Press Releases / Cascale Welcomes New Board Members

Cascale Welcomes New Board Members

Leadership

Cascale announces the election of a new board member and the re-election of two incumbent board members to serve on the Cascale Board of Directors.

July 10, 2024

Amsterdam, Hong Kong, Oakland (CA) – July 10, 2024: Cascale, formerly the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, is proud to announce the election of a new board member and the re-election of two incumbent board members to serve on the Cascale Board of Directors. The parity-based Board of Directors is pivotal in steering Cascale’s strategic direction, driving transformation, and furthering the organization’s mission to create a more restorative and equitable consumer goods industry.

Cascale congratulates the following individuals on their re-elections to the board:

Vidhura Ralapanawe, Epic Group

Ralapanawe is the executive vice president, innovation & sustainability for Epic Group, focusing on emissions, water, chemicals, and sustainable product innovation. With 18 years of experience in apparel sustainability, he is also a renewable energy and climate activist. His expertise covers facility design, product LCA, and standards design. He is an advocate for equal partnership in the apparel industry as it transitions towards sustainability. Ralapanawe will continue representing Cascale’s manufacturer voting member category.

Lena Staafgard, Better Cotton Initiative

As the chief operating officer at BCI, Staafgard leads Better Cotton’s global operations, ensuring their work delivers positive change and impact for cotton farmers around the world. She joined BCI during its first year of operation and has helped guide the organization towards becoming the largest cotton sustainability initiative in the world, with programs in multiple countries that have reached millions of smallholder farmers. Staafgard will continue representing Cascale’s affiliate voting member category.

Cascale is also pleased to welcome the following new board member:

Fiona Sadler, Marks & Spencer

Sadler is the global head of responsible sourcing and has worked at M&S for 26 years. She is a senior ethical, sourcing, sustainability, and technical professional with extensive experience in development programs and management within retail and supply chains. She brings a strong external perspective on global issues, stakeholder management, and an ability to manage and influence issues within the corporate framework. Having developed ethical strategies focusing on emerging social issues, Sadler aims to use this knowledge and experience to help Cascale achieve its goals and shape the future. Sadler will represent Cascale’s brand, retailer, and holding group voting member category.

Cascale CEO Colin Browne said, “We are thrilled to welcome Fiona Sadler of M&S to the Cascale Board and continue working with BCI’s Lena Staafgard and Epic Group’s Vidhura Ralpanawe. Equal representation in the value chain is more important than ever, and their unique perspectives, valuable insights, and vast expertise will be incredibly important as Cascale continues to evolve and drive transformative change in the industry.”

Harsh Saini, Cascale board director and governance and nomination committee chair, stated, “The 2024 class of directors is uniquely equipped to serve the future of this organization. Their combined experience and dedication to sustainability and ethical practices will further strengthen our board’s ability to guide Cascale’s strategic plan. We look forward to their contributions as we strive to realize our mission for an even greater impact in our industry.”

The incoming class of directors will be seated on the Board in September 2024.

Cascale also extends its deep gratitude to the outgoing board director Pascal Brun, vice president of sustainability and diversity and inclusion at Zalando. Brun’s dedicated service and contributions have been instrumental in guiding the organization’s strategic initiatives throughout his tenure.

For more information about Cascale’s governance and to view the current Board of Directors, please visit our website.

ABOUT CASCALE

Cascale is the global nonprofit alliance empowering collaboration to drive equitable and restorative business practices in the consumer goods industry. Formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Cascale owns and develops the Higg Index, which is exclusively available on Worldly, the most comprehensive sustainability data and insights platform. Cascale unites over 300 retailers, brands, manufacturers, governments, academics, and NGO/nonprofit affiliates around the globe through one singular vision: To catalyze impact at scale and give back more than we take to the planet and its people.

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Blogs / Board Interview: Vidhura Ralapanawe, Future-Proofing Factories, Unifying on Goals

Board Interview: Vidhura Ralapanawe, Future-Proofing Factories, Unifying on Goals

Leadership

May 31, 2024

As part of a recurring series, Cascale details the involvement and vision of its Board members. Here, Vidhura Ralapanawe, executive vice president, Epic Group, shares his perspective.

