Amy Rauen

In this Expert Analysis #3E's Cassidy Spencer stitches together the details of the Fashion Environmental Accountability Act, a.k.a. the New York Fashion Act. What does the Met Gala have to do with supply chain best practices for sustainability? Read our blog to find out: #supplychain #nycfashion #NewYorkFashionAct

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The Good Fashion Fund has released its "Lessons Learned during Phase I" report, shedding light on its experiences as an impact fund promoting sustainable practices in the textile and apparel industry. 📝 From bridging the funding gap for new technologies to navigating sustainability challenges, this report offers valuable insights for stakeholders in textile manufacturing, especially in Bangladesh and India.   Some key takeaways from the report:   1️⃣ Importance of technology in driving sustainability 2️⃣ Role of financial actors in supporting manufacturers 3️⃣ Bridging the gap between brand expectations and supplier needs   Download or read more about the report here: https://lnkd.in/edXHkbGe #Sustainability #TextileIndustry #ImpactInvestment #GoodFashionFund #sustainablefashion

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#GoodFashionFund by FOUNT.eu has released its Lessons Learned during Phase 1 report, and here are our fruitful takeaways from the report: 👔 Manufacturers struggle to invest in new technologies without a proper commitment from brands and they often work for multiple companies with different approaches simultaneously. ⚙️The need for strong, sustained international partnerships to support manufacturers' adoption of new technologies. 🌏The imperative for enhanced collaboration and long-term commitment among diverse stakeholders in the textile industry to drive a sustainable transition on a larger scale Signs for technology solutions to achieve sustainability in the textile industry! Learn more and read the full report below. #Sustainability #TextileIndustry #CleanTech #GoodFashionFund #Textiledyeing

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📣The fashion industry's carbon #footprint fell slightly in 2022 although the long term trend remains upward, according to latest figures from the Apparel Impact Institute initiative📣 In a new update on Aii's 2021 Roadmap to Net Zero report, #climate change consultant Michael Sadowski estimates the sector was responsible for 879 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) in 2022, compared to 897 million tonnes in 2021, a 1.17% decrease. Read more here👇🏼 https://lnkd.in/eEmuJ9Uf

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Every garment embodies a complex journey of emissions, from raw materials to the storefront. Yet, as fashion giants pledge emission reductions, a closer look reveals murky carbon-accounting practices and inconsistent disclosures. While some companies show progress, many remain entangled in opacity, hindering meaningful evaluation and impeding efforts to tackle the industry's environmental impact. This is why Make the Label Count strives to illuminate these complexities, and ensure that sustainability claims for textiles in the EU are fair and credible. https://lnkd.in/g4_rggky

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Join me as we explore the intersection of fashion, innovation, and regenerative futures in my upcoming 3-part newsletter series: MAKING GOOD(S) AND THE FUTURE FASHION FACTORY ➡️ To receive the 3 macro trends I'll be unpacking go to https://lnkd.in/e4iYR7dN 🤔 Why focus on the Future Fashion Factory? ​💭 ”90% of a fashion garment’s emission happens at the manufacturing stage. If the fashion industry is to become sustainable that has to happen in fashion manufacturing” - Brooke Roberts Islam in Fixing the Fashion Industry Through AI and Social Innovation By Clean Cut TV hosted by Jade Mc Sorley. This quote by Brooke Roberts Islam says it all. How can we make the case for how transformational future fashion factory systems could be for our communities, environment, technology and economies? As a futurist, I do not specialise in fashion manufacturing (although I have spent a lot of time in factories in my past life as a fashion design director). 🧑‍🏭 There is a groundswell of innovators hard at work. We are perfectly positioned to revolutionise more than how we make fashion good(s). 🌍 Questions around commerce, society, climate and culture are at stake. This is the most exciting conversation to be immersing ourselves in and advocating for. My upcoming 'futuring dispatch' series is in service of fashion and post-growth thinking. This is not a series on automation, AI, how to drive profit, or digital fashion. 🌳 It is a series mentioning all of those things in the service of Regenerative Fashion Futures, unpacking how this could happen and who is leading the change. 🤔 You might think Fashion factories and supply chains? Not a juicy/trendy ‘future of’ fashion sound byte. Think again. 👉 I believe Fashion’s relevance is regenerative infrastructure, the future fashion factory. It no longer is culture. 👾 The OS of the mainstream fashion cultural conversation needs a reboot. 📸 Me chairing the United Nations panel 'Revolutionizing Fashion Weeks' with the UN Fashion Impact Fund

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Stephanie Downs, the founder of UNCAGED Innovations, one of our portfolio companies, has penned a compelling op-ed challenging the conventional view of leather as a 'natural' choice. She introduces innovative alternatives that promise sustainability without sacrificing quality. A must-read for anyone interested in the future of sustainable materials. Dive into her insights and join the conversation on redefining 'natural' in our industries. #SustainableMaterials #Innovation #VentureCapital Read her op-ed here: https://lnkd.in/gUtu4-F6

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IAF president: Fashion suppliers need ‘better deal’ to tackle ESG The International Apparel Federation's president tells Just Style why ESG legislation targeted at the fashion sector must be distributed fairly across the supply chain to avoid it failing completely. IAF: International Apparel Federation #esg #supplychain #JSDaily

