Updates

The Australian Fashion trademark project of the Australian Fashion Council (AFC) launched its first campaign at the Melbourne Fashion Week. It is supposed to be like a Tourism Australia campaign, but for the country’s fashion industry, driving demand for Australian fashion both at home, and around the world.

Following infusion of funds, Hemp fibre maker Bast Fibre Technologies Inc (BFT) is set to expand its two fibre manufacturing facilities to produce over 10,000 metric tonnes of the Sero hemp fibre per year by 2023 and up to 50,000 metric tonnes per year by 2026.

A stain-resistant hoodie made with the novel Dropel technology has been launched by Paingaia. As of now, only 500 units of the garment would be available worldwide.

Environmental consultancy Quantis has published a guidance that is meant to help companies and brands avoid any potential risks of greenwashing statements by enabling them to shape clear, transparent and substantiated claims. It notes that while the use of environmental claims has become mainstream, greenwashing—the use of misleading environmental claims—has also been on the rise.

An increasingly important material, recycled down now has a new traceability and circularity programme that abides by the Responsible Down Standard (RDS).

A research study carried out as part of the Scottish Environment, Food and Agriculture Research Institutes (SEFARI) Gateway fellowship has concluded that hemp can make Scotland's agricultural sector carbon neutral. It has also suggested measures to be taken in the short, medium and long terms.

US-based Natural Fiber Welding (NFW) is teaming up with Stella McCartney, Allbirds, Reformation and Pangaia, claiming to produce the most traceable and low-carbon Mirum, a plant-based plastic-free leather alternative ever made. texfash.com reports.

The current level of supply chain transparency in the leather and allied industries is dramatically low. Only 29 of the 100 major companies surveyed provide some information about their supplier base. And no, luxury brands are not frontrunners. A texfash.com report.

Drastically reducing production, beyond changing the way we produce, is the only viable solution to make the textiles sector more sustainable, according to a position paper on the EU Textiles Strategy. texfash.com reports. 

Reducing carbon emissions and developing environment-friendly paths to fertilizer production are increasingly urgent challenges facing our world. But, the ability to discover and quickly scale solutions will require innovative partnerships across public and private sectors. A new interdisciplinary research collaboration will be working towards new solutions.