mind of the Consumer

NOT ALL TYPES OF SUSTAINABILITY CLAIMS HAVE AN EQUAL IMPACT ON PRODUCT PERFORMANCE, ACCORDING TO A CENTRIC SOFTWARE EXECUTIVE.

By Sarah Jones

When it comes to sustainable labeling, not all types of claims have an equal impact on product performance, according to an executive at Centric Software.

During the “Tracking Sustainability with Technology” panel at the Summit, Jade Huang, vice president of Style Sage at Centric Software, shared data from the company’s analysis of more than 8 million fashion products on thousands of e-commerce sites across Germany, the United Kingdom and the United States. Across the board, only 12 percent of merchandise was marked with general sustainability claims, such as “eco,” “recycled” or “vegan leather.” And just 0.5 percent of products held certified claims from groups like Fairtrade or Better Cotton. While they represent a smaller subset of retailers’ assortments, handbags, footwear and apparel with certifications boasted better sell-through rates than those with generic claims or no sustainable messaging, showing certain consumers’ willingness to spend on verified goods.

“For the consumers who believe that certified products that are actually sustainable is really important to their philosophy of life, how they spend their money, how they think about their purchases, how they live their life, if it’s part of their philosophy, they’re willing to pay for that,” said Huang during the session, moderated by Sourcing Journal’s business editor Glenn Taylor.

Huang likened fashion’s current trajectory

to the earlier rise of organic food awareness. As consumers became more educated, they began to seek out verification that what they were buying was actually organic, such as USDA certification. In fashion, this understanding is still developing.

“There is a small cohort of customers that are starting to get more educated,” Huang said. “Over time, we’ll reach the masses, like a technology adoption curve. We’re in the beginning—we’re early adopters—and

▲ From left, Reid Swanson, Sarah Von Holst and Jade Huang with Glenn Taylor.

SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT

eventually the customers can get to a point where everyone sort of understands and knows and looks for those things.”

Certification comes with higher prices, and just as there are consumers who won’t shell out for organic food at the grocery store, Huang expects there will still be some fashion shoppers who will not pay more for sustainable apparel.

Both general and certified sustainability claims had risen rapidly over the last five years, but the numbers have dropped off this year. Huang suggested this could be partly due to “financial pressures” like inflation, but she is hopeful growth will resume going forward.

Centralizing data

Whether from increasingly educated consumers or due diligence regulations, companies are facing growing scrutiny on whether their products are truly sustainable. Rather than sustainability or traceability being a “post-mortem” consideration after the purchase order comes in, Reid Swanson, sales director, North America East at Centric Software, suggested that it should be more “proactive” and an up-front consideration in the planning and development of collections.

Sarah Von Holst, product manager, sustainability at Centric Software, said that fashion firms’ teams are often siloed, but establishing access to shared data supports more informed decision-making. Giving an example of how Centric Software’s product lifecycle management (PLM) solution creates this connection, Von Holst explained that the sourcing team might have insights on a particular supplier’s machinery while

the quality team knows how the vendor performs on audits. By combining multiple data sets, a firm gets a full view of their partners’ capabilities.

Centric’s PLM can also integrate with and pull data from platforms like the Higg Index

for further visibility on areas such as material impact. “Data isn’t perfect. However, it is a step towards standardization,” said Von Holst. “You can’t just make a gut decision of ‘This is good, this is bad.’”

Technology maturity and adoption is growing to support improved visibility and data sharing, including across platforms. “PLM is just one part of the puzzle,” said Swanson. “There is no silver bullet technologically, so we know that there needs to be integrations, there needs to be more transparency.”

For the consumers who believe that certified products that are actually sustainable is really important to their philosophy of life, how they spend their money, how they think about their purchases… they’re willing to pay for that.”

JADE HUANG, Centric Software

Sustainability without Style Compromise

In 2020, Eastman launched Naia™ Renew cellulosic fiber, produced from 60 percent sustainably sourced wood pulp and 40 percent certified* recycled waste materials. With Naia™ Renew, hard-torecycled waste material is broken down to its basic building blocks using Eastman’s patented carbon renewal technology (CRT). The building blocks are then used as a feedstock to create new fibers without compromise on quality, softness, and versatility. Here, Claudia de Witte, sustainability leader, Eastman Textiles, discusses Eastman’s expanding portfolio of products.

Sourcing Journal: What are some of your company’s latest sustainability initiatives?

Claudia de Witte: Last year, we collaborated with Patagonia® on T-shirts made with Naia™ Renew ES (Enhanced Sustainability)—our latest fiber produced from 60 percent recycled content.

Naia™ Renew ES is our answer to the overconsumption of raw materials, a growing plastic waste problem, and

What are the sustainability and design benefits of Naia™ fibers and textile applications for the upcoming SS24/25 seasons.

C.D.: We started womenswear fashion with Naia™ filament yarn. With the launch of Naia™ staple fiber, we expanded Naia™ applications into ready-to-wear, casual wear, athleisure, sweaters, loungewear, plus bedding products for home textiles. Naia™ filament yarn transforms into luxurious, soft, and easy-to-care-for fabrics, while our staple fiber creates eco-conscious blends that are supremely soft, quick-drying and consistently reduce pilling. With Naia™ Renew, designers are given more freedom to create unlimited possibilities for uncompromising sustainable style.

How do you boost transparency into Naia™ products?

C.D.: By joining TextileGenesis™ last year, we offer brand partners a Naia™ travel log from factory floors to retailers’ doors. This gives consumers the information they need to make ethical decisions about their fashion, and we’re discussing with brands creating end-to-end traceability for garments.

rising greenhouse gases caused by deforestation. By 2023, we will extend our Naia™ portfolio to include a fiber offering with a minimum of 60 percent recycled content, with the goal to progressively increase proportion in our portfolio.

Last November, we signed a letter of intent with Renewcell to collaborate in developing a textiles-to-textiles solution for Naia™ Renew ES. And in 2022, Eastman signed a partnership agreement with environmental nongovernmental organization SOS Mata Atlântica and Bracell, a soluble cellulose producer, to donate 15,000 seedlings to help restore the Brazilian Atlantic Forest.

We have been working with 3rd party certifications and NGOs (FSC/PEFC, Canopy, ISCC, ZDHC etc.) to give people the certainty and confidence that Naia™ is indeed a sustainable fiber. A few years ago, we introduced our Naia™ Fabric Certification Program to provide brands the assurance that their fabrics are indeed made with sustainably sourced Naia™ fibers.

How is Naia™ meeting its sustainability goals?

C.D.: In our mainstreaming circularity category, in 2022 we have met the goal of having an advanced track and trace solution through the collaboration with TextileGenesis™.

Our sustainable solution is commercially available at scale, and we use a variety of

waste for the recycled component of Naia™ Renew. We primarily use postconsumer carpet fibers and hard-torecycle plastics, and as we have the ability to take in other waste materials, we plan to extend our recycled content. By 2025, more than 50 percent of the textile’s portfolio will be Naia™ Renew, increasing to more than 90 percent by 2030.

For our caring for society category, we have contributed to the updated ManMade Cellulosic Fibers (MMCF) Version 2.0 Guidelines, released earlier this year by ZDHC. Cellulose acetate is now incorporated in this industry resource to guide the fashion industry in eliminating harmful chemicals from its global supply chain and working towards more sustainable fiber production.

With NaiaTM Renew, designers are given more freedom to create unlimited possibilities for uncompromising sustainable style.”

SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT

You Can’t Be Sustainable Without Traceability

Talking about sustainability without traceability is a fool’s errand. With regulatory requirements and increasing consumer demand, traceability is quickly becoming table stakes for brands looking to give their sustainability claims credibility.

At Sourcing Journal’s Sustainability Summit, in a panel moderated by Peter Sadera, industry players discussed the business imperative of traceability.

“Traceability is really a prerequisite for understanding your environmental, ethical and social impacts,” Ben Tomkins, vice president, retail sales at Oritain, said. “And if you aren’t in a position where you can prove the origin of the raw materials, it’s nearly impossible to be able to stand on any claims that are associated. Having the ability to substantiate [your claims] is absolutely imperative.”

And for companies like Tapestry, certain expectations around quality and craftsmanship are standard for the house of luxury brands. But according to Earl W. Shank, Tapestry’s senior manager, traceability, this gives the company an edge when it comes to traceability. In 2019, the Coach owner laid a roadmap to attaining 95 percent traceability for raw materials by 2025.

“There is a real need to understand what tools are out there, their applicability to the problems you’re trying to solve,” Shank said. “And then another tenet that’s really important to us is interoperability of those tools because our products tend to be fairly complex . . . there’s a need to understand what sort of tools

By Alexandra Harrell

help and the traceability of each of those individual materials so that as they come together into a handbag, ready-to-wear, footwear, we have a really holistic picture of where those materials are coming from.”

For Supima, the brand known for Americangrown Pima cotton that’s “double the cost of traditional cotton,” according to Buxton Midyette, the company’s vice president, marketing and promotions, traceability isn’t just a sustainability imperative but a necessity

for differentiating the company’s extra-long staple cotton from the crowd (which justifies the higher price point). Last summer, Supima partnered with TextileGenesis to establish an industry benchmark platform for authenticating cotton.

“For us, it was a real breakthrough,” Midyette said of the partnership, which created a platform that melds the forensic authentication of Oritain with the digital tracking of TextileGenesis. “And so we are

“YOU CAN’T MAKE ANY CREDIBLE STATEMENT ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY UNLESS YOU KNOW WHERE YOUR PRODUCT COMES FROM,” ACCORDING TO SUPIMA’S BUXTON MIDYETTE.

Traceability is really a prerequisite for understanding your environmental, ethical and social impacts.”

BEN TOMKINS, Oritain

migrating our entire licensing group onto this platform, and what this will create [is] a digital token that will be pulled across the entire supply chain. So that when you get to the end as the brand retailer and you’re importing the product into the U.S. and [Customs and Border Protection] asks you where it’s from, you have the entire journey for the product.”

While the need for traceability has been established—either by legislation or consumers—and it’s viewed as a necessary additional step, how do companies convince potential clients of the cost of this valueadd? For Oritain, the topic is always the elephant in the room.

“There is a cost to traceability where the accountability falls within the supply chain,” Tomkins said. “I think we’ll progress with time as this is more greatly adopted.” Being sustainable means being economically sustainable as well, he said

Consider the recent news that CBP has detailed nearly $1 billion worth of goods on suspicions of forced labor, with nearly $400 million tied to textiles and apparel, he said.

That’s a huge burden not only in terms of the cost of those goods but also the operational and legal cost, missed sales and expense of re-producing those items.

“There’s a significant business case that it’s not just, ‘okay, let’s factor in traceability as a cost of goods sold,’” Tomkins said. “It’s an investment into safeguarding the supply chain. It’s an investment into being able to underpin positive communications, promotional campaigns, product strategies, demonstrating best-in-class supply chain practices and also mitigating the risk of those potential operational and reputational risks.”

This investment is just the beginning.

“This is really the first step,” Midyette said. “And then we can begin that heavy lifting of assessing and developing standards, which I hope will be universal and not parceled out across a dozen different accreditation firms; we need to be speaking the same language in terms of the standards we apply at each stage.”

Shank agreed, stating, “just knowing where the nodes are in your supply chain doesn’t answer what those nodes mean.”

▲ From left: Buxton Midyette, Earl W. Shank, Ben Tomkins and Peter Sadera.

SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT

Next-Gen Materials Show Promise Amid Obstacles

“THERE ARE NO STANDARDS,” FIT’S THEANNE SCHIROS SAID OF THE LACK OF CLARITY AND STANDARDS IN FASHION’S MATERIAL INNOVATION SECTOR.

