Features
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Wednesday, 09 June 2021Why factory auditors turn up unannounced
Recent issues relating to pay and working conditions in the UK garment manufacturing industry have understandably put the spotlight on factory audits. I must stress from the outset that I am not an expert ‘social’ auditor so, when it comes to… -
Tuesday, 08 June 2021Modular fashion - the next big thing?
Some might use the term ‘multi-functional’, others prefer ‘convertible’ or 'adaptable’. The semantics may vary but, conceptually speaking, modular fashion translates into a garment, shoe or accessory that changes shape or form for different… -
Monday, 07 June 2021Can traceability solutions combat greenwashing?
In our last issue, we discussed the widespread problem of ‘greenwashing’ in the textile and fashion industries and how this new, dangerous culture of exaggerating sustainability claims not only blindsides consumers, but threatens to sabotage the… -
Wednesday, 26 May 2021IWTO Congress: Let’s Talk Wool
Regenerative practices, local wool with provenance, and transparency; all were top of the agenda in a wide-ranging discussion that even spun its way into wool as a carbon sink. Not all things wool end up in textiles, increasingly some now end up in… -
Friday, 21 May 2021Greenwashing threatens sustainability legitimacy
As the number of businesses manufacturing and selling more ‘sustainable’ products continues to rise, so too do cases of ‘greenwashing’, representing a moral conundrum for consumers and a threat to the legitimacy of the fashion and textile… -
Thursday, 20 May 2021Regenerative farming - just another buzzword?
As the buzz in the fashion sector around ‘regenerative agriculture’ continues to grow, we take another look at what this actually means, how it’s defined, what practices it includes, what is different from existing production systems and how is it… -
Wednesday, 19 May 2021Undermining synthetic fibres takes us nowhere
One of the biggest problems over the course of the on-going pandemic has been the forfeiture of free speech and informed debate by those who’ve been cowed by the siren voices of the crowd. I believe it’s unhealthy to have a situation where there are… -
Thursday, 29 April 2021Why legislation is vital to accelerate progress
Even as a very small handful of leading brands and retailers begin to meaningfully reduce the environmental footprint of their business, the overall impacts of the apparel industry, which are shockingly large, are still accruing faster than the… -
Monday, 12 April 2021Are the robots coming for garment workers?
As far back as the early 19th century, the Luddites took to breaking the factory machinery that threatened to replace them in violent protests which ended only after mill and factory owners called in the British Army. Fast forward two centuries and… -
Friday, 09 April 2021Death knell sounded for Chinese cotton?
Brands and retailers are currently under immense pressure from Chinese politicians and consumers to continue using cotton from the country's Xinjiang region despite forced labour concerns. However, import restrictions triggered by human rights… -
Wednesday, 07 April 2021COVID 19: one year on
Fashion brands and retailers immediately identified the economic threat to their businesses as all but essential shops closed to protect the global population from the novel coronavirus in March 2020. But they were not quite so quick to spot the… -
Wednesday, 24 March 2021Feminising the fashion future?
The week-long 23rd International Conference for Sustainable Innovation 2021 attracted around 400 delegates from over 25 countries for an online event that put accelerating sustainability in fashion, clothing, sportswear and accessories centre stage.… -
Tuesday, 23 February 2021Textile chemical regulation continues to evolve
Although life as we know it has been placed on hold for much of the last year or so, the legislative wheels have continued to turn and, for those working at home without access to the usual company or multi-stakeholder meetings, there are a few… -
Tuesday, 16 February 2021Innovation - is there life after hype?
