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Under pressure EU textile recyclers to demonstrate in Brussels

RREUSE, a network that represents social enterprises active in the recycling, reuse and repair of clothing will demonstrate in front of EU policymakers on the Place du Luxembourg in Brussels next week to highlight the plight of the European textile recycling sector.

The demonstration will take place on 30th January, from 11.00 – 13.00, where RREUSE will pile up used textiles and simulate sorting processes in front of the European politicians and bureaucrats who regularly use the plaza.

“This is to highlight the unprecedented, and escalating, crisis in the (European) second-hand textiles sector”, according to Marie-Jeanne Gaertner, project and policy officer at RREUSE.

Several members of the European Parliament (MEPs) have confirmed their attendance, after which RREUSE has arranged meetings with European Commission representatives.

Gaertner recently participated in an Ecotextile Talks podcast to highlight the current plight of the European textile recycling sector.

Subscribe to Ecotextile Talks podcasts and radio shows by following us on Apple, Spotify and Amazon Music. For a look at our complete podcast archive, Click HERE.

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OECD due diligence line up finalised, registration available

The full agenda is now available for next month’s OECD Forum on Due Diligence in the Garment and Footwear Sector that will be held at the OECD Conference Centre in Paris and runs through 11-12 February 2025.

OECD Forum
Registration is now open

Main themes under discussion on day one include what’s at stake for due diligence practice in the textile sector considering emerging expectations and regulations and how can the opportunities and challenges be collectively address by policymakers and the industry.

The second day is slated to be more technically focused around measuring due diligence and its impacts and working with new supply chain partners as companies adopt more circular practices. Representatives from H&M, Bestseller, SanMar, Scavi Group, the Coalition of Cambodian Apparel Workers’ Democratic Union and others will all contribute to day two.

Held as a hybrid event, participants can register for the online sessions HERE.

The OECD Handbook on Due Diligence for Enabling Living Incomes and Living Wages can be found HERE

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Cotton Incorporated appoints new CEO and president

William Kimbrell has been named as the new Chief Executive Officer and President of Cotton Incorporated, the research and promotion company for U.S. cotton growers and importers.

William Kimbrell, CEO, Cotton Inc.
William Kimbrell is the new CEO at Cotton Incorporated

A 22-year veteran of Cotton Incorporated, Kimbrell graduated from North Carolina State University with a degree in Textile Management and achieved his MBA with a concentration in Supply Chain Management.

Immediately prior to his new role, Kimbrell was executive vice president and chief operating officer at Cotton Inc. “As we confront market challenges, I’m confident that our commitment to sustainability, our innovative research, and our talented team of experts will champion cotton as the fibre of choice for today’s consumers and future generations,” he said in a statement as part of his official unveiling this month – although Kimbrell assumed his new role effective November 2, 2024.

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BBC Spotify episode questions fashion industry claims on garment production

LONDON – It's worth a listen. This 10 minute episode of 'More or Less: Behind the Statistics' ... finds that estimates of global production by fashion industry campaigners, celebrities, and even management consultancies such as McKinsey, which are regularly used to justify calls for industry circularity – are probably well wide of the mark.


One often repeated claim is that so much clothing has been made there's already enough tops, trousers, skirts and all the rest to clothe humanity for decades into the future.
However, it appears the sources for these claims could well be just as unreliable and opaque as some of the darkest corners of the textile supply chain itself.

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Former Nike sustainability chief joins biomaterials firm

The former head of Nike’s sustainability operations has joined alternative leather maker Uncaged, as it looks to get a manufacturing foothold in Asia.

Noel Kinder
Former Nike CSO, Noel Kinder will help to expand Asian operations.

A senior executive with 25 years of global experience at Nike, including as Chief Sustainability Officer, Kinder oversaw Nike’s environmental operations across 550 factories in 42 countries and drove collaboration with governments, NGOs, academia, and media to advance industry-wide sustainability practices.

Uncaged, which makes bio-based materials from a variety of plant-based sources that can be a substitute leather, says that Kinder’s knowledge of global manufacturing, particularly in Asia, aligns with its strategic plans to expand its production capabilities in the region.

Uncaged, which has previous experience in the fashion accessories and car upholstery sector, hopes Kinder’s appointment will help it drive its next phase of growth into footwear, a sector responsible for more than 50% of global leather consumption.

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Anger at US withdrawal from Paris Climate Agreement

Environmental campaigners were queuing up to condemn US president Donald Trump’s immediate decision to withdraw from the Paris Climate Agreement only hours after taking office.

The decision will setback global efforts to slow global warming within agreed limits and follows on from UK scientists saying earlier this week that atmospheric CO2 levels have now overtaken the targets set out by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to limit global warming to 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.

Dr. Rachel Cleetus, the policy director and lead economist for the Climate and Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists said,Withdrawing the United States from the Paris Agreement is a travesty,” saying it was a move in “clear defiance of scientific realities.”

Debbie Weyl, World Resources Institute acting director said, “On his first day back in the White House, President Trump is trying to turn back the clock on America’s clean energy leadership at the expense of American people and their health,” saying that pledging to roll back climate policies that have created more than 400,000 good-paying American jobs will only hurt workers and our economy.”

She remain defiant, adding that “The clean energy revolution will continue regardless of who is in the White House.”

A UNEP report published in 2023 claimed the world would exceed temperature rises of up to 2.9C above pre-industrial levels without urgent action.

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