From the Sector

Archroma, a leader in specialty chemicals towards sustainable solutions, honed its vision of the future of the apparel and textile industry with the announcement of “PLANET CONSCIOUS+”, a roadmap designed to support brands and mills to chart their sustainability journey.

“Over the past decade, Archroma has been on a mission to lead the textile industry towards a more sustainable future. But the world’s challenges are escalating – from climate change to economic and geopolitical instability. We believe that the time is right for us to realign our vision to guide the next phase of our development. ‘PLANET CONSCIOUS+’ encapsulates both our responsibility and our potential as a company that touches and colors people’s lives every day, all around the world,” Mark Garrett, Group CEO, Archroma, said.

“PLANET CONSCIOUS+” has six dimensions, the first four of which have been rolled out over the past few months:

• SUPER SYSTEMS+: Powerful end-to-end systems that combine processing solutions and intelligent effects, SUPER SYSTEMS+ deliver measurable environmental impact, more durable colors and effects, and cleaner chemistry as compared to the current market offering. This allows brands and mills to select the impact they want to achieve in line with their sustainability goals.
• SAFE EDGE+: Groundbreaking initiative represents a major commitment to providing a roadmap for compliance and cleaner chemistries for use in the textile industry by combining The Safe Edge platform with Foundation+. Foundation+, Archroma’s beyond-compliance portfolio, is a curated selection of Archroma products that utilize innovative technologies to either design out hazardous or regulated substances or reduce them by more than 95% compared to the current industry standard limits.
• ONE WAY+: Combining Archroma’s One Way Impact Calculator, a world-first online tool for sustainable value chain mapping, with its expert-led Sustainability Improvement Program (SIP), ONE WAY+ helps mills and brands overcome their specific challenges with products and tools that offers the highest operational excellence and productivity, achieves savings of resources such as water, energy, and creates differentiation with value-added end-products.
• COLOR MANAGEMENT+: An advanced color design and development solution, COLOR MANAGEMENT+ helps mills and brands work together for improved sustainability. It incorporates the industry’s largest off-the-shelf color atlas selection alongside color standards created with Archroma’s SUPER SYSTEMS+ for reduced environmental impact and consistent and accurate color reproduction.

The remaining two pillars of “PLANET CONSCIOUS+” are being introduced today to underscore that innovation and transparency are the cornerstones of the Archroma way of working.

• INNOVATION+: Archroma brings together science, our technological expertise and in-depth market, customer, and regulatory knowledge to create groundbreaking solutions that have a positive environmental impact. To accelerate the shift to a circular economy and help manufacturers use resources more efficiently, Archroma’s research and development teams across Americas, Asia and Europe focus on innovating for cleaner chemistry and durable effects.
• COMMUNICATION+: By providing authentic, fact-based information to all stakeholders, Archroma helps improve transparency across the value chain. This enables mills and brands to communicate their sustainability goals and achievements with confidence and navigate issues like regulatory complexity and consumer skepticism.

Global Fashion Agenda (GFA), supported by its Insight Partner, Maersk, has released a new report, Reverse Logistics for Circular Fashion Systems. The report expands on how fashion brands, retailers, value chain partners, and logistics providers can leverage reverse logistics to cultivate an effective and holistic circular fashion system.

The publication is the culmination of extensive research, including consultations with and input from eight experts from eight brands and organisations - Maersk, Nike, H&M Group, Target, PUMA Group, Ellen MacArthur Foundation, VF Corporation, and Circle Economy Foundation. It highlights the critical role of logistics in supporting fashion companies to adopt more circular systems by managing the reverse flow of materials and products from end-users, and returning them back into the system for resale, remaking or recycling, extending their lifecycle, maximising value, and minimising waste.

Over 520 global regulations are currently in place, urging companies to rethink their sourcing and design strategies, emphasising regionalisation and circularity. Moreover 45% of brands surveyed by Global Fashion Agenda and the United Nations Environment Programme earlier this year reported that they have set targets to derive at least 10% of their revenue from circular business models by 2040. However, despite the potential, the fashion industry lacks a comprehensive system for circularity, with current fragmented approaches failing to achieve commercial viability. Deeper collaboration with logistics partners can support more streamlined operations, while aiding compliance with tightening regulatory requirements and in demonstrating positive environmental impacts.

