Following a year of change, innovation and development for Ecotextile News, we wanted to share with you our top ten stories of 2017. These stories span a wide variety of topics, reflecting the diversity of both our expertise and the loyal readership which continues to grow in numbers.
We are very excited about what the next twelve months have in store and cannot wait to continue providing you with the latest, in-depth and reliable news from our industry.
Enjoy the read, and also enjoy your holiday season!
The MCL Team
UN resolution aims to combat microplastics, as textiles concern rises
Throughout 2017, the awareness and concern about microplastic pollution continually grew and as such, this story in December proved to be one of the most popular of the year. The UN Environment Assembly has now established a specialist group to look at the potential options to tackle marine plastic pollution with the support of over 200 nations.
Bacteria and soundwaves used in textile colouring process
Back in March, one of the more unique research projects of the year saw researchers examine the power of bacteria and soundwaves to accelerate pigment production in the textile dyeing process. This story from Holland really grabbed readers’ attention and led to it being one of our most viewed and most shared stories of 2017.
Gore to remove PFCs of ‘concern’ by 2023
Editor, John Mowbray was reporting live from ISPO Munich in February when Gore made the announcement that it would be eliminating hazardous PFCs from 85 per cent of its textile chemicals and coatings by the end of 2020. Reporting live from industry events has, and continues to be, the reason Ecotextile News has built its reputation for up-to-the-minute exclusive content. This big announcement perhaps unsurprisingly received a lot of attention on our website and social media channels.
Top fashion brands in viscose pollution
June saw one of the more concerning stories of the year, with a report published which claimed several major fashion brands implicated in serious levels of pollution resulting from viscose production in Asia. Environmental stories are what we as a publication pride ourselves on and always tend to be our most read, this proved no different. It also coincided with news editor Tom Hinchcliffe joining the MCL News team and was a story he remains very proud to have broken.
Report: factory auditors should be liable
Right at the beginning of 2017 a report was published which claimed garment factory auditing companies should be liable in the event of accidents like the Rana Plaza collapse in 2013. The last twelve months have been very uncertain, particularly countries such as Bangladesh and Cambodia, for garment workers’ rights and this January story set the tone for a turbulent year.
MCL launches textile news mobile app
The summer saw an innovation much closer to home, as MCL News & Media launched a mobile app. This development has enabled our readers to get all the latest stories from every MCL site direct to their smartphone. The app has proved a real success and there are plenty more multimedia innovations planned for 2018.
ZDHC soft launches chemical module
2017 has been a typically busy year in the chemical management sector, with the textile industry perpetually seeking methods of minimising its impact on the environment throughout the supply chain. ZDHC has made several big steps forward in the past year, one of which being the launch of its Chemical Module of the ZDHC Gateway to the ZDHC Contributor Community. The company stated this new platform would make information on sustainable chemistry broadly available online in a bid to help chemical buyers select the safest options on the market.
China proposes new textile chemical restrictions
An upbeat story on the theme of textile chemicals again, as China made the news in May when announcing proposed restrictions on use of chemicals in consumer goods manufacturing. The proposal, similar to the restriction guidelines of the EU's REACH Annex XVII, gave many in the industry cause to be optimistic as fears around certain practices in China were somewhat allayed.
White paper seeks organic cotton progress
If there is one thing guaranteed to receive a lot of interest on the Ecotextile News site, it’s cotton.As efforts to improve transparency have continued to gather momentum throughout the year, this story in Decemberonce again saw companies collaborating to improve how the organic cotton sector goes about its business. The 66 page white paper, which includes a ‘how to’ guide for companies in the cotton market, was released with the target of meeting of international sustainable development goals at its core.
New Higg platform to drive adoption
The final stop on this journey through 2017, the SAC launched a new, more user-friendly version of its Higg platform and updated Facility Environmental Module. The SAC spoke exclusively to us prior to the launch and explained how it hopes this will be a big step in fully engaging its members throughout their supply chains.