Cascale: How did you get involved with Cascale?

Vidhura Ralapanawe: I remember getting engaged with Cascale from 2015 when the new Higg FEM version 3.0 was being developed. Throughout that period, I was on the steering committee for the tool, and I played a role within Cascale’s formative stages including working in the Social & Labor Convergence Program [SLCP, now a separate entity], as well as being on the steering committee for the Higg Brand and Retail module (Higg BRM). I was also one of the initiators of the facility Improvement council, which evolved to become the Apparel Impact Institute (Aii).

Cascale: What is your role at Epic Group?

VR: I am the head of sustainability for the Group. I formulate strategy as well as lead execution of our ambitious sustainability strategy. This includes cutting absolute emissions and fresh water use by 50 percent by 2030, against the 2019 baseline. We are a company that grows very fast, which makes absolute reductions extremely difficult. So part of our strategy is blueprinting, designing, and building factories that are going to function as net-zero carbon and net zero water.

In addition to that, I also have responsibility in the product space, improving the sustainability of the fibers that we use in our products and offer to customers, and also a sharp focus on step changes in how we design and operate our laundries. That’s the largest impact in our business. Innovations – in process, machinery and chemistry, as well as fabric technology – goes into how we run our washing plants better.

Find a video online: https://www.youtube.com/embed/YLsGStMceUY?&controls=1

The last part is looking at how the fashion industry transitions towards a more sustainable setting because we firmly believe that we as a company cannot be sustainable by ourselves unless the community around us becomes sustainable. So we want to contribute to that too.

Cascale: How do you balance aims for growth with sustainability progress?

VR: I think it’s much more difficult for manufacturers to decarbonize with growth than brands because of structural issues in some of the countries where manufacturing is concentrated. These could be legislative or regulatory, availability of renewables, the status of the grid or simple things like availability of technology and skills.

These issues are also very geographically predetermined where what is possible in one country may not be possible in another country.

This also poses an interesting challenge about how we grow. If your target isn’t net-zero in your new factories, then this is no longer enough. This forces us to completely rethink how a factory should be designed and operated. Epic is building a new set of factories in India building from these concepts. We believe these factories will be a global blueprint for others to draw inspiration from and adapt to their own needs. I want to emphasize that we approached this unique factory design within a partnership with one of our brand customers – a real life example of collective action.

Cascale: How do the Higg Index Suite of tools complement those net-zero aims and ambitions?

VR: To me this is the foundation of sustainable factories because it looks at all of the different impact areas, and it creates a platform where impact reduction can happen. It sets up the measurement systems, it sets up the target setting, and it looks at individual practices to identify improvement areas. It also looks at how we are organized as a company and where sufficient focus, skill, and organizational structure exists for the tedious long-term road of decarbonization and major improvement as an industry.

Cascale’s Impact reduction programs will sit on top of that, and that’s where Cascale’s future is – in terms of working together with members and the larger industry of ecosystem partners to drive impact.

Cascale: What’s your advice to leaders to future-proof their companies and organizations?

VR: Before I joined the apparel industry, I was a climate researcher. My focus on climate action predates my engagement in the fashion industry. We must first understand that we are in a very deep and urgent climate crisis. It is much much worse than most of us imagine and visualize. The ocean and land heat waves that we saw in the last 12 months are something even climate scientists are struggling to understand. We see it impacting apparel manufacturing countries globally in the last 3 months. We are already in a deep crisis, whether we acknowledge it or not. So, the first part is to recognize the urgency and the way these impacts are affecting our industry.

The second part is thinking of the value chain rather than our individual organizations. Take decarbonization as an example. The way we think about it (separated by tiers) and individualized action, is not going to be enough for us to actually hit any of our targets. We need to think about how we come together as a value chain and an industry to decarbonize – rather than sitting in our individual boxes or ordering others. It is a mindset and a paradigmatic shift, without which we will fail.

