From a sustainability perspective, the global apparel industry changed quite
markedly in 2019. This was the first year I can remember in which all parts
of the industry—brands and their RMG suppliers—appeared to be singing
from the same hymn sheet, all pulling in the same direction. The message
was clear: time is running out to address climate and sustainability issues,
and we must act now. We cannot kick the can down the road any longer.
There are a number of reasons why 2019 was so significant but here, I have
identified five clear trends in the global apparel industry and associated
supply chains which suggest people are now taking sustainability seriously.
Leadership
It has long been recognised that sustainability progress will only happen if
industry leaders are on board, and in 2019, we saw plenty of evidence to
suggest that leaders in the apparel industry are embracing sustainability.
Every time CEOs from the likes of Kering, Levi Strauss, H&M and Inditex
spoke to the media, the first thing they wanted to discuss was sustainability.
These leaders were also instrumental in establishing and helping to drive
forward a number of industry initiatives on issues such as recycling, carbon
emissions and target setting in relation to the Sustainable Development
Goals (SDGs).
The positive in all of this is that these leaders are not embracing
sustainability because they feel they have to. Rather, the penny has now
dropped for them that being sustainable actually makes good business sense.
There is no other way. Those businesses that do not jump on board on this
issue risk being left behind by their peers—and they know it.
Investment
During 2019, investors stepped onto the sustainability space in a significant
way. More and more investors now see sustainable textiles as a realistic
proposition and this capital influx is crucial for the industry, particularly the
supply chains. To offer a couple of examples, technology company Spinnova
recently received an investment of 11 million euros to support its tech which
converts pulp into textile fibres without any harmful chemicals.
Meanwhile, Fashion for Good, which is backed by the C&A Foundation,
launched a USD 60m fund to back new technologies and other initiatives
aimed at tackling environmental and social issues in garment supply chains
(where they are most needed). The Good Fashion Fund will invest in the
implementation of technologies in supply chains such as ours in Bangladesh,
focusing on R&D and innovative solutions where there is currently a lack of
capital. This is brilliant news.
Going circular
Recycling is a major theme in the global apparel industry right now.
However, up until 2019, there were a lot of great ideas and technology startups in this area, but not very much action. Last year, this changed, and we
saw significant financial support heading into textile-to-textile recycling
initiatives from the businesses such as Re:newcell and Infinited Fiber
Company. Both these solutions are set to scale, both have brand partners,
and both offer game-changing opportunities to help the apparel industry
move from linear to circular.
Another textile recycling technology business, Evrnu, recently closed a USD
9m round of Series A funding. This company has already unveiled its first
commercially available recycling technology, NuCycl, which converts old
cotton garments into high-quality materials. The significance of all these
breakthroughs could potentially be huge for Bangladesh’s RMG sector. But
we have to be alive to the opportunities. How can our industry support
textile-to-textile recycling at scale? How can it help brands meet their
ambitions to “close the loop” in apparel? We need to be onboard, right at the
front of the train for the recycling revolution.
Collaboration
We saw collaboration like never before in the global apparel industry during
2019. This was most evident in the launch of several initiatives which
gathered high-profile support from brands and retailers as well as other
industry stakeholders. What was striking about these initiatives was that
they got business leaders which are normally competing to come around the
same table to thrash out the most sustainable way forward for the apparel
industry.
We know that the sustainability challenges facing the apparel industry are
too broad and complex to be tackled in isolation. This will only lead to a lack
of coordination and the wasteful duplication of efforts. Far better to have the
industry as a whole working together to bring forward meaningful, scalable
solutions which we can all get behind. It is time to put aside competitive
differences, and it was heartening to see some of the world’s leading apparel
brand bosses do just that in 2019. Supply chains in Bangladesh must surely
follow suit.
Source: The Daily Star, Bangladesh Tuesday, 07 January 2020