It ain't fashion, if it ain't sustainable

Patagonia

Textile Recycling / Carbios Plant

4 November 2024

3 minutes

A production line for Carbios is already up and running in Clermont-Ferrand, France, which can produce 2,500 tonnes/year of Carbios Active (required for the equivalent of 50,000 tonnes/year of enzyme-embedded PLA).

Carbios-led Consortium Unveils World’s First 100% Fibre-to-Fibre Biorecycled Clothing

In a significant step ahead towards 100% textile circularity, French green innovation start-up, Carbios, and its five fibre-to-fibre consortium partners have come up with the world’s first enzymatically recycled polyester garment made from textile waste to spin out 100% biorecycled fibres.

Staff Writer

Packaging Alternative / TIPA Solutions

29 October 2024

7 minutes

TIPA’s patent-protected formulae are made from a blend of fully compostable polymers, and are what give TIPA films and laminates similar properties to conventional plastic. Because of this, the product demonstrates excellent optical, mechanical, and barrier properties such as high transparency, printability, high sealing strength, high impact, and high barrier.

Withering Heights: Fashion’s 1.8m Polybag Problem and TIPA’s Compostable Solution

The number of polybags produced annually to store, transport and protect apparel and footwear stands at a staggering 180 billion. Fashion has a packaging problem too, and providing a sustainable solution is TIPA Corp with its compostable alternative. Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Daphna Nissenbaum talks about fashion’s problems and TIPA's innovative solutions.

Subir Ghosh

Interview

Collection: Sea Change

Climate Action / Industry Status

2 August 2024

3 minutes

Fashion remains one of the most polluting industries with fossil fuels burned at every stage of production. However, the report finds that despite the escalating climate crisis, big brands’ reduction targets are not ambitious enough to meet the global goal of limiting temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

Brands Faltering on Climate Accountability, Action; Average Score of Top 250 Brands Stands at 18/100

For all the sound and fury on climate change and climate change continuing to wreak havoc in all parts of the globe, as many as 32 of the 250 brands rated 0% in terms of their emissions accountability, says a Fashion Revolution report.

Staff Writer

Going Circular / Fashion Index 2024

3 July 2024

3 minutes

Gucci launched a collaboration with Vestiaire Collective, pioneering the f¬irst fully circular secondary luxury market, from quotation and authentication of a bag to sell-back to another consumer.

Just 3.2 Points on 10: That's How Bad 235 Top Global Fashion Brands Fare Together on Circularity

The latest 2024 Circular Fashion Index (CFX) that measures fashion brands’ efforts to extend the lifecycle of their products and materials based on seven dimensions, has just 25 out of 235 players scoring 5 out of 10 or more.

Staff Writer

Going Circular / Fashion Index 2023

1 June 2023

4 minutes

Except for Indian brands, which score significantly lower than the rest of the panel, the results from other countries are fairly aligned, with average scores ranging between 2.6 and 3.4, confirming that there is a lot to do everywhere across the globe.

Brands Going Around in Circles; Score Measly 2.97 on 10 in Circularity; Indian Brands Cut Sorry Figure

The just released 2023 Circular Fashion Index (CFX) by Kearney rues that the needle has barely moved since last year's report, with the 200 global brands analysed barely reaching an average of 2.97 on a circularity scale of 10.

Special Correspondent

Corp Action / Patagonia Fallout

1 October 2022

4 minutes

All of Patagonia’s profits, some US$100 million annually, will fund efforts to address climate change and advance wilderness preservation, the company announced recently.

Why Patagonia’s Purpose-Driven Business Model Is Unlikely to Spread

Patagonia's Yvon Chouinard’s imaginative act of moral courage is uplifting, but it would be naive and even harmful to expect many others to follow his example by voluntarily choosing a purpose other than the pursuit of profits.

Ken Pucker

Analysis

PRESS RELEASE / Announcement

9 September 2022

3 minutes

Named for its enhanced sustainability, Naia™ Renew ES is made with 60% recycled content. Unlike other cellulose-based yarns and fibers, this option requires fewer virgin materials to make an environmentally friendly product.

Patagonia Chooses Naia Renew ES for Its Low-Impact Line Of Work Tees

KINGSPORT, Tenn., U.S.: Eastman, maker of Naia Renew sustainable fibers and yarns, announces that it has collaborated with Patagonia to offer a limited run of T-shirts made with Naia Renew ES — Eastman's latest fiber offering made with increased recycled content — for the outdoor apparel retailer's Workwear line.

Named for its enhanced...

Under Cloud / Higg MSI

15 June 2022

7 minutes

Though allegations have been levelled at fashion giants, the SAC and the Higg Index find themselves in the eye of a storm for being the archangels of the 'sustainable fashion' ecosystem. The latter particularly has been under fire from critics for consistently downplaying natural fibres and instead promoting fossil fuel fashion (i.e polyster-driven fashion).

Back-to-Back News Reports Put Sustainability Archangels on the Back Foot

The Big Daddies in the textiles-apparel-footwear-fashion ecosystem are the hands behind some of the most followed sustainability benchmarks. The charge is that they have been using the cloak of opaqueness and secrecy and also the lack of credible data to greenwash themselves. texfash.com recaps the brouhaha.

Subir Ghosh

Commentary

PRESS RELEASE / Launch

15 June 2022

3 minutes

The long-standing research partnership between Patagonia and HeiQ resulted in yet another innovative solution for a problem on many textiles – malodor.

Patagonia & Heiq Launch Jointly Developed Next Generation Mint-Based Textile Odor Control Technology

ZÜRICH, Switzerland: HeiQ and Patagonia take their long-standing research collaboration to the next level and announce the launch of a jointly developed odor control technology for textiles, HeiQ Fresh MNT - renewably sourced mint oil-derived textile technology to control malodor development on textiles.

The long-standing research partnership...

Circularity / Fashion Index

25 April 2022

4 minutes

Communication and promotion of circularity efforts are the easiest and fastest measures to implement, yet 47% of brands don’t do it at all. Only 14 companies do it credibly, and 80% settle for giving the minimum amount of care instructions required by law.

Top European brands flunk on circularity; avg score 1.99 on 10

The Circular Fashion Index (CFX) of Kearney, which aims to measure fashion brands’ efforts to extend the lifecycle of their clothes, has found that the top 100 European brands are performing abysmally. Only Patagonia, The North Face and Levi’s have an acceptable score.