A lot of the challenges we have in terms of climate action is based on our business models which are hierarchical, optimized for speed and cost. We cannot easily switch them into versions that also deliver sustainability. So we need to reflect as an industry, and ask, “Does the way we work support sustainability?” And if not, what do we need to do to change it?

The third part is climate action and sustainability is not only about decarbonization – it is also about adaptation. We need to understand how the climate crisis is impacting our businesses. We are a very people-centric industry. We have millions of apparel and farm workers around the world who are part of our value chain. They are the ones, most of whom are women, who get affected first, when climate related disasters strike. They are the ones who are under dire conditions. They are the ones whose houses get flooded or get blown by cyclones – whose kids suffer during heatwaves, even at night. So if we don’t take an honest approach to look after them – who are the real drivers of this industry – we have no right to make any claims about sustainability.

Cascale: What’s the future for Cascale?

VR: Simply that we need to come together and work together. We cannot be saying, “This is the target I’m giving you. You do this.” We have tried that path, and it has failed to deliver the scale of the impact needed.

So we need to take a hard look at ourselves and bring people together so that we can drive impact collectively. In my opinion, this is the most important task in front of Cascale because we – I say we as a Cascale Board member – are the most suited organization to bring this industry together. Because we represent brands, manufacturers, service providers, NGOs, and academics. We have equal partnership as a principle of organization (though we have some work to do here). We have the correct group of people and the correct mindset to create that platform for collective action. There is no one else, and we must succeed.

And collective action, where we share risks and resources together, is the path we can solve our sustainability challenges, together.

Blogs / Board Interview: Krishna Manda on Building an Ecosystem for Transformation with Equal Partnership, Co-creation, and Innovation

Board Interview: Krishna Manda on Building an Ecosystem for Transformation with Equal Partnership, Co-creation, and Innovation

Leadership

May 03, 2024

As part of a recurring series, Cascale details the involvement and vision of its Board members. Here, Krishna Manda, Vice President, Corporate Sustainability at Lenzing Group, shares his perspective.

Cascale: How long have you been involved with Cascale?

Krishna Manda: At Lenzing, we started working on product-related activities in early 2000 and not many companies are aware of this systemic approach. We were invited by Adidas and Patagonia to join Cascale as founding members. One of the reasons we joined is we wanted a unified language and measurement of sustainability in the industry. If you want to go fast, go alone. But if you want to go far – go together.

Cascale: What does it mean to be a bridge builder?

KM: When you’re talking to a customer, you don’t know the context they’re operating in and what kind of solutions they prefer and what barriers exist. All these things you need to understand by putting yourself into their shoes.

Cascale: Have you always considered yourself a sustainability advocate?

KM: have been working in the area for over 15 years across different sustainability topics and organizations. Sometimes those organizations are not yet on the forefront of sustainability, so I had to do a lot of advocacy work within the company as an intrapreneur. For example, I was consulting on introducing electronic waste policies (EPR) in Asia based on the extended producer responsibility principle almost 18 years ago. I also started working in the businesses to embed product sustainability thinking and integrate that into the core business, strategy, governance, and decision-making process. And I helped set up the first sustainability department for Lenzing Group with my colleagues and started embedding sustainability into strategy, targets, governance and in the core business and the day-to-day work of many business functions. So I would consider myself a sustainability advocate, and I keep learning and contributing in this way.

Find a video online: https://www.youtube.com/embed/PCLuXEGDmGI?&controls=1

Cascale: How can governments, NGOs, and other affiliates support manufacturers in driving lasting change?

KM: We wanted to go far, and each of us have different competencies and understanding of the system. In the case of transformation, you need governments to fund innovations until they become scalable on their own. At the same time, NGOs need to create the urgency required in the society – whether it’s consumer awareness or to rally investors and other companies in the value chain. You also need NGOs to address the biggest problems we are facing, and sometimes the capital markets also need to be roped in. Effectively, we need to create an ecosystem of change. Without that ecosystem, we cannot bring that change. Every stakeholder has a role to play to bring a level playing field, and also create the urgency for the change that we need to see in the world.

