From the Sector

Milliken’s Textile Business plans to eliminate all PFAS-containing materials from its portfolio by December 31, 2022.
The company announced a commitment to eliminate all per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances, commonly referred to as PFAS, from the company’s textile finishes and fibers portfolio.

“Sustainability is a core value of our company, and we are and have always been on a quest for continuous improvement,” shares Halsey Cook, president and CEO for Milliken & Company. “As part of our sustainability journey, we are committed to finding innovative and meaningful solutions to reduce our environmental impact. While we do not always begin our journey with perfect information, we strive to make adjustments as new information comes to light.”

“As a values-driven company, we’re always evaluating the needs and demands of the markets we serve. Our promise to our customers is to engineer the highest-quality protective and performance textiles, and our purpose is to positively impact the world for generations,” said Chad McAllister, executive vice president, Milliken & Company, and president, Milliken’s Textile Business.

Global Fashion Summit, a leading international forum for sustainability in fashion, will convene core stakeholders across the fashion ecosystem and parallel industries to drive tangible action on social and environmental sustainability. The Summit is presented by Global Fashion Agenda (GFA). GFA is a non-profit organisation that is accelerating the transition to a net positive fashion industry, under the patronage of HRH The Crown Princess of Denmark. Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition 2023 will take place on 27-28 June in Copenhagen, Denmark.

The theme of Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition 2023 is ‘Ambition to Action’. Under this premise, the Summit will present content experiences focused on tangible impact.

The theme will underly all elements of the Summit and Main Stage speakers will showcase inspiring thought leadership for accelerated change by exploring a matrix of interconnected topics. The 2023 Copenhagen Edition will build on more than a decade’s worth of Summit guidance and outcomes by dedicating even more focus towards action-oriented workshops and case studies. Through these formats, the forum will demonstrate tangible learnings and concrete recommendations that can help drive implementation.
 
The forum will also host strategic roundtable meetings with the aim to mobilise industry leaders to build alliances with solution providers, policy makers, investors and other industry stakeholders and implement immediate solutions. Such alliances can set in motion progress towards a net positive industry. With upcoming policy expected to influence the fashion industry even further this year, the Summit will shed light on the ongoing pieces of legislation currently under discussion both within the EU and worldwide.

This year’s Global Fashion Summit: Copenhagen Edition is supported by Principal Sponsor, Maersk. A globally renowned leader in logistics that aims to deliver a more connected, agile and sustainable future for global logistics. Maersk will support the Summit's agenda to accelerate industry transformation by highlighting how logistics can help the fashion and lifestyle industry in reaching their sustainability goals.

Additionally, the Innovation Forum will present a curated exhibition of other leading sustainable solutions. Summit attendees can meet with exhibitors covering the entire value chain – from innovative materials to end-of-use solutions. Innovation Forum Matchmaking will enable small and large fashion businesses to advance their sustainability journey, by providing the unique opportunity to be matched with relevant solution providers. 

Art meets sustainable fashion in the third edition of the project "CirculART", the initiative that sees companies, artists and fashion designers working together with Cittadellarte - Fondazione Pistoletto, showing how new balanced forms of production, design and sharing can be explored through a careful choice of materials and of sustainable supply chains. Three key concepts underpin the circularity of sustainable fashion and therefore this project: Reduce - reducing the consumption of raw materials, Reuse - reuse of raw materials, Recycling - regeneration.

The project CirculART is conceived and developed in collaboration between Fashion B.E.S.T. and UNIDEE Residency Programs, and led by the Foundation's team of curators.

Fashion B.E.S.T. - Better Ethical Sustainable Think-Tank, Cittadellarte - Fondazione Pistoletto’ sustainable fashion office, was created by artist Michelangelo Pistoletto and Franca Sozzani. Since 2009, B.E.S.T. has been working on the development of sustainability in the textile sector, to lead to a contamination between art, which assumes social responsibility, and the world of fashion, which is looking to define a new ethical and sustainable model.

CirculART proposes a new link between fashion and art, engaging both in a conscious and innovative combination of sustainability, sensitivity, beauty and union. The project links territory and production factories, bringing together actors from the different sectors making up the textile supply chain that work on the basis of a circular economy with companies that have chosen to embrace the ideal of sustainability and develop an innovative business model.

The protagonists of this year’s edition are two international artists and two international fashion designers, selected through an open call launched by Cittadellarte: Augustina Bottoni, Lucia Chain, Huge Sillytoe and Rebecca Sforzani, young talents called upon to create a work with fabrics produced by partner companies, focusing on dialogue and on the enhancement of the textile industry production chain.

