PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Ambitions to reduce environmental impact by slashing water use are driving brands in industries of all kinds to rethink their manufacturing processes. This week, both Wrangler and Toyota announced they have risen to the challenge and have plenty to show for their efforts.
Having recently reached a milestone of three billion liters of water saved since 2007, denim and casual apparel brand Wrangler announced on Wednesday that it plans to reduce water usage at its facilities by 20 percent by 2020.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
General Motors (GM) achieved a record number of landfill-free facilitiesin 2016, exceeding its commitment four years early. The company now operates 152 global facilities that recycle, reuse or convert to energy all waste from daily operations, including 100 manufacturing sites and 52 non-manufacturing sites.
LEADERSHIP -
Bangladesh is no longer one of the world’s poorest nations. Today, this emerging nation is steadily growing as one of the world’s leading apparel manufacturers. However, the country’s economic structure remains fragile due to its heavy dependence on textile exports and overseas remittances from emigrant workers, and the country’s manufacturing base and infrastructure require urgent improvement.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
As companies and governments around the world are working to meet climate goals set out by the Paris Agreement, the IKEA Group’s 2016 Sustainability Report shows considerable progress towards its People & Planet Positive strategy and continued long-term investments in sustainability.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Ambitions of a circular economy continue to drive decisions around Europe as more circular packaging solutions emerge as a prominent piece to the puzzle.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) today launches the Higg Index Design and Development Module (DDM). Along with the release last month of its updated Higg Materials Sustainability Index (MSI) - a cradle-to-gate scoring tool that measures and communicates the environmental performance of thousands of materials used in creating apparel, footwear and home textile products - the DDM is the latest tool in the Higg arsenal aimed at empowering product designers and developers to make sustainable choices at the earliest stage of apparel, footwear and textile prototype design.
PRESS RELEASE -
Global labeling and packaging materials manufacturer Avery Dennison Corporation has signed a wind power purchase agreement (PPA) with Apex Clean Energy to offset 50 percent of the company’s U.S.-based greenhouse gas emissions derived from electricity consumption, signaling commitment by Avery Dennison to renewable energy and energy efficient practices and technology.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
This week, ethical shoe brand Po-Zu will unveil its Star Wars-themed footwear at the FFANY trade show in New York as part of a major collaboration with the movie franchise. It’s a highly significant launch for Po-Zu, as it will enable the UK-based manufacturer to bring its products to a wider market and raise public awareness over the ‘dark side’ of the shoe trade.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
Domestic migrant workers make up a substantial percentage of the workforce in China's manufacturing industry. Latest figures estimate that there are 247 million migrant workers in the country. These workers often originate from towns and villages hundreds or thousands of miles away from the factories where they work. The majority of these workers are parents, and due to childcare needs and the Hukou system – a household register that has tied people's access to social services to their hometowns, making it difficult for millions of domestic migrant workers to take their children with them.
CLEANTECH -
Tom Singh, founder of UK fashion brand New Look, has backed a London-based fashion technology company to help apparel retailers and manufacturers manage their supply chains.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
With private and municipal composting programs becoming more mainstream, as well as more companies turning to more sustainable packaging designs, composting is now easier than ever. The next step in the crusade to reduce waste? The Sustainable Packing Coalition (SPC)’s launch of the new How2Compost label program.
PRESS RELEASE -
DETROIT — General Motors has made its largest renewable energy procurement to date, purchasing enough wind power to equal the electricity needs of 16 of its U.S. facilities, including business offices in Fort Worth and Austin, Texas, a major assembly and stamping complex in Arlington, Texas, and 13 parts warehouses east of the Mississippi River.
PRESS RELEASE -
Green Plastic, which is made from sugarcane, is now being used to fabricate parts in space, thanks to a partnership between Braskem, the largest thermoplastic resin producer in the Americas, and U.S.-based Made In Space, the leading developer of zero gravity 3D printers and an official supplier to NASA. The technology allows astronauts to fabricate tools and spare parts in space using the biobased resin, which effectively increases the autonomy of space missions.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Today, Target announced the launch of its 2020 sustainability goals, focused on reaching new levels of transparency and sustainable sourcing. The goals center around three key commitments:
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Fast fashion has followed a trend similar to the fast food chains that inspired its name - explosive growth, massive popularity, and then consumer skepticism. Turns out that having access to clothes en masse mere days after the latest runway shows requires production practices that aren’t healthy for societies or our planet. Just like factory farming and consuming Whoppers and fries consistently isn’t healthy or sustainable, inexpensive clothing meant to be worn once or twice and constantly replaced isn’t much better for us.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Recycling and refining high-quality lead has commenced in Nevada, and will soon reach commercial-scale production. Aqua Metals has used its patent-pending ‘AquaRefining’ technology, which the company is calling “the only clean lead recycling method.”
Unlike smelting, AquaRefining uses a water-based, room-temperature process to produce lead. Aqua Metals says the process is “fundamentally non-polluting,” and has verified verified that the lead produced in the AquaRefining module is over 99.99 percent pure. The company expects its AquaRefining systems to allow the lead-acid battery industry to simultaneously reduce negative environmental impacts and increase production to meet rapidly growing demand.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
It’s no secret that "denim is a dirty business.” But does this mean our love affair with denim is over?
To open the KingPins 2016 Amsterdam Show on October 24, 10 leaders transforming the denim industry were invited to answer one question: Is the scary part of hazardous chemicals on the way?
The day, dubbed the “Transformers,” invited a range of perspectives from the chemical industry, along with manufacturers, brands, and industry coalitions - and while there was certainly some debate, common themes emerged.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Walmart hopes to reignite the passion around sustainable packaging with vendors, store buyers, packaging suppliers and consumers with three new, clear goals: Optimize Design; Source Sustainably; and Support Recycling. The priorities were unveiled along with the company’s new “Sustainable Packaging Playbook” at the Walmart Sustainable Packaging Summit this week.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
Disney is inspiring fans to think outside the toy box and help protect the planet in celebration of Walt Disney Animation Studios’ “Moana.” Inspired by the Disney Store’s new Classic Moana doll box, which can be turned into a boat inspired by the character’s journey, the non-profit Destination Imagination launched a photo challenge to encourage children and their parents to create inventions out of recycled materials found in their ho