The event was held at the historic Herald Examiner Building, now home to one of Arizona State University’s two Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising campuses; in Los Angeles, the university is establishing a sustainable fashion lab.

After a welcome from Sourcing Journal’s Editor-in-Chief, Peter Sedera, who promised the day’s speakers were “at the tip of the spear when it comes to transforming the industry,” he was joined for a conversation with Kathleen Talbot, Chief Sustainability Officer & Vice President, Operations at Reformation, a Cascale member. Circularity was a key subject: The company has “deep roots in vintage and deadstock sourcing” and had already surpassed its goal of manufacturing 10% of products from these materials by 2025. It has also set goals for full circularity and climate positivity, for which it is on track to achieve by next year.

A discussion between Kim Kitchings, Senior Vice President, Consumer Marketing, Cotton Incorporated (a Cascale member) and Anna Copilevitz, Lead Program Manager, Zappos for Good, focused on their collaboration through the Cotton’s Blue Jeans Go Green program. The program incentivizes consumers to return their used denim, which is then recycled into products like insulation. Over 18 years of operation, Cotton Inc. has diverted over 2,600 tons of denim from landfills and manufactured 11 million square feet of insulation; the organization now makes dog beds for animal shelters in the U.S. and beds for unhoused people in the UK.

Later, Jeff Frye, Vice President, Sustainability, Innovation, Product Development & Procurement, and Purchasing at Kontoor Brands, also a Cascale member, joined Angela Velasquez, Executive Editor at Rivet, for a discussion of the company’s sustainability practices, which include water reduction, preferred materials, and a Caltech collab on denim printing. Sustainability is a “dynamic process of continual improvement,” Frye said. Additional speakers included Katina Boutis, Director, Sustainability at Everlane, and Boris Mercier, Senior Vice President, Marketing at Recover, both Cascale members.

Anchoring the conversation to location, Mindy McIntyre, Chief Deputy Director at CalRecycle and Nancy Sutley, Deputy Mayor, Energy & Sustainability at the City of Los Angeles, joined Kate Nishimura, Senior News & Features Editor at Sourcing Journal, for a discussion of “California and the National Implications.” The focus was on SB 707, the Responsible Textile Recycle Act, which reflects principles of extended producer responsibility (EPR), which Governor Newsom recently signed into law. With the only other enacted EPR law for textiles in place in France, McIntyre said, “What we do in California impacts not only nationally but globally.”