In early 2023, the programme will give the four selected artists the opportunity to visit and work actively with the partner companies that have joined the initiative.
These are: Achille Pinto S.p.a, manufacturer of textiles and textile accessories for the main international fashion brands; Albini Group, Europe's largest manufacturer of cotton fabrics for shirts; Erica Industria Tessile, a leading company in the creation of textile prints, original and customised designs; Filatura Astro, eco-sustainable regenerated yarns; G2B S.r.l., a chemical and environmental analysis laboratory working with vertical cultivation from which indigo is obtained; Lampo by Ditta Giovanni Lanfranchi S.p.A., leader in the creation and production of zips for fashion; Lanificio Fratelli Cerruti, a Biella-based weaver for haute couture; Lenzing, world leader in the production of fabrics made from fibres derived from renewable wood raw material; Milior, a producer of high quality fabrics; Officina +39 – Chemistry plus creativity, a chemical company with thirty years' experience dedicated to research and chemical application in textiles; Tessuti di Sondrio, a factory inspired by the century-old local textile tradition of processing cotton, linen, hemp and wool; Tintoria Emiliana, garment-dyed production and sustainable practices; Zegna Baruffa Lane Borgosesia, a manufacturer of 100% Made in Italy fine combed and carded yarns.

January, 3rd, ZDHC announced the release of the updated ZDHC Man-Made Cellulosic Fibres (MMCF) Guidelines Version 2.0, and its supporting document. By publishing these documents the industry shall be pushed forward increasingly innovative and sustainable fibre production.

The ZDHC MMCF Guidelines V2.0 now include the Responsible Fibre Production Guidelines, Wastewater Guidelines and Air Emissions Guidelines as three separate chapters in a single document.

Fibres are key components of production processes in the textile and fashion value chain and it is crucial to reduce the environmental impact of their manufacture. ZDHC guidelines give suppliers producing MMCF unified criteria for measuring output indicators like wastewater, sludge, air emissions and other process-related parameters.

Among other changes, this update reflects the expansion of the scope to accommodate Viscose Filament Yarn, Lyocell, Cuprammonium Rayon (Cupro) and Cellulose Acetate (Acetate). The ZDHC Man-Made Cellulosic Fibres (MMCF) Guidelines V2.0 provide an aligned approach for included fibres, including defined chemical recovery, wastewater and sludge discharge, and air emission discharge.

ZDHC continues to advocate for the improvement of processes which minimise emissions while also working towards the recovery of input substances and by-products. These dual goals, reduction and recovery, directly address the negative impact of outputs arising from MMCF production.

ZDHC MMCF Guidelines Industry Standard Implementation Approach Version 2.0: Additional Industry Support for Implementation
Along with the ZDHC Man-Made Cellulosic Fibres (MMCF) Guidelines V2.0, ZDHC has also updated its ZDHC MMCF Guidelines Industry Standard Implementation Approach. This document aims to support the implementation process of the ZDHC MMCF Guidelines V2.0, and features new implementation timelines that assist suppliers in setting their goals to achieve Foundational, Progressive or Aspirational Level on the ZDHC Supplier Platform.

Carbios published its first Sustainability Report using 2021 as the baseline year. The report outlines Carbios’ commitment to developing environmental, social and governance (ESG) initiatives that go beyond the industrial development of its innovative plastics biorecycling technologies. Although not subject to the regulatory requirement of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD), Carbios has nonetheless structured its report in accordance with the requirements of the European directive on Extra-Financial Performance Statements.

Carbios’ sustainability strategy is based on three pillars (governance and ethics, the environment, social and societal issues) divided into 22 priority material challenges. Carbios’ Sustainability Report reflects the company’s dedication to transparency in action and highlights its efforts in areas such as environmental sustainability; employee relations, diversity and inclusion; and corporate governance.

Within its 2021 Sustainability Report, Carbios has formalized several targets including:

ENVIRONMENTAL OBJECTIVES

• Use the Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) method to maximize circularity and aim for the lowest carbon impact
• Commit to depolymerizing 60 tons of PET in 2023 at the Demonstration Plant in Clermont-Ferrand: the equivalent of about 3.2 million plastic bottles or 4 million food trays

SOCIAL OBJECTIVES

• Contribute to local economic development in France: the world’s first industrial-scale enzymatic PET recycling plant in Longlaville will create 150 direct and indirect jobs
• In a context of strong growth, promote employee well-being and safety by developing training, and ensuring the management and prevention of psycho-social risks
• Strengthen commitment to supporting international research through academic partnerships and scientific publications

GOVERNANCE OBJECTIVES

• Achieve 40% female members of the Board of Directors by end 2023, and 40% on Executive Committee by end 2024
• Achieve 60% independent members of the Board of Directors by end 2024
• Structure CSR governance with the creation of a CSR committee and integrate sustainability objectives into Executive’s compensation starting fiscal year 2023

• The European Confederation for Flax and Hemp (CELC) has unveiled its new visual identity and name: Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp.
• The European Flax-Linen and Hemp industries have announced they are organizing their development around a strengthened team with a clear mission: to expand the entire industry whilst making European Flax-Linen and Hemp the preferred sustainable premium fibers worldwide.
• The Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp will launch its new identity in the first semester of 2023 for all target groups including Natural Fiber Composite Applications.