To guide stakeholders, the publication outlines essential elements for implementing effective reverse logistics, including:

• Network design: Expanding reverse logistics beyond consumer returns to capture and valorise post-industrial textile waste flows and unsold goods.
• Financial ownership: Establishing clear financial models to define roles, responsibilities, and profit-sharing, enhancing collaboration and investment.
• Boosting collection volumes: Developing infrastructure for efficient collection and processing of textile waste, essential for scaling solutions and reducing recycled fibre costs.

Europe’s responsible sourcing shows Source Home & Gift and Source Fashion have announced an Intelligence Series partnership with Retail 100 to provide guidance and insights into international sourcing.

Recorded in partnership with Retail 100 in the Source studios, the ‘Intelligence Series’ is designed to provide valuable insights and practical tips to help navigate the dynamic world of home and gift sourcing.

With over 100 years of retail experience, Retail 100 provides international expertise and knowledge ranging across the retail sector including fashion, homeware, gifting, toys, seasonal, garden, and beauty. The strategic and collaborative partnership across the Source portfolio of shows, kicks off with a beginner’s guide to sourcing followed by a series of videos covering eight key sourcing regions.

In the first video, ‘A Beginners Guide to Sourcing’ join ex-John Lewis buyers Anna Berry and Sara Allbright from Retail 100 for an in-depth dive into sourcing including where to start, how to plan your sourcing routes, how to create a critical path, as well as country choice, navigating shipping, sustainable and responsible sourcing, visas and travel tips.

The ‘Sourcing Intelligence - Country Focus’ videos explore the unique aspects of sourcing home and gift materials from around the globe. Each video highlights the distinct characteristics, challenges, and opportunities of sourcing in different countries including Turkey, India, Africa, Bangladesh, China Pakistan and Portugal offering valuable insights and expert knowledge to make informed and strategic sourcing decisions.

Fashion for Good and its footwear partners adidas, Inditex, ON Running, PVH Corp., Reformation, Target, and Zalando announce a new initiative aimed at accelerating and validating the next generation of footwear innovations. This builds on the organisation’s existing work leveraging their expertise in scouting, validation, innovation and collaboration. This initiative will address the key intervention points needed to drive footwear circularity spanning four work streams across the supply chain from materials to end of use. Industry wide collaboration will be vital to overcome the various roadblocks we face in this space. Therefore, Fashion for Good is launching a call for action, asking all relevant innovators to apply and collaborators to join in the movement.

Around 23.9Bn shoes are produced globally each year, they are often made using over 40 different components from a range of different materials including TPU, EVA, PU and rubber. The industry faces significant challenges due to this high complexity of shoe construction. This combined with a low collection rate, results in a vast majority of discarded footwear ending up in landfills. Fashion for Good sees the need to address this challenge and focus on laying the foundation for footwear circularity as well as accelerating innovation.

Therefore, Fashion for Good will double down their work in this space, building on their existing projects including the Fast Feet Grinded pilot, which tests and validates Fast Feet Grinded's footwear recycling process. Expanding on existing workstreams Fashion for Good will collaborate with our footwear focused partners, including adidas, Inditex, ON Running, PVH Corp., Reformation, Target, and Zalando

To effectively address the challenges in footwear sustainability, Fashion for Good has identified the key intervention points across the shoe lifecycle and structured work into four core workstreams:

1. Materials - Scouting and validating sustainable alternatives for footwear materials including TPU, PU, EVA, leather, and rubber
2. Design - Defining circular design in the footwear space and collectively driving guidelines to build a circular infrastructure
3. End of Use: Sorting, Disassembly, & Recycling - Developing a comprehensive data set on post-consumer footwear waste flows, including (non-)rewearable fractions, volumes, construction and composition. As well as scouting and validating solutions for repair,  end of use, disassembly and recycling of footwear
4. Traceability - Laying the foundation by amalgamating a footwear traceability data protocol to build traceability for evidence to substantiate sustainability claims

CALL FOR INNOVATIONS
Fashion for Good is on the lookout for breakthrough sustainable solutions in the footwear sector that maintain performance and durability. If you have a relevant technology, whether you're an innovator, university, or established company, can apply by 20th September 2024 here.

Maintaining a focus on innovation despite the uncertainties that characterize the current international scenario was emphasized during the General Assembly of ACIMIT, the Italian Textile Machinery Manufacturers Association, held in Milan on July 9. ACIMIT president, Marco Salvadè, showcased the data of the Italian textile machinery industry. In 2023, production decreased by 16%, settling at a value of 2.3 billion euros, as did exports, which also fell by 16% (2 billion euros).

