Stitching a sustainable apparel future

The recent conference in Amsterdam served as an important meeting point for apparel sector policymakers, brands and retailers, manufacturers in the global south and innovators designing solutions for the industry’s most pressing challenges. 

The apparel and textile ecosystem is facing a tsunami of regulation. How to navigate policy developments and the legal and financial risks of inaction became a focal point of discussion. The various tenets of the EU strategy for sustainable and circular textiles including extended producer responsibility, eco-design and digital product passports were pulled into sharp focus. So were wider issues relating to the EU green claims directive as well as environmental legislation on waste, restricting PFAs and microplastics. 

Attendees were quick to share their experiences in working towards compliance on reporting standards required under the corporate sustainability reporting directive (CSRD), whilst highlighting the resource intensity of these activities. With progress on policy in Europe, several participants spoke of the need for global policy alignment, underlining the importance of the EU not acting in a silo if the region is to remain competitive. 

Elsewhere, data proved king in many conversations. Credible, verified data is essential to inform supply chain mapping activities, as well as to analyse current performance against climate and social targets. A call for data centralisation and proper data governance was made throughout the conference by numerous participants, especially when it comes to accelerating traceability across nodes of the value chain. 

Interoperability and the need for compatibility of systems to ensure information sharing with ease also became apparent. But perhaps what stood out most were the reflections and first-hand experiences of suppliers and manufacturers who are grappling with data fatigue, induced by the increasing number of requirements related to certifications, reporting and more. 

Turning to target setting, the salient nature of addressing scope 3 GHG emissions stimulated conversation around the realities that many organisations and their suppliers face. This included the time lag and process behind verifying science-based targets, as well as the poignant question of who is going to pay the higher price for decarbonisation? One thing is clear – investment from brands and retailers to support their supply base is essential and signals a long-term shift towards net zero. 

The process of setting science-based targets for nature across the industry remains in its infancy despite the emerging financial material risks associated with biodiversity loss. Experts shared how organisations can turn the evaluation of risk data to inform nature strategies across the supply chain and how to apply lessons from climate transition planning to nature. Members of the conference also recounted their own stories of regenerative and nature-based initiatives to spark inspiration. 

A common thread throughout many of these conversations was that digital remains a critical lever for unlocking sustainability. For instance, AI and digital twins will help businesses get to grip on product traceability, ahead of digital product passport requirements. Equally, digital has the power to unlock the highest value for items by encouraging circular business models and identifying new downstream use cases of garments including resale, rental and repair. 

Circularity has evidently become a guiding principle for participants, but how to tackle the systemic challenges related to circular business models? Brands and retailers shared the learnings from pilot projects on rental, resale and repair initiatives as well as experimentation with subscription models in a bid to reimagine consumption and encourage increased utility of items. 

Scaling next-gen innovative fibre and materials comes with its own sets of opportunities and challenges. Honest discussions took place, touching on offtake agreements and the trade-offs when considering durability versus the need to increase “preferred materials” such as recycled content. The significant investment in infrastructure needed to scale next-gen materials was called out too. 

Critically, discussions on circularity drew attention to the governance structures needed to enable these business models. Incentivisation was spotlighted as a means to create conditions for success. How can we reward good behaviour? How can we reward innovation? The audience considered viable methods, for instance incentivising in-store retail staff to promote repairs as much as purchasing new items as well as setting clear KPIs for buyers that move beyond price margins and look at the wider impacts of materials in procurement. 

As the event went on, trade-offs between sustainability and circularity with business operations became apparent. The tension between scaling circularity versus risks was cited, as were the difficulties with being compliant with green claims but also sharing the full story of a product in a way that the customer understands. 

Trade-offs and the unintended consequences of decarbonisation were also brought into the fold. For instance, as one brand shared its experience in nearshoring 70% of its manufacturing base closer to Europe, what are the implications for the old suppliers in the global south? How could this impact social livelihoods in other supply hubs?  

It was refreshing to hear voices from the Global South with delegates from Pakistan and Bangladesh. It helped attendees better understand how the sector can collaborate and not burden manufacturers with the environmental and social challenges, be that related to target setting, supporting with the transition to renewable energy or facilitating data management across multiple platforms. 

One speaker recounted that “all sustainability, like politics, is local”, underlining the need for a localised approach to these systemic issues. 

And what happened in the 5th room sessions? We’ll never quite know but the convening of space for private and honest conversations related to degrowth, fashion’s returns problem as well as the greenwashing versus greenhushing debate were clearly valuable to attendees.  

As final thoughts, the risks of withdrawing from commitments and the risks of disengagement underpin much of the important work being done by stakeholders in the apparel and textile industry.  

Whilst policy was a focal point, the limitations of compliance and voluntary initiatives were acknowledged by attendees. They simply haven’t shifted the needle fast enough. Collaboration is clearly needed to open-source solutions and increase accessibility for SMEs with fewer resources to level the playing field, as is the development of methods to encase sustainability in a way that is attractive to customers. 

Ultimately businesses need them on side if they are to remain competitive. The themes and opportunities throughout the two days in Amsterdam offer opportunities for bold and decisive leadership to accelerate action.