Despite its once marginal status, sustainable living has moved closer to the mainstream fashion market, and the lifestyle choices of yesteryear are now a necessity.On 27 February, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released its report, “Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability,” which identifies how the climate crisis is headed toward an irreversible state that will transform the planet the lives of all.planet.
Many brands, manufacturers, designers and supply chain resources within the fashion industry are gradually cleaning up their practices.Some have championed sustainable practices since starting the company, while others have focused on an approach that values progress over perfection, as they avoid greenwashing by adopting real green practices through real efforts.
It is also recognized that sustainable practices transcend environmental issues, including issues surrounding gender equality and workplace standards that promote a safe environment.As the fashion industry focuses on progress in sustainable apparel manufacturing, California Apparel News asked sustainability experts and those making progress in the field: What has been the biggest achievement in fashion sustainability over the past five years?Extending it next?
Now more than ever, the fashion industry needs to move from a linear model—acquire, make, use, dispose of—to a circular one.The man-made cellulosic fiber process has the unique ability to recycle pre-consumer and post-consumer cotton waste into virgin fiber.
Birla Cellulose has developed innovative in-house proprietary technology to recycle pre-consumer cotton waste into fresh viscose similar to normal fibres and has launched Liva Reviva with 20% of the raw material as pre-consumer waste.
Circularity is one of our focus areas.We are part of several consortium projects working on next-generation solutions, such as Liva Reviva.Birla Cellulose is actively working to scale up next-generation fibers to 100,000 tonnes by 2024 and increase the recycled content of pre- and post-consumer waste.
We were honoured at the 1st UN Global Compact India Network National Innovation and Sustainable Supply Chain Awards for our case study on “Liva Reviva and a Fully Traceable Circular Global Fashion Supply Chain”.
For the third year in a row, Canopy’s 2021 Hot Button Report ranked Birla Cellulose as the No. 1 MMCF producer worldwide.The highest ranking in the environmental report reflects our relentless efforts to improve sustainable wood sourcing practices, forest conservation and develop next-generation fiber solutions.
In recent years, the fashion industry has focused on the fight against overproduction.The main purpose of this is to prevent unsold items from being incinerated or going to landfills.By changing the way fashion is made to only produce what is really needed and sold, producers can make a huge and impactful contribution to resource conservation.This effect prevents the major problem of unsold items with no demand.Kornit Digital technology disrupts the traditional fashion manufacturing industry, enabling on-demand fashion production.
We believe that the biggest thing the fashion industry has achieved over the past five years is that sustainability has become an important theme for brands and retailers.
Sustainability has emerged as a market trend with positive and measurable economic outcomes associated with companies adopting it, validating business models based on it and accelerating supply chain transformation.
From circular design to certification to measure claims and impact; innovative technology systems that make the supply chain fully transparent, traceable and accessible to customers; through the selection of sustainable materials, such as our fabrics from citrus juice by-products; and recycling Production and end-of-life management systems, the fashion industry is increasingly committed to turning the good wishes of environmental protection into reality.
However, the global fashion industry remains complex, fragmented and partially opaque, with unsafe working conditions in some production sites around the world, resulting in environmental pollution and social exploitation.
We believe that healthy and sustainable fashion will become the standard of the future by adopting common rules, with joint actions and commitments from brands and customers.
Over the past five years, the fashion industry has faced – whether through industry advocacy or consumer demand – not only the potential to create an ecosystem that values people and planet, but the existence of systems and solutions to bring about change in a transformative industry.While some stakeholders have made progress on these fronts, the industry still lacks the education, legislation and funding needed to make significant changes immediately.
It is no exaggeration to say that to make progress, the fashion industry must prioritise gender equality and allow women to be equitably represented across the value chain.For my part, I would like to see more support for women entrepreneurs who are accelerating the transformation of the fashion industry into an equitable, inclusive and regenerative industry.Global media should expand their visibility and financing should be more accessible to women and their communities, who are the driving force behind the sustainability of the fashion ecosystem.Their leadership must be supported as they address the critical issues of our time.
The greatest achievement in creating a more just and responsible fashion system was the passage of California Senate Bill 62, the Apparel Worker Protection Act.The bill addresses the root cause of wage theft, which is so pervasive in the fashion system, eliminating the piece rate system and making brands jointly and severally liable for wages stolen from garment workers.
The Act is an example of extraordinary worker-led organization, broad and deep coalition building, and extraordinary solidarity of business and citizens that has successfully closed a significant regulatory gap in the largest center of apparel production in the United States.As of Jan. 1, California apparel makers now earn $14 more than their historical poverty wage of $3 to $5.SB 62 is also the most far-reaching victory in the global brand accountability movement to date, as it ensures that brands and retailers are legally liable for wage theft.
The passage of California’s Garment Worker Protection Act owes much to the work of Garment Worker Center Executive Director Marissa Nuncio, one of the heroes of the fashion industry in bringing this worker-led legislation into law.
When the resources required to create a manufacturing input are limited—and there are already large quantities of such manufacturing materials available—does it make sense to continually consume the limited resources in order to harvest additional raw material inputs?
