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

Climate

Climate Action / Supply Chains

12 September 2023

2 minutes

The Supplier Cascade provides an action-oriented ask that helps buyers start the process of engaging suppliers with whom they have a direct purchasing relationship and promotes comparability across supplier reporting.

Coalition Launches 'Supplier Cascade' to Accelerate Supply Chain Decarbonisation

Global nonprofit, We Mean Business Coalition, has launched the Supplier Cascade for enterprises across industries to help accelerate the pace at which businesses reduce their Scope 3 emissions.

Staff Writer

Cotton Production / Impact Study

6 September 2023

2 minutes

Cotton — supplying approximately a quarter of global textile fibres — has various environmental impacts, including water use, toxicity, eutrophication and greenhouse gas emissions. The study in question identified these impacts across multiple lifecycle stages.

Consumers Have Critical Role to Play in Cotton Sustainability; Usage Stage as Important as Cultivation and Manufacturing

An international research project on the impact of cotton says that consumers can play a critical role in enhancing sustainability not just by opting for slow fashion but also in how they use the garments.

Staff Writer

SecondHand / Emission Control

4 September 2023

3 minutes

If each adult in the UK donated all the clothes that they have not worn in the past year to charity shops, it could remove the need for 4.9 billion kg carbon entering the atmosphere.

Second-hand Fashion Can Prevent Emissions Equivalent To Flying Around the World 17,000 Times

As extreme weather hits all corners of the globe, research by the NGO Oxfam says that secondhand clothing could help reduce climate-damaging emissions during manufacturing by extending the life of clothes and reducing the need for brand-new clothes.

Staff Writer

A New Passport / Climate Truths

16 August 2023

5 minutes

Though the DPP is an instrument to provide information on the product that operators place on the market, it will not dictate how the information is collected in the supply chain, if necessary.

DPPs Have a Climate Scope, But Data Credibility Will Matter

Can digital product passports or DPPs help the textiles industry meet climate goals? Some key stakeholders surmise that DPPs have a better chance of being effective if clear and cut aggressive targets are set, aligned with the 2050 climate goals.

Subir Ghosh

Report

Wireframe: Passport to Future

Climate Action / Decarbonisation

15 August 2023

3 minutes

The vision is to embed environmental sciences at the heart of the fashion and textiles sector. Building the Future Fibres Network is a first step towards transforming the fashion industry towards a new, low carbon future.

New £1.6 million UK Project to Drive Decarbonisation in Fashion and Textiles

Future Fibres Network+, a £1.6million forward-thinking project, aims to embed environmental sciences at the heart of the fashion and textiles sector, and steer the industry towards a new, low carbon future.

Staff Writer

Climate Action / Cotton Farming

7 August 2023

2 minutes

Farmers and cotton stakeholders will use novel cotton mapping data products derived from Sentinel-2 images in a feasibility study run by CottonConnect and Assimila.

CottonConnect Project to Address Health Issues Caused by Climate Change among Smallholder Cotton Growers

Exploiting advances in earth observation and climate data science, a CottonConnect C5 pilot project is exploring how climate advice could help farmer decision-making at key stages in the cotton production cycle.

Staff Writer

Rental Drive / Japan Airlines

4 August 2023

2 minutes

Japan Airlines will monitor changes in passengers' checked-in baggage weight and verify the reduction effect of carbondioxide emissions by reduced airplane weight due to use of the service.

Fly Japan Airlines Sans a Suitcase, Rent Clothes On the Go

In a unique concept aimed at reducing the carbon footprint of the air traveller and promote circular economy, Japan Airlines (JAL) along with the Sumitomo Corporation has launched a trial "Any Wear, Anywhere" clothing sharing service for foreign tourists and business travellers.

Staff Writer

Tech Innovation / Biomimicry

31 July 2023

3 minutes

Neeka and Leila Mashouf, twin sisters who grew up in North California, founded Rubi Laboratories in 2021 after inventing and prototyping the technology in a public biohacking lab, leveraging their deep scientific expertise in materials engineering and bioengineering.

Rubi Laboratories to Help Walmart Convert Emissions into Cellulosic Fibres

In what could well be a groundbreaking technology, a Walmart and Rubi Labs collaboration could soon be spinning out affordable clothing from carbon emissions, and the inspiration is nature yet again — the process how trees “eat” CO2!

Staff Writer

Fashion Footprint / London Study

5 July 2023

3 minutes

In London, a large proportion is thrown away by consumers. Of the 142,700 tonnes of clothing discarded by Londoners in 2019 (around 44 items of clothing per person), over 40% ended up in the waste bin where 90% is lost to energy from waste/incineration and 10% goes to landfill.

Londoners Buy 48 Items of Clothing, Throw Away 44. Every Year

A recent study has mapped material flows across London's fashion supply chain, identifying where carbon hotspots occur and shows that fashion makes a significant contribution to the city’s consumption-based emissions associated with the stuff are used.