By Claire Wilson

Each passing day seems to deliver some new material innovation, from mango, cactus and mycelium, to lotus, pineapple and now squid protein. The problem in the sector is not lack of innovation, but the lack of information and ways to explain it, according to Theanne Schiros, PhD., associate professor of science and mathematics at the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan.

“There are no standards,” Schiros told attendees at Sourcing Journal’s Sustainability Summit. “I feel a little bit like it’s impeding tech transfer from lab and startup to marketplace.”

Even the definition of biodegradable is unclear, Schiros said during a panel which was moderated by Lauren Parker, director, SJ Studio, Sourcing Journal. According to the science professionals, this refers to are materials degraded by non-toxic microorganisms in natural environments like marine environments or soil environments. Enzymes that break it down are the scissors and glue of nature that disassemble things and return them to the earth as fluid.

Yet some other materials considered biodegradable like polylactic acid, or PLA, take years to break down. “That doesn’t mean it’s not biodegradable,” Schiros noted. PLA is biodegradable; it passes through the human body as lactic acid, but is not compostable.

“It needs a higher temperature,” Schinos told the panel which also included Thomasine Dolan Dow, materials innovation and design director, Material Innovation Initiative (MII), a think tank dedicated to

fast-tracking environmentally safe and animal-free materials, and Joey Pringle, founder, Veshin Factory, which manufactures goods made from sustainable textiles and leather alternatives. “There are only 30 facilities in the country that have the ability to compost PLA but that doesn’t mean it’s fundamentally non-compostable.”

Pringle underscored the lack of clarity in the sector, noting a rush to release products that weren’t quite ready for market. “It’s a complete mess right now, to be honest,” he said.

The lack of clarity applies to mycelium materials in particular. Pringle said he gets

▲ From left, Thomasine Dolan Dow, Joey Pringle, Theanne Schiros and Lauren Parker.

requests regularly from manufacturers wanting to do a mycelium collection, but the material exists only in laboratories and in the minds of forward-thinking marketing people. He thinks people are getting ahead of themselves before the product is ready for market, though brands from Stella McCartney to Lululemon have already developed mycelium-based products. Reformation is sniffing around the next-gen entrant as well.

“For sure, I want to see it happen,” said Pringle. “But that said, there is an element of staying in your lane to go behind closed doors for a couple of years, figure it out, then go public.”

Pringle estimates that there’s about $400 million invested in the development of mycelium, but still there’s little to show for it except for a capsule collection or two. He believes Natural Fiber Welding is the one company on top of the sector, “which is why we’re working with them,” he said. Veshin manufactures lines with products from the Ralph Lauren-backed startup.

Last year, investors put $456.75 million into mycelium development, with MycoWorks claiming a $125 million piece of the pie. NFW came in second in the investment sweepstakes, with $83 million.

That is said to be less than the year before but there were no fears expressed by

panelists of a severe downturn in investment dollars.

According to MII’s Dow, there was the usual talk of global recession, but the sector just seems to be taking a break and waiting to see where the dust settles. “Let’s just sit back a little bit because a lot of money has been sunk into these places,” she said. “Let’s see who’s doing what, who’s rising to the occasion.”

A number of new players experimenting with new materials is coming down the pike. Dow noted she is working with a group of freshly minted scientists in Florida who are trying to create next-gen products from seaweed.

She is also working with a Penn State professor on a fiber made with squid protein which, she said, unlocks a world of possibilities in terms of fibers. It is a filament fiber like silk, which is strong, really fine and takes color beautifully. It can be blended with cotton, among other things, and there are many possible applications because it is made from protein.

Schiros also works with the next generation of next-gen researchers. The

company she co-founded, Werewool, is a minority and woman-led and -founded early-stage biotech company, staffed by her former textile development and marketing students from FIT. It operates out of the SUNY Downstate incubator for startups.

The team is developing fiber from proteins, with colors from engineered proteins. That means they don’t have to be dyed, cutting out about 15-20 percent of the cost of the product in addition to lessening any environmental impact usually associated with textile dyeing.

Schiros called herself a delusional optimist, unafraid to face the challenging problems of developing new sustainable products. Her advice to material innovators hoping for success is to be bold, listen, figure out what brands want and get as much feedback on your process as possible to understand what people need. “It’s probably like a metaphor for most of life,” she said.

AMOUNT ESTIMATED TO HAVE BEEN INVESTED IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MYCELIUM.

SUSTAINABILITY SUMMIT

A Look Back: The Day Rana Plaza Changed the World

PANELISTS RECOUNTED HEARING ABOUT THE WATERSHED COLLAPSE AND ENSUING WORKER SAFETY MOVEMENT. By Matt Hickman

Namza Akter remembers being on her way to her office in Dhaka when she heard about the 8:57 a.m. collapse of Rana Plaza. Before the workers rights activist and Bangladeshi Awaj Foundation founder learned there were more than 3,000 workers inside, more than a third of whom would be found dead in the rubble, her first thought went to news reports from the day before about factory workers complaining about cracks in the building, she told attendees at the Sourcing Journal Sustainability Summit. Many of the workers told management they did not feel safe going back to work, but were told if they didn’t they wouldn’t be paid for the entire month, meaning the previous 23 days of labor would have been all for naught.

“I went there about an hour after the collapse and saw a lot of ambulance, rescue people and people screaming and crying,” Akter recounted with panel moderator and Sourcing Journal sourcing and labor editor Jasmin Malik Chua in a video interview. “There was a large shipment, a political strike, so the factory manufacturers told them if they do not go for work they will not get salary. They had four days until the end of the month, so they didn’t have the option, didn’t have the choice.”

Avedis Seferian, who had become president and CEO of Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production less than a year before the disaster, remembered being awakened to the news late at night by his country manager and mobilizing humanitarian efforts within hours.

“None of the factories that were involved were certified, so it was entirely a humanitarian mission,” said Seferian, whose company is the world’s largest verifier of apparel factory safety. “We mobilized some funds, got some donations and my staff was actually on the ground that day, helping volunteers move the rubble and get water out to the rescue team. I

mean, those images are seared in my brain so it was certainly a day I will never forget.”

Jason Judd, executive director for the Cornell University Global Labor Institute, said he was in Phnom Penh when the news broke, but felt the full weight of the tragedy two weeks later when a Cambodia footwear factory collapse killed two workers.

And Nate Herman, SVP for policy at the American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) was hosting one of this organization’s events in Baltimore when he heard about Rana Plaza.

There is accountability to be had all across the supply chain... supply chains work holistically and we are literally all in this together. It’s not one end of it vs. the other.”

AVEDIS SEFERIAN, WRAP

“I had the responsibility to tell the 150 people attending the conference what happened,” Herman said. “We had a moment of silence after that and the proceeding week we started working on what became the alliance for worker safety.”

A day removed from the 10th anniversary of the Rana Plaza disaster, the panel reflected on some positives that came out of the tragedy, namely the rollout of the Bangladesh Accord on Building and Fire Safety, a binding commitment created three weeks after the collapse, which, to date, has been signed by 197 brands and inspired a similar version for Pakistani workers launched two years ago that’s landed 49 brands, but only American Eagle Outfitters and Calvin Klein on board as major U.S. labels.

Herman said the fallout from the Rana Plaza disaster forced two major cultural changes in the garment sector.

“Workers safety is not a ‘nice-to-have,’ it’s a fundamental right. You should expect, when you go to work in the morning that you will be able to come back home,” Herman said. “And you have to collaborate. That was the other sea change for the industry, realizing that if you collaborate the sky doesn’t fall... If you’re transparent about doing audits in factories, the sky doesn’t fall.”

Seferian noted that 10 years since the tragedy, responsibility for worker safety is understood to be shared throughout the supply chain, all the way down to the consumer, and that for all the attention paid to binding accords and government action, enforcing existing laws is as important as enacting new ones.

“That [Rana Plaza] building was never meant to be that tall, never meant to be built with the materials it was built with, and the

alliance brings that home. But the code that was in place wasn’t a terrible code; it just hadn’t been properly enforced, properly regulated,” Seferian said. “There is accountability to be had all across the supply chain... supply chains work holistically and we are literally all in this together. It’s not one end of it vs. the other.”

Akter said that by the 20-year anniversary of Rana Plaza, she hopes workplace measures like the Bangladesh Accord, which she said covers 2 million—nearly half of Bangladesh’s 4 million garment workers—are a global standard.

“Safety is the first priority. If I’m scared my workplace is not safe, then how do I work? How do I make the garments?” she said. “It’s also not good for the industry because it is not helpful for their productivity. It’s in their interest. Worker safety is a more important subject for everyone.”

▲ From left: Nate Herman, Jason Judd, Claudia Sandoval, Avedis Seferian and Jasmin Malik Chua

Artistic Milliners’ Sustainability Scope: Renewables, Recycling and Social Responsibility

Creating lower-impact jeans requires innovation, investment and a holistic sustainability strategy. Pakistan-based denim manufacturer Artistic Milliners’ initiatives span the supply chain—from cotton fields to laundry facilities.

Sourcing Journal spoke to Artistic Milliners’ managing director Omer Ahmed about the mill’s ESG efforts.

Sourcing Journal: Your renewable energy subsidiary Artistic Energy launched in 2018. What impact has this had since?

Omer Ahmed: Artistic Energy was a $100 million dollar bet on renewables because we saw the detrimental impact of fossil fuel reliance on both the planet and our business. Artistic Milliners has been striving for several years to reduce its dependency on the national grid, which has shown consistent inefficiencies. Presently, we produce over 11 MW of solar power and supply an additional 100 MW of wind energy to the national grid. We’re also partnering with Reon Energy on a new 8.5 MW project. Moreover, we’ve invested $370 million in the creation of two run-of-the-river hydroelectric projects. Our experience in Pakistan has demonstrated our industry’s resilience and readiness to tackle global crises, especially those related to supply chain and fuel challenges.

Artistic Milliners’ Milliner Cotton Initiative aims to improve cotton cultivation. How has this project supported sustainability at the farm level?

O.A.: MCI covers the complete cotton supply chain as an ecosystem and proposes and implements innovative interventions at all levels. It’s been a great opportunity to introduce integrity and traceability into an indigenous supply chain, thereby benefiting everyone—from farm to factory and beyond. We’ve partnered with Retraced to create the first end-to-end, blockchain-backed, farm-to-fashion solution. Thanks to smart farming practices and the Crop2X app, we’ve trained our farmers and they’ve realized some remarkable progress: Their costs for pesticides and fertilizer dropped 34 percent and 53 percent, respectively; irrigation application reduced by 40 percent; and seed cotton yield increased 25 percent.

How can technology improve sustainability at all tiers of the denim supply chain?

O.A.: At the raw materials stage, advanced tracking systems, such as blockchain technology, can trace cotton from point of origin to manufacturing units. This ensures that our sourcing practices are ethical and transparent, providing consumers with valuable insights into their products’ origins.

Our Circular Park hub can recycle up to 500,000 kilograms of fiber monthly,

Fades International at Kingpins

Amsterdam. Brilliant Fade is an energyand water-efficient ozone booster that doesn’t require heat or moisture and creates authentic vintage washes without potassium permanganate. Another is Flash Fade, a water-free abrasion booster that is a true alternative to pumice stones that also saves time, water and energy while lightening, abrading and enhancing denim highs and lows.

Sustainability is also about people. How does social responsibility shape your actions?

creating a commercial path for textile waste. We’re very excited about mechanically recycled Tencel lyocell. The result is a range of renewed fabrics with a vintage, uneven and nappy look, but a soft hand feel.