Cascale: What do you make of the fiber funding space, at present?

KM: I believe industry and ecosystem has failed us; we are not supporting innovators enough and we are not changing our old ways. Every stakeholder needs to take responsibility. For example, brands need to design products for circularity, and translate their commitments into real buying of volumes from these innovators. Sometimes they are not at commercial scale, but you need to help them bring those innovations to market.

Investment plays a huge role. Companies like ours need to invest more in their mission to adapt to process these new innovative materials and this also takes a long time. The innovators themselves have to learn a lot to improve the quality of materials.

Unless you have good venture backing, you may not be able to operate. Investors most of the time have expectations, in the case of recent news, that innovators operate like mainstream businesses. I think we are missing the point that there is no level playing field for those sustainable materials. They need a lot of support for capital expenditure and operational expenditure to become commercially viable.

The policymakers also have a huge role to play in terms of funding. Policymakers need to design instruments and fund Innovators for both those capital and also operational expenditures in the long run, before they become commercially viable in the system.

Cascale: Why has Lenzing been so successful?

KM: As innovators, we faced the same challenges but we had a different scale and an existing conventional product which helps us survive in the market. Our Tencel-branded Lyocell fibers are a good example. They recently celebrated more than 30 years but it took over two decades to scale that Lyocell innovation to be commercially viable in the market.

To achieve the economies of scale, we also received EU funding to build a plant in Austria itself. When you introduce a new material in the market, the textile value chain is very long. You have spinning, knitting, weaving, dyeing, finishing, and garment making. Each process needs a lot of machinery, and all of those machines need to handle this new material.

You need to teach the whole value chain how to process your material. We had like 100 to 120 textile engineers traveling the world for more than two decades just teaching the value chain partners how to process our fibers in different settings. That took a lot of investment from Lenzing. We also work a lot with the end customers like brands and retailers, so we have our business development and application development with the designers. We have been working on developing those new products, new applications, and then creating the pull from the market from the end consumer and the customer. So it’s both the push in the textile value chain but also pull from the brands and retailers and the government funding. All those things came together. That’s why we could actually succeed. Without that, it was really difficult. This is one of the examples of why we need an ecosystem to help innovations succeed.

Cascale: How do we foster equal partnerships for the long term across the value chain?

KM: It all comes down to the mutual respect we have towards each other. We need to engage suppliers, seek feedback, and understand each other’s point of view. I think we have a long way to go because sometimes there are hierarchies in the value chain. We need to traverse those boundaries and come together on equal footing and be more like co-creators of the impact that we want rather than, ‘I tell you. You do it.’

For example, we have around 9,000 suppliers in Lenzing, and we have been working with 30 or 40 of them for a long time. We know that when we set our climate change target, we cannot actually reach that target ourselves because more than 50 percent of our emissions come from our upstream suppliers. So we have engaged them and shared our ambition asking what they can do differently. Where do we need to support them? Some of our relationships go for more than two to three decades. Because of that long term partnership, we also have long-term contracts with them. They know that there is a long-term business relationship so they can invest in a low-carbon footprint material, for our product, at the end of the day. Long-term commitments give a signal to them that they matter, and we would like to keep them as one of our partners to invest, work with us, and share expertise.

Sometimes you also need to advocate for them with the policymakers. You need to do all those things together, but it all comes down to having this equal partnership.

Cascale: What are your sustainability aims within your role, Cascale, and the broader industry?

KM: I think we are a role model for other industries, which is why we needed to expand our reach to adjacent categories. I consider myself as a learning leader, and I continue to learn from others. There are so many people who have been there and done that, so we need to learn from those people. I am always looking back from that angle to learn from situations and help others. The second one is to help people succeed by making well-being part of the change-making process. There are so many sustainability practitioners today facing burnout because it is overwhelming work and very complex. I don’t want to pretend it is a cakewalk.

So, how can you help these people succeed? That’s what I focus on when I lead my team. Whenever I work with people, I try to make it part of the conversation that their well-being is very important for our change making. There is no change without taking care of the people because the end goal is to improve the life for the people. So, people are the focus here.