China, Turkey, India, and the United States remain the main destinations for Italian textile machinery manufacturers. In 2023, demand for machinery in these markets was weak, but some positive signals emerged in the first quarter of the current year, especially from the Chinese market and again from Egypt, Pakistan, Brazil, and Japan. “2024 will still be a year characterized by many uncertainties,” commented Salvadè, “mainly due to the uncertainty of the geopolitical situation and fluctuations in final demand”.

In an especially difficult international scenario and with a still sluggish market, the Italian textile machinery sector remains a leader alongside a few other Countries, such as China, Germany, and Japan. “Our sector is renowned worldwide for its reliability, know-how, and the uniquely Italian ability to combine tradition and innovation,” noted the ACIMIT president. Accelerating innovation remains crucial, particularly to meet the challenges that await Italian manufacturers in supporting textile companies on their sustainable transition journey.

To highlight the opportunities that the European green transition opens up for technology suppliers, the public section of the ACIMIT General Assembly addressed a very current issue: textile recycling. The EU’s legislative guidelines aim to accelerate the green and circular transition of the textile sector with various actions: from ecodesign to EPR, from waste export regulation to green claims. Meanwhile, there is a growing demand for recycled textile fibers driven by the sustainable policies of brands that should not be underestimated.

Thus, technologies play an important role in providing solutions to companies engaged in the new circularity supply chain: from sorting and selection of garments to preparation phases and recycling processes. During the event several speakers agreed that the experience and capabilities of the Italian textile and textile machinery sector should be fully leveraged at this crucial stage for the entire supply chain. As President Salvadè noted, “Textile machinery companies intend to increase R&D activities in this area, collaborating with their textile customers in the belief that the circular transformation of business models also represents an opportunity for technology suppliers to increase their competitiveness.”

Multiple global regulations set to take effect in the coming years have made traceability an imperative for retailers and brands. These include the Digital Product Passport, the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive, and the New York Fashion Sustainability and Social Accountability Act, to name a few.

While companies are aware of the importance of traceability, research indicates that they are not prepared to comply with upcoming legislation. A recent KPMG survey highlighted that 43% of executives at major enterprises had no visibility or were “largely unclear” about the performance of their Tier 1 suppliers. At the same time, only 28% of companies had clear visibility into Tier 2 suppliers.

TradeBeyond’s recently published Supply Chain Traceability Guide, the latest installment of its Retail Sourcing Report series, highlights the myriad challenges that companies face in implementing effective traceability programs. This report is relevant for all industries, and is especially topical for the apparel and footwear sectors, which are under increasing scrutiny to enhance traceability to ensure sustainability.

The report highlights retail’s slow progress in achieving transparency, as evidenced by the Fashion Transparency Index, which found that the average transparency score across 250 of the world’s largest brands and retailers was just 23%. That suggests that progress on transparent disclosure of social and environmental data is still lagging.
 
The report shows that brands fall short on most key measures of sustainability and traceability, including publishing a responsible code of conduct and providing visibility into their Scope 3 carbon footprint. The United Nations Economics Commission found that only a third of the top one hundred global clothing companies track their own supply chains. One of the obstacles is complexity. More than two-thirds (69%) of fashion companies report that complexity of their global business networks is an obstacle to visibility.

In addition to a lack of visibility, false sustainability claims are also rampant. Greenpeace found that in the apparel and footwear sector, 39% of sustainability claims are false or deceptive. Lack of third-party verification of ESG measures is also rampant.

The highest scoring brands in the 2023 Fashion Transparency Index included luxury brands such as Gucci and retailers such Target Australia, Kmart Australia, OVS, and Benetton. These companies back up their commitment with solid action on multiple measures of traceability.

Along with legislative requirements, consumers are a key driving force pushing companies to improve their traceability initiatives. McKinsey research found that 66% of consumers consider transparency to be a key factor when making a purchase decision and 73% of consumers would pay more for products with transparency into production and sourcing.

The report also highlights key challenges to overcome in the journey to traceability, including effective communication between stakeholders, compliance with new regulations, technology barriers, and data complexity.

On the positive side, the industry is responding with sophisticated technology, including software systems that incorporate artificial intelligence and blockchain-enabled traceability, which provide the required visibility and compliance.