Fruit leathers, agri-tech, AI, blockchain - hardly a week goes by without these buzzwords appearing in the headlines. In recent years, a wave of textile innovators – all trying to disrupt the way the industry has been working for decades - has… -
Monday, 15 February 2021Sustainability made in Hong Kong
The H&M Foundation attracted headlines in the industry press recently when it announced that it was entering into a five-year partnership with the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textile and Apparel (HKRITA). The non-profit, funded by the owners of… -
Friday, 12 February 2021Reinforcing the business case for 3D design
COVID-19 has forced companies and fashion educational institutions to view 3D design software as a vital tool with broader applications ranging from product design to end-consumer marketing. Meanwhile, barriers to adoption are on the decline,… -
Thursday, 11 February 2021Mixed response to forced labour fears in China
Three key export markets for China recently acted in very different ways – all aimed at putting pressure on Beijing - to growing concerns over the alleged use of forced labour involving incarcerated Uyghur Muslims in the Xinjiang region. Most… -
Thursday, 07 January 2021Time to champion cotton transparency
Certification and verification have been the bedrock of sustainable cotton for the past few years, with more standards and schemes appearing. Alongside them have come a proliferation of initiatives on transparency and traceability, some covering the… -
Wednesday, 06 January 2021Screening uncovers key chemical contaminants
The first results of a new screening tool for impurities found in bulk commodity chemicals used during textile wet processing has found heavy metals, phthalates and halogenated solvents are the primary contaminants. The screening tool, developed by… -
Tuesday, 05 January 2021Dealing with fashion’s overproduction problem
The mass production of too many cheap garments, many of which will never be worn or even purchased, has made fashion a “monstrous disposable industry”, in the words of designer Phoebe English. This problem is only set to worsen if you believe the… -
Tuesday, 05 January 2021Textile chemical giants launch new alliance
Leading textile chemical firms have come together in a new alliance to develop a globally harmonised chemical ‘sustainability standard’ along with screening tools that cover hazards through to environmental and social impacts. The new Sustainable… -
Monday, 04 January 2021BCI says lessons have been learned in Xinjiang
The Better Cotton Initiative (BCI) has come under fire over its role in the Xinjiang region of China, amidst fears its 'better cotton' has been tarnished by the use of forced labour, but it says lessons have been learned. Brand after brand have… -
Wednesday, 23 December 2020Calls to replace synthetics with natural fibres 'naïve'
WAKEFIELD – Forget the one-dimensional debate on the straight replacement of synthetic fibres with new, natural or bio-based alternatives. It simply won’t happen, writes textile veteran Mick Siddons, who says there’s already a way to move towards… -
Wednesday, 23 December 2020Putting a number on fashion's carbon footprint
Bigger than the UK, Germany and France put together? More than aviation and maritime shipping combined? Eight per cent of all greenhouse gas emissions? No, wait, four per cent of the global total? Nobody denies that fashion has a carbon footprint… -
Wednesday, 23 December 2020Could indigenous Indian cotton boost sustainability?
The revival of indigenous desi cotton production in India could be a game changer for farmers and for the prospects for a more sustainable cotton industry, argues Rajeev Baruah, an expert on cotton based in Uttar Pradesh who’s previously advised the… -
Friday, 11 December 2020Back to the future for new Unifi CEO
Being appointed as the CEO of a large recycled polyester yarn producer in the middle of a global pandemic is not ideal timing – but Eddie Ingle says his decision to return to Greenboro-based Unifi was a no-brainer. Ingle, who first joined the… -
Friday, 11 December 2020Divisive mulesing debate goes around in circles
It’s 2020, and whilst progress reports for large parts of the industry will have unsurprisingly taken a nosedive, for animal welfare campaigners it’s been a year of marked progress. An increasing number of fashion firms have aligned in their efforts… -
Thursday, 10 December 2020Laudes Foundation backs drive for due diligence
New legislation which would make brands and retailers responsible for carrying out due diligence on social and environmental issues throughout their global supply chains is currently being considering by both the European Union and the German… -
Thursday, 10 December 2020COVID-19 asks questions of rental fashion
The COVID-19 pandemic’s impact has threatened the long-term viability of rental fashion and raised questions of whether the business model is as financially viable as other circular business models that have similarly been touted for future… -
Monday, 07 December 2020Calls grow to extend science-based targets
GLOBAL - Growing calls are being made for science-based targets to be widened to include companies' impact on water, land, biodiversity and oceans – as well as climate change. Environmentalists have been inspired by the success of the Science-Based… -
Monday, 07 December 2020Fashion Pact director maps path ahead
As the Fashion Pact produces its first annual report, the initiative's executive director and secretary general Eva von Alvensleben gives Ecotextile News an update on how she rates its progress so far and maps the path ahead. Now representing a… -
Friday, 04 December 2020Should the SAC drop the Higg MSI single score?
[Originally published on December 1st 2020 in print Issue 100 of Ecotextile News] The news that the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) will ditch the aggregated single score used by the Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI) next month has… -
Friday, 23 October 2020Online platforms: the new textile industry police?
The big clothing retail platforms such as the likes of Amazon, Zalando, ASOS, Next, Ebay and Revolve, amongst others, could be a huge force for positive change in our industry – at a time when self-assessed ‘improvements’ may not be enough, argues… -
Thursday, 22 October 2020New EU chemicals strategy – what it means for textiles?
