Sustainability Pulse #85
Sustainability Trends & News Worth Exploring — May 21st , 2024
Hey there, green warriors! 🌿✨
Ready for your weekly dose of sustainable fashion insights?
I have an exciting lineup of articles to keep you informed and inspired. From tackling the fashion industry's emissions challenges to celebrating innovative approaches in sustainable materials, there's something for everyone.
Dive in and discover the latest trends, news, and thought-provoking discussions in sustainable fashion.
🌱
Why It’s So Hard to Track the Fashion Industry’s Emissions
A growing number of fashion companies are talking about substantially cutting their greenhouse gas emissions. But evaluating those efforts is tricky.
Combatting our evolutionary addiction to shopping
Recent research argues that fashion has become really good at making us want more. It’s also core to the climate crisis.
GANNI RESPONSIBILITY REPORT 2023
In their latest report, Ganni introduced their sustainability strategy 'GAMEPLAN 2.0' to achieve a 50% absolute carbon reduction by 2027. They also aim to increase their B Corp score to 150 points by 2025 and plan to re-certify to B Corporation's new standards in September 2025.
The illusion of fashion’s presence at COP28
The industry needs to go beyond surface-level participation and focus on transformative impact and collaboration with other sectors, experts say
Soybeans, San Francisco, and a new AI Startup
An update from the desk of Amanda Cosco, Founder of Electric Runway
Ginevra Boralevi joins MycoWorks leadership team
Boralevi, who will be based in Paris, joins the MycoWorks' leadership team from French cashmere brand Eric Bompard, having led marketing and communications prior for major luxury groups in different sectors, including Dom Pérignon (LVMH) and Panerai (Richemont Group).
Preview: The Future Fabrics Expo 2024
Meet the responsible & sustainably sourced fabrics innovating the textiles industry
EU Issues New Rules for Funds Using “ESG” or “Sustainability” Names to Address Greenwashing Risk
According to ESMA, the new guidelines were established as investor demand for ESG-focused funds has increased sharply, creating incentives for asset managers to include sustainability-related terms in fund names to attract investors, leading to an increased risk of greenwashing.
Castoffs to catwalk: fashion show shines light on vast Chile clothes dump visible from space
The Atacama desert has become a ‘global sacrifice zone’ of used fast fashion. Activists and designers organised an event to raise awareness of the devastation to the land and people
Emma Roberts Is Obsessed With Shopping Used Bags
The actress and Fashionphile ambassador shares her best tips for scoring your first Birkin—no waitlist needed.
Shares of Cartier owner Richemont climb on record full-year sales, new CEO
KEY POINTS
Shares of Swiss luxury group Richemont climbed as much as 6.3% Friday after it reported record full-year sales.
The Cartier owner said group sales rose 3% to an all-time high of 20.6 billion euros in the year despite a weakening outlook for luxury brands.
Fourth-quarter sales fell 1% to 4.8 billion euros, or $5.21 billion, driven by a slowdown in Asia-Pacific.
MATCHESFASHION IS CLOSING DOWN
The news comes just two months after the luxury e-tailer was acquired by Frasers Group.
Ghana says reports of a "tsunami of textile waste" is inaccurate.
Ghana is the world’s largest importer of used clothing, with most clothing ending up in Kantamanto in Accra, the world's largest second-hand clothes market.
It’s About Time: Reducing The Distance From Idea To Reality With 3D
In an industry where time and success are so tightly linked, why has fashion’s big push into digital product creation not meaningfully moved the hands of the clock?
mki leverages on excellence generative AI solutions for the luxury and fashion industries
>An AI Denim capsule collection created in less than 21 days
CONSUMERS THINK SUSTAINABILITY IS ANNOYING. THERE’S ONLY ONE ANSWER.
In fact, a recent article in the Business of Fashion pointed not only to evidence that directly contradicts this idea, but also to a broader and more worrying trend: the notion that consumers find sustainability-led messaging performative, hypocritical, and – at the most basic level – flat-out annoying.