Lastly, my aim for Cascale and the broader industry is to be a conduit and bridge builder between perspectives while bringing people together. Cascale has many stakeholders, and we need to learn from each other to put those pieces of the transformation puzzle together.

Blogs / Board Interview: Sean Cady on Building a Career of Purpose

Board Interview: Sean Cady on Building a Career of Purpose

Leadership

Photo of Sean Cady speaking at a Cascale event with Tamar Hoek

March 15, 2024

As part of a recurring series, Cascale details the involvement and vision of its Board members. Here, Sean Cady, VP Global Sustainability, Responsibility, Trade and Government Affairs, VF Corporation, and Interim CEO, Cascale, shares his perspective.

Cascale: Sean, you’ve been involved with Cascale from the start, beginning when you were at Levi’s. Why?

Sean Cady: Yes, from the beginning, I used the tools and implemented those throughout our supply chains.

I got involved because I believed in the vision and the mission of the organization. Just like today, I believe in the revised vision of Cascale to lead an industry that gives more than it takes to both people and the planet. That’s important to me and I am passionate about this work – about using business as a scale for good. We recognize the impact global businesses have around the world, both on the planet and people, which can be either positive or negative. Cascale brings us the tools that enable us to have a positive impact.

Cascale: You mentioned the name change, and the rebrand is certainly top of everyone’s mind. Why do you think the timing was important?

SC: We’re at a very pivotal point right now. There’s a sense of urgency, we all have to have a sense of urgency, because we see what’s happening around the world. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to recognize the impacts of climate change on the planet – whether it’s rising sea levels, more extreme storms and weather events, or climate migration.

We see these impacts firsthand in our communities, in our countries, and around the world – from wars to supply chain disruptions. We all need to have a shared sense of urgency to create the change that we all want to see in this world.

We have to recognize also that Cascale has created a tremendous amount of value for the apparel and footwear industry, building convening power and bringing the industry together to harmonize on key assessment methodologies. Cascale built credibility in the tools by equal partnership and outreach to different stakeholder groups to align on where we need to prioritize our focus to drive change.

That credibility, that harmonizing power of Cascale, is now ready to be applied to new industries and adjacent product categories. This expansion enables us as an organization to drive impact far beyond what we could achieve previously.

What’s in the name? We wanted to honor the history and the legacy of the SAC. And so the first three letters of Cascale are SAC reversed. And then scale – that’s exactly the point we’re at right now. We’ve built the harmonized credible assessment methodologies that are ready to scale across not only apparel and footwear, but also adjacent product categories and adjacent industries to drive more positive change at that scale that we’re all hoping to see.

Cascale: Your role – as board director and interim CEO – is also about unifying. What is that like?

SC: I’m honored the board asked me to step into the interim CEO role as we’re searching for a new CEO of Cascale. The work is exciting. It enables me to participate in different situations and different roles to drive change that is continuously focused on improving the lives of people and the planet and reducing our industry’s environmental impact. So it is super exciting for me to be in multiple roles. One of the things I learned about Cascale coming into this interim CEO role is that the team is comprised of experts; the team is very, very strong. The strategy is solid, and now it’s all about how do we build for the future.

Cascale: What is the best part of your work? What are the highlights?

SC: I have had the fortune to lead a number of teams here at VF, and I’m proud that VF is a purpose-led organization. That’s why my VF colleagues and I come to work every day.

We have great brands like The North Face and Timberland, and we make great products that help people get outdoors and live active lifestyles, but at the core of all of it – why we show up at VF – is because of that purpose. This enables us to drive a positive impact, which also aligns with Cascale’s goals.

Why do I do it? Well, we know that if you don’t focus on people or the planet, you harm your brand reputation. We know consumers care. We know our stakeholders, our investors, NGOs, and governments care about this work. We know it’s the right thing to do. But really, the best part of my job is the people. It’s the people I get to work with and learn from every single day of my job, whether that’s my job as a board member or interim CEO of Cascale or my job at VF. I love people, and I love the opportunity to work with people all over this world and learn every step of the way.

