7th-10th May 2024
Ecotextile News
The purpose-led multimedia news platform for sustainability in the global fashion and textile industry.
It's been another busy week for us here at Ecotextile News, with a wide range of breaking stories released each day. You can find all of our stories at https://www.ecotextile.com/news/, but here we have collated our most important of the week into our Weekly Briefing????
Tuesday
??We started the week by disclosing that Canadian athleticwear brand Lululemon is being investigated by Canada's Competition Bureau over environmental claims made in its marketing campaigns.
The bureau has confirmed that it has opened a formal investigation following a complaint made by the Stand.earth environmental NGO.
??We also reported that more than 5,000 garment workers have been laid off so far this year in the Philippines due in part to the impact of US legislation aimed at blocking imports from the Xinjiang region of China.
The Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act (UFLPA) bans imports from the region, which produces a fifth of the world's cotton, on the presumption they were made with forced labour unless it can be proved otherwise.
Wednesday
??On Wednesday we brought the exciting news that The Big Closets, Small Planet podcast has returned with a look at how societies relate to profit, and how this relationship affects global sustainability challenges in the fashion industry and beyond.
Joining our host Michael Schragger , founder of the Sustainable Fashion Academy (SFA) , to discuss this is Dr. Jennifer Hinton , author and post-doctoral Fellow at The Centre for Environmental and Climate Science at the University of Lund with a focus on how to transition societies beyond the pursuit of economic growth and profit.
??The full podcast, published in partnership with Ecotextile News, is available below????
??Also, we also disclosed that a new report from the Zero Waste Europe network, says the European textile industry must reform now or risk deteriorating further into unsustainable and harmful practices.
The paper emphasises the urgent need to phase out hazardous chemicals and tackle the release of microplastics, both of which it describes as barriers to a toxic-free circular economy.
领英推荐
Thursday
??On Thursday we brought the exciting news that vertically integrated garment manufacturer AGI Denim has partnered with the Rural Education and Economic Development Society (REEDS) to enhance the traceability of its supply chain and promote sustainable agricultural practices across cotton farms in Pakistan.
The ‘Denim Regenerative Cotton Farm Project’ will work with the non-profit NGO, which helps to develop marginalised communities, on fostering agricultural techniques that minimise chemical usage, enhance soil health, and preserve biodiversity.
??We also brought an interesting piece by our Editor and Founder John Mowbray , who discusses the relationship between chemical regulation and EU textile recycling.
He writes “Alarm bells are ringing in the European textile recycling and chemical sectors after a recent Brussels event where clear-the-air talks between regulators and industry stakeholders raised the prospect of financial ruin for some – and a missed opportunity for circular textile supply chains…”
Click here to read the full article????
Friday
??Today, we brought the news that the Cotton Campaign coalition says that independent monitoring has revealed some progress in reducing the use of forced labour in Turkmenistan's cotton harvest but warns that it is still widespread.
Public authorities stopped mobilising teachers and doctors - or extorting them to pay for replacement pickers - in the 2023 harvest but they reportedly continued to subject all other groups of state employees to forced labour.
??To finish the week off, we reported that Cambodia’s National Social Security Fund has announced plans to phase out the use of flatbed trucks to transport garment workers to and from their workplaces by 2027.
It is hoped that the policy, which aims to reduce the number of traffic accident rates by replacing unsafe vehicles with buses, will address the growing number of garment workers injured and killed in traffic accidents.
??And that's a wrap on our Weekly Briefing! Don't forget to subscribe so you never miss a week- it’s free!???
??Be sure to check out our exclusive videos, including our most recent with Liverpool Hope University which looks at the truth behind the ‘side hustle tax’????