From the Sector

Viscose speciality fibres manufacturer Kelheim Fibres partners with TextileGenesisTM, a traceability platform that creates radical transparency from fibre-to-retail and ensures authenticity d provenance of sustainable textiles against generics.

“Our wood-based fibres are an environmentally friendly basis for sustainable textiles - it's just that consumers often don't know what's behind their garments. But they need to know it’s in their hands to minimise the ecological footprint of the textile industry. Transparency and traceability are the foundation that enables consumers to make informed decisions.”, says Dr. Marina Crnoja-Cosic, Director New Business Development at Kelheim Fibres.

TextileGenesisTM uses blockchain technology to track and verify the use of sustainable fibres all the way from fibre to garment. A digital fibercoin ensures transparency and reliability throughout the entire production line and beyond.

Amit Gautam, Founder & CEO at TexileGenesisTM:"Fashion and textile value chain is undergoing major transformation driven by sustainable materials, shifting consumer demand for sustainable products, and increasingly stringent regulations on transparency. Great to see Kelheim moving the industry forward by actively participating in the traceability journey."

Coisne et Lambert, the group composed of the two companies TDV Industries and Klopman International, a leader in the production and marketing of technical fabrics for the professional clothing and PPE sector, announced the acquisition of TAD Teintures et Apprêts Danjoux.

TAD is specialized in the dyeing and finishing of knitted fabrics and has been in the market for over 30 years. Based in Le Coteau (France), the company has a production site of 9,000 m² and is a major player in the civil and administrative markets for technical textiles for professional clothing, medical, sport and apparel.

With a well equipped R&D laboratory, responsive and innovative sampling and production processes, TAD is ISO 14001 certified to manage its environmental performance.

TAD will extend the group's textile know-how adding expertise in knitwear finishing (dyeing, finishing and functionalities). The complimentary nature of their skillsets will allow the three companies to develop synergies for the benefit of their common and specific markets.

This integration will enable TAD to strengthen its specific business model and its services as a French finishing company over the long term, for the benefit of its historical and future customers.

The group, which is made up of the two companies TDV Industries and Klopman International, achieved a turnover of 185 million euros for the 2021-2022 financial year and employs more than 600 people. It also intends to expand its presence in new markets and geographical areas. Klopman International and TDV Industries want to offer markets more complete, flexible and competitive solutions for professional, civil and military clothing.

Carbios announced the appointment of Pascal Bricout as Chief Strategy and Financial Officer and a member of the Company’s Executive Committee.

Mr. Bricout will oversee the management and organization of Carbios’ Finance division. He will also steer the Group’s Strategy, investor relations and the launch of the company’s Corporate Social Responsibility policy. He joins the company with over 30 years’ experience in finance, strategy and international mergers and acquisitions.
 
Prior to joining Carbios, Mr. Bricout served as Chief Financial Officer for Michelin in Asia, which is a major area of growth and development for the company. Over the past 10 years, he has focused primarily on major strategic mergers and acquisitions.

Mr. Bricout holds a Master Degree in Finance from Université Paris-Dauphine. He began his career at PwC, as a manager in the International Transactions Services teams in Paris and London.

Mr. Bricout, Carbios’ Chief Strategy & Financial Officer noted: “I am thrilled to be joining Carbios and proud to take part in this concrete, meaningful advance toward circular economy. Having developed unparalleled breakthrough technologies in plastic and textile biodegradation and biorecycling, Carbios now needs to execute a successful industrial and commercial phase. This is crucial for companies using PET to achieve, from 2025, their sustainable development goals. Within this dynamic context, Carbios and its subsidiary, Carbiolice, are poised to become global leaders in the development and industrialization of innovative bioprocesses to revolutionize the life cycles of plastics and textiles.”

Carbios published its operating and financial results for the first half of 2022. The financial statements as of June 30, 2022 were approved by Carbios' Board of Directors.

• Project to build the world's first PET biorecycling plant, in partnership with Indorama Ventures, the world's largest manufacturer of recycled PET: Establishment in France with strong backing from national government and the Grand-Est Region
• On track to bring recycled PET from Carbios' proprietary innovation process to market by 2025
• Fully operational industrial demonstration plant and step-by-step technological validation of the scale-up of the industrial solution designed and developed by Carbios
• Launch of a textile consortium in partnership with On, Patagonia, PUMA and Salomon
• Scientific article in the prestigious Biophysical Journal
• Carbios strengthens its Governance and Management team
• Carbios enhance its financial structure, banking the €30 million loan from the European Investment Bank (EIB)
• Carbios Group's net cash position: €121 million at June 30, 2022

See the full report here.

