2Sustain

Wondering what the future holds for the textile industry?

According to a new report from cKinetics, it’s going to be all about “green.”

The report, Exporting Textiles: March to Sustainability 2010, says that over the next decade, the textile industry is going to focus on sustainability and optimally using natural resources to generate value in the supply chain.  The report maps supply chain sustainability initiatives and plans by global brands and retailers in their textile procurement process. It profiles 19 global firms (Adidas, Gap Inc., H&M, Ikea, Levi Strauss & Co, Marks & Spencer, Nike, Otto, Carrefour, Walmart, Continental Clothing, Phillips-Van Heusen, Timberland Company, Inditex, Primark, John Lewis Partnership, Lindex and Tesco) and  concludes that even though much of the current work being done to increase the sustainability of the global textile supply chain is still in its early stages or only being applied regionally, in the next 24-36 months these initiatives will significantly influence mainstream business practices worldwide.

cKinetics uses the report to make a handful of very specific predictions, including:

• By  the  end  of  2011,  all  major  textile  brands  and  retailers  will have  announced  initiatives  that  involve working  with  a  more sustainable supply chain.  Most  of  the  firms  are  already  implementing measures within their own facilities and it is a matter of months before they look to their supply chain which is where the  majority  of  the  environmental  footprint  exists.  The expectation is that the movement beyond early adopters and into the mainstream will happen between 2012 and 2015. (See this earlier post about  sustainability guidelines in the apparel industry.)

• Textile brands will make supplier choices based on which suppliers are able to report and demonstrate sustainability measures.

• Brands and retailers may struggle initially in mapping out their supply chain but that issue is expected to be overcome by 2011.

• Some of the low-hanging opportunities from a retailer standpoint will be focused on generating savings on the logistics front through a variety of policy measures on use of transportation alternatives, packaging optimization etc. Several of these measures are expected to gain momentum this year.

• From a supply perspective, vertically integrated firms are likely to be early adopters of sustainability reporting because they have easy visibility throughout their supply chain. They will also likely use this as a market advantage.

• There will be buzz around non-tariff barriers being raised by some textile exporting nations at the WTO. However the outlook is that market mechanics will soon trump these concerns.

• The buzz around organic cotton will continue to increase.  However there is a growing realization that organic cotton is going to remain  a  very  small  percentage  of  the  overall  raw  material  for the textile sector, and so the emphasis is expected to build towards other  sustainable  materials.

More details from the report are available here.