2Sustain

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…)

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: (more…)