Due to recent developments in recycled cotton production and knitting, this overly simplistic analogy is a legitimate question that major fashion companies should be asking themselves as they continue to choose virgin cotton over recycled cotton.
The use of recycled cotton in apparel, coupled with a closed-loop recycling system that combines post-industrial cotton with post-consumer cotton in a landfill-neutral production cycle, such as that recently introduced by Everywhere Apparel, is paramount One of the systems in fashion sustainability.Shining a brighter light on what is now possible with recycled cotton, and the blanket rejection of excuses for what “won’t work” by the giants of our industry, will require a further push into this exciting field.
Cotton farming uses more than 21 trillion gallons of water each year, accounting for 16% of global pesticide use and only 2.5% of cropland.
The demand for second-hand luxury and the industry’s need for a sustainable approach to fashion is finally here.Marque Luxury believes in promoting sustainability by being part of a circular economy, while offering certified pre-owned luxury.
As the resale luxury market continues to expand, there is strong evidence that the values of the next generation of consumers are shifting from exclusivity to inclusivity.These clear trends have fueled growth in luxury buying and resale, creating what Marque Luxury sees as a key change in the fashion industry.In the eyes of our new consumers, luxury brands are becoming a value opportunity rather than a symbol of wealth.This environmental impact of buying second-hand rather than new promotes circular business models, including re-commercialization, and is key to enabling the industry to ultimately help reduce global emissions and beyond.By sourcing and offering thousands of second-hand luxury goods, Marque Luxury and its 18+ re-commerce centers around the world have become the force behind this global economic movement, creating more demand for vintage luxury and extending the The life cycle of each item.
We at Marque Luxury believe that global social awareness and the outcry against a more sustainable approach to fashion, in and of itself, is one of the industry’s greatest achievements to date.If these trends continue, this social and economic awareness will continue to shape and change the way society views, consumes and facilitates the resale luxury industry.
Over the past five years, fashion sustainability has become an industry focus.Brands that don’t engage in conversations are essentially irrelevant, which is a huge improvement.Most efforts are focused on upstream supply chains, such as better materials, less water waste, renewable energy and stricter employment standards.In my opinion, this is great for Sustainability 1.0, and now that we’re aiming for a fully circular system, the hard work begins.We still have a huge landfill problem.While resale and reuse are important components of the circular economy, they are not the whole story.We have to design, build the infrastructure for our customers and engage them in a fully circular system.Solving end-of-life problems starts from the very beginning.Let’s see if we can achieve this within the next five years.
While consumers and brands are increasingly looking for sustainable textiles, it is nearly impossible for existing yarn materials to meet this demand.Today, most of us wear clothes made from cotton (24.2%), trees (5.9%) and mostly petroleum (62%), all of which have serious ecological drawbacks.The challenges facing the industry are as follows: phasing out substances of concern and the release of oil-based microfibers; changing the way garments are designed, sold and used to move away from their disposable nature; improve recycling; use resources efficiently and switch to renewable inputs.
The industry sees material innovation as an export and is ready to mobilize large-scale, targeted “moonshot” innovations, such as finding “super fibers” that are suitable for use in circulatory systems but have similar properties to mainstream products and have no negative externalities. HeiQ is One such innovator has developed the climate-friendly HeiQ AeoniQ yarn, a versatile alternative to polyester and nylon with enormous industry-changing potential.The textile industry’s adoption of HeiQ AeoniQ will reduce its reliance on oil-based fibers, help decarbonize our planet, stop the release of plastic microfibers into the ocean, and reduce the textile industry’s impact on climate change.
The biggest achievement in fashion over the past five years has revolved around collaboration to address macro challenges related to sustainability.We have seen the need to break down barriers between suppliers and competitors to improve circularity and define a roadmap for the transition to net zero.
One example is a well-known fast-fashion retailer that promises to recycle any clothes that fall in their stores, even those of competitors.The need for this enhanced collaboration, which has been accelerated by the pandemic, was underscored in the initial phase, when two-thirds of chief procurement officers said they were focusing on ensuring suppliers avoid bankruptcy.This open-source concept has carried over into transparency initiatives of organizations like the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and the United Nations.The next step in this progression will be to continue to formalize what the process looks like, how it will be implemented and what the outcome might be.We’ve seen this happen with the European Commission’s Digital Product Passport initiative, and I’m sure you’ll see best practices around sustainability starting to be shared across industries.You can’t manage what you don’t measure, and this ability to standardize what we measure and how we communicate that information will naturally lead to more opportunities to keep clothing in circulation for longer, reduce waste and ultimately ensure that the fashion industry becomes A force forever.
Garment recycling through reuse, rewear and recycling is the biggest trend right now.This helps keep textiles circulating and out of landfill.It is important that we recognize the amount of resources required to make a garment, such as the time it takes to grow cotton, harvest and process it, and then weave the material into fabric for humans to cut and sew.That’s a lot of resources.