Cascale: It’s so exciting to have that clear purpose. What has been the hardest part about balancing these roles at such a high level?

SC: The hardest part is the time I need to spend balancing the roles and delivering exceptional results for each organization. But because of my passion for this work, the time commitment is worth it.

This is the reason I’m here. And I’m willing to give, because I know that if I give today, in the future the value will come back to me and to my family and to others around the world. But the biggest challenge now is balancing the time commitments.

Cascale: You mentioned time, what are you doing with any free time outside of your day jobs?

SC: One of the things I’m really passionate about is my family – both my extended family all over the world in New York, Colorado, Hawaii, and Asia – but also my two kids. I am super passionate about raising amazing, global citizens in this challenging world. One of the things I’m focused on with my kids as they grow up is to give them the opportunities to see the world through other people’s eyes. So I bring them into our supplier factories to see what life is like outside of the developed world where they live.

Aside from family, we live in Denver, Colorado, and I can look out my window here and can see the Rocky Mountains with snow on top. I love getting into the mountains, whether that’s mountain biking, or hiking, or now in the winter, getting out and spending a whole day snowboarding. That’s where I get my energy, and it’s a passion that I hope never to lose.

Cascale: What is on the travel list?

SC: Well, we’ve gone all over the world; they’ve spent a lot of time in Asia and both of my children were born in Thailand. Our recent trip out of the country was to Tokyo, which was culturally an eye opener for them. This summer, I’m taking them to Kathmandu, and we’re going to do some trekking up in the Himalayas in Nepal.

So that’ll be a new country for them to go to, and it’ll be a different perspective. I have plans to bring them to Bangladesh, to go to my friend’s factories in Bangladesh, and that will also be eye opening to them.

Cascale: As we’re tracing the arc of your career, what is the best advice you’ve ever received?

SC: There are two pieces of advice that I continue to live by. One, I don’t know where I got it or who gave it to me, but it was to, “Say yes to everything.” And it’s truly benefited my career trajectory. Whenever a challenge was presented to me, I would always say yes. Even if I didn’t know how to get it done, I would go figure it out. And these types of challenges are always an opportunity for me to learn. When the board asked me if I would step in as Interim CEO of Cascale, my first reaction was, “Of course, I will – yes!”

The second piece of advice is to “plan your work, and work your plan.” I believe in that because the number of distractions there are today, the amount of people or technology apps or things on the computer, phone or text messages, just seeking our time distracts us all from delivering exceptional results.

I plan my work; I am very clear on the objectives and the goals of my work, and the work plan to achieve the desired objectives. Then, I work my plan – step by step by step without distraction. That’s one of the areas, I believe, that has made me successful in my career. It’s not just an objective that I set for myself. I build a plan to achieve it, and then I work on that plan step by step by step.

Cascale: Where do you see uncharted territory in your own career and for Cascale as it enters its new era?

SC: For me, personally and professionally, I’m very fulfilled. I feel extremely fortunate in where I am today. My career has taken me to different industries, it’s taken me to live on two different continents, and I’ve worked all over the world.

Because I’ve been able to engage and build friendships with experts around the world, I’ve been able to lead challenging work to deliver exceptional results. I feel as though the work that we’re trying to drive here takes a systems view. It’s not just one person, or one team that’s going to drive exceptional results anymore. We live in a connected world. And I enjoy being able to pull on many different levers to create outsized change. I know that we’ve achieved a great amount of success because of the work we’re all focused on, and I’m particularly honored that I get to play a small role in driving positive impact. I think for Cascale, the organization has an amazing opportunity right now. The tools we built are adding so much value to the apparel and footwear industry today, and I can only imagine how much more change the organization can drive with tools that have proven to be successful time and time again.

Cascale: Anything else to add?

SC: My last message is a huge sense of gratitude and thanks to the Cascale team. All of the staff, leaders, and managers are experts. I also give a huge thanks to all of the Cascale members today for offering your advice and sharing your perspectives and for leveraging the work that Cascale delivers throughout your own businesses.