In laundry, we launched wash innovations with our subsidiary Star

O.A.: It is a crucial aspect of our sustainability efforts, and we have implemented and are scaling several programs to ensure our actions reflect this commitment, including Better Work, HerEssentials, Empower and adult literacy initiatives. We pay 90 percent of employees digitally, have a digital grievance redressal mechanism to address any issues promptly and we provide gender-responsive health information and services. Our Little Milliners Day Care allows working mothers to focus on their job, assured that their child is well taken care of just a few feet away. Our Fairtrade program currently covers 8,000 workers, and we have disbursed a total premium of $1.89 million to date. We remain committed to implementing programs that benefit our workers and the wider community.

We’ve partnered with Retraced to create the first endto-end, blockchainbacked, farm-tofashion solution.”

India’s Sustainability Road Show

THE APPAREL EXPORT PROMOTION COUNCIL IS SPREADING AN URGENT MESSAGE FOR CHANGE. By Mayu Saini

On the heels of a five-city “sustainability marathon” wrapping up in May, India’s Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) is settling in for the long run as the European Union sustainability proclamations loom. The road ahead is founded on education, sharing success, awards, incentives and rousing presentations about the need to get the process moving.

This road show, going through the larger clusters of export manufacturers—Tirupur, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Jaipur and New Delhi— is a first of its kind sensitization process.

While many of the larger manufacturers like Shahi Exports, Triburg and Matrix Clothing are ahead of the sustainability game—with strong targets on carbon emissions, making transformations to solar energy and focusing on labor and social sustainability—more than 80 percent of the 7,000 AEPC members are medium and small manufacturers who are still in the nascent stages of the journey.

Many of these smaller firms speak about sustainability with a single point of concern—the high cost for change. During the tour, many small business owners spoke up about the fact that buyers don’t contribute to counter expenses and that times were tough as is. Why not wait until business was better?

The five-city junket attempted to change this way of thinking, stressing the urgency of the EU norms, as the bloc continues to be a priority partner for India’s approximately $16 billion apparel export industry.

“Generally, all the countries are pushing

for sustainability targets, and we need to have this done as soon as possible. We’ve realized we need to inform all our members and be better able to share what we are doing. We’re doing a lot of handholding in this process,” Narendra Goenka, chairman, AEPC told Sourcing Journal.

He added that green energy was on a steep growth curve. “Most companies have stopped using fossil fuels and started using biomass which enables the production of renewable energy. Water consumption is being addressed with recycling as well as backward integration for mills and rainwater harvesting, etc. Small improvements have been happening. In the longer cycle of raw materials, as well as a focus on trying to use longer-lasting materials to make more durable products.”

He also spoke to the need to secure Leed certification in new buildings, explaining the singular focus as AEPC launched the Apparel Industry Sustainability Action (AISA) to promote such manufacturing practices in October 2022.

AEPC is also working with the Buyers Sourcing Leaders Association (BSL) which brings together buyers—both global and local— with the manufacturers on this initiative.

Sanjay Shukla, team leader at Triburg, an apparel sourcing solutions provider, and board member at BSL, told Sourcing Journal that the organizations provided a unique initiative to the industry.

“We wish to drive this change,” he said. Detailing the many ways in which the

changes in sustainable practices were being introduced, he added another important parameter: “Sustainability should not only be seen in terms of raw materials or using nontoxic chemicals. The manufacturers who are flush with business also have a high sustainability of relationships with the buyers. This is one of the things that makes a manufacturer successful,” he said.

As the local industry steps up to meet the European Union’s climate neutral targets, it also has to prepare for the expected 63

percent increase in global garment production by 2030, said Sudhir Sekhri, vice chairman, AEPC. “There is no more choice left for us,” he said, speaking of the need to ensure a wider penetration in medium and small exporters enterprises.

While industry leaders are worried enough to ask, “Are we doing enough?” Gautam Nair, managing director, Matrix clothing, weighed the point. “It’s difficult to say what ‘enough’ is. It’s a tough benchmark to set standards for this. There has to be a

reason that resonates with the consumer, and they are a key driving force to make the industry move towards change. It is something that India is very well positioned to do, but there is also a lot of work ahead of us,” he said.

In some pockets of production sustainability measures are catching on faster—solar energy panels for instance or creating ways of water recycling. However, areas that need improvement such as 3D sampling, reducing material waste, boiler condensation, production equipment and skill development are all part of the conversations that are being introduced for adoption in the coming months.

The urgency of global geopolitics is another driving force.

Comparisons with other supplying countries are inevitable, and Dr. Tamanna Chatuurvedi, deputy secretary general, AEPC, highlighted the importance of keeping perspective, especially in regard to competing supplier countries.

Sustainability will be key to India’s competitiveness going forward, she said, while amplifying the message to take the issues seriously before the divide between India and Bangladesh and other countries becomes bigger. Her message: “Gear up quickly.”

Some are referring to the new environmental rules and stipulations from the EU and other countries as a way of “throttling developing country exports,” and some are beginning see strains of resentment. For the most part, however, it is tempered with reasonable foresight.

“Some naysayers and critics dub this an exercise in optics, or a fad. But this is something very serious, and the industry can ignore it at its own peril,” said Mithileshwar Thakur, secretary general, AEPC.

Sekhri, of AEPC summed it succinctly. “The fact is this is for larger good and can’t be ignored. We have to translate these threats into an opportunity,” he said. “We are trying to brace the industry and sensitize them to be sustainable through these road shows.”

▼ Speakers at the AEPC “Sustainability Marathon.”; The “Gear Up” rallying cry.

How Polartec Turns Recyclables into New, Durable Materials

As sustainability within the fashion industry continues to receive widespread adoption from mainstream companies, consumers are demanding brands develop and/or adopt more ecoconscious materials, sourcing and manufacturing.

Here, Karen Beattie, global director of product marketing at Polartec, discusses how the premium provider of innovative and sustainable textile solutions is increasing its material offerings for a more sustainable fashion industry.

Sourcing Journal: Polartec has been turning recycled plastic bottles into garments for 30 years. How has that initiative evolved?

Karen Beattie: Since 1993, Polartec has constructed performance fabric from yarn derived from post-consumer recycled (PCR) bottles. At the time, this was more of a curiosity than a tectonic shift in polyester production. Its high cost and limited design options made customer adoption scarce.

One of the first Polartec brand partners to embrace this new technology was Patagonia—a designer of outdoor clothing and gear—who was unafraid that green was the only available color (thankfully, you can now get recycled fleece in any color you’d like).

Since that day, Polartec has continually expanded what fabrics could be knit and what kind of performance could be achieved from recycled polyester fibers. Currently, Polartec has upcycled over 2 billion bottles into performance textiles and now offers over 200 plus fabrics made from at least 50 percent PCR content and 50 plus fabrics made from 100 percent PCR content. Every year, these numbers increase as the line between sustainability and performance becomes smaller.

In February, Polartec announced Polartec® Shed Less Fleece, a new textile innovation. How will this innovation reduce fiber fragment shedding that is sullying the environment?

K.B.: Polartec has focused on the issue of mitigating fiber fragments in the environment since 2016 when it developed its Polartec® Power Air® technology, a unique solution that encapsulated lofted fibers to reduce fiber shedding—up to five times less than regular fleece. In its continued

efforts in sustainable manufacturing, Polartec recently developed Shed Less Technology, a proprietary process that combines advances in fiber, yarn, knitting, chemistry and manufacturing to create a 200 Series Fleece—the original fleece—that reduces fiber fragment shedding in home laundering an average of 85 percent, according to the American Association of Textile Chemists and Colorists (AATCC) 2021 testing method that we use to evaluate textile shedding in home laundering.

Last December, Polartec released its bio-based Polartec® Power Shield® fabric technology. How is this fabric technology setting a new standard for sustainable weather protection?

K.B.: Polartec® Power Shield®—a 48 percent plant-based membrane with non-PFAS materials—creates a more

sustainable weather-protective fabric that achieves an industry-leading combination of waterproofness, windproofness, long-lasting breathability, high durability and comfortable stretch. Most notable is the incredible feel and drape that the fabric has which allows for a more supple, quieter wearing experience without compromising the expedition-grade performance of the material.

At the center of Polartec Power Shield’s revolutionary functionality is a major advancement in membrane technology. The highly durable, monolithic membrane is a barrier specifically engineered to be impermeable to outside weather while transporting moisture vapor from skin to surface via molecular diffusion (the spreading of a component due to the random motion of molecules).

What is something that Polartec always considers before producing new sustainable materials?

K.B.: From a product development perspective, Polartec considers the performance aspects of technology to deliver solutions that keep people warm, dry, cool and safe above all else. In addition to eco-sourced and manufactured materials, we believe the cornerstone of sustainability lies in the durability and longevity of a garment, ultimately creating a product that continues to perform for seasons and generations to come.

We believe the cornerstone of sustainability lies in the durability and longevity of a garment.”

Crafting a More Sustainable Future in Bangladesh

AT THE RECENT SUSTAINABLE APPAREL FORUM IN DHAKA, THE WORLD’S SECOND-LARGEST CLOTHING EXPORTER PONDERS ITS FUTURE.

By Jasmin Malik Chua

No sustainability, no Bangladesh. That’s the opinion of Ranjan Mahtani, founder and executive chairman of Epic Group, a Hong Kong-based garment manufacturer whose sprawling operations span Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Vietnam.

Speaking at the Sustainable Apparel Forum at the Radisson Blu Dhaka Water Garden in the South Asian nation’s capital of Dhaka earlier this year, Mahtani recalled his personal evolution with the concept, something he now calls “very close to my heart.”

“I remember 10 or 12 years ago, my sustainability experts came to me and said, ‘We want solar power.’ I said, ‘Who’s going to make these big investments?’” he said. “And today we look at this very, very differently. As an entrepreneur, obviously, you’re running a business to be profitable. But what else is our responsibility? From our company standpoint, our two foremost responsibilities are people and the environment.”

Those investments, prudently made, can deliver rich returns, Mahtani said. Happier workers, for one thing, are also more efficient workers. Epic Group’s photovoltaic panels, for another, have helped the company better grapple with gas hikes and shortages rippling across Bangladesh, a consequence of runaway inflation and Russia’s war on Ukraine. But the country, which is home to nearly 200 LEED-certified factories—the most anywhere—can do better.

“I think Bangladesh should always look toward the next step,” he said. “Because yesterday’s best is not good enough today.”

As the world’s second-largest clothing exporter—China is the first—Bangladesh is tremendously important to the fashion industry. In 2022, its nearly 4,000 exportoriented factories shipped out garments worth $42.6 billion. This year, the government is anticipating deliveries worth

In addition, the country continues to rank among the International Trade Union Confederation’s 10 worst countries for working people due to what it describes as regressive laws, opposition to union formation and crackdowns on strikes involving disproportionate brutality by the police. The International Labour Organization and the Bangladeshi government have also locked horns on the progress of the latter’s alleged nonobservance of conventions relating to labor inspections, freedom of association and collective bargaining. Meanwhile, the office of the U.S. trade representative has maintained its suspension of Bangladesh’s trade privileges, which were put on ice following the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013. Its most recent review cited “concerns in the areas of freedom of association, collective bargaining, child labor and forced labor.”

$46.8 billion. Put another way, one out of 10 garments sold in the United States hails from Bangladesh. In the European Union, it’s nearly one in five.

But casting a shadow over Bangladesh’s signifiant progress is the cost of that success. The Energy Policy Institute at the University of Chicago has rated Bangladesh the country with the world’s worst air quality every year since 2018. The average Dhaka resident, one study from the school found, loses roughly eight years of his or her life as a result of the traffic, construction and industrial pollution.

