Specials

Major Western brands, under refractory pressure from zealous animal welfare and social welfare groups based in the US, have shunned kangaroo leather. What now begs attention is how the Australian meat/leather industry should grapple with a ban that is bound to have a far-reaching adverse impact. And, what would be conservation's answers?

There is currently a lack of information regarding the materials waste produced across Bangladesh’s textile and apparel industry production chain. And a prerequisite for keeping its buyers as also the market, the country urgently needs to reduce carbon emissions by 2030 using recycled materials.

Quite famously known as the ‘Green City in the Sun’, Nairobi has a bunch of students from its leading university figuring out an “incredible alternative” on how to use agro-waste, specially from maize—the principal staple food of Kenya—and pineapple, connecting the farming community to fashion in a way that both people and the planet not only survive but thrive.

The Finnish city of Lahti, some 100-odd km to the north of capital Helsinki, has made stupendous progress through its incentive-based collection of textile waste, and has now launched a design competition on how to tackle discarded textiles.

A Planet Tracker analysis—Following the Thread—recently underlined the significant disconnect between the location of the majority of the sales, profits and capital in the textiles industry and the location of the most significant negative environmental impacts. Richard Wielechowski, Senior Investment Analyst (Textiles) at Planet Tracker, tells texfash.com what this disconnect means.

In the textiles-fashion ecosystem, news is usually ephemeral. But when Swedish innovator Renewcell dispatched the first shipment of its Circulose dissolving pulp to a customer, the excitement remained palpable for weeks on end. Tricia Carey, Chief Commercial Officer at Renewcell, talks about the flurry of activities at the company.

A leading manufacturer of specialty viscose fibres, Kelheim Fibres GmbH, has a portfolio of functional biodegradable viscose fibres for unique products. Marina Crnoja-Cosic, Director – New Business Development (Marketing & Communication) talks to texfash.com about the ongoing innovation, the route taken on sustainability and how the market for viscose is shaping up.

It is disappointing to see that a lot of companies still do not see the urgency of how important it is to source sustainable cotton. There is still so much fear around transparency of where the cotton comes from, the volume and certifications used. The just-released 2023 Cotton Ranking report by Solidaridad Network and Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK) shows that the gap between frontrunners and laggards is getting bigger.

Jargon-laden and flowery sustainability reports by a majority of top brands and retailers would come across as a heap of gobbledygook if their actual performance is taken into account. Well, certainly for the cotton sector. As many as 89% are still non-transparent, unsustainable and show little progress towards improving labour conditions, says the 2023 Cotton Ranking just published by Solidaridad Europe and the Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK).

A painstaking, exhaustive analysis of documents by University of California (UC) researchers has revealed that the chemicals industry used all nefarious tactics in the playbook to delay public awareness of PFAS toxicity and, in turn, delay regulations governing their use.