MEMBER SPOTLIGHT -
We recently sat down with Helen Sahi (@HelenSahi), senior director, Global Sustainability, at Avery Dennison and long-time SB Corporate Member whose made many contributions to the SB Advisory Board, to discuss her career and what keeps her excited about sustainability.
Many of you already know Helen and that she is a woman of many talents. Read more to get her take on where sustainability has been, where it currently is, where it should be and how we can get there quickly.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
Sweden is a leader in waste-to-energy generation and earlier this year, the country began powering its incineration plants with trash purchased from neighboring countries. With less than one percent of Swedish household waste sent to landfill since 2011, the country needed to look outside its borders to keep its incineration plants going. Now, news has emerged that some of this waste is discarded clothing from fast fashion giant H&M.
NEW METRICS -
The new wave of conscious consumption, driven largely by millennials and Gen Z, is pushing companies to innovate around social causes.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
In an era where brands are becoming increasingly socially conscious to keep up with societal trends, Marc Skid is no exception. The recently launched online underwear retailer is using the finest, sustainably grown materials to provide its customers both a high-quality product and an opportunity to donate to feed, cure and save the world.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
A digital initiative bringing to life real stories about real people in the Bangladeshi garment industry is proving a game-changer in the country in its first year of launch.
“Made in Equality” is a website and Facebook page illustrating garment workers’ life experiences in their own words. The simple format of an individual’s image, presented alongside their quotes, is proving moving and powerful.
WASTE NOT -
Your morning cup of java could be good for more than just a caffeine buzz — Shell and Vancouver-based sustainable clothing company LEZÉ the Label are fueling a sustainable future with the help of waste coffee grounds.
COLLABORATION -
When it comes to tackling climate change, Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) believes collaboration is key. This very ethos is the driving force behind the company’s sustainability approach, and the reason behind the brand’s decision to embark on a second year of its flagship Levi Strauss & Co. Collaboratory fellowship program.
Launched last year, the program sees emerging socially and environmentally responsible entrepreneurs in the apparel industry come together for three days to collaborate on sustainability solutions for their organizations.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Zara’s parent company, Inditex, is in full-on damage-control mode after tags bearing messages such as “I made this item you are going to buy, but I didn’t get paid for it,” began turning up in garments earlier this month.
COLLABORATION -
Textile waste is a 26-billion-pound problem the world is just beginning to recognize. With us consuming more than 80 billion pieces of new clothing each year globally, there’s no question that change is necessary – but what will it take for retailers, clothing manufacturers and consumers to embrace the environmental benefits of reuse?
BUSINESS CASE -
On October 25, panelists representing both global brands and smaller local organizations convened in San Francisco to discuss their successes and potential in incorporating climate-friendly agricultural practices into their supply chains. The panel took place at The Perennial, a Bay Area restaurant committed to sustainable farming with the conviction that “food has the power to reverse climate change.” The panel discussion built on that theme, with further exploration into how the textile industry also has the power to enact positive impact on climate.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
How a T-Shirt Is Driving a Circular Economy
by Melanie Vella
In this main stage session, Forum for the Future CEO Sally Uren returned to interview Jeffrey Hogue, Chief Sustainability Officer at C&A, to delve into the organic fibre that made up Sally’s t-shirt, quite literally.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Companies operating in the apparel industry could be missing out on new opportunities for growth by not digitizing data on leftovers from garment factories, says a new report by H&M Foundation Global Change Award winner Reverse Resources.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Stella McCartney has long been an advocate for responsible, sustainable fashion and was one of the first high profile labels to put forth products that struck the perfect balance of aesthetics and ethics. Unfortunately, as a luxury label, the brand is out of reach for a majority of the masses. Affordable alternatives do, however, exist yet the marketing of responsible threads has largely focused on claims — organic, Fair Trade, etc. — rather than the clothing’s sartorial appeal, representing missed opportunities to connect with consumers.
COLLABORATION -
The launch of a new initiative designed to spur collective action around sustainability in the apparel and footwear industry is providing brands and manufacturers with the knowledge and resources necessary to select, fund and accelerate projects that can improve upon the sector's problematic environmental impacts.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Luxury fashion label Stella McCartney has released the results of a new Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) comparing the environmental performance of ten raw material sources of manmade cellulose fiber (MMCF).
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
“This conversation is great, but it’s too polite! Where is the sense of urgency in the room?”
During our most recent event at Fashion for Good, themed Power to the Consumer, one woman called us out: “I’ve heard this conversation before, but nothing seems to change! What can we do?”
Lady, we hear you! This is exactly why we formed the True Fashion Collective. We want to bridge the gap between niche sustainable fashion enthusiasts and mainstream audiences because we too fear the urgency around this topic is fading.
THE NEXT ECONOMY -
It’s Waste Reduction Week in Canada, and to celebrate, I spoke to some superstar companies reducing waste through product design that are featured in the National Zero Waste Council’s Design Portfolio. Earlier this week, we highlighted food waste solutions from Abeego and Club Coffee.
PRESS RELEASE -
DuPont™ Sorona®, INVISTA’s CORDURA® brand, and DuPont Tate & Lyle Bio Products will be giving workwear brands a sneak peek of new developmental fabrics in the next chapter of a series of more innovative, enhanced sustainable textile solutions for workwear and outdoor wear at the A+A Show, Hall 9/E39, October 17-20, 2017, in Dusseldorf, Germany. Now, designers of apparel, footwear and gear will have even more options when looking for built-to-last durable fabrics that incorporate high performance materials across multiple layers.
WASTE NOT -
Want to subvert the traditional apparel supply chain? You must possess a “little bit of craziness,” according to Giulio Bonazzi, CEO and president of Aquafil, an Italian company that transforms abandoned fishing nets and castoff bits of carpet into good-as-new nylon fibers. Speaking on a panel at the Textile Sustainability Conference in Washington, D.C., last week, Bonazzi noted that his propensity for seeing goldmines in landfills hasn’t always drawn plaudits. In fact, he was often ridiculed.