2Sustain

For years now, sustainability advocates have urged manufacturers to use carbon footprint labels on consumer products. These labels would show the volume of greenhouse gasses emitted during a product’s lifecycle, so that consumers could make more educated choices based on the environmental impact of the products they buy.

And, as a result of these efforts, carbon footprint labels are in use in a few limited areas. For instance, the Carbon Trust has established carbon footprint labels for some products in the UK. (See earlier posts about Walkers crisps and the UK dairy sector, e.g.) But, the idea has never really caught on in the US.

Michael Vandenbergh, environmental law professor at Vanderbilt Law School and director of the Climate Change Research Network, Thomas Dietz of Michigan State University and Paul Stern of the US National Research Council would like to see that change.

In their commentary, recently published in the premier issue of the journal Nature Climate Change, the three argue that adding carbon labels to products has benefits for both consumers and manufacturers alike. Carbon footprint product labels allow consumers to choose a product based on its lower carbon footprint. That, in turn, may influence how businesses produce, package and transport products, leading to even lower carbon emissions. Plus, as I have pointed before, greening the supply chain in these ways can lead to significant financial benefits to companies, as well. (more…)

In a move that underscores the growing significance of sustainability partnerships, a group of leading apparel and footwear brands, retailers, manufacturers, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), academic experts, and the US Environmental Protection Agency announced last week that they have formed the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.

The coalition has pledged to reduce the environmental and social impacts of apparel and footwear products sold around the world by:

• Leading the industry toward a shared vision of sustainability built on an industry-wide index for measuring and evaluating apparel and footwear product sustainability,

• Spotlighting promising technological innovations and

• Identifying opportunities for improving current social and environmental practices throughout the supply chain by collaborating to establish consistent expectations for brands, retailers, and manufacturers.

More specifically, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition wants to help companies make improvements in the core areas of water use and quality, energy/greenhouse gas, waste, chemicals/toxicity and social/labor. See more details at the coalition website. (more…)

Companies are becoming increasingly aware of the importance of integrated water management systems. And, now Levi Strauss & Co. is moving out into a leadership role with regard to water stewardship.

The company announced earlier this month that it has developed “WaterLess” jeans, which are manufactured using significantly less water.

Thanks to recent water footprint research, Levi’s knows that during the lifecycle of a pair of Levi’s  501 jeans, the largest water impact comes from the cotton growing process and through the laundry habits of consumers after they leave our stores. And, the company says it is making strides in these key areas – from supporting more sustainable ways to grow cotton to monitoring how suppliers use water in the manufacturing process.

However, Levi’s also evaluated its manufacturing processes and discovered areas to save water there, too.

For instance, the average pair of jeans uses 42 liters of water in the finishing process.  During this process, the jeans are “finished” in large washing machines and dryers to create a unique look and feel. Using traditional garment washing methods, the average pair of jeans undergoes 3-10 washing cycles – adding up to approximately 42 liters of water per unit.

The WaterLess collection reduces the water consumption by an average of 28 percent –and by up to a whopping 96 percent for some new products in the line. Remarkably, Levi’s achieved these reductions by making relatively simple changes to the process: (more…)

Last week, The Timberland Company announced plans to expand its “Green Index” across the company’s entire footwear line over the next two years.

First introduced in 2007, the Green Index provides Timberland designers a measure of the environmental impact of the company’s various products and also offers customers visibility into the environmental footprint of the Timberland products they buy. A product’s final score –listed on a product tag –is a compilation of its: (more…)

Leading apparel brands and retailers are collaborating to develop a system that would allow them to benchmark and measure their environmental footprint.

Announced at the Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City last week, this new “Eco Index” is essentially a software tool that enables apparel makers to analyze their environmental and labor practices at every step of the product life cycle –from raw material production and manufacturing to shipping and disposal.

Naturally, many of these calculations require input from suppliers, and even though the Eco Index is still in Beta, it’s already having an impact on participating apparel brands and their supplier networks.

For instance, according to an article in the Wall Street Journal: (more…)