CELC has announced its new name and visual identity. The organization, which is the only European agro-industrial organization that serves as a global reference, will now be known as the Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp.

The new name - Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp – reflects a newly restructured European industry which brings together the entire value chain around a common goal: to make European Flax-Linen and Hemp the preferred sustainable premium fibers worldwide for Fashion, Technical Textiles and Natural Fiber Composite Applications.

The new brand identity is accompanied by a new logo that connects the identity, values and strategic direction of the Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp. In addition to visual changes, the Alliance has announced enhanced values and a clear strategic path to turn European Flax-Linen and Hemp into the preferred sustainable premium fibers worldwide.

The Alliance’s future development pathway will focus on three distinct strategic pillars.

• Enhancing its work in publishing structured, reliable economic data and information on a regular basis, in order to be able to continuously deploy a set of specific decision-making support tools.
• Transforming the Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp into an innovative and sustainable international reference which continuously improves its environmental footprint through two essential elements: traceability and Life Cycle Analysis.
• Guaranteeing quality and better describing the quality of its fibers by using technological innovations to create a reference for describing long fibers. A description of European Flax® fibers through optical imaging will soon complement the organoleptic method.

“Europe is the top global producer of Flax fiber. In an international context of growth and reindustrialization, Flax, which accounts for just 0.4% of global textile fibers, is a globalized fiber with remarkable technical and environmental properties. At the same time, the European textile Hemp industry is organizing itself to boost growth. Today, the European Flax-Linen and Hemp ecosystem thus embodies an innovative and sustainable European textile dynamic that meets the needs of consumers and brands.” Bart Depourcq, President, Alliance for European Flax-Linen & Hemp.

Automotive carpets are typically multi-layered systems that can be challenging to recycle. By introducing a carpet made of 100% polyester, Autoneum now opens up new opportunities for vehicle manufacturers to meet their sustainability targets. The innovative carpet systems are fully recyclable, thus paving the way for an improved and more sustainable end-of-life recycling of electric vehicles. In addition, the high content of recycled PET as well as the zero waste and less energy-intensive production process further improve the carbon footprint of Autoneum’s new monomaterial needlepunch and tufted carpets.

Autoneum’s fully recyclable carpet systems ensure a closed material loop and are thus proof of the Company’s commitment to improving the sustainability performance of its products and manufacturing processes. The 100% polyester carpets build on the existing lightweight and particularly sustainable Autoneum Pure technologies: the carpet surface, for example, is made of Di-Light or Relive-1, while Hybrid-Acoustics PET is used for the decoupler. Thanks to Autoneum’s innovative alternative backcoating (ABC) process, which uses a thermoplastic adhesive instead of latex, the production of the new monomaterial needlepunch and tufted carpets also requires significantly less energy and no water at all.

Autoneum’s sustainable tufted carpet system made of 100% polyester is already in development for an electric model of a German vehicle manufacturer that will be available in Europe and Asia.

Piattaforma Sistema Formativo Moda Ente del Terzo Settore renews its commitment in the field of responsible, eco-friendly fashion with a new ad hoc initiative for Fashion Graduate Italia: FASHION SCHOOLS FOR DESIGN - DRIVEN SUSTAINABLE INNOVATION. The project has been set up in a partnership and with the support of C.L.A.S.S. (Creativity, Lifestyle And Sustainable Synergy).

The project “Fashion Schools for Design - Driven Sustainable Innovation” is presented at the eighth edition of the event organised by Piattaforma Sistema Formativo Moda, staged from 3 to 5 November at BASE Milano.

Embracing the theme of this edition of Fashion Graduate Italia, “Sustainable Innovation”, Piattaforma Moda has invited students from fashion schools, academies and associated institutes to participate in a training course regarding the planning and creation of an outfit in compliance with a responsible fashion approach: starting with the design, including the choice of sustainable materials supplied by some of the hub’s partner companies, and also involving a look at the communication strategy for the project.
To create their looks, the selected students followed two training courses organised by C.L.A.S.S.: “Introduction to next-generation Fashion” and “Introduction to smart ingredients”. These courses covered the values of next-generation fashion (integrating sustainability with design and innovation) and the characteristics of innovative and sustainable materials to produce the outfits.
 