Digital Product Passports can now be processed at TEXAID’s largest sorting facility, thanks to circular.fashion’s intelligent sorting stations, which use RFID and NFC technology to improve the quality and consistency of manual sorting.

Digital Product Passports (DPP) have been recognised by the EU as an enabler for circular fashion and textiles. Technology company circular.fashion has been a leader in this effort, releasing the circularity.ID in 2018 and developing Intelligent Sorting Stations to bring ID based sorting to the textile reuse and recycling industry.

ID based sorting optimises the manual sorting process for reuse and recycling by giving sorters data to make decisions more accurately and consistently. TEXAID has, by adopting this technology, increased Europe’s capacity to process DPPs.

The installation and testing of TEXAID’s new Intelligent Sorting Stations was completed successfully shortly before the holiday period. Initial test results indicate that ID based sorting can make sorting decisions more reliable and more consistent. The team also sees a potential for ID based sorting to reduce training costs for new employees and maximise the value of their sorting decisions. This advancement was made through the CIRTEX project, funded through the KMU Innovativ funding programme from the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

The Intelligent Sorting Stations at TEXAID are now operational, and brands and retailers have the ability to adopt the circularity.ID as a Digital Product Passport and have textile products returned to TEXAID for ID based sorting.

The GoodTextiles Foundation, initiated by Dibella, has implemented a new support project in India: Each family of a small village community of organic farmers received a cow from the donations received. The herd of fifty animals helps with farming, gives milk, produces sufficient natural fertilizer and should soon provide higher crop yields and a better income.

In 2016, Dibella established the GoodTextiles Foundation with the aim of making textile value chains more sustainable. It raises funds and implements its own support projects to benefit people at all stages of the textile economy. The most recent project, "One cow for every family," has now taken the first, important intermediate step: Fifty cows arrived in the small village of Aliguda Village (Utnoor Division, Adilabad, Telangana, India) at the beginning of June 2022.

"Some of our organic cotton is grown on the farms of the village community managed by the smallholder organization Chetna Organic. During the filming of the German documentary "plan b", the farmers told us that they need more natural fertilizer to cultivate their fields ecologically and economically. The biggest wish of each family is therefore a cow. However, they cannot afford this because of the high price of the equivalent of 300 euros. That's how the idea for our next sponsorship project was born," reports Ralf Hellmann, managing director of Dibella and member of the foundation's board of directors.

In addition to the most important reason for purchase - the production of fertilizer - the cows also serve as livestock. They are harnessed in front of the plow and make the strenuous work of tilling the soil easier for the farmers. As draft animals they serve to transport heavier loads, and as milk suppliers they contribute to a family's food supply. Surplus milk that is not needed in the household also provides families with an important additional income through sale.

Monforts will highlight its technologies for special technical textile applications at this year’s ITMA ASIA + CITME which takes place at the National Exhibition and Convention Center in Shanghai, China, from November 20-24.

One of Monforts' developments is the Montex 8500 XXL stenter system for the production of technical fabrics in widths of up to 6.8 metres. Among the products made on this system are treated nonwovens for the geotextiles and filter media markets, tarpaulins, advertising banners, black-out curtains, membranes and many more.

On Montex©Coat coating lines, meanwhile, the possibilities range from the single-sided application of finishing agents for outdoor clothing and adding functionality to home textiles, to the creation of materials for sophisticated lightweight construction and automotive and aerospace components.

“Many more applications are possible, such as the overdyeing of denim, the creation of double-face coated materials, fabrics awnings, tents and medical drapes and the pre-treatment of substrates for digital printing”, explains Gunnar Meyer, Monforts area sales manager for China. “A range of different doctor blades and their combinations can be supplied to meet individual requirements, including air knife, roller knife, foam, screen and magnetic roller coating. The latter option is recommended for lines with working widths of over 2.4 metres.”

In addition, Monforts can provide the necessary explosion-proof ranges for solvent-based coatings and high temperature processes up to 320°C, such as the PTFE coating of nonwoven filter material. These lines are equipped with special burners, stenter chains, and insulation.

• Aims to tackle the immense textile waste generated in urban environments, on the back of import bans of waste materials
• Addresses the shortcomings of current textile recycling technologies, which are unsuitable for urban settings due to the use of heavy chemicals
• Technologies developed by the newly-formed RGE-NTU Sustainable Textile Research Centre will be test-bedded in RGE’s pilot urban-fit textile recycling plant, projected for completion as early as 2024

Royal Golden Eagle (“RGE”), a global group of resource-based manufacturing companies, which includes a world-leading viscose fibre producers Sateri and Asia Pacific Rayon (APR), is developing urban-fit, closed-loop textile-to-textile recycling solutions, through the newly-formed RGE-NTU Sustainable Textile Research Centre (RGE-NTU SusTex). This is a five-year research collaboration between RGE and Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (“NTU”), to accelerate innovation in textile recycling that can be deployed in urban settings. The research centre will develop new technologies to recycle textile waste into fibre and create new, next-generation eco-friendly and sustainable textiles.

