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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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🌎 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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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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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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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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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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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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The biggest elephant in the room is how the Scope 3 emissions calculated. Are they technically and methodologically correct? This is unclear. And since the methodologies are not standardised, its not really possible to compare. H&M showed 11% reduction in scope 3 in 2022, which jumped to 22% by 2023, which was based on a methodology revision (see the 2023 sustainability disclosure) using granular data - the methodology and calculations are not in the public domain. The scope 3 accounting (and reduction?) have gone through 4 phases - and since not everyone is on the same phase and since there is no standard methodology, comparing their scope 3 reductions is not effective. Here are the phases IMO. 1.. Use average values for garments (Higg MSI/PM) to calculate scope 3 emissions. In my opinion, average data has limited accuracy for this purpose. 2. Shift to 'more sustainable fiber' and use Higg MSI/PM data for these to reduce scope 3. Again, the underlying data is not representative for this purpose. 3. Get more granular factory data (from tiers 1 & 2) and use proprietary methodology to calculate scope 3 emissions (for tiers 1 & 2) to move away from average values (see H&Ms methodology revision note this year). More accurate - but then baseline and reductions use two different methods as its not possible to get same granular data for baseline year. 4. Remove what is (IMO incorrectly) labelled as extraneous emissions in tier 1 & 2 (such as energy used in office spaces). You can get this type of data from FEM4 (but not validated/verified). So bulk of these scope 3 emission reduction strategies are fancy and selective accounting, as if carbon accountants will save us from the #climateabyss. What we also see is an appropriation of the work done by the value chain (and their countries), without any support from the brands to decarbonising their own facilities, by nicely showing off as if the brands did it. The fact that media and analysts do not see this appropriation is unfortunate but unsurprising. Unless the brands are forced to report the scope 3 reduction that was directly supported by them, this will not stop. #decarbonisation #fashion

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🚩 Fashion's Biggest Problem: Unsold Inventory 🚩 Did you know H&M reportedly has around $4.3 billion worth of unsold inventory? That's just the tip of the iceberg. Landfills are overflowing with garments that have never been worn- EVER! Yet, this massive issue of overproduction often gets swept under the rug. Brands shy away from taking accountability, leaving the problem unsolved and our planet suffering. We believe it's time for a change. As a sustainable fashion brand, we're committed to setting new standards in the industry. Yes, we have styles that are less loved and have been sitting in our warehouse, but we're not discarding them. Instead, we're giving them a new lease on life. Our Reborn Collection is crafted by up-cycling our excess inventory to ensure we don't contribute to fashion waste. Each piece highlights our commitment to sustainability and responsible fashion. Check out the Reborn Collection here https://lnkd.in/ge6qw7rF and share your thoughts on this initiative in the comments below!

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Good article on Puma outlined by Ken Pucker on how they were able to decouple increased growth from lowering emissions. Impressive data that since 2017, Puma has doubled revenues to $9.3 billion, while cutting carbon emissions by 30%. On a per unit basis, that is a 66% reduction. At my last company, I created a model to show that the consolidation of markets, with a calendar adjustment could reduce emissions by 18% allowing a reduction in carbon emissions and creating a savings from air to sea freight alone. This is one of the highest impact adjustments companies can make to really lower emissions.

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Fashion’s carbon footprint inched lower in 2022 thanks to a flattering data refresh, but the industry’s planet-warming emissions are still on track to grow by more than 40 percent by 2030, according to new analysis by trade coalition Apparel Impact Institute. Any potential progress driven by large brands’ efforts to meet high-profile climate commitments have yet to show up in the numbers. Instead, the sector saw its carbon emissions dip by just over 1 percent in 2022 compared to a year earlier on the back of updates to the impact associated with polyester and nylon, according to AII’s estimates. The analysis pegged fashion’s carbon footprint at 879 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, or nearly 2 percent of the world’s total carbon footprint. The fact that the data is getting better is important in itself, said Leonie Schmid, AII’s director of sustainability reporting. But the time lag also means the latest analysis doesn’t fully reflect initiatives the industry has undertaken in recent years, she added. Read the full story by BoF's Sarah Kent

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Are you a leader in the fashion industry? If so, have you observed these? 😫 "I often feel like I'm running on empty, with no time to recharge." Because we care so deeply, many leaders push themselves to the brink, neglecting self-care and personal well-being. This leads to burnout and decreased productivity, and has an impact on your team as well. 😩 "I often feel isolated in my leadership role." Especially creatives, who have the gift of being more attuned to energy around them by nature, can pick up on stress and pressure, and experience feeling undervalued or misunderstood. As I'm talking to creative leaders in this industry, many of them tell me that they're struggling with: 💔heavy mental and emotional load 💔burnout 💔anxiety 💔imposter syndrome 💔constant pressure to be a source of inspiration and vision. In such a vibrant and creative industry, stress eats away from finding meaning and joy in our work, interferes with work-life balance, and disrupts our ability to be productive. And I truly believe we need to start with ourselves in order to bring on a sustainable change. That's why I’m on a mission to help as many leaders as I can to improve their leadership skills and their overall wellbeing so that we can better support our teams, our community, and ourselves. If you’re feeling any of the above, let’s connect. I’d love to grab a virtual coffee and see how I can support you on your leadership journey.

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A recent survey of apparel chief procurement officers (CPOs) by research firm McKinsey highlighted fashion brands want to have closer collaborations with their suppliers to enhance transparency and resilience. But brands must also seek out a supply chain that is flexible, fast, sustainable, tech-driven, and consumer-centric. #fashionsupplychain #apparelmanufacturing #fashiondigitization #sustainablefashion https://lnkd.in/e2QPBhdk

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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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