What a waste! European textile reuse and recycling on brink of collapse
Ecotextile Talks
Our host Philip Berman sits down with Marie-Jeanne Gaertner, project and policy officer at RREUSE (Reuse and Recycling European Union Social Enterprises) to find out why the textile reuse and recycling sector in the European Union is facing an unprecedented crisis. Gaertner says that a recent open letter to the European Commission and member states, penned by RREUSE, explains why the sector is on the brink of financial collapse, with social enterprises bearing the brunt of this turmoil. She notes how the current 'crisis', which has seen several notable business failures in 2024, is unlike any...
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Inside the legal case against 'Shein's £50 billion IPO'
Ecotextile Talks
This episode of Ecotextile Talks explores facing fast fashion company Shein as it considers listing on the (LSE). In the summer UK based charity, , asked the (FCA) to reject any potential request from Shein to list on the LSE. At the moment, we don't know for sure whether Shein has submitted a request to the FCA so as we all wait, we thought that it would helpful for a lawyer to take us inside the legal case against Shein's listing on the London Stock Exchange. Not just any lawyer, but the one representing Stop Uyghur Genocide, from the UK law firm . We...
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Navigating new regulations: The Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive explained
Ecotextile Talks
In this episode of Ecotextile Talks, we explore the (CSDD). This significant new European law entered into force on 25 July 2024 and will be rolled out in phases. Hosted by Philip Berman and featuring , Executive Director of , this discussion sheds light on the critical need for companies to uphold human rights and environmental protections throughout their supply chains. Key questions covered include: How will the CSDD reshape human rights due diligence practices in the textile industry? What specific compliance measures must companies implement to align with this directive? In what...
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Monitoring organic cotton from space
Ecotextile Talks
Our host Philip Berman sits down with Claudia Kersten, managing director of the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) to discuss a cotton monitoring project which is literally out of this world. GOTS is working alongside the European Space Agency (ESA) and artificial intelligence specialist Marple to monitor Indian organic cotton crops from space – using AI and satellite imagery to verify farming techniques and identify fraud. The participants discuss how using satellite imagery and AI can distinguish between organic cotton fields from conventional ones. The project, funded by...
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Can we trust textile factory audits in China?
Ecotextile Talks
Fresh from his high-profile appearance at a recent , Scott Nova, Executive Director of the in Washington DC, gave Philip Berman a hard-hitting interview questioning the reliability of social compliance audits in China. Scott says about auditing companies working in the Xinjiang region: "I'm sure there are some that are actually claiming that they can conclusively demonstrate the absence of forced labor in the region, but no auditor should be working there. It's incredibly disreputable. Even aside from the fact that you can't conduct a methodologically credible audit there, what you were...
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How to come together to decarbonise with Cascale and 'About You'
Ecotextile Talks
In the final edition of our four-part podcast series, produced in partnership with Cascale, formerly the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, we discuss the need for collective action and pre competitive collaboration to deliver real impact. Regular host is joined by , senior director of the decarbonization program at Cascale, and Magnus Dorsch, Head of Corporate Sustainability, at online retail portal . Topics covered 2 minutes What inspires Joyce and Magnus in their work? 4 minutes What is pre-competitive collaboration, its importance generally and for Cascale 5 minutes Its...
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Taking the carbon out of clothing, with Cascale
Ecotextile Talks
We sit down with Sean Cady, vice president of global sustainability, responsibility and trade for VF Corporation and also elected board director for Cascale, and Andrew Martin, executive vice president of Cascale for our latest podcast on decarbonising the fashion supply chain. This third of a four part podcast series, features a deep dive into how best to tackle carbon reductions in the global apparel industry and take a closer look at Cascale’s shift from tools to programmes.
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Are you ready for the new EU laws on sustainability?
Ecotextile Talks
In the second of a four part podcast series in partnership with , formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, we look at the potential impact on the textile industry of revolutionary new EU laws on green claims and eco-design. Regular host is joined by , senior director of public affairs at Cascale and , co-founder of the consultancy. You can sign up to Cascale's public affairs newsletter, that Elisabeth mentions in the podcast, You can get in touch with Baptiste's consultancy company
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Measuring for impact, with Cascale
Ecotextile Talks
Welcome to a new four part podcast series in partnership with , formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, about the big challenges facing the industry, and Cascale's role in co-creating solutions at scale. The first episode is about Measuring for Impact with host in conversation with: Quentin Thorel, the Group Head of Sustainability of with its HQ in Mauritius. Ciel Textiles supplies fabrics and garments to some of the most iconic fashion brands in the world such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Armani, Hackett, Barbour, Levis, Tommy Calvin Klein, Lacoste and the list goes...
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Ep 2: Cash for Climate Solutions - figuring out fashion’s CO2 emissions
Ecotextile Talks
In the second episode of this podcast series, produced in partnership with the about its (CSP), we take a look at the tool it's built to help decide who should get the funding, and what a winning application looks like. As a quick re-cap, the CSP aims to find, feature and fund any initiative, project or piece of tech with the potential to reduce energy use and/or greenhouse gas emissions at scale in the industry. And it has up to 250,000 dollars per year to award to projects that have the data to show they have the potential to make an impact. In this episode, Ecotextile News...
info_outlineAs an apparent global push to include extended producer responsibility (EPR) frameworks in legislation gathers pace, podcast host David Styles catches up with Claire Kneller, managing director of WRAP Asia Pacific, to discuss the Australian Government’s approach.
Claire joins the latest episode of Ecotextile Talks as a representative of the consortium behind Seamless, an initiative aiming to convince fashion brands and retailers to voluntarily contribute four cents per garment to fund textile circularity programmes and avoid a mandatory levy being imposed by central government.
“Textiles is on the minister's list. It has been for a while,” Kneller explains. “Perhaps unsurprisingly, the industry was not taking enough action. There are things happening in the industry, on an individual brand and retailer level, but by no stretch of the imagination is it enough activity.”
It was this perceived stasis that led Australia’s environment minister, Tanya Plibersek, to put the nation’s fashion companies on notice: they have 12 months to act or risk much harsher measures being imposed legally.
Success for the scheme, Kneller believes, would be 60% of the industry signing up to contribute by June 2024.
“That's actually not that many companies,” she notes. “That's probably between 15 and 20 businesses, depending on which ones you get. So it's not a huge number, but the market in Australia is extremely consolidated at the top end.”
While WRAP Asia Pacific’s managing director is optimistic this level of uptake can be achieved, she issues industry with the cautionary tale that failing to do so may result in a higher contribution than the 4 cents per garment being proposed in this preliminary voluntary phase.
“Industry has the opportunity for it to continue as an industry led scheme. Once it becomes a co-regulatory scheme, it's quite a different setup… What currently is drafted as a four cents per garment levy might be 40 cents per garment under a regulatory scheme. Now I'm not saying it will be, but it could be because it really is out of industry's hands.”