Traceable fiber technology, which allows for traceability from the material origin of a product until its end-life, provides the option of a “fiber-forward” rather than a “product backward” approach to achieving traceability.

Aside from the regulatory and consumer drivers, there is a strong business case for implementing traceability, which includes cost savings, operational efficiency, brand protection and reducing supply chain risk. As such, TradeBeyond expects a rapid evolution in traceability programs across industries, especially in those that lag in best-practices.

While there has been considerable progress in recent years toward accurately tracing the complete origins of products, much more needs to be done. Brands and retailers must intensify their efforts to stay compliant with escalating regulations and align with evolving consumer preferences.

The announcement of a new effluent treatment plant (ETP) marks a milestone in Denim Expert's journey towards sustainability. This upcoming facility is a testament to the company's dedication to reducing its ecological footprint and safeguarding local ecosystems through advanced water management techniques.

The new Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) being developed by Denim Expert strives for 100% wastewater recycling. As the ETP rises from concept to reality, Denim Expert embarks on a transition towards its next horizon: aligning with the Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) Wastewater Guidelines Version 2.0.

Denim Expert's proactive approach to sustainability has been recognized on a global scale. The company has been named 'New Champion' by the World Economic Forum and has partnered with organizations such as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's Jeans Redesign program. As one of the first factories to join the Partnership for Cleaner Textile (PaCT) and in the process of implementing the 3E program, Denim Expert is dedicated to achieving 100% water reuse and full reliance on solar energy, further solidifying its commitment to driving positive environmental change.

Refashion, a textile industry’s eco-organisation, has renewed its authority approval until 2028. 6 years during which it will continue to transform the industry in keeping with the objectives set by the French Ministry of Ecological Transition and the French Ministry of the Economy, including the objective to collect 60% of CHF (clothing, household linen and footwear textiles) placed on the market by 2028. This new period is reflected in an ambitious road map and significantly increased investment. Nearly 1.2 billion euros, financed by the marketers, will be spent on transforming the industry during this new period of authority approval.

Determined to achieve the objectives set out in the ambitious specifications set down by the Secretary of State at the Ministry of Ecological Transition, Berangère Couillard, Refashion has worked on a road map with all of its stakeholders involved in the transformation that is underway. Maud Hardy, nominated as the eco-organisation’s CEO in January 2022, started a collaborative working method that will continue throughout this new period to support areas that are key in this transformation. In the next few months, projects will begin and will visibly highlight the progress made in the three phases of a product’s life cycle: production consumption, regeneration.

Production

• Recognising eco-design initiatives through the eco-modulation of the fees paid by marketers (durability, environmental information labelling, integration of recycled materials). For marketers, these initiatives should represent the scheme’s cornerstone. The aim is to involve all stakeholders in reducing the environmental impact of products.

Consumption

• As from 2023, Refashion will spend 5 million euros minimum per year in awareness-raising activities and on information to the general public by supporting an array of local authority initiatives.
• The launch of a repair fund in 2023, in particular to prolong the usage of textiles and footwear products. More than 150 million euros will be invested between 2023 and 2028 to change the habits of the French population to increase repairs by 35% (guideline target by the ADEME 2019).

Regeneration

• Accelerating clothing, household linen and footwear collection, in particular thanks to an operational mix in the sector. Funding traditional sorting operators will remain central, but Refashion will also develop an additional operational system in order to achieve the collection target of 60% of products placed onto the market (versus 34% in 2021).
• 5% of fees paid to Refashion will go towards the redeployment/reuse funds to provide support for reuse within the remit of stakeholders in the Social and Solidarity Economy. In addition to this funding, additional funding arrangements open to all stakeholders will be established. The total budget throughout the authority approval period represents 135 million euros.
• 5% of fees, i.e., 58 million euros in 6 years, will be spent on R&D to help achieve these milestones in order to industrialise the recycling of used CHF: recyclability that is considered during the design stage; automated sorting and recycling.

There are only a few days left until the SEEK community comes together at the Station Berlin on 16 and 17 January 2024. The team around SEEK's Show Director Marie-Luise Patzelt is looking forward to welcome around 200 brands, speakers such as Jessica Arnold (Adidas), Sebastian Haufellner (Lodenfrey), Yannik Dietrich (Breuninger), Martyna Zastawna (Vogue), numerous game changers from the sustainability scene and new fashion and lifestyle inspirations.