“We applaud all of the efforts Bangladesh has made over the past decade,” said Peter D. Haas, U.S. ambassador to Bangladesh, at the same event. “But we still remain concerned that too many workers across Bangladesh cannot exercise basic rights to freedom of association and collective bargaining. We’re also concerned that workers in export processing zones have no access to these rights at all. So we remain committed to supporting workers’ rights worldwide. Because we believe that an empowered workforce is also directly linked to sustainability.”

To sustain its garment sector, Bangladesh

We need to put emphasis on building up a resilient and sustainable business model to overcome future challenges.”

FARUQUE HASSAN, Bangladesh Garment Manufacturer and Exporters Association

needs to “move up the value chain” by exporting higher-value-added products, which earn better prices, Haas said. He added that “strong labor protections can help achieve these goals.”

There’s a broad consensus, after all, that Bangladesh’s 4.1 million garment workers have never been safer. Since the implementation of the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, now the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry, more than 120,000 fire, building and electrical hazards in over 1,600 factories have been fixed.

The story of Bangladesh is one of a “developmental paradox,” said Naureen Chowdhury, head of labor rights at the Laudes Foundation, which collaborated with the Bangladesh Apparel Exchange to organize the event.

“I think we’re at a critical juncture given the global crises that we see via climate breakdown, inequality [and] economic turbulence,” Chowdhury said. “I think we are at the crossroads where we can continue to invest and build on the development journey that Bangladesh is on through discussions and follow-on actions. I think we have the resources, the intellectual capacity [and] the knowledge to translate our intentions or aspirations into actions for the betterment of not just the industry, but the country as a whole.”

Indeed, sustainability isn’t simply about greener factories, said Salim Rahman, managing director at KDS, one of Bangladesh’s oldest garment manufacturers, with clients such as H&M Group, Kmart and Sears.

Outside the main hall, colorful panels hung on a wall of straw and wood depicted a more expansive definition, including “green jobs,” “worker wellbeing” and “fair and equitable purchasing practices.” One banner proclaimed that “cheap fashion may be cheap in terms of the financial cost, but very expensive when it comes to the environment and human life.” Another, quoting Mahatma Gandhi, said that there is “no beauty in the finest cloth if it makes

hunger and unhappiness.”

“Sustainability is the balance between the environment, equity and commerce,” he said. “It is also about how we remain commercially viable to innovation, digitization, diversification and be[ing] more productive,” he said.

This shouldn’t be the suppliers’ sole burden to bear, Rahman noted. “While as a supplier, we have been making efforts to make our production process clean, more energy efficient and environmentally friendly, buyers also have a responsibility to send support to the supplier, improving its social and environmental performance,” he said.

Lawmakers, Rahman added, have a duty to make regulatory reforms regarding due diligence. And for their part, financial institutions should be helping small and medium-sized enterprises access funding not only for sustainable improvements but also for the transition to Industry 4.0 so they can become smarter, more efficient and more profitable.

The forum’s exhibition space touted several made-in-Bangladesh wins. Upcycle Labs by PDS can turn textile waste into home decor and fire-resistant bricks, helping companies monetize their castoffs

▲ The Sustainable Apparel Forum took place in the Bangladeshi capital of Dhaka on March 16.

while boosting their green bonafides. At Epic Group’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility, real-time data collection and automation help it improve its practices. Same with Noize Jeans, whose machines use 50 percent less energy and up to 70 percent less water and chemicals to churn out denim from recycled polyester, organic cotton and hemp. Outerwear company 4A Yarn Dyeing uses rainwater harvesting to save nearly 450,000 liters of water a year. Snowtex employs renewable energy to slash its carbon emissions by 2,390 metric tons annually.

Faruque Hassan, president of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturer and Exporters Association and managing director of Giant Apparels, said that sustainability “sits at the top” of the trade group’s agenda. The linear, cradle-to-grave model that the nation’s garment industry has followed since its inception in the early ‘80s needs to change, he said. The Bangladesh Apparel Exchange will be grappling with the subject in greater detail on June 15, when the inaugural Bangladesh Circular Economy Summit and the Bangladesh Circular Apparel & Textiles Forum takes place in the same venue.

“We want to create a sustainable future and one of the key strategies to do this is through resource accounting,” Hassan said. “The circular economy can build a pathway for green environmental sustainability and promote a regenerative economic model. While we move towards a circular economy, the speed and

effectiveness of our industry have to continue to improve.”

Hassan acknowledged that awareness about environmental and social responsibility has only grown, with mandatory due diligence legislation following on its heels. The European Union is in the process of finalizing its Corporate Sustainable Due Diligence Directive. In New York State, the Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act—better known as

be too difficult for suppliers to comply with a thousand different structures.” Bangladesh should build up its capacity for this, he added, but other supply chain stakeholders have their own “role and responsibility.”

Pointing to the recently opened Centre of Innovation, Efficiency and Occupational Safety and Health, Hassan said that the industry’s commitment is to “take R&D to the next level of sustainability and we are looking comprehensively at all the possible areas.”

“We need to put emphasis on building up a resilient and sustainable business model to overcome future challenges,” he said. “For that we need more support from the advanced economy in terms of product and fiber diversification, innovation, technological operation, rescaling and upskilling of people.”

the Fashion Act—seeks to hold to account fashion companies making at least $100 million in revenue.

But while regulation is necessary, Bangladesh doesn’t want country- or trading bloc-specific legislation but rather laws that are “accepted by all the players in the global fashion industry,” he said.

“So, basically we want one level playing field across the supply chain,” Hassan said. “The fashion industry needs to agree on a globally standard approach. Otherwise, it will

The “existential threat” of climate threat aside, sustainability also means sustainability in prices for exporters, said Saber Hossain Chowdhury, chairman of the parliamentary body on the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change.

“Based on various studies I’ve seen, our exporters probably receive about anything from 17 to 20 percent [of the price of the product],” he said. “The rest—80 percent— is lost during intermediate layers. So how can we talk about the sustainability of the fashion industry, when the basic concept of pricing and how the price is distributed is not addressed? If we don’t do that, then conditions in Bangladesh will not improve to the extent we want them to.”

From our company standpoint, our two foremost responsibilities are people and the environment.”

RANJAN MAHTANI, Epic Group

DeSL Expands Partnerships to Support Brands’ Sustainability Initiatives

As a market leader in digital transformation with product lifecycle management (PLM) software solutions for the retail, fashion, apparel and footwear industries, DeSL is investing “heavily” in sustainability to make a “real difference” in the fashion industry.

Here, Pam Peale, VP of global sales and U.S. PLM operations at DeSL, discusses how the company is enhancing its products to help corporations achieve their environmental, social and governance (ESG) goals.

Sourcing Journal: How has the current sustainability landscape shaped the priorities/goals you have for this year?

Pam Peale: As our industry faces more regulation focused on improvements toward sustainability, we believe that we need to offer solutions to assist. The DeSL team is passionate about being a part of the change that the fashion industry is making. Small changes made by each of us individually—and as corporations—will add up. That being said, our development road map continues to include more functionality focused on compliance, traceability, reporting and overall sustainability efforts.

DeSL partnered with Higg Co. last year. How has this partnership strengthened your suite of tools to help fashion and other consumer goods industries better manage their corporate goals for sustainability and visibility?

P.P.: Our partnership with Higg—an integrated software platform that helps retailers take responsibility for their entire impact—is one example of what we’ve developed to help fashion companies on their ESG and sustainability journey. The DeSL/Higg integration offers direct access to data such as the Material Sustainability Index (MSI), which can flow into the bill of materials providing visibility for educated decision-making in the design and development process. With sustainability being an industrywide initiative and brands seeking deeper adoption, partnering with a data solution can better enable DeSL customers to design products and see value-chain data all in one solution. This will also facilitate stronger reporting as companies look to organize and document accurate information on achieving their goals.

How does DeSL’s Sustainability Accelerator Programme help jump start

businesses and propel their sustainability initiatives forward?

P.P.: DeSL recognizes the necessity for improvement within the retail, fashion, apparel and footwear industries and is dedicated to delivering the features and tools to support sustainability initiatives. The Sustainability Accelerator Programme is a solution for companies of

any size looking to make changes for the better. With multi-tier supplier relationship management, teams can organize compliance certifications and documentation throughout their supply chain. Traceability on bill of materials (BOM) and purchase orders provide estimated carbon emissions data and integration with 3D assets enables digital sample review and management between the brand and suppliers. Each change makes a difference and takes the right steps toward meeting sustainability goals. The comprehensive set of tools offered with the program also provides end-to-end coverage of supply chains, and is open to any company dedicated to improving and adapting their processes with sustainability in mind.

What role will DeSL play in the sustainability conversation in 2023 and going forward?

P.P.: It is our responsibility to be a part of the solution. We find ourselves increasingly discussing the topic of sustainability with our current and prospective partners. And the DeSL team is proud to provide real solutions to assist in the change we can make together.

As our industry faces more regulation focused on improvements toward sustainability, we believe—as a technology partner— we need to offer solutions to assist.”

Experts Discuss Unions, Minimum Wage in Bangladesh

GARMENT-SECTOR EXECUTIVES DISCUSS WHAT’S HAPPENING WITH WORKER RIGHTS AND WAGES IN THE WORLD’S SECOND-BIGGEST APPAREL EXPORTER. By

Mayu Saini

Recent discussions in Dhaka have put into question the progress, or lack of it, being made regarding labor training, occupational safety and health, freedom of association and minimum wages, according to sources close to Bangladesh’s garment sector.

Unions linked to the apparel sector are among the most active in the South Asian nation, where, in total, more than 9,106 basic unions fall under 37 national union federations and some 191 union federations. The Department of Labour’s 2020 statistics show that only 5.2 percent of Bangladesh’s approximately 4 million garments workers holds trade union membership, putting the collective bargaining coverage rate at about 1.5 percent.

The country registered about 300 trade unions per year between 2020-2022.

Although Bangladesh has seen “tremendous advancement” in acknowledging the critical role trade unions play in ensuring safety, there’s still “tremendous” work to be done, Tuomo Poutiainen, country director, International Labour Organisation (ILO), Bangladesh told Sourcing Journal.

“A lot of attitudes have changed, particularly in the garment industry, but we would like to see more of that. It’s not always well accepted by employers that workers should have a role to play in collective bargaining and dialogue and working conditions at factory level. The percentage of workers registered in trade unions is still very low. There is a lot of room for this to grow and for the unions to play a better and

a more powerful role,” he said, pointing to the garment sector’s “massive transformation” since Rana Plaza.

“The investment in occupational safety and health, and industrial safety for workers have certainly seen real changes; the industry is much safer than it was 10 years

organizations’ call to strengthen the department so it can better monitoring safety.

“The role of DIFE is extremely important,” Poutiainen said. “The capacity and ability of inspectors from DIFE to visit factories has grown significantly over the last 10 years— the number of inspectors has grown from some 60 in 2013 to more than five times that number today and the government budget has more than quadrupled in this time. At the same time the industry is growing fast in Bangladesh so it is a huge challenge to reach and maintain all of these and it is very important to continue to improve and augment and strengthen this.”

However, getting DIFE in tip-top shape has been a challenge in recent years.

Speaking at a seminar organized by DIFE and ILO earlier this year, Nasir Uddin Ahmed, DIFE inspector general, said the organization lacks the manpower to properly manage factory inspections. Asking its 313 inspectors to scrutinize more than 80,000 facilities is too daunting a task, he pointed out.

ago, that is something we are very clearly able to say,” he added.

ILO has been working with Bangladesh organizations to advance training and worker safety.