The development process of the 11 final looks was followed in person by creative director Olivia Spinelli - Coordination and Creative Direction at IED Moda Milano and member of the Artistic Committee of FGI 2022 - and by tutor Camilla Carrara - founder and zero-waste designer of ZEROBARRACENTO -, the project coordinator of C.L.A.S.S.

The partners of C.L.A.S.S. that contributed by supplying their materials are: Berto, Brunello, Iluna Group, Re.VerSo™ by A. Stelloni Collection by Mapel and Tessitura Grisotto;  IED - European Institute of Design and ZEROBARRACENTO also gave support in the implementation of the initiative.

The Italian company offers its dyeing technology for practical and theoretical design explorations at the Fashion For Good Museum in Amsterdam.

On Saturday October 22nd in Amsterdam, Andrea Venier, Officina39 Managing Director, took part in the Denim & Dyeing seminar to talk about Recycrom™, the patented revolutionary and sustainable dyestuffs range obtained through an innovative upcycling process that involves textile fibers from used clothing and manufacturing waste for dyeing and printing applications.

The seminar was organized inside the Fashion For Good Museum by the Stichting Textielcommissie Nederland, together with a Design Challenge to which took part a selection of young designers who have explored Recycrom™’s colorful potential in their creations. The winning designs are exposed in a 2-week pop-up show at Fashion For Good Museum.

The Museum is also hosting the “Knowing Cotton Otherwise” exhibition, that highlights the relationship between cotton and the fashion industry, the role of cotton in an increasingly intertwined web of global cultures, and the sustainable innovations driving its circular transformation.

Innovative solutions from Fashion for Good Innovators Oritain and Officina39, which tackle some of the challenging aspects of cotton’s production such as origin and traceability, dyeing and water use, are also used by the artists in their installations. Three of them have been inspired by the ecofriendly dyeing potential of Recycrom™: the protagonist of the meeting between art and fashion, sustainability and design, past, present and future of the industry. The first artist that has challenged herself is Caithlin Courtney Chong, who has realized an artwork installation with Recycrom™ in the print room, and a suggestive installation dedicated to Officina39’s sustainable dyestuffs.

• Carbios’ biorecycling and biodegradation technologies internationally recognized by consumers as promising answers to their top environmental concerns
• Carbios’ innovations considered one of the best for solving recycling effectively and achieving a real plastic circularity
• Consumer research including qualitative and quantitative fields was conducted between March and August 2022. The research institute, Strategic Research, conducted 6000 interviews in Europe and USA

Carbios’ biorecycling and biodegradation technologies acclaimed by consumers
During the first research field study, respondents were exposed to Carbios’ biorecycling process; a new enzyme-based biotechnology that enables biological recycling of all types of PET plastic waste (including bottles, packaging and textiles), and pushes the boundaries of recycling in terms of the number of cycles.

The research results demonstrated that European and US respondents find Carbios’ biorecycling technology more unique and innovative than traditional PET recycling (i.e. thermo-mechanical recycling), as well as more relevant in its ability to address their concerns and challenges regarding recycling.

In the second research study, conducted in the US, respondents were also exposed to Carbios’ biodegradation technology: an innovative enzymatic solution by which an enzyme is incorporated into plastics during the production process of bio-sourced PLA plastics (corn, sugar cane). This approach makes the material made from plants 100% compostable at ambient temperatures and degradable like plants with the built-in enzyme biologically breaking the bioplastic down in less than eight weeks without microplastics or toxic residues; creating a fully organic circularity.

Similarly to Carbios’ biorecycling technology, Carbios’ PLA biodegradation innovation caught US respondents’ attention with 64% overall liking it. Additionally, 93% of the respondents sampled described the concept as innovative, unique, easy to understand (49%), and believable (43%). Up to 82% of the most environmentally engaged respondents declared they would definitely buy more products made with Carbios’ fully circular biodegradable bioplastic.

Consumers: No other choice but to make plastic fully circular
The research says 99% of the respondents consider it important to protect the environment, while plastic pollution is now ranked the third most-concerning environmental issues after climate change and ocean pollution.

This awareness brings most of these consumers to be environmentally active when it comes to purchasing goods and sorting. For the US respondents, eco-friendly packaging comes in the fourth place in terms of purchase drivers for packaged goods and 65% of them declare sorting plastic from general waste on a regular basis, which makes plastic the most sorted type of waste.

Nevertheless, for a vast majority of the respondents across geographies, even if they would like to reduce their plastic consumption most of the time there is no suitable alternative that is as convenient, light, and cost-efficient as plastics. Hence in an ideal world, consumers would like all plastic waste in landfills and oceans to be collected, cleaned, reused and recycled.