Tim Cross, who founded the Circular Textiles Foundation (CTF), has been on a mission to deliver large-scale post-consumer polyester recycling, and to get as many brands and retailers as possible to engage with designing for circularity.
Through his work with CTF, as well as leading Project Plan B and Project Re:claim, he remains optimistic and enthused about the trajectory of textile recycling – even for those projects which are perhaps more style over substance.
Cross talks to Ecotextile News about the challenges the industry faces – both practically and in terms of an ingrained mindset – as well as looking at the positive breakthroughs on which much of the frequently discussed transition to a circular economy might hinge.
A huge amount of campaigning and activism in relation to the business practices of fashion brands now takes place on social media, with new tools frequently emerging to hold companies to account.
One such mechanism with increasing potency is the meme; a still image overlayed with text that is designed to garner attention and be shared on platforms such as Instagram, Facebook and Twitter (X).
Clean Clothes Campaign is a leading proponent of this within the fashion and textiles space, with memes regularly appearing on its social media feeds as a way to use humour to engage audiences with very serious issues.
Whether calling out greenwashing, pinkwashing or misleading claims, the campaign group has placed memes central to its online campaigning strategy.
Bogu Gojdź, who works for Clean Clothes Campaign’s international office as a public outreach co-ordinator, explains how and why the organisation is using these social media posts to tackle corporations’ bad practice.
Australia’s environment minister Tanya Plibersek has formally unveiled Seamless, a new product stewardship scheme for clothing, will begin on 1 July 2024 and see signatory brands contribute a four cents per garment levy to a nationwide circularity programme.
Throughout the initiative’s design, industry was consulted in various ways – in conjunction with expert bodies including WRAP Asia Pacific.
Claire Kneller, managing director of WRAP Asia Pacific, explains how Seamless came to be and how Australia’s fashion industry helped to shape the scheme.
An extended discussion with Claire Kneller is available now in an episode of the Ecotextile Talks podcast series.
Reflecting on a 2023 University of Leeds study into the durability of garments ranging in retail price from a few pounds to almost £100, Dr Mark Sumner, who played a central role in conducting the research, is keen that lessons are learned regarding the drivers of ‘fast fashion’ consumption behaviours.
The study’s findings indicate a total lack of correlation between the price paid for apparel and its durability.
In some instances high street garments with profit margins that could be as low as 10%, Sumner explains, outperformed luxury items that can net brands and retailers as much as a 400% mark-up.
Is the problem of ‘fast fashion’ exclusive to the low-price, high volume retailers? This research suggests not, with some overconsumption related to a lack of longevity evident in garments of all price points.
A new online portal from the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre will continually update users with the latest information gathered on apparel supply chains, with a particular focus on purchasing practices and worker rights.
Rather than zeroing in on a particular nation or region, the platform collates information in all countries globally - whether textile-producing hotspots or states where apparel manufacturing is far less prevalent.
Natalie Swan, the Centre’s Labour Right Programme Manager, talks to Ecotextile News about what this platform has been created to achieve and discusses the industry context in which it has been launched.
ACT launches tool to evaluate climate progress
Primark claims to decouple emissions from growth
Turning Ambition into Impact
Environmental assessment for consumer goods sector
Greater toxicity from microplastic and PFAS combined
Digital tools for a circular textile economy
Lab-grown leather pioneer raises $15.8 million
Avantium and SCGC partner on polyester
Can resale be rescued? The hunt for profits
Gore-Tex expands outerwear rental service
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YORK – As he eases into his new role as the CEO of Lenzing, Rohit Aggarwal explains that despite market volatility and uncertainty in the textile sector, he welcomes more stringent environmental regulations, saying that textile-to-textile recycling also remains a ...