The new alliance between SEEK and UNION Showroom presents its joint project "THE JUNCTION" for the first time. A selection of high-quality brands with a focus on craftsmanship, origin, and history will be presented in Station Berlin's exclusive loft spaces, includes brands such as A New Sweden, Bruné, Freenote Cloth, Fullcount, Godspeed, Good-Alls, Hidden Aces, Nudie Jeans, Oodoo Boots, Paltò, Viberg, White Sand, and Tenue. THE JUNCTION starts simultaneously with UNION on 14.01.24 and ends with SEEK on 17.01.24.

The SEEK brand portfolio currently encompasses almost 200 brands, including 46 % conscious brands and 45 % newcomers. Buyers and visitors can look forward to brands such as Aer Scents, Bask in the Sun, Chrome, Danner, Dedicated, Givn Berlin, Hestra, Kangaroos, Novesta, Palladium, Pyrenex, Santa Cruz Skateboards, Welter Shelter and Woodbird. Newcomers include Afoam Stories, A Good Company, Dale Of Norway, Good Wool Story, Heimat, Hen's Teeth, Open Era, Pompeii, The Jogg Concept, Wax London and many more.

The SEEK Conscious Club forms the heart of the January edition and is developing into the "place to be" of the sustainability scene. Purpose-driven business practices, systematic sustainability and practical standards will become even more crucial in 2024. With this in mind, the SEEK team introduces the innovative "360 Sustainability Validation" with its partners IVALO.COM and studio MM04. The "360 Sustainability Validation" - powered by IVALO.COM and consulted by studio MM04. Customers can see brand sustainability in 8 different sustainability categories. 360 is a commercial production value chain analysis tool that provides results that are comparable. The aim is to make the complex sub-areas of sustainability in fashion more transparent and comparable. The SEEK team has been working with the sustainability experts at studio MM04 for a long time and is delighted to be part of this important step towards standardising sustainability evaluations. Participating brands in this years Conscious Club are Basic Apparel, Bread & Boxers, Cabaia, Camper, Dawn Denim, Flamingos Life, Isaora, Jan'n June, Kings of Indigo, Rita Row, Secrid, Stapf and Thinking Mu, amongst others.

Together with renowned experts, SEEK is once again presenting a content programme with live interviews, talks, panels and community classes. Speakers such as Carl Tillessen (Deutsches Mode Institut), Steffen Liese (JD Sports), Stephan Huber (Style in Progress), Penny Whitelaw (Good on You), Mimi Sewalski (Avocadostore), Valerie Vogel (Engelhorn), Cheryll Mühlen (J'N'C), Rune Orloff (Pool), Sabine Rogg (Trendbüro), Anthony Lui (A New Sweden), Patrick Bergmann (Famefact), Florian Müller (Müller PR & Consulting) will share their insights exclusively with the SEEK community. The diverse programme includes themes such as pricing and profiling success strategies in times of disruption, a "no-bullshit" guide for brand spaces, the most important LinkedIn and consumer trends for 2024, new chances for recruiting and leadership as well as mental health in fashion.

The data and the information reported examine the performance relative to the companies Marchi & Fildi S.p.A. and Filidea S.r.l. during the year 1st January 2022 to 31st December 2022. In addition, with the aim of putting the data into a context of developments, a comparison with data pertaining to 2021 was also made.

Amongst the numerous data and insights provided by the analyses given in the Report, some relevant performance factors relating to environmental achievements emerge.

With reference to Marchi & Fildi, and in comparison to 2021, the year 2022 demonstrated:

• A unit reduction in water consumption of 57% and unit reduction of waste water of 19%
• A unit reduction in electric power consumption of 13%

An overall reduction in CO2 emissions (Scope I + Scope II) of 22% In the same period, for Filidea the following results are shown:

• A unit reduction in water consumption of 26%, unit waste water of 22%
• A reduction in unit natural gas consumption of 7%
• A reduction in unit electric power consumption of 14%
• An overall reduction in CO2 emissions (Scope I + Scope II) of 7%

These data offer quantitative feedback on the constant commitment to the optimisation of resources and use of production technologies with low energy impact, which the Group has adopted for years.

Massimo Marchi, Marchi & Fildi’s President, has this to say about the choice to invest in this form of reporting:
“The decision to write a Sustainability Report represents for us one of the elements which guide us towards the constant improvement of company performance with reference to ESG. This is one of the stages towards the formalisation of a strategic plan for the management of sustainability, a journey which the Group has been committed to for years and in which we believe 100%.”