This move comes on the back of the tightening of waste import bans in countries such as China, India and Indonesia, which are among the world’s largest waste processors. The stricter import bans have left cities in need of viable local textile recycling solutions to tackle the immense textile waste generated.

RGE Executive Director, Mr Perry Lim, said, “Current textile recycling technologies, which rely primarily on a bleaching and separation process using heavy chemicals, cannot be implemented due to environmental laws. At the same time, there is an urgent need to keep textiles out of the brimming landfills.” He added, “As the world’s largest viscose producer, we aim to catalyse closed-loop, textile-to-textile recycling by developing optimal urban-fit solutions that can bring the world closer to a circular textile economy.”

Globally, an estimated 90 million tonnes of textile waste is generated and disposed of every year, with less than 1% being upcycled into new clothing or other textile materials. By 2030, the amount of global textile waste, which currently accounts for almost 10% of municipal solid waste, is expected to reach more than 134 million tonnes. The textile industry is also responsible for 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions – more than international flights and maritime shipping combined.

At present, most of the available textile recycling technologies are open-loop, where textile waste is typically downcycled to lower-quality products (insulating materials, cleaning cloths, etc.) or be used in waste-to-heat recycling.

“Closed-loop textile-to-textile recycling processes, particularly chemical recycling, are still under development. Scaling up the technologies to industrial scale remains a challenge. A key bottleneck is that refabricating textile waste into fibre needs purity standards for feedstock. However, most of the clothes that we wear are made of a mixture of different synthetic and natural fibres, which makes separating the complex blends of materials challenging for effective recycling.

“Our aim is to address this industry pain point by developing viable solutions that use less energy, fewer chemicals and produces harmless and less effluents, and then potentially scale up across our global operations,” Mr Lim said.

To tackle the key challenges in closed-loop textile recycling, RGE-NTU SusTex is looking into four key research areas, namely cleaner and more energy efficient methods of recycling into new raw materials, automated sorting of textile waste, eco-friendly dye removal, and development of a new class of sustainable textiles that is durable for wear and, at the same time, lends itself to easier recycling.

Technologies developed by RGE-NTU SusTex will be test bedded at RGE’s pilot urban-fit textile recycling plant in Singapore, which is projected for completion as early as 2024. If successful, RGE has plans to replicate the plant in other urban cities within its footprint.

The second annual Ryan Young Climate+ Awards will take place this November 2022 at the annual Textile Exchange conference. Nominations are open until August 31, 2022.

The late Ryan Young, Textile Exchange COO from 2017-2020, is the inspiration behind Textile Exchange’s Climate+ Strategy, which is for the organization to serve as “a driving force for urgent climate action,” with a goal of 45% reduced CO2 emissions from textile fiber and material production by 2030. Ryan’s bold and courageous spirit defined what Textile Exchange and its members must do to tackle the climate crisis.

In honor of Ryan and his vision, TE will again be awarding Ryan Young Climate+ Awards to outstanding individuals and teams who show a clear commitment to the Climate+ vision along with other leadership traits.

Winners will be announced at the 2022 Textile Exchange Conference which will take place virtually and in person in Colorado Springs, U.S. from November 14-18, 2022.

The 2022 award categories and criteriaare listed below:
Nominees may be brands, retailers, farmers and/or ranchers, and raw material suppliers.
Winners will receive one free full-access pass to attend the Conference (travel not included).

Three Ryan Young Climate+ Award Categories:

1. Overall leadership – individual
2. Overall leadership – team
3. Rising star – individual with less than 5 years of industry experience

Award recipients will meet the following criteria:

• Commitment to Climate+ – involved in accelerating Climate+ action in the apparel, textile, and footwear industry.
• Collaboration – reflective of Ryan’s vision and determination to collaboratively move the industry forward.
• Impact – driving innovative, scalable, transparent programs with measurable impact reduction and/or beneficial impacts on climate, water, soil health, and/or biodiversity at the raw materials level. Achievements/solutions are backed by trusted data and/or reporting.
• Leadership and Inspiration – clearly demonstrating leadership and vision for industry climate solutions over the past year and beyond

The world’s largest fashion brands and retailers must increase transparency to tackle the climate crisis and social inequality, according to the latest Fashion Transparency Index.

