Sven Herrmann, senior project manager at the UK-based global charity will reveal details of its latest work on textiles and the circular economy, which relates directly to the global apparel sector and its supply chain.
Meanwhile, James Carnahan, Head of Sustainability at textile chemical specialists Archroma will lead and moderate a special breakout session on environmental issues in the textile wet processing sector regarding the production and use of textile chemicals and dyes and water use and conservation.
Also, contributing will be Rainer Zah, Managing Director of Quantis International, Switzerland. Delegates will learn about the future of metrics for sustainable apparel and how to reliably measure environmental impact.
Quantis is currently building the World Apparel & Footwear LCA database (WALDB) – a pre-competitive consortium with leading organizations and companies from the apparel and footwear sector (e.g. LVMH, SAC, Hugo Boss) to deliver robust data for environmental impact assessment and foot-printing.
ZDHC participation
Planet Textiles delegates will also hear from a special session run by the ZDHC, which will also partner with the event to reveal new work and include new results from some important pilot projects on water use and wastewater discharge guidelines in textile mills dotted across the globe.
The event which is being co-organised by MCL News & Media and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition will also feature a special breakout session hosted by the ZDHC Group. At the event, the ZDHC will reveal results of pilot testing from studies at textile mills that have adopted its pioneering wastewater discharge guidelines. The ZDHC hopes that brands and retailers will roll out these guidelines across their textile supply chains worldwide.
Naturally, water use in cotton agriculture will feature heavily at the event given its location in India, which is the world’s largest cotton producer and accounted for 5.7 million metric tonnes in 2015/16, according to figures from Cotton Inc. Shreyaskar Chaudhary, the CEO and owner of cotton textile conglomerate Pratibha Syntex will talk about how his company has undertaken a holistic approach to reduce water consumption at factory and the farm by tackling challenges existing in current textile products and manufacturing processes.
In 2005, Pratibha Syntex, which also has an extensive organic cotton programme, was awarded the GLASA (Global Leadership Award in Sustainable Apparel) by the Sustainable Fashion Academy based in Stockholm.
This year’s event partner will be leading wood-based cellulosic fibre supplier Lenzing, which will unveil its latest sustainability report to delegates in Bangalore. It will also flag up new ground-breaking developments such as the launch its ‘Refiber’ lyocell which is 20 per cent derived from recycled cotton waste.
The event is also being sponsored by the independent textile standard Oeko-Tex, the ZDHC, Covestro, Archroma, Proviera, Bureau Veritas and is being supported by Messe Frankfurt and The Dyestuffs Manufacturers Association of India (DMAI), which will help to promote the event to the vast Indian textile sector.
“From 2017, Planet Textiles will focus more strongly on the implementation and practical side of ‘sustainability’ in the textile supply chain with real-world case studies and examples of best practise,” said John Mowbray, editor of Ecotextile News magazine and founding director of event co-organiser MCL News & Media. “Over the past decade, a plethora of events have emerged on sustainability in the textile supply chain, but very few of them have dealt with practical solutions or examples of tangible change – yet this type of ‘hands on’ approach is needed now more than ever if we are affect real industry change.”
Planet Textiles takes place the day following the two-day annual Sustainable Apparel Coalition members meeting and includes an exhibition space for solutions providers.
To book your delegate place, visit: www.mclnews.com/events/planet-textiles-2017