GANNI ISN’T A “SUSTAINABLE” BRAND. SO WHAT IS IT?
“We don’t identify as a sustainable brand, because at its core fashion thrives on newness and consumption, which is a major contradiction to the concept of sustainability.” – Julie Verdich, GANNI Material Innovation Lead
And yet, according to Material Innovation Lead, Julie Verdich, GANNI is still shy about sharing in that spotlight – wary of self-mythologizing.
Is fast tech getting worse than fast fashion?
The latest episode of For Tech’s Sake dives into the proverbial dump of electrical items and features an interview with Swappie Ireland’s new country manager.
For Gen Z, sustainable fashion isn't just about shopping. It's a 'mindset'
'I'm happy ... this is being talked about more,' says 24-year-old who stopped buying fast fashion
Startup Using Biomimicry to Break Textile Dyeing Down to Its DNA
In the world of textile manufacturing, the vibrant colors that enrich our fabrics often conceal a less appealing truth: the environmental toll of traditional dyeing processes.
National event highlights leaders in sustainable fashion
On May 8, 2024 PIRG hosted a “Voices for Sustainable Fashion Webinar,” a discussion between lawmakers, advocates and fashion industry leaders on advancing sustainability in the fashion industry.
Shein or she-out?
News and insight from the business world. Download the podcast via the BBC Sounds app.
Fast fashion creates a throw away culture and mindset that is not only detrimental to humanity, but all life on earth...
Ancuta Sarca Transforms Football Cleats Into Heels
If dismantling the patriarchy could be a shoe, they would look like something Ancuta Sarca designed. Sneakers and football cleats turned into heels sends a very clear message: women are the future — conform and embrace your felinity or get lost. At least, that’s the message I, very conveniently, am getting from the Romanian designer’s incredible work.
Three start-ups specialising in the revaluation of deadstock fabrics to discover at the February 2024 edition
Circular options are gaining popularity in the textile, fashion, and luxury industries for ecological and economic reasons. The revaluation of "deadstock" materials has become standard, creating new business opportunities. Expertise in managing and automating processes is essential. Three start-ups specializing in deadstock fabrics will be showcased at the February 2024 edition of Première Vision Paris, offering a new sourcing option to consider.
How to Grow a Fashion Brand Without Trashing the Planet
Over the last six years, Puma has doubled its revenue while shrinking its carbon footprint by almost a third. Kenneth P. Pucker argues that more brands need to follow this example.
Why Luxury Brands Can’t Shake the Controversy Around Exotic Skins
Companies like Hermès, Kering , and LVMH say they have spent millions to ensure they are sourcing crocodile and snakeskin leather responsibly. But critics say incidents like designer Nancy Gonzalez's recent smuggling conviction show loopholes persist despite tightening controls.
‘People don’t realize how much fashion needs new materials’ but biomaterials investors can be hard to find, say experts
Fashion brands are desperately seeking new, sustainable materials as they come under increasing pressure to produce garments with improved environmental credentials, experts told the audiences of last week’s SynBioBeta conference in San Jose and Rethinking Materials in London this week.
Microplastics found in every human testicle in study
Scientists say the discovery may be linked to a decades-long decline in sperm counts in men around the world
Fashion Fans Lament the Closing of Mara Hoffman’s Namesake Label
After 24 years, designer Mara Hoffman is shuttering her eponymous label. In an announcement via her Instagram, the CFDA Award winner for sustainability announced that her forthcoming summer 2024 collection will be her “last offering for the time being,” allowing her to redirect her “vision and energy into other creative outlets.” She went on to write that “at the end of the day,” the fashion industry’s “structure is archaic and was never built to prioritize Earth and its inhabitants.” The announcement comes just months after the designer closed her flagship store in New York City.
Vera
I really hope you're enjoying The Sustainability Pulse, my weekly newsletter looking at sustainability in the fashion industry. If you find the tips and insights useful, please share these articles to help spread the word.