The Department of Inspection for Factories and Establishments (DIFE), for instance, has been collaborating with ILO to find the way forward, answering worker rights

Others attending the seminar on “10 Years Achievement on Occupational Health and Safety in Bangladesh” had strong sentiments about trade unions.

“Even when we have representations in tripartite committees, our recommendations are often ignored,” said Kutub Uddin Ahmed, general secretary, IndustriAll Bangladesh Council.

“Eight of the world’s top 10 green and environment-friendly garment factories are in Bangladesh—there are more than 100 green

Eight of the world’s top 10 green and environment-friendly garment factories are in Bangladesh—there are more than 100 green factories in Bangladesh but the trade unions are almost absent from these.”

KUTUB UDDIN AHMED, IndustriAll Bangladesh Council

factories in Bangladesh but the trade unions are almost absent from these,” he said.

It’s impossible to meet sustainable development goals without ensuring workers’ rights, Ahmed said.

“Owners are still against trade unions and they force workers not to join any union,” added Kalpona Akter, president of the Bangladesh Garment and Industrial Workers Federation.

The issues, however, are complex, according to one member of the Bangladesh Garment and Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA). “Many of the unions have political affiliations, and these are not apparent to the outside world who stress unionization without understanding the issues within the country, and the specific areas. A lot of union leaders come with political agendas, and the situation cannot be judged from the outside without understanding the way things work in the country,” he said.

Many union leaders believe that global brands and retailers can do much more on the labor front. While they have actively helped improve factory and worker safety over the last decade, they could help ensure worker participation and the freedom of association as well.

“One way the trade unions could step up was if buyers held the factories accountable for violation of labor rights,” said Nazma Akhter, executive director, Awaj Foundation.

Buyers should also ensure that unions are actively supporting members.

“Although the number of registered unions has increased many of these new unions are not active in practice,” she said.

Worker rights continue to be an area of concern as Bangladesh apparel exports cross the $38 billion mark for the ninemonth period since July 2022.

The delegation of the European Parliamentary Committee on International Trade which visited Dhaka last year urged Bangladesh to improve human rights and amend labor laws in line with

international standards, and voiced concerns over the nation’s extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.

Clean Clothes Campaign was among the many organizations to address the need to support worker rights at the 10th anniversary of the deadly Rana Plaza disaster in April.

“While many factories are now safer, progress is lacking on most other issues. Our collective pressure continues to be needed to push for workers’ rights,” it said in a statement. “Together, we need to push brands to assure their suppliers and the newly-convened Bangladeshi wage board that they will support a tripling of the minimum wage by increasing the prices they pay per product. We need to stand in solidarity with Bangladeshi workers and fight alongside them against the ongoing repression of freedom of association,” the organization noted.

Bigger unions are pushing to raise wages from the current minimum of 8,000 taka or approximately $75 a month.

Bangladesh’s labor law requires industries to set minimum wages every five years. Trade unions have recently asked for an increase to 25,000 taka ($233.42) as the new minimum wage to meet rising inflation and living expenses.

Trade unions in Bangladesh also want 10 percent annual salary increases, which is double the current 5 percent, and new wage structure for workers.

▲ Garment workers in Dhaka.

Mustasinur Rahman Alvi/Eyepix Group/ Future Publishing via Getty Images

On the Journey to Net Zero, Fashion Must Address This High-Impact Area

Fashion has a major role to play in addressing global warming, representing about 2 to 8 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. The industry has made sustainability strides, but there are opportunities to accelerate its impact. Below, Cotton Incorporated’s chief sustainability officer and vice president of sustainability Dr. Jesse Daystar details what fashion may be overlooking in its quest to reduce its carbon footprint and the strategies that have more potential to aggressively move the needle.

Fashion’s Carbon Footprint in Context

It’s heartening to see so many brands and major players in the industry take bold steps to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions, driven by the urgency to address climate change and consumer demand for environmentally friendly products. However, for many years the industry has focused on reducing the GHG emissions of cotton fiber production despite the fact that it accounts for only a small fraction of a garment’s overall GHG emissions. According to Cotton Incorporated’s research, cotton production contributes about 13 percent of a cotton T-shirt’s GHG emissions, while textile manufacturing accounts for the remaining 87 percent. While it’s essential to reduce the environmental impact of cotton farming, we must also acknowledge that the industry’s sustainability goals cannot be achieved by focusing solely on cotton fiber production.

Given the time-bound goals and limited resources, the fashion industry should expand its efforts on areas that will create the most significant reductions within the target timeline. By channeling attention towards the more impactful stages of the supply chain, such as textile manufacturing, fashion brands can make meaningful progress towards reducing their carbon footprint and mitigating the most catastrophic impacts of climate change.

The fashion industry is a complex and interconnected web of processes, from raw material extraction to end-of-life disposal, and each of these stages contributes to the industry’s overall greenhouse gas emissions. Cotton Incorporated strongly believes in the importance of considering the emissions from all stages of the textile value chain to develop effective strategies for reducing our industry’s environmental impact, and we are committed to exploring innovative

solutions with sustainable fashion brands, mills and manufacturers.

Cotton is a natural and renewable resource. While cotton farming does produce some emissions due to fertilizers, pesticides and irrigation, these emissions can be significantly lower than those generated during textile manufacturing. Additionally, cotton has the potential to capture carbon dioxide in the fiber and soil. The U.S. cotton industry has set a goal to reduce GHG emissions by 39 percent by 2025 through projects such as improved water management, energy efficiency and

regenerative agriculture practices.

Textile manufacturing involves several energy-intensive processes. For instance, spinning raw cotton fibers into yarn requires large amounts of electricity, while dyeing and finishing fabrics often involve the use of fossil fuels to generate heat and power. Synthetic fibers, such as polyester, are even more energyintensive and reliant on non-renewable resources like petroleum.

What can we do to reduce the environmental footprint of textile manufacturing? One potential solution is to replace fossil fuel energy with existing green energy technology. According to Cotton Incorporated’s Life Cycle Assessment Update of Cotton Fiber and Fabric Life Cycle Inventory, replacing fossil fuel energy in the apparel manufacturing process with renewable energy technology could reduce a garment’s impact by 30-50 percent or more.

Additionally, improving the efficiency of the energy-intensive spinning and wet processing stages can achieve substantial emission reductions. By fostering collaboration among stakeholders through standards and public-private collaboration, we can pool our resources, expertise and influence to drive industry-wide changes that result in more sustainable practices and emission reductions. These efforts are crucial for meeting the industry’s ambitious net-zero commitments and mitigating the severe impacts of climate change.

To learn more, visit CottonToday

The [fashion] industry has focused on reducing the GHG emissions of cotton fiber production despite the fact that it accounts for only a small fraction of a garment’s overall GHG emissions.”

Regenerative Fashion: By the Book

SAFIA MINNEY LAYS OUT A PATH FORWARD FOR A GREENER INDUSTRY. By Kasi Martin

Regenerative fashion is inching its way into the industry’s vernacular.

While it, and its predecessor, “regenerative agriculture,” are gaining momentum as solutions to the climate crisis, regeneration is still in the nascent stages from a business standpoint.

In 2022, the global regenerative agriculture market was valued at $8.7 billion. The organic market—$169.04 billion, according to experts. While regenerative practices tap ancient wisdom, the movement has only resurfaced, and subsequently been modernized, in recent years. Conversely, organic products have been verified by private organizations since the 1940s and federally since the 1980s.

Organic regulations on consumer products, like apparel, are more tangible and enforceable. But regenerative practices offer a broader-reaching approach to sustainability that doesn’t simply minimize synthetic inputs—but aims to address and stamp out the causes of environmental degradation and restore ecosystems.

With the UN calling on fashion to cut emissions by 50 percent by 2030, there is a pressing need for integrative solutions.

A recently published book, “Regenerative Fashion,” aims to take the movement from the fringes to boardrooms, government offices, and, ultimately—garment workers across the world. The tome, penned by industry veteran and founder of the Fair Trade fashion label People Tree, Safia Minney, borrows from her experience and the

expertise of NGO leaders, milliners, artisans, brand founders, and tech innovators, who share pathways forward.

The difference between regenerative fashion and regenerative agriculture

Overall, Minney’s definition of regenerative fashion doesn’t deviate much from the agricultural tenets. “The aim is to redesign the fashion industry to operate within planetary boundaries,” she said. For Minney, that means reducing new production by at least 75 percent by 2030, a number based on academic estimates done by Kate Fletcher and Mathilda Than using IPCC studies.

Where it does expand, however, is in social application. “I tackle environmental solutions and innovation alongside wage and human rights issues because both nature and people have been exploited for too long.”

Minney breaks her book into three sections that she believes are fundamental to regenerative fashion—nature and materials; people, livelihoods, and craft; and new economy and leadership.

Nature-based solutions

Nishanth Chopra, the founder of the women’s wear label Oshadi, bases her business on ancient Indian agricultural practices and artisan heritage and uses 60 percent regenerative cotton.

It cost her about $1,000 to get GOTS and regenerative certifications for the brand’s farm and each production facility, so about $7,000 in total. Chopra also said an ongoing cost is the soil testing required by the

certification bodies, but she has plans to set up an independent testing lab to ease the cost while increasing her regenerative cotton acreage.

Chopra is scaling her nature-based approach, providing textiles to eco brands like Mara Hoffman, Apiece Apart and Christy Dawn, the latter of which launched a “Farm-to-Closet” collection made from 100 percent regenerative cotton. Also noteworthy, Oshadi rotated the cotton grown for Christy Dawn with the same indigo used to dye some of the clothes, which adds vital nutrients back to the soil.

Chopra believes practices like this, called inter- or cover-cropping, take regenerative further than organic. In addition to indigo, Oshadi farmers companion plant dal, mung beans, and black gram, which gives them a buffer when cotton prices are low.

Debora Barker the founder of Fibershed, a US non-profit that develops regional regenerative textile and dye communities around the world, points out in “Regenerative Fashion” that for relationships like this to materialize, the pace of business must slow down.

“The fashion world likes to work around fashion seasons, not farming seasons. There isn’t enough time to negotiate with a farmer to plant, to seed, to process,” she said. “Ultimately, my vision is for the designer and brand to invest and share the risk for the crop or clip, creating a partnership rather than a hierarchy.”

This friction between nature-based solutions and speed-driven innovation gives rise to critiques of regenerative fashion as being stuck in the past or not designed for

the modern world. But Minney calls out Bolt Threads, AlgiKnit, and Orange Fiber as examples of innovative companies that are not only assuaging this concern but giving both animal-rights activists and those who decry conventional vegan leathers and furs as unsustainable, something to get behind.

Centering on people and craft

An easier case can be made for regenerative fashion from an ecological standpoint because quantifiable targets can be set. When it comes to people, it’s often a harder, albeit equally important, sell to fashion decision-makers.

What Minney does call out, however, is the Global North’s responsibility for 92 percent of emissions in excess of our planetary boundary, while the Global South bears the brunt of the fallout. Increasingly, climate breakdown is playing out in the social arena, across deeply-embedded colonial lines.

A stark example of this is Bangladesh, where 50 percent of garment-factory workers don’t earn a minimum wage, or a living one. And despite being responsible for less than 0.27 percent of global GHG emissions, Bangladesh is one of the most vulnerable countries to climate change because of its low-lying topography, population density and high levels of poverty.

To address this, Minney believes wages should be the first priority. “Women are often paid 40 percent less and we’re far from delivering a living wage almost anywhere in the Global South. This shows you how far away we are from delivering basic human rights.”

The craft revival might offer a way forward. French luxury brand Chloé recently partnered with the WFTO on handbags woven by Kenyan artisans and committed to producing 20 percent of its ready-to-wear collection according to Fair Trade standards.