Consumers must be educated about the importance of their role in recycling.A single act of committing to reuse, re-wear or regeneration can keep these resources alive and have a profound impact on our environment.Requiring apparel to be made from recycled materials is another thing customers can do to help ensure our resources remain available.Brands and manufacturers can also contribute to the solution by sourcing fabrics made from recycled materials.By recycling and regenerating fabrics, we can help keep the apparel industry in balance with natural resources.We become part of the solution to recycle resources instead of mining.
It’s inspiring to see all the small, local, ethically emerging brands involved in sustainability.I think it’s also important to recognize the sentiment that “a little is better than nothing”.
A huge area of improvement and necessary is the continued accountability of fast fashion, haute couture and many celebrity fashion brands.If smaller brands with far fewer resources can produce sustainably and ethically, they certainly can.I still hope that quality over quantity will win out in the end.
I believe the greatest achievement is defining what we as an industry need to reduce our carbon emissions by at least 45% by 2030 in order to comply with the Paris Agreement.With this goal in hand, brands, retailers and their entire supply chain can set or modify their own goals as needed and define their roadmaps accordingly.Now, as an industry, we need to act with a sense of urgency to achieve these goals – use more renewable energy, make products from renewable or recycled sources, and ensure apparel is designed to last a long time – an affordable Multiple owners, then recycle at end of life.
According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, seven resale and rental platforms have reached a billion-dollar valuation in the past two years.Such businesses could grow from the current 3.5% to 23% of the global fashion market by 2030, representing a $700 billion opportunity.This mindset shift – from creating waste to developing circular business models at scale – is needed to meet our obligations to the planet.
I think the biggest achievements are the recent passing of supply chain regulations in the US and EU, and the upcoming Fashion Act in New York.Brands have come a long way in terms of their impact on people and the planet over the past five years, but these new laws will push those efforts forward even faster.COVID-19 has highlighted all areas of disruption in our supply chains, and the digital tools we can now use to modernize the production and supply chain aspects of industries that have been technologically stagnant for too long.I look forward to the improvements we can make starting this year.
The apparel industry has made significant strides in improving its environmental impact over the past few years, but there is still a lot of work to be done.More and more conscious clothing consumers will be content.
At NILIT, we are committed to working with our global supply chain partners to accelerate our sustainability initiatives and focus on products and processes that will improve apparel lifecycle analysis and sustainability profiles.We continue to rapidly expand our broad portfolio of SENSIL sustainable premium nylon products consumer brands and are committed to helping our value chain partners communicate with consumers about the smarter choices they can make to reduce fashion’s carbon footprint.
Last year, we launched several new SENSIL products through SENSIL BioCare that address specific environmental challenges of the apparel industry, such as water use, recycled content and textile waste persistence, which accelerates the decomposition of microplastics if they end up in the ocean.We are very excited about the upcoming launch of groundbreaking, sustainable nylon that uses reduced fossil resources, a first for the apparel industry.
In addition to sustainable product development, NILIT is committed to responsible manufacturing practices to reduce our impact as a manufacturer, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, manufacturing with zero waste management, and protecting water resources in downstream processes.Our Corporate Sustainability Report and our investment in new sustainability leadership positions are public statements of NILIT’s commitment to leading the global apparel industry to a more responsible and sustainable position.
The greatest achievements in fashion sustainability have occurred in two areas: increasing sustainable options for alternative fibers and the need for data transparency and traceability in the fashion supply chain.
The explosion of alternative fibers such as Tencel, Lyocell, RPETE, recycled plastic bottles, recycled fishnets, hemp, pineapple, cactus, etc. is very exciting as these options can accelerate the creation of a functional circular market – for Give value once – the materials used and the prevention of contamination along the supply chain.
Consumer needs and expectations for more transparency about how a piece of clothing is made means brands need to be better at providing documentation and credible information that is meaningful to people and the planet.Now, this is no longer a burden, but provides real cost-effectiveness, as customers will be more willing to pay for the quality of materials and impact.
Next steps include innovations in materials and manufacturing technologies, namely algae for dyeing jeans, 3D printing to eliminate waste, and more, and sustainable data intelligence, where better data provides brands with greater efficiency, more sustainable choice, as well as greater insight and connection with customers’ desire.
When we held the Functional Fabrics Show in New York in the summer of 2018, sustainability was just starting to come into focus for exhibitors, rather than requests to submit samples to our forum, which highlighted the best developments in many fabric categories. Now this is a requirement.The effort that fabric manufacturers put into ensuring the sustainability of their fabrics is impressive.During our November 2021 event in Portland, Oregon, submissions will only be considered if at least 50% of materials come from recyclable sources.We’re excited to see how many samples are available for consideration.
Linking a metric to measure the sustainability of a project is our focus for the future, and hopefully for the industry as well.Measuring the carbon footprint of fabrics is a requirement in the near future to measure and communicate with consumers.Once the carbon footprint of the fabric is determined, the carbon footprint of the finished garment can be calculated.
Measuring this will involve all aspects of the fabric, from the content, the energy of the manufacturing process, water consumption and even working conditions.It’s amazing how the industry fits so seamlessly into it!
One thing the pandemic has taught us is that high-quality interactions can happen remotely.It turns out that the collateral benefits of staying away from disease are billions of dollars in travel savings and a lot of carbon damage.
Post time: May-13-2022
