Sustainability Pulse #73
Sustainability Trends & News Worth Exploring — March 4th, 2023
Europe's used textiles are an increasing waste and export problem
Discarded European textiles, including used clothing and footwear, are an increasing waste and export problem. Rapidly increasing EU exports of used textiles — some of which is reused and some of which ends up in landfills — show that Europe faces a challenge in how to handle its own used textiles, according to a European Environment Agency (EEA) briefing published today.
What is All Things Considered (ALLTC)?
ALLTC is a platform created by Andréa van der Meel to promote transparency and accountability in the fashion industry.
It offers a directory of fashion brands and their sustainability practices, collating specific certifications, initiatives, and innovations. The platform seeks to help ethical consumers make informed purchasing decisions by providing a single view of industry sustainability.
Are You Still Selling A Dream? Why Many Luxury Brands Are Lost In The ‘Sea Of Sameness’
The so-called “strategy canvas” is a key tool of this business philosophy which helps to decide which aspects to enhance or reduce, relative to the category norms — and most importantly, which ones to add or eliminate.
Apparel Industry Is Unprepared For New Sustainability Laws
One of the hot topics among fashion execs these days is what’s shaping up to be the industry’s next crisis — government regulation of sustainability. In the US, Europe, and elsewhere, new laws are in the pipeline or on the books that, for the first time, require leading brands to come clean about pollution and waste.
What’s Old Is New Again: Burberry, Balenciaga Return To Roots As Luxury Leans Into Heritage
After years of interchangeable sans serif logos and celebrity designer roulette, luxury fashion brands are returning not only to traditional branding, but to their roots.
CFDA, Versace Partner on LGBTQ-focused Educational Initiative
The program will launch with a masterclass featuring Donatella Versace at the Los Angeles LGBT Center on March 6.
URL To IRL And Back Again: How Digital Fabric Twins Are Defining Fashion’s New Trajectories
With fashion passing the tipping point for digital product creation, more people than ever are joining the 3D / DPC journey in both directions - from digital to real, and vice versa. This is fast making digital fabrics one of the most important parts of fashion's creative and commercial futures.
CFDA AND VERSACE PARTNER ON LGBTQ+ FOCUSED EDUCATIONAL INITIATIVE
The initiative launches with a Master Class event at the Los Angeles LGBT Center on March 6th featuring Donatella Versace in a fireside chat with the Center’s Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Phillip Picardi.
Kids Brand Hanna Andersson Launches Its Own Resale Site
Hanna Andersson, the children’s brand known for making clothes that become prized hand-me-downs when they are outgrown, has launched an online resale shop.
It is the latest is a growing number of clothing and fashion brands looking to tap into the booming resale market with their own secondhand sales operations.
‘Being Chinese is tough’: New York Fashion Week’s Asian designers on stereotypes, and the statements their collections make
This year’s New York Fashion Week featured a crop of Chinese, Korean and Japanese designers who, through their collections, called for more Asian representation
They speak about the stereotyping and labelling they face, putting their culture and heritage in their collections, and how they can reach a bigger audience
CHAOTIC ITALIAN FASHION LINE BAFFLES FACIAL RECOGNITION SOFTWARE
THESE AREN'T FOR THE FAINT OF HEART.
How this Delaware designer is getting creative with deliveries
Delaware–based designer Liza Nicole tells us how a Craigslist post inspired her to launch her firm, how she handled moving her business 4,800 miles to Hawaii and back, and how she has learned to simplify her idea of success.
Dior Channels Rebellious Women at Paris Fashion Week
After Milan, global fashion’s spotlight has shifted to the final stretch of ready-to-wear shows in Paris as the industry looks to the future with all the final fall trends
Reducing social media use significantly improves body image in teens, young adults
Teens and young adults who reduced their social media use by 50% for just a few weeks saw significant improvement in how they felt about both their weight and their overall appearance compared with peers who maintained consistent levels of social media use, according to research published by the American Psychological Association.
From streetwear to red carpets, a new exhibit traces the evolution of hip hop fashion
NPR's Juana Summers visits a new exhibit at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City that celebrates 50 years of fashion in hip hop music.
Why are non-scientists leading the world’s largest companies’ sustainability efforts?
Some 23% of Fortune 500 corporations claim to engage with the Sustainable Development Goals framework. Yet, a peer-reviewed study found that a measly 0.2% have developed concrete methods and tools to evaluate their progress toward relevant SDGs.
How Fashion Can Outgrow Overproduction
How often fashion forecasting fails, and why.
Gucci and Kering launch circularity hub in sustainable manufacturing push
The new innovation platform aims to make the Italian fashion industry more circular.
Ganni, Patagonia and Reformation join pilot to decarbonise fashion
California startup Rubi Labs has secured an additional $8.7 million in funding for its lyocell yarn from converted CO2. Now, brands including Ganni, Reformation, Patagonia, and Nuuly have signed up to prototype products, hoping to kickstart its commercialization.
We love: Fashion fixes for the week ahead – in pictures
Folk-inspired jewelry, Toast’s renewed collection, and a sustainable fashion documentary.
Technology will change the fashion industry for good. Why is it taking so long?
Soon, the computer-aided design would change the industry forever, enabling, paradoxically, more creativity, not less.
Economic crisis to hit Pak industries, workforce after textile exports fall
Nasir Mansoor, Secretary General of the National Trade Union Federation Pakistan (NTUF) said that as many as one million informal workers, mostly from the textile sector, will lose their jobs.
Why my bittersweet relationship with Shein had to end
Reflecting on my desire for Chinese-style e-commerce platforms.
The H&M Greenwashing Scandal: Has Business Learned the Lesson?
Despite its claims, H&M ranked C (mediocre) on the just published Impakter Sustainability Index and is currently not sustainable; the Index analysts concluded that if the retail brand genuinely pursues the goals it has set for itself and reports transparently, it could become “greener.”
Why is fabric fraud so easy to hide
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