The brand’s chief sustainability director, Aude Vergne, noted in the book that luxury fashion brands have a reputation for focusing on “local production, craftsmanship, and savoir-faire” but often neglect underlying

social issues they consider to be more relevant to fast-fashion brands with overseas production. Chloé is working not only to measure its environmental footprint but developing tools to measure the social impact of its activities.

Minney also says the craft industry offers an alternative to factory work, helping rebuild local and rural economies and preventing families from being uprooted from their communities to earn a living.

Mano Ranja, the Director of Five P, an artisan producer in South India famed for its handloom bedsheets, stressed the importance of brand support.

It doesn’t have to be everything. “If brands converted just 0.1 percent of their production to handweaving, it would employ millions,” he said.

Leading the way

Brands may incur added costs, at least initially, for investments in artisan and agro-centric production, but that expenditure would go a long way. According to Minney ,the area in greatest need of research and legislation is, “pricing garments so they accurately reflect their true cost on nature.”

She says fashion leaders must take this on through regenerative leadership, corporate activism, circular business

▲ Safia Minney (center) with regenerative farmers.

models and localization, if any true, lasting change is sought.

Eileen Fisher and Patagonia are two of the most well-know brands operating on this front, with the former supporting regenerative farming practices for its collections and ensuring human rights through the SA8000 standard, and Patagonia with the co-inception of a Regenerative Organic Certification.

Helena Barbour, VP of Sportswear at Patagonia, said the brand’s Regenerative Organic effort grew from its organic cotton initiative. In 2017, the outdoor retailer counted 160 farmers in its program. Today, more than 3,000 farmers produce regenerative cotton for Patagonia, which accounts for up 30 percent of its offering.

According to Barbour,, “There’s no playbook for any of this. I think there are more connections than we see and we need to be less siloed in our thinking. I hope for more conversations and coalitions.”

But if there’s one company that knows how to activate its base, it’s Patagonia. “We can’t rely on government intervention; it really takes individuals standing up for something and organizing to cause change,” Barbour said.

Minney, however, argues that activism and government intervention must move in tandem. “Just as the agricultural sector can be incentivized with subsidies to

encourage regenerative practices, so could fashion companies.”

Anannya Bhattacharjee, of the Asia Wage Floor Alliance, believes multilateralism is the answer to ensure one player can’t dictate the rules of joint business conduct. She

suggests that home countries pass supply chain regulations, production countries endure national legal accountability, and binding agreements are made between unions, brands and suppliers.

What’s Next?

As for rallying individuals, Minney says that’s about storytelling. “With marketing, we can show people what a sustainable lifestyle can look like. We have to get them excited about the well-being economy.”

Ultimately, my vision is for the designer and brand to invest and share the risk for the crop or clip, creating a partnership rather than a hierarchy.”

DEBORA BARKER, Fibershed

How UN Sustainable Development Goals Inspire 2030 Commitments at Chemours

At Chemours, sustainability goals and its Corporate Responsibility Commitment are part of the chemicals company’s DNA, according to global product manager of Surface Protection Solutions Vicky Helinski.

A prime example of this is the company’s 2030 goal to generate 50 percent or more of revenue from offerings that contribute to the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs). Helinski shares insights into the firm’s commitment to SDGs and the benefits of the Teflon EcoElite™ finish.

Sourcing Journal: What are some of the latest sustainable developments from Chemours?

Vicky Helinski: We were proud to announce this year that in 2021, we drove significant progress against our 2030 goal, generating 47 percent of our total revenue from offerings that contribute to the UN SDGs.

We’ve also furthered our commitment to energy and emissions reductions, joining the U.S. Deapartment of Energy (DOE) Better Climate Challenge with a commitment to reduce energy intensity by 17 percent and reduce GHG emissions by 50 percent within 10 years. For these efforts, we were honored with two awards from DOE through its Better Buildings, Better Plants Initiative, recognizing partners for outstanding accomplishments in energy efficiency

and emissions reduction.

Finally, we achieved our sustainable supply chain goal, completing supplier corporate responsibility assessment evaluations for 81 percent of suppliers, with 15 percent of suppliers improving their sustainability performance.

How has the current sustainability landscape shaped the priorities/goals you have for this year?

V.H.: The world increasingly expects companies to provide essential products responsibly. At Chemours, we share those expectations. Sustainability, and our commitment to it, is embedded in everything we do. This is not a new priority for Chemours. We’ve long believed our sustainability goals are the right thing to

do and essential to our long-term growth and success. This belief is why we continue to push ourselves to be better in everything we do to benefit the environment and our global community.

What are top priorities for brands and retailers seeking new sustainable materials for their merchandise?

V.H.: Consumers are increasingly interested in more sustainable products, especially when a product’s performance is not compromised. At Chemours, while we pursue our own sustainability goals, we strive to provide products that help our customers meet that expectation. We are committed to working with commercial partners to reduce their GHG emissions and develop products and processes that help them reduce their environmental footprint.

That’s why Chemours developed Teflon EcoElite™ finish—the first renewably sourced, plant-based, non-fluorinated durable water and water-based stain repellency finish. This finish is one example of our broader pledge to develop products with industry-leading sustainability profiles that enable our customers farther up the value chain to meet consumer demands and their own sustainability goals.

How do your products for textile repellents improve the quality of your apparel partners?

V.H.: Teflon EcoElite™ finish can be applied to a variety of fabrics without impacting feel or breathability, and it is up to three times more durable than other nonfluorinated, water-repellent finishes. Extending the life and improving the performance of textiles keeps them out of landfills longer, meaning not only cost savings but also a reduces carbon footprint. And since many of its ingredients can be regrown and replaced over time, its production leaves a smaller environmental footprint.

What is holding back many in the industry from adopting more sustainable chemistry within their apparel/clothing?

V.H.: Although consumers have increasing interest for more sustainable products, meeting sustainability interests while ensuring product performance is not diminished remains challenging. Teflon EcoElite™ repellent, however, is an example of a more sustainable product where performance is not compromised.

Teflon EcoElite™ finish is up to three times more durable than other nonfluorinated, waterrepellent finishes.”

Sustainable Ways to Achieve Y2K-Inspired Dirty Washes

THE STYLE MAY BE FROM THE 2000S BUT THE TECHNOLOGY BEHIND ITS SUSTAINABLE MAKEOVER IS NOT.

By Angela Velasquez

The denim industry has made strides in cleaning up its wasteful ways, but one fashion trend is dragging it back to its dirtier past.

Whether you call it “vintage tint” like New Jersey-based BPD Washhouse, “dirty look” like Italian chemical company Officina39, or “dirty, smokey or trashed” like Turkey’s Isko, it’s safe to say that gritty, apocalyptic washes are back.

Blumarine, R13, Foo and Foo, Acne Studios and Diesel are among the brands to inject dirty-looking denim into their recent collections. Defined by its earthy tint, vintage fades and dull appearance, the edgy look fits in with Gen Z-oriented trends from Y2K and grunge to moto. The wash is at home on items that haven’t been popular in nearly 20 years, including low-slung jeans and midriff-baring miniskirts.

“These types of washes were extremely in vogue in the 2000s, especially with Italian brands such as Diesel,” said Alice Tonello, R&D and marketing manager for Italian machinery company Tonello.

She said Diesel developed two models with this type of wash, the 736 with a reddish look, which was dirtied using wall dyes, such as ferrous oxide, and the 738, a second style with an intense orange color. “Later [Diesel] switched to using mineral pigments, and later, even to this day, colored mineral pigments to achieve the same effect,” Tonello said. “This wash made the fortune of brands such as Diesel.”

Though trendy, Paolo Gnutti, CEO of PG and the creative director of Isko Luxury by PG, likens the existence of dirty denim to the

first appearance of chino pants in the mid 1800s when an English army officer in India was trying to hide in the dust. To dye the chinos, the officer mixed spices and coffee to create shades that went from sand to ochre, according to Gnutti.

Similarly, the first industrial dirty effect in the 2000s involved the use of natural pumice

Denim manufacturers are increasingly moving toward sustainability.”

PAOLO GNUTTI, PG

stones from mountainous Greek or Turkish quarries and dye pigments. “This kind of technique, unfortunately, had a high environmental impact on residual sludge and chemicals that are difficult to remove and dispose,” he said.

Several methods were used to achieve the dirty look at the height of their popularity in the early 2000s.

“The traditional way that brands achieved the look back in the 2000s was by exhaustion, adding direct dyestuffs together with salt, increasing the temperature of the water up to 50-60ºC, and running the machine for 10-15 minutes,” said Amor Cardona, member of Jeanologia’s BrainBox team. “After this time, bath water with remaining dyestuff and salt was drained.

Then, rinses were done to eliminate the chemical products remaining on garments.”

Other times the garments were sanded by hand and then treated with pumice stone to get the stone effect. Chlorine and permanganate were used for bleaching and localized corrosion. Finally, pigments or reactive dyes were used for over-dyeing or even double-dye processes.

What they all have in common, according to Ivan Manzaneda, Isko’s R&D lead, is their environmental impact, “starting from the huge amount of water consumption to finish one garment, to the hazardous chemicals or the total number of compounds needed in the whole process.”

“In general, these industrial processes were characterized by the use of products that were chemically hazardous to the environment or that were difficult to dispose of,” Venier said.

The human impact of these techniques is not to be overlooked. The high number of steps, risky chemical applications and manual operations puts workers in danger. Potassium permanganate and sanding processes result in “considerable harm” to the workers who handle it, he said. Meanwhile, poor management of toxic substances poses a risk of water pollution, potentially affecting many more people and aquatic life.

“Denim manufacturers are increasingly moving toward sustainability,” Gnutti added. “However, the fact remains that in terms of washing, there are still some limitations in the look of a 100 percent sustainable wash.

There’s a long road ahead, but it is the right one and the denim sector is constantly working to improve it day by day, season by season.”

Sustainable alternatives

Dirty denim is shedding its reputation, however. Brands can replace many traditional processes by eliminating stones, certain chemicals and local applications, and reducing the total water to finish a garment. Some manual applications and steps are also reducing the impact on workers.

Gnutti said innovation in the last decade has revolutionized the market by almost completely replacing natural pumice stone with various types of synthetic stones made of rubber or recycled plastic. Depending on the weight and type of fabric, he said alternative materials can fully replace natural stone in terms of the final look.

“Today this type of effect can be done more responsibly by using direct dyes or colored mineral pigments directly in the bath. It is done at lower temperatures and is very short, 5-10 minutes maximum,” Tonello said.

Brands can also achieve the look through atomization with Tonello’s Core system, a misting finishing process garment that allows maximum dye optimization and significant

water savings. “This automatic system, operated entirely by the machine, can produce a fine mist inside the washing machine drum, resulting in uniform or contrasting effects on the garments,” she said.

Jeanologia’s eFlow technology, which uses nanobubbles of air instead of using water as a transport of the dyestuffs to the garments, is another way to apply dyestuff. The technology uses minimal quantity of water, product and energy with zero discharge, achieving savings 95 percent of water, 90 percent of chemicals and 40 percent of energy.

“With eFlow no residue is obtained, neither of contaminated water nor of chemicals, obtaining the same result as with tinted or dirty by exhaustion but in an environmentally friendly and efficient way, saving costs to the industry,” Cardona said.

Manzaneda said sustainable finishing technologies like nebulization systems, ozone and laser combined with chemical compounds that are Bluesign and ZDHC approved and a knowledgeable team can provide different options and solutions.