The seventh edition of the Fashion Transparency Index ranks 250 of the world’s largest fashion brands and retailers based on their public disclosure of human rights and environmental policies, practices, and impacts, across their operations and supply chains.

• Brands achieved an average score of just 24%, with nearly a third of brands scoring less than 10%
• The majority of brands (85%) do not disclose their annual production volumes despite mounting evidence of clothing waste around the world
• Most major brands and retailers (96%) do not publish the number of workers in their supply chain paid a living wage

The Index reveals insights into the most pressing issues facing the fashion industry, like:

• As new and proposed legislation focuses on greenwashing claims, almost half of major brands (45%) publish targets on sustainable materials yet only 37% provide information on what constitutes a sustainable material.
• Only 24% of major brands disclose how they minimise the impacts of microfibres despite textiles being the largest source of microplastics in the ocean.
• The vast majority of major brands and retailers (94%) do not disclose the number of workers in their supply chains who are paying recruitment fees. This paints an unclear picture of the risks of forced labour as workers may be getting into crippling debt to accept jobs paying poverty wages.
• While many brands use their channels to talk about social justice, they need to go beyond lip service. Just 8% of brands publish their actions on racial and ethnic equality in their supply chains.

Despite these results, Fashion Revolution is encouraged by increasing supply chain transparency among many major brands, primarily with first-tier manufacturers where the final stage of production occurs, e.g. cutting, sewing, finishing and packing. Nine brands have disclosed their first-tier manufacturers for the first time this year. It is encouraging to see significant progress across market segments including luxury, sportswear, footwear and accessories and across different geographies.

Fashion Revolution’s co-founder and Global Operations Director Carry Somers says: “In 2016, only 5 out of 40 major brands (12.5%) disclosed their suppliers. Seven years later, 121 out of 250 major brands (48%) disclose their suppliers. This clearly demonstrates how the Index incentivises transparency but it also shows that brands really are listening to the millions of people around the world who keep asking them #WhoMadeMyClothes? Our power is in our persistence.”

More key findings from the Fashion Transparency Index 2022:

Progress on transparency in the global fashion industry is still too slow among 250 of the world’s largest fashion brands and retailers, with brands achieving an overall average score of just 24%, up 1% from last year
For another year, the initiative has seen major brands and retailers publicly disclose the most information about their policies, commitments and processes on human rights and environmental topics and significantly less about the results, outcomes and impacts of their efforts.

Most (85%) major brands still do not disclose their annual production volumes despite mounting evidence of overproduction and clothing waste
Thousands of tonnes of clothing waste are found globally. However, brands have disclosed more information about the circular solutions they are developing (28%) than on the actual volumes of pre- (10%) and post-production waste they produce (8%). Brands have sat by as waste importing countries foot the bill, resulting in serious human rights and environmental implications.

Just 11% of brands publish a responsible purchasing code of conduct indicating that most are still reluctant to disclose how their purchasing practices could be affecting suppliers and workers
Greater transparency on how brands interact with their suppliers ought to be a first step towards eliminating harmful practices and promoting fair purchasing practices. The poor performance on transparency in this vital area is a missed opportunity for brands to demonstrate they are serious about addressing the root causes of harmful working conditions, including the instances where they themselves are the key driver.

Despite the urgency of the climate crisis, less than a third of major brands disclose a decarbonisation target covering their entire supply chain which is verified by the Science-Based Targets Initiative
Many brands and retailers rely heavily on garment producing countries that are vulnerable to the impacts of the climate crisis, yet our research shows that only 29% of major brands and retailers publish a decarbonisation target covering their operations and supply chain which is verified by the Science Based Targets Initiative.

Only 11% of brands publish their supplier wastewater test results, despite the textile industry being a leading contributor to water pollution
The fashion industry is a major contributor to water pollution and one of the most water intensive industries on the planet. Only 11% of major brands publish their wastewater test result, and only 25% of brands disclose the process of conducting water-related risk assessments in their supply chain. Transparency on wastewater test results is key to ensuring that brands are held accountable for their potentially devastating impacts on local biodiversity, garment workers and their communities.

Most major brands and retailers (96%) do not publish the number of workers in their supply chain paid a living wage nor do they disclose if they isolate labour costs
Insufficient progress is being made by most brands towards ensuring that the workers in their supply chain are paid enough to cover their basic needs and put aside some discretionary income. Just 27% of brands disclose their approach to achieving living wages for supply chain workers and 96% do not publish the number of workers in their supply chain paid a living wage. In response, we have joined forces with allies across civil society to launch Good Clothes, Fair Pay. The campaign demands groundbreaking living wage legislation across the garment, textile and footwear sector.