Sustainability Pulse #38
Sustainability Trends & News Worth Exploring — June 5th, 2022
INDUSTRY-LINKED SUSTAINABILITY STANDARD ALLOWS CLOTHING GIANTS TO RAMP UP EMISSIONS
More than a decade ago, the clothing company Patagonia partnered with Walmart to clean up the fashion industry's environmental image. The cooperation between the leading brands led to the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, which created a standard that fashion companies could be graded for ecological impact. Those standards—despite criticisms that they lead to toothless regulatory frameworks and produce misleading ratings—could be codified in New York State if a bill introduced in October 2021 is passed into law.
Avoid Wearing These Fabrics in the Heat (and What to Wear Instead)
While we're still a few weeks away from the official start of summer, temperatures across the country have already been soaring. It may be tempting to arrive at work with your shirt already soaked from your morning commute, but it's not a good look for anyone. More importantly, having to spend the day in damp, sweaty clothing is highly unpleasant.
Snapchat's New Features Target AR-Fueled Fashion Shopping
Snap's augmented reality-powered shopping is now coming for fashion in a major way, per the company's latest announcements at its Snap Partner Summit. The platform revealed more sophisticated virtual fashion try-ons while lowering the technical bar, so any brand can jump into AR-powered shopping. To boost discovery, Snap also created a new "Dress Up" destination, so users have one place to check out new looks and products or get inspiration. It also seemed to offer its take on metaverse fashion, by turning Bitmojis into a virtual style platform.
Renewcell raises $32 million to fund expansion
STOCKHOLM – Swedish textile recycler Renewcell has raised more than 324 million Swedish krona (US$31.9 million) in a share issue to fund plans to double the capacity of its new flagship factory to meet industry demand.
The company's new plant at Sundsvall - due to start operating in the middle of this year – will initially be capable of producing up to 60,000 metric tons per year of its 'Circulose' recycled textile.
The company announced in February that it had decided to double the plant's capacity to 120,000 metric tons next year and also to bring forward plans to later reach a capacity of 360,000 metric tons by five years to 2025.
Norway demands retail data on microplastics
A complaint from a private citizen to the Norwegian authorities related to the country's existing environmental laws will force apparel retailers to reveal the total emissions of microplastics that result from the sale of their products in Norway, what they're doing to mitigate microfibre release, as well as to disclose any plans to substitute synthetics with 'degradable' alternatives.
THE INVISIBLE THREAT: MICROPLASTICS FROM YOUR CLOTHES
Plastic pollution is a hype-word these days, the latest environmental “trend.” Pictures of animals suffering the consequences of our convenient plastic lives come to mind when we think about plastic pollution: turtles with plastic straws in their noses, seals entangled in fishing nets, or whales with kilos of plastic bags in their stomachs. But have you heard of microplastics? The almost invisible threat that is lurking in our food, drinks and air. Microplastics are small plastic particles that can enter the environment as such or stem from bigger plastics breaking down. Environmental conditions such as sun exposure, ocean salt content and temperature accelerate microplastic degradation. However, the two primary sources of microplastics are tires – made of synthetic rubber, which releases plastic particles with friction – and clothes and textiles. The latest is today's topic of interest because microfibers from clothing are more dangerous than what we thought up until now.
Biotech startup raises $4.1M funding for textile alternatives
UK-based biomaterials startup Modern Synthesis has raised $4.1 million in seed funding to support its microbial textile platform that aims to make the fashion industry more sustainable.
Investors in the round include AgFunder, Collaborative Fund, Acequia Capital, Petri Bio, Ponderosa Ventures, Possible Ventures, IMO Ventures, Taihill Venture, Parley for the Oceans, Climate Capital Collective, and former Jimmy Choo CEO Pierre Denis.
Why Resale Isn’t Going Away (And Why Brands Should Enter the Market)
It could be argued that Macklemore made secondhand shopping cool. After all, his song “Thrift Shop” hit No. 1 in 2013, and the idea of popping tags with just $20 in your pocket hit home with millennials and Gen Z, the same consumers who are continuing to grow the secondhand shopping market.
Here's how sustainable fashion is revolutionising the way the style business operates
Notice the conscious shift of clothing brands to make sustainable clothing? It has a lot to do with consumer sentiment on sustainability in fashion. Here's why Gen-Z is opting for sustainable and home-grown eco-friendly clothing brands that are fast becoming mainstream.
Our clothes are filling up landfills. This fashion brand says they have a solution.
The founders of Aday created their fashion brand in 2015 to change the way people wear and shop for clothes.
Vera
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