Isko’s mineral dyes are one option, he added. “They are created with natural dyestuffs—not oil-based or synthetics—

▲ From left: Foo and Foo, Colin Locascio, Etudes

coming right from the earth.” In addition, by working with suppliers that have a recycling water system like Isko’s Creative Room Hub in London, Manzaneda said they can develop 100 percent of their garments using recycled water, reducing the waste in the development stage.

Soko’s Easy Wave dyeing method is another solution, according to Matteo Urbini, managing director of the Italian chemical company. “Pigments and resins previously used were more complicated to get treated,” he said.

Easy Wave is a dyeing auxiliary that creates a look like cold pigment dyeing without using any pigments and without the inconvenience of using pigments. The look is a surface dyeing with lighter seams, a good hand feel and good fastness.

Officina39’s goal is to match the dirty vintage looks of the 2000s with ethical, honest, transparent, and socially responsible alternatives.

The company utilizes Aqualess Mission, its combination of technologies allowing garment laundry processes to use 75 percent less water. Aqualess Aged is used in combination with Aqualess Activator to create the stone effect and replace the pumice stone treatment. Oz-One Powder and Ind/J Remover are applied locally to replace the use of potassium permanganate and chlorine on denim and obtain a bleached and distressed vintage look in an eco-friendly way.

Officina39’s One Step Process can combine several of these processes at the same time, saving time, energy, space and water. “That means that a raw garment enters the machine and a garment with a basic vintage effect comes out ready to be dried, already treated, bleached and softened,” Venier said.

For over-dyeing Officina39 uses Recycrom Dirty, a patented dyestuff derived from textile waste, which the company claims is one of the most sustainable dye technologies currently available on the market.

Fade in

Interest in vintage-looking denim and Y2K styling— from both brands and consumers—is behind the resurgence of dirty washes. The grungy effect is brand new to Gen Z consumers who’ve unearthed wide, boot cut, flare fits and more in their post-pandemic quest to ditch skinny jeans.

However, full-on dirty tints are still an extreme in the mainstream market, said Bill Curtin, BPD Washhouse owner. He said the look is “still a few seasons away” from being a full-blown trend.

“Certain customers who have a younger consumer target or more grunge aesthetic to their range have requested development around these dirty and trashed looks,” said Melissa Clement, Isko head of product development.

Tonello added that the effect has always been in fashion from the 2000s onward. “It has never been the star but has always maintained its slice in the collections of many brands,” she said. “Even today it is still used with more or less intensity—sometimes even without being so clearly discernible.”

The wash underscores consumers’ unwavering fascination with nostalgic fashion. Venier said “recreating the worn and yellowed parts that characterize a naturally used garment” is “really on trend now.”

“But today, the interest is also in being able to achieve this kind of bleached, distressed and worn look, while impacting as little as possible,” he said. “Our task is precisely to meet this need.”

▲ Diesel

Helping Bedding Meet Growing Demand for Sustainable Practices

Apparel and bedding industries have come under increasing scrutiny for their impact on the environment and sustainable practices, and while bedding has slower replacement cycles, textile manufacturer Himatsingka knows sustainable manufacturing choices matter.

Through innovative research and development of new fibers and solutions, the company, which counts Tommy Hilfiger, Kate Spade, and manufacturing for several other Private Brands at Retail, is committed to creating consciously made bedding and bath products.

Akanksha Himatsingka, CEO international operations, of Himatsingka Group, discusses how it prioritizes sustainability, comfort and responsible living.

Sourcing Journal: How has the Himatsingka Water Treatment Plant been at the forefront of your sustainability efforts?

Akanksha Himatsingka: With 99.5 percent water recovery at ZLD facilities, Himatsingka operates best-in-class Zero Liquid Discharge (ZLD) water management plants across all its manufacturing facilities. We are mindful of our water consumption, continually optimizing its usage through the manufacturing process, capturing and recycling as much as possible, while also rejuvenating water sources.

We aim for lower water consumption in processing enabled by use of new generation infrastructure, which results in approximately 15 to 20 percent savings of water and steam.

Tell us about your Greenfield cotton spinning plant, with an installed capacity of 2,11,584 spindles.

A.H.: Himatsingka has incubated a smart manufacturing culture that leverages next-generation technology and commits to sustainability, best-in-class quality, improved customization, highest standards of safety, and enhanced agility. Integration from fiber to shelf empowers us to operate a global-local model that is more coordinated, synchronized and predictable. It affords us greater agility and adaptability to market conditions while ensuring a high degree of compliance through the global value chain.

Our state-of-the-art spin plant leads the industry with a digitally centralized command center yielding higher efficiencies by minimizing resources.

Himatsingka was recognized by the World HRD Congress under the category ‘National Best Employer Brands Award 2022.’ What makes you stand out in this realm?

A.H.: Himatsingka is committed to its goal of Making Better Lives Possible, and we prioritize our obligations to our staff. We endeavour to foster an inclusive and diverse work environment that encourages everyone to participate in our culture of creativity and entrepreneurship. Additionally, we actively support local communities by providing employment opportunities, supporting education and building infrastructure to improve community welfare.

How do you promote transparency and traceability in your supply chain?

A.H.: As leaders in the cotton track and trace space, our licensed and patented DNA tagging technology provides a

robust, trusted and immutable method to record and share supply chain data with stakeholders and consumers in a transparent way. We prioritize security and efficiency throughout our supply chain, auditing fiber through various stages of manufacturing with advanced, forensically proven traceability solutions. This along with Himatsingka’s vertically integrated model enables keeping the process undiluted.

Amid growing concern about opacity in global supply chains, companies and government officials are increasingly turning to technologies like DNA tracking, artificial intelligence and blockchains to try to trace raw materials from the source to the store.

How do you help your brands and retailers spread your message of sustainability?

A.H.: Our belief and intent is to infuse sustainability not just through measurable sustainable parameters but to layer it deep into the product with thinking and curation itself. We have been very successful with our ‘proudly grown in America cotton stories’ which is powered by traceability and farmed consciously all of which lends towards sustainability.

Infusing the right energies into a product allows for storytelling across layers; the product story, the packaging story, information and transparency about the raw materials and processes and how this all benefits the consumer and Mother Earth.

Infusing the right energies into a product allows for storytelling across layers.”

Soles4Souls: Changing Lives With Footwear and Apparel

THE NASHVILLE-BASED NON-PROFIT RELIES ON DONATIONS TO FUEL ITS MULTIPRONGED SYSTEM. By Kate Nishimura

The fashion industry has a bad reputation as one of the most harmful to the environment, with emissions and toxic outputs stemming from each rung of its value chain. As brands, retailers and suppliers become more engaged with sustainability— grappling with the impacts of making, transporting and selling goods—they’re now also making moves to address the ultimate fate of their products.

Brands and retailers have long engaged in a cycle of overproduction, meaning that footwear, apparel and accessories are often dumped or incinerated if they’re not purchased. Meanwhile, post-consumer fashion waste remains one of the largest landfill-clogging elements globally, often even when products are still wearable, salvageable or recyclable. While the industry is responsible for 10 percent of global carbon emissions—more than all international flights and maritime shipping combined, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation—only about 15 percent of apparel is recycled. For footwear, the number is even lower, with most experts estimating that less than 10 percent of shoes that are thrown away find another use.

While take-back and resale programs have become the circular models du jour, allowing enterprises to give their products a chance at a second life with new shoppers, donation remains a vital channel for getting viable shoes and clothes into the hands of those in need.

Founded in 2006, Nashville-based non-profit Soles4Souls has created a multipronged system for doing good with used or unsold product. The group’s unique

“4Opportunity” microenterprise program sells and distributes shoes and clothing to international partners that help people in need build small businesses. Soles4Souls also directs new products to people in crisis situations, like war-torn Ukraine, allowing them to use their financial resources for more pressing needs, and it recently launched its “4EveryKid” partnership with schools across

permission, and we sell that to people primarily in developing world,” Teaster said. “That’s how we create help create small businesses or jobs with local partners.”

The group has developed partnerships with on-the-ground individuals or organizations that facilitate the distribution of collected products in countries like the Dominican Republic and Haiti, Guatemala, Honduras, Eastern Europe and the Philippines. From selling at open-air markets to operating more sophisticated retail storefronts, the product creates not just revenue streams, but more long-lasting career opportunities. In some cases, the opportunity has allowed people, often women, to solidify a source of income and a sustainable life for their families.

the U.S., providing children experiencing homelessness with new athletic footwear.

CEO and president Buddy Teaster said having multiple channels for product donation, and multiple streams for product capturing, including partnerships with brands and used product take-back programs, allows the organization to nimbly address this issue of fashion waste while also combatting inequity on a global scale.

This year, the group is on track to collect 5 million pairs of shoes and 4 million pieces of apparel and accessories, the majority of which is funneled into the 4Opportunity program. “We take all of our used shoes and clothes, and new items, when we have

In Honduras, Soles4Souls has teamed with community-building non-profit the World Compass Foundation, headed by founder and CEO Raul Carrasco. The group developed a series of months-long immersion programs wherein coaches train individuals on how to launch and grow their own startups, leading to the creation of a number of footwear businesses.

But the model feeds into an employment ecosystem that people beyond the primary business owners, Teaster said. A woman named Kimberly engaged with World Compass to find steady employment several years ago after a failed attempt to emigrate to the U.S. Now, she manages the footwear warehouse operations, and earns a consistent wage that allows her to remain in the area with her family instead of looking to cross the border in search of a new life.

Sustainability is multidimensional, it’s not always recycling or upcycling.”

BUDDY TEASTER, Soles4Souls

“She doesn’t have to leave anymore—she knows that it’s stable,” Teaster said. “It’s good for this woman as an individual. It’s good that these products aren’t ending up in the trash. And it addresses a much bigger issue around migration” stemming from a lack of economic opportunity in a developing region.

The group’s data shows that entrepreneurs engaged with the 4Opportunity program have been able to increase their household income by more than 200 percent. On average, that brings them three times higher than the national poverty line, and five times above the international poverty line. Nearly all

(90 percent) of participants reported that their kids are attending school more regularly, and 25 percent have been able to purchase a home through a footwear business.

Teaster said the non-profit has also ramped up its relief efforts, sending products to Ukraine over the course of the past year as Russia’s battle with the country rages on. The team leveraged its partnership in Moldova to deliver footwear and apparel donations from a number of U.S. brands and retailers to refugees fleeing the conflict zone. Meanwhile, the group has worked to shape several stateside programs that benefit those in

need. “Under Armour and Reebok have been leaders in our 4EveryKid program, helping us try and achieve our goal of putting shoes on the feet of every student in the United States experimenting homelessness,” Teaster said, while Tapestry and its subsidiary Coach recently helped spearhead a teacher appreciation campaign.

Soles4Souls hosted an event in Nashville, wherein the leather goods brand donated products to teachers from across the state. The objective was twofold—to recognize the underappreciated professionals for their service, and to find a home for unsold stock, instead of liquidating the merchandise or sending it to landfill. After the success of the introductory event, the partners have gone on to host events for teachers in Los Angeles, Dallas and Atlanta. Teaster said the organization regularly works with brands on an individual basis to develop projects and programs based on their unique inventory positioning and ESG goals.

The group is also working to expand its reach globally by fostering new relationships with on-the-ground philanthropic organizations and NGOs, but forging trusted bonds is no easy feat. A recent effort to form a program in Sierra Leone fell through, and Soles4Souls is looking for other avenues to make headway in Africa. “There’s plenty of plenty of bumps and bruises, and we don’t sweep those under the carpet,” Teaster said, citing distance, lack of transparency in some countries, and challenges surrounding cross-border logistics as hurdles that the group is continuously attempting to clear.

