What we see happening is that a lot of brands hide behind the fact that they do not know where their cotton comes from. The upcoming due diligence legislation somehow stops them from taking action, and puts them in a waiting mode. The focus on circularity and recycling seems to temper the urgency to make cotton more sustainable. Recycling seems to be the golden bullet, forgetting about cotton farmers.

Agroecology is already here and delivering both in terms of farmer income and yield. PAN UK supports nearly 10,000 small scale organic cotton growers in Benin, and thanks to training and support they have very similar yields to their conventional neighbours, but make around 3x as much through lower input costs. Farmers don’t have to choose between their health, the environment and profits, it's perfectly possible to have all three.

Colonialism is indeed all about power – and this point is central to the book. When it comes to climate change, knowledge is power, but the architecture of knowledge that underpins sustainability thinking fundamentally benefits the rich world to the detriment of the rest of it.

The future is defined by our present as our past has set the ground to maintain a biodynamic balance for our future. Education is a continuous journey that starts early on; laws are a warning, but as we all know, having made a law you find your way around it. Education was either taught to you from an early age or you are unlikely to learn it when you grow up.

In fact, in the last few collections we have included few but very targeted novelties. We study the market well thanks to specialised consultants and only include what is necessary in the collection. This is because we don't want to overproduce and because we are a small company, and we offer few things but of very high quality.

At Isko, we believe that the right path is to build true circular economy initiatives and embed this into the business. Designing products that are made from recycled materials and that can be recycled again is a big part of that. But also designing products that look great, have amazing performance and that are especially long-lasting, is so important.

Traceability and Digital Product Passport (DPP) are two other crucial aspects of the future legislation. Both aim to inform and educate consumers about social and environmental values by ensuring that fabric and garment producers provide reliable, transparent, and accessible data on their activities, sourcing, and impacts.

There is always an offer based on “authentic denim”, which perhaps some more niche consumers still look for. There is always a product offer that maintains this authentic aesthetic of denim, and cyclically we see it again also on runways.

It took time to connect with the customers and our way of working has been very agile. There was a lot we learned from the consumers and reiterated their feedback to accommodate what they needed. It took us some time to break the stigmas around rentals and it is safe to say that we as business owners along with our consumers have come a long way.

In Germany, an increasing amount of power we consume is produced by modern wind generators. The rotor blades of these generators are made of composites. German textile machines, such as warp knitting machines, braiding machines, etc, are used to process fibre-reinforced composites. So, innovations in the textile machinery industry are the launch pad for intelligent applications and products.

We need to align in the circular value chain with all actors, to understand how we measure impact and what we need from each other to close the loop. Luckily, the legal framework will change the game in the coming years and that is much needed for a transformation at scale.

US exports to Colombia have increased, especially in agriculture, chemicals, and manufacturing. This has led to increased economic growth and job creation in Colombia and improved Colombian businesses' competitiveness in the global market. The textiles industry in Colombia is significant and has given occupation to many Colombians—actually 13%.

Today, Colombian companies produce garments with recycled components and have policies to recover the marine ecosystem. We also have successful cases of leading companies in sustainable approaches, such as Patagonia, which, aware of the advances in working conditions and sustainable policies, has found a sourcing option in Colombia.

The EU’s forthcoming Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive makes a good start by mandating that brands and retailers mitigate the negative impacts in the production of their products. Companies need to cascade this down the value chain but are in the end responsible for the whole process.

First, our country has a well-established fashion industry with more than 100 years of experience and a consolidated production chain. In addition, our textiles and apparel sector is one of the most dynamic in the Colombian economy since it represents around 7.7% of the industrial GDP. Furthermore, Colombia's strategic position makes it an attractive export platform for companies wishing to expand their operations in Latin America.

The success of these efforts will depend on multiple factors, including the state of the global economy, trade agreements, and political stability. To become a more potent exporter, Colombia must continue improving its infrastructure, logistics, and trade regulations while addressing corruption and security issues.

Workers mindsets certainly changed. Previously, the fire drills were not taken so seriously in some cases as the threat perception among the workers, supervisors and managers was low. But it became abundantly clear that safety is not to be taken lightly. There were huge efforts by industry associations, government agencies and international brands to increase the awareness that certainly helped improving the skills of the workers on how to respond to emergencies.

Managers are increasingly aware that the actions of their supply chain partners can have a negative impact on their own firms. As you note, the increase in activists, watchdogs, etc, has probably heightened the importance, as has the ubiquity of 24/7 news and social media. In terms of sourcing strategy, most firms are going to continue to search for the lowest costs while considering the risk of the potential negative impact of social and environmental incidents like the Rana Plaza building collapse.

But beyond blame seeking, it’s important to remember that NGOs have limited resources; they must concentrate their efforts to achieve the greatest impact. It’s much more cost-effective for an NGO to work with a major western retailer (e.g., H&M, Walmart) that buys from thousands of suppliers rather than working directly with thousands of suppliers.

Bangladesh's RMG sector is starting a new chapter. The safety overhaul that the industry has undertaken after Rana Plaza is an important part of that journey. Bangladesh is at present one of the safest garment manufacturing hubs in the world. When buyers now purchase from Bangladesh, the "Made in Bangladesh" stamp provides certain reassurances regarding safety and sustainability. This is a genuine added value.