BRUSSELS – Less than 10 days ago, the European Commission published details of a new chemical strategy to control the production of hazardous chemicals and related pollution by progressively banning their use in consumer goods. Calling it a tough… -
Monday, 12 October 2020Wool Connect 2020 calls out elephants in the room
It might have been a little like letting loose a pack of wolves in a field of lambs. But the Wool Connect 2020 virtual conference – and to a lesser degree the Baltic Wool Conference – managed to call out the elephants in the room without breaking… -
Thursday, 06 August 2020Cleaning up the industry's act
With hygiene a top concern for customer uptake, an eco-cleaning and repair infrastructure is badly needed to loop garments into a circular economy. Traditional dry cleaning won’t cut it because clothing reuse business models ought to positively… -
Wednesday, 29 July 2020The United States of Amazon
One of the few firms to have seen profits leap during the coronavirus crisis, Amazon has never been stronger. With even greater clout in multichannel retail – including an ever-growing stake in fashion – the question lingers on whether the online… -
Wednesday, 29 July 2020Could COVID-19 help cotton find a future
Perhaps ironically, Sally Uren believes the current coronavirus pandemic could help the Cotton 2040 initiative find a way forward towards more sustainable practices in the medium to long term. “I think COVID-19 is shining a really bright light on… -
Wednesday, 06 May 2020Tough measures on fluorochemicals loom
Dark Waters, the film that tells the story of a lawyer, Robert Bilott, and his long struggle to hold DuPont accountable for leakages of perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) into the environment, and more disturbingly, its alleged attempts to cover up… -
Wednesday, 06 May 2020Reporting mechanisms fail on apparel transparency
Unfounded sustainability claims are constantly bandied around by companies looking to steal a march on competitors, without any fear of the damage this hollow rhetoric can do. Until reliable, consistent and transparent reporting can be implemented… -
Wednesday, 06 May 2020Standing tall
It was in Davos, the picturesque Swiss town dwarfed only by the vast stretches of mountain and woodland which surround it, that quite fittingly hosted the unveiling of environmental NGO Canopy’s new action plan, entitled Survival - A Pulp Thriller:… -
Friday, 13 March 2020The road to nowhere?
Selective ‘good-news-only’ environmental marketing and a focus on single issues risks sending the textile industry in completely the wrong direction, argues Phil Patterson. For example, recycled textile fibres are a great way to demonstrate that… -
Wednesday, 26 February 2020A second chance
Integrating repair services into a company’s operations, as well as including product care guidance, is a surefire way of extending any product’s lifespan. When executed well, such measures not only drive customer loyalty, but can safeguard brands… -
Tuesday, 04 February 2020Rooted in healthy soil
Wrangler’s Rooted Collection claims to be the world's first cotton sustainability programme to link individual farms with finished garments while revealing their reduced environmental impact in field-level detail. The denim brand is working with… -
Friday, 31 January 2020Is sharing caring?
Elaine O’Hare, senior associate at law firm Stevens & Bolton LLP, explains how brands can shout about sustainability innovations while still protecting their intellectual property. Fast fashion’s terrible reputation for ‘sustainability’ means there… -
Thursday, 19 December 2019Let’s talk …
Just as new technologies and communications are reducing the environmental impact of textile production – could the lives of garment workers benefit from similar advances? Recent news headlines show how environmental sustainability in the apparel… -
Wednesday, 11 December 2019Breaking Good
Chemistry is often maligned for its potential to be hazardous, when in reality it can be a key component of any new, emerging circular textile industry. Driven by the enormous quantities of textile waste the fashion industry produces, many brands… -
Wednesday, 04 December 2019Vanity versus veracity
Do pilot-scale environmental projects in the textile and fashion sectors always fly in the right direction so they can be scaled up for both maximum impact and commercial success? Phil Patterson argues that some, but not all, are simply vanity… -
Wednesday, 04 December 2019The nature of biodegradability
Silver bullet solutions capable of tackling overconsumption and waste are, unsurprisingly, few and far between. Increasingly, however, innovations are cropping up which look to offset concern and are ever-increasingly marketed as either bio-based,… -
Monday, 21 October 2019Red flags
Unless brands and retailers reconsider how they source and produce fast fashion, they’ll continue to cripple the most vulnerable workers in the supply chain, writes Chris Remington, upon the release of a new report. The story of how Turkey has grown…
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