20th- 24th May 2024
Ecotextile News
The purpose-led multimedia news platform for sustainability in the global fashion and textile industry.
We’re back with our Ecotextile News Weekly Briefing, the one-stop shop for getting you up to date on the most important news of the week. You can find all of our stories by visiting https://www.ecotextile.com/news/ but for now, sit back, relax and let us catch you up?????
Monday
??We started the week by revealing that the Dutch Denim Deal sustainability initiative has confirmed the successful completion of its initial targets and announced the international roll-out its next phase to improve sustainability in the denim industry and “make recycling the new normal”.
Launched by the Dutch government in 2020, signatories which includes brands such as Mud Jeans, Scotch & Soda, Kuyichi, Kings of Indigo, 247 Jeans and Garcia committed to using at least 5% recycled content in their jeans, and to collectively produce three million pairs of jeans with 20% post-consumer recycled content by the end of 2023.
??We also disclosed that Global chemicals company 巴斯夫 is to expand production of a number of its biomass-based raw materials, several of which are key ingredients in the manufacture of textile fibres.
The chemical giant is to ramp up the bio-based production of tetrahydrofuran (THF),? 1,4-butanediol (BDO), and polytetrahydrofuran (PolyTHF), all of which are used as raw materials in elastane production, at its flagship plant in Ludwigshafen, Germany, as well as at its facility in Geismar, Louisiana. The BASF plant in South Korea has also been certified for the production of PolyTHF.
Tuesday
????On Tuesday, we released an exclusive video with Public Eye , which has completed a second investigation into Shein supply chains, alleging workers at some factories supplying the company are denied certain rights and expected to complete gruelling 75-hour working weeks.
Despite this, Public Eye's textile expert David Hachfeld believes the wider fashion industry cannot simply blame these business models exclusively on those at the latest frontier of ultra fast fashion such as Shein and Temu.
Decades of insufficient or non-existent regulation is, he argues, the biggest cause - and what allowed other big names like H&M, Boohoo and Zara to blaze the fast fashion trail.
??To watch the video, click below????
??We also revealed that environmental NGO Stand.Earth has again accused leading fashion brands of continuing to rely on fossil fuels to manufacture their products and failing to decarbonise their supply chains.
In a new report, entitled '2024 Clean Energy Close Up', Stand.Earth analyses the progress of 11 global brands on reducing emissions, phasing out coal and transitioning to renewable energy.
Wednesday
??On Wednesday it was reported that most textile waste in Europe currently ends up in mixed waste while sorting and recycling capacity need to be urgently scaled up to ensure better and more circular use of used textiles, new research suggests.
The European Environment Agency says in its latest briefing, ‘Management of used and waste textiles in Europe’s circular economy’, that while around 16kg of textile waste per person was generated in the European Union in 2020, only about one quarter of this amount (4.4 kg) was collected separately for reuse and recycling, with the rest ending up in mixed household waste.
??We also revealed that the Better Cotton initiative is working with Cascale , formerly the Sustainable Apparel Coaltion, on lifecycle analysis metrics for different cotton-producing countries to improve environmental impact data.
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It's part of Better Cotton's €25 million ($26.6m) physical traceability solution which aims to enable brands and retailers to track cotton’s journey through the supply chain, in addition to its mass balance system.
Thursday
??On Thursday, we disclosed the exciting news that polyester textile-to-textile recycling start-up Syre , which was formed through a partnership with investors Vargas and H&M has successfully completed a $100 million Series A funding round that will allow it to buy the patented chemical recycling technology of North Carolina-based company Info Premirr .
Syre which has already negotiated a commitment from H&M to buy $600 million of its recycled polyester output over a seven year period, will now integrate Premirr technology into its business, as it looks to expand and scale its operation across the globe targetting first with production in Vietnam and the Iberian peninsula of Spain and Portugal.
Read about our interview with Syre CEO Dennis Nobelius ????
??To continue with the positive news, we also revealed that the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre has launched a new portal which explores how fashion brands’ purchasing practices are affecting workers rights across the globe.
The ‘Who pays for the crisis?’ digital portal hosts key information and analysis on supply chain shocks, how brands are responding to these, and the ultimate impact their actions have on workers.
Friday
??Today, workers' rights campaigners staged a protest at the annual meeting of auditors Intertek which they say failed to detect forced labour at a Thai garment factory which supplied jeans for Tesco.
Demonstrators from the Labour Behind the Label group stood outside the Intertek Group headquarters alongside images of Burmese workers who are bringing a lawsuit against Intertek and Tesco.
??Lastly, Ministers of the 27 member states of the European Union have today given the final sign off to new legislation which will make larger companies liable for human rights and environmental issues in their global supply chains.
The formal approval of the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive means it will come into force within days when member states will have two years to adopt it into their national legislation.
??And that's a wrap! Don’t forget to subscribe so you never miss our Weekly Briefing??
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