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A study published this week found traces of cotton from Xinjiang in nearly a fifth of the products it examined, highlighting the challenges brands face in policing their supply chains even as requirements to do so spread to raw materials from diamonds to leather and palm oil. Read the full story by Sarah Kent #SustainableFashion #SupplyChain #ChineseCotton

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Sourcing is key in a sustainable supply chain and the post from The Business of Fashion highlights a major challenge in the apparel industry; the continued use of banned raw materials like Xinjiang cotton. Despite stricter regulations and a focus on sustainability, this issue persists, showing the complexity of managing our supply chains. At Vintly, we believe some key steps to strengthen transparency are: ✔ Validate audits throughout the entire supply chain, not just at the garment supplier level. ✔ Ensure the receipt of accurate bills of materials. ✔ Obtain transactional certificates. What are your thoughts on how to achieve a more sustainable sourcing? #Sustainability #SupplyChainTransparency #EthicalSourcing #ResponsibleFashion #Vintly

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🌎 Living in a Next-Gen Material World is about envisioning radical futures and solving systemic issues in the Fashion Industry. 🔬 In my latest TOMORROW column (issue #28) for Spur magazine, we focused on the Bio-Industrial Revolution and how forward-thinking leaders are reshaping industries with groundbreaking solutions. ⏩ There's a momentum I’ve witnessed grow in over a decade of covering fashion futures and bio-materials. 💚 A moral imperative drives this bio-industrial revolution, transforming how we produce fashion goods to create a new normal. 🛰️ The future is about reimagining what's possible. 📰 Read the insights here (in English) https://lnkd.in/gf9e_f7W Featuring: Sway GANNI BioFluff Kuori Natural Fiber Weldings Living Ink Modern Synthesis Rubi Laboratories Qorium & More!

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Kevin Latner , Leather and Hide Council of America (L&HCA) Vice President - Sustainability, presented the preliminary findings of the U.S. cowhide production Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) at the recent Economist Impact Sustainability Week summit in London. The event, now in its ninth year, is attended by industry leaders from aroung the world. The L&HCA discussed leather’s sustainability with representatives of companies from Boston Consulting Group to Ford Motor Company. Speaking during a panel discussion on sustainable supply chains, Kevin Latner said: “We were pleased to see that processing of hides, a natural waste material, delivers a low carbon footprint. The new data shows that leather is a renewable, sustainable material and suggests that it is better for the environment than oil-derived synthetics.” “It also shows the challenges and opportunities ahead for the textile industry in pursuit of our shared environmental goals for the planet. The industry needs to publish credible and transparent data to inform discussions, to understand supply chain issues and to enable businesses and consumers to make informed purchase decisions with standard metrics. All materials need to follow best practice in environmental impact assessment.” https://lnkd.in/eY4z_59e #TheEonomist #LeatherSupplyChain #SustainabilityWeek

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Fashion Industry Pledges Sustainable Sourcing Practices to Protect Endangered Forests Read The News: https://lnkd.in/gdxNYTgd #ICTTMNews #BreakingNews #SupplyChainSustainability #FashionIndustry #EnvironmentalConservation #EarthDayAwareness

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For those of us working in Sustainability in fashion it can feel lonely. When I worked at Theory 19 years ago, one of my responsibilities was to develop all the trims. I insisted that all metal trims be "nickel free" Nickel is a hard silvery-white metal that may cause irritation to the skin. Exposure can harm the lungs, stomach, and kidneys. Exposure to nickel may lead to cancer. Workers may be harmed from exposure to nickel.This was not popular because nickel finishes are super shiny and appeals to design sensibilities and cheaper. Luckily I had the authority to insist that we only use nickel free products. Eight years ago when I was heading up production at 3.1 Phillip Lim we were faced with the dilemma of a coating on a fabric that would make it waterproof but contained PFAS, versus a coating that would only be water repellent that did not contain PFAS. Again I insisted we should proceed to not use the waterproof coating despite sales would like it to be waterproof. PFAS is a forever chemical that has health effects on immunological, developmental or reproductive, hepatic, hormonal and carcinogenic – basically everything from asthma to testicular cancer. There is now the beginnings of a ban on them. Often there may not be regulations or awareness of the harm many of the materials or substances used in the production of clothing. Sustainability at a fashion company is not a department that drives revenue, your actions are often not popular like turning over rocks in the supply chain. But your work is important and vital. As I reflect on actions I made in the past this week, I am grateful that I insisted and that they had impact for both people and the environment.

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What are your thoughts? Too often, conversations about sustainable fashion are disconnected from the ones about the industry’s labor practices, especially during #EarthMonth. A better fashion industry is not just about one small fix in the type of fabric we’re using or a new recycling program; it’s about changes throughout each stage of the clothing-making process. As many are examining how wages and climate change are interconnected, one change that could have a huge effect on fashion’s climate impact is the wage structure for garment workers. There are approximately 70 million garment workers worldwide – 80% of whom are women of color. Raising wages for that amount of people by even a marginal amount could potentially reduce carbon emissions This is due to a few factors. For starters, raising wages would theoretically slow down production – low wages are a key factor in the fast-fashion system of making clothing fast and cheap. It would also mean that if people are no longer able to get garments for super low prices, they may start incorporating more sustainable practices into their wardrobes, such as mending or buying secondhand. To implement a higher wage solution, the problem and the demands for change need to be clear, and importantly, they need to come from the people who understand the problems more than anyone else: the workers. 🔎 Click to read the full story in the Remake Times here: https://lnkd.in/evFPnBQT

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