As it works to grow its footprint, its central goal remains unchanged—to connect products with entrepreneurs and partners in the developing world. “More of the shoes and clothes that aren’t being used here can be repurposed to create opportunity by people at the bottom of the economic pyramid,” Teaster said.

“Sustainability is multidimensional, it’s not always recycling or upcycling,” he added. “We are working on the human side of the cycle.”

▼ The recently launched “4EveryKid” partnership with schools aims to provide children experiencing homelessness with new athletic footwear.

Supporting a Resilient, Compliant and Profitable Supply Chain

The supply chain remains a global problem area due to its heavy production of emissions and waste. But these ongoing concerns bring an even bigger opportunity to identify where improvements can be made on a larger scale.

Roger Mayerson, vice president, strategic industry development at Logility, discusses the evolution of the company’s supply chain planning software, the need to prioritize ESG due diligence and steps to ensuring compliance across the chain.

Sourcing Journal: How does the Logility® Digital Supply Chain Platform help clients become more sustainable and competitive?

Roger Mayerson: It helps them balance sustainability with profitability. The platform supports vendor compliance and ongoing assessments, and also tackles pressing environmental metrics with solutions such as manufacturing emissions analytics, environmental considerations in network design, recycled content in components and finished goods, and planning for returns in the circular economy. Logility’s solutions reduce waste by better planning for shelf life, component postponement strategies and optimized transportation modes.

How has the current sustainability landscape shaped the priorities/goals you have for this year?

R.M.: There’s a need to stay ahead of evolving ESG due diligence requirements in European countries like France and Germany and the United States. We do this effectively through our key partnerships that focus on managing social compliance for scope and transaction certificates. Due diligence for many of these laws means having a full map of suppliers at every tier of your supply chain.

Brands can meet this compliance need with a digital thread that provides clear visibility with access to documentation for all supply chain tiers. Through Logility’s partnership with Higg, we integrate with Higg FEM data focused on Scope 3 emissions.

Regulatory compliance on sustainability means knowing what’s really in your supply chain. How can Logility help?

R.M.: Logility’s® Digital Supply Chain

Platform provides network design optimization to create an efficient, compliant, resilient and profitable supply chain. When your business knows where goods originate, you can ensure compliance with government regulations. For example, the platform can use data from transactions to create compliance certificates that prove merchandise was not manufactured with forced labor or imported from prohibited areas.

Logility’s traceability solution also makes it possible to collect and share documents related to each transaction including purchase orders, packing lists and invoices. Often, these elements get misplaced or discarded as supplies move through the supply chain, but this information is critical for businesses that want to trace movement and inputs through every tier of their supply network.

With supply chain constraints easing and container demand declining, how is Logility helping partners fulfill their sustainability needs in this shifting environment?

R.M.: With Logility’s network design optimization solution, supply chain leaders can investigate the impact of shipping locations, warehouse assignments, transportation modes, 3PL services and more. Network optimization also supports a resilient supply chain by identifying risks and opportunities that could occur from port disruptions, plant shutdowns or supplier capacity shortages.

What are you saying to brand partners about supply chain planning, especially given the excess inventory across retail? R.M.: We focus on predicting long-term demand and helping clients answer questions like: “What will sell?” “Where do I get it? “How much do I get?” and “How do I distribute it?” Logility’s platform analyzes the entire product life cycle to help clients make sure they have the right product mix to meet their goals.

There has also been a slowdown in storing excess inventory. If the product has been produced, the retailers will take it, but overall, manufacturers are using postponement methods to slow production and hold the material to make the items later. There is strong collaboration between brand owners and manufacturers right now, where they are sharing and collaborating on the state of the industry.

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Patagonia, Levi’s and The North Face Top Kearney’s Circular Fashion Index

OVERALL RESULTS SHOW LITTLE IMPROVEMENT WAS MADE COMPARED TO 2022 AS THE AVERAGE SCORE

TALLIED 2.97 OUT OF 10 ACROSS ALL BRANDS, THE SAME AS LAST YEAR. By Martino Carrera

For the second year in a row, Patagonia, Levi’s and The North Face topped the list of brands most committed to fashion circularity, according to research by global management consulting firm Kearney.

In its third iteration since launching in 2020, the latest Circular Fashion Index, or CFX—a ranking that measures fashion brands’ efforts toward extending the life cycle of their clothes—assessed 200 global brands this year, 50 more than in 2022, across 20 countries and six categories. The categories are luxury; premium and affordable luxury; mass market; fast fashion; sports and outdoor, and underwear and lingerie.

As per the index, a company’s circularity performance is scored based on seven aspects that affect the garments’ longevity, taking into consideration both primary and secondary markets. Examples for the former category include assessing the percentage of recycled fabrics used to craft new products or the promotion of circularity in a brand’s communication, while for the latter, secondhand sales, rental services and reuse of returned clothes were valued. Each aspect was given a score between one and 10 and companies’ overall scores were a combination of these.

Results show little improvement was made compared to 2022 as the average score tallied 2.97 out of 10 across all brands, the same as last year. Kearney said that

considering only brands already surveyed last year, it did notice a slight improvement. In 2020 the first CFX ranking reported an average score of just 1.6 out of 10 across all examined brands.

In particular, Dario Minutella, principal at Kearney Italia, said that in 2023 only 19 brands

our recent surveys consumers are not enough educated about the opportunities offered by circularity, both when buying fashion items and when disposing of them. Concrete actions are required on both sides to close the loop and make the industry really circular.”

The study highlights that primary market levers are pulled more often than secondary market ones, although little is done on educating consumers about circular consumption habits. It also urges fashion companies to amp up their secondary market efforts, especially when it comes to repair and maintenance services, reuse of returned clothes and pre-owned assortments, viewed as easier to adopt than rental services, for example — which are also poorly represented across the assessed brands.

scored 5 out of 10 and only the top three tallied 7 out 10. This is confirmed by the percentage of brands with extensive adoption (scores 8 to 10) of all seven levers, both in the primary and secondary market clusters, which stands in the low-single-digit range.

“While we see some shining stars, we see the industry as a whole needing a steep change and improvement,” said Brian Ehrig, partner at Kearney U.S.

Minutella also highlighted that “according to

Confirming their spots last year, Patagonia, Levi’s and The North Face outperformed competitors, scoring 8.65, 8.30 and 7.90, respectfully, the former two improving their performance versus a year earlier. The North Face’s score dropped slightly from 8.05 in 2022.

Some implementations propelled the growth, such as Patagonia’s increased promotion and communication of circularity via a scoring 10-point scale system categorizing its products based on repairability, durability and functionality. For its part, Levi’s debuted a section dedicated to recycled denim products on its site and

Consumers are not enough educated about the opportunities offered by circularity, both when buying fashion items and when disposing of them.”

DARIO MINUTELLA, Kearney Italia

started disclosing its suppliers’ map and related carbon footprint.

In the top 10 global ranking, OVS came fourth, followed by Gucci. Madewell, in the sixth spot, was not part of the top 10 ranking last year. It is followed by Coach, down one position; Esprit, down four positions; Lululemon Athletica, and Lindex. Gant, which held the seventh spot last year, did not appear in the 2023 ranking.

Although not making the cut, some brands made significant improvements year-over-year, including Athleta, which enhanced its scores in the use of raw materials and second-hand sales, linking with ThredUp on a return-of-used-fashion program and in-house resale platform; Timberland, which increased its secondhand use score by strengthening its partnership with ReCircled to globally extend its take-back service, and Jimmy Choo, which also linked with a partner, The RealReal, to promote the second-hand market, in addition to heightening the quota of recycled materials in its supply chain.

Among the new surveyed companies joining Madewell, sportswear brand Mammut, affordable luxury label Ganni, and

luxury footwear specialist Golden Goose were among the highest-score new entrants.

By category, Gucci topped the ranking of luxury labels, which was largely dominated by French brands, followed by Coach, Burberry, Moncler and Louis Vuitton, while players including Adidas, Columbia, Nike and Puma, among others, joined Patagonia, The North Face and Lululemon Athletica in the top 10 sportswear and outdoor brands ranking — the best performing category.

Mass market brands including Levi’s, OVS and Madewell, the top three, reported the second highest score in labels leading with dedicated and thorough care instructions, while the underwear and lingerie segment was the poorest performer due to the nature of its products, where second-hand and rental services are harder to implement. Etam, Wolford and Intimissimi stood out against competitors.

In the fast-fashion arena, Okaïdi, Jules/ Brice and Tape à l’oeil registered the top three scores, while Zara slipped out of the top 10 list. In the premium/affordable luxury segment, Tommy Hilfiger climbed four positions to the top spot, followed by Timberland and Cos.

▲ Patagonia is closing in on regenerative fibers.

Blockchain Technology and Forensics Bring Supima Cotton to the Forefront of Traceability

Reducing the impact of cotton fashion and textiles starts with better farming practices. U.S. Pima cotton growers are leveraging innovations to make cultivation smarter and more resource efficient. According to Buxton Midyette, vice president, marketing and promotions at U.S. Pima cotton organization Supima, in addition to low-impact growing methods, the fiber itself holds sustainable benefits. He spoke to Sourcing Journal about what sets Supima apart.

Sourcing Journal: From a sustainability perspective, what differentiates Supima from the broader cotton industry?

Buxton Midyette: Supima is a unique and rare variety of cotton that has additional length, strength and fineness. These traits give fabrics spun with Supima superior characteristics; they not only look and feel good but also boast incredible longevity, which greatly reduces the textiles’ impact on the environment.

Supima farmers are some of the most advanced in the world in terms of their agricultural practices. Every bit of the Supima plant is used, and farmers utilize techniques including soil testing, satellite imagery and GPS technology. All these practices produce maximum yields and quality with minimal impact on the environment.

With cotton cultivation, there is immense variety in field conditions. How is technology helping growers manage this variability and optimize their land use?

B.M.: We have over 300 family farms that grow Supima in the American West and Southwest. Not only is every farm different, but every field is too. This biodiversity is a strength for Supima. Supima farmers need to be flexible and use multiple techniques to produce the highest qualities and yields while minimizing their environmental impact. This diversity acts as a driver for innovation and advancement of agricultural practices.

Cotton’s water use has been in the spotlight recently. What are the latest solutions growers are using to minimize their water impact?

B.M.: Supima is drought tolerant, providing great flexibility to our farmers. They incorporate it into their portfolio crops, which gives them the ability to manage their allocated water. Crop

rotation, constant soil testing, satellite imagery and drip irrigation are just some of the tools our famers use to minimize water usage. Right now, in contrast to the preceding years of drought, California’s Central Valley is facing an overabundance of water, which has placed many of the highest producing areas underwater. On a positive note, all this water will help replenish aquifers and fill reservoirs, but it may take one to two years to return the land to production.

Supima recently developed the proprietary AQRe™ traceability platform, which combines forensic testing with blockchain. What need did you see for enhanced authentication?

B.M.: Since June 2022, over 600 fashion

shipments have been detained by Customs and Border Protection. Product traceability and authentication are no longer a luxury but instead a necessity. The AQRe™ project is central to preserving the integrity of the Supima brand, along with all our partners along the supply chain. It creates a level playing field and healthier environment for all the companies doing business and working with Supima.

What type of support does Supima provide to farmers to assist them in improving practices and lowering their footprint?

B.M.: Supima’s family of farmers take the lead when it comes to education and technical advancements. They are on the front lines and have a deeper understanding of what tools they need. They work with each other, along with agricultural consultants and leading research institutions to achieve the highest level of quality possible while reducing their environmental footprint. The Supima organization works tirelessly on educating the industry and consumers on the countless benefits of Supima cotton versus other fibers as well as implementing groundbreaking authentication programs such as our AQRe™ project.

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