I’m grateful to the Board of Directors of Cascale for their trust in me and their partnership in driving the entire organization forward, and lastly, I would say thanks to all of the stakeholders that Cascale touches – from the brands and retailers to the manufacturers. From the farmers and the raw material suppliers to the governments and the NGOs and the investors who care about how the tools deliver meaningful analysis of a company’s impact. I feel a huge sense of gratitude for all the people that have helped me become successful and have helped Cascsale become what it is today.

Publications / Membership Brochure

Membership Brochure

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February 22, 2024

Blogs / Board Interview: Delman Lee on Why Fashion Needs a New ‘Mindset’

Board Interview: Delman Lee on Why Fashion Needs a New ‘Mindset’

Board Interview: Delman Lee, Vice Chair Tal Apparel Limited

Decarbonization

Cascale

February 16, 2024

As part of a recurring series, SAC details the involvement and vision of its Board members. Here, Delman Lee, vice chair of Tal Apparel Limited.

Few have been involved from the start but SAC founding member TAL Apparel Limited has seen the organization through a trajectory of changes, including the recent CEO transition and upcoming rebrand. For Delman Lee, vice chair of TAL Apparel Limited, the apparel industry is family matters. He’s a third-generation apparel manufacturer, though despite his notoriety in the industry he also boasts a doctorate from the University of Oxford and a bachelor’s in electrical engineering.

His reflections are summarized in an interview with the SAC.

SAC: How long have you been involved with the SAC?

Delman Lee: Since the beginning; TAL is one of the founding members. We were invited to join by Levi’s. At that time, the annual meeting had three tables. I’ve been involved since the outset, well past a decade now.

SAC: What about the Board?

D.L.: This is my second term. So, it will be three and a half years.

SAC: It seems you really understand the technical nature of supply chains, but have you always considered yourself a sustainability advocate?

D.L.: No, I have not. I was and am an electrical engineer. I spent many years doing research before coming back to the family business. And once I got involved in the business, very early on, I took up the responsibility of looking after [corporate social responsibility] CSR.

I got into sustainability while trying to build a responsible company. That word ‘responsibility’ has transpired into different names. It was CSR at that time, and sustainability now. Because it’s a labor intensive business, there are a lot of social issues. But soon, the environmental challenge came up. At that time I was looking for a framework or language to talk about environmental sustainability and then SAC popped up.

It’s interesting, before Levi’s called me, we heard there was a group formed by some big brands. Patagonia was working on something, and we were wondering who [else] they were. I was very happy that I actually got a call because we were looking for something to unify the way we talk about sustainability, and in particular, environmental [aspects] at that time.

SAC: It’s nice to hear there was a pre-competitive need and collaboration to do something about it. Do you feel like your sustainability aims for Tal have changed over time, and what are they now?

D.L.: TAL has also evolved in the time I’ve been there. We’ve always been a company who cares about the workers and the environment. Sustainability was already what we call ‘value drivers’ of the company. When we did the three-year plan [a decade ago], there were eight value drivers: profit, sales, innovation, employee engagement, the usual stuff, but sustainability was one of the eight, in all three year plans.

More recently it has evolved in our latest strategy review. We changed the purpose of the company to be: “To lead change in how the world sustainably clothes itself.” Sustainability has changed from one of the eight company value drivers to be the long-standing purpose of the company, three years ago.

SAC: And similarly, what about for the SAC, and maybe the broader industry?

D.L.: I think the aims are the same but the tasks are still enormous. To change an industry by collaborating amongst the peers in the supply chain is a difficult one.

SAC: Because the SAC represents over half the textile and apparel industry, it really reflects the kind of progress and pain points of sustainability progress. Where do you see more room for growth and improvement?

D.L.: It has made a lot of progress over the past decade. They built the [Higg Index] tools through the many collaborations with all of the members – whether you are a supplier or a brand or retailer. There are a lot of passionate folks working on all the details of the tools.

The tools and measurements are there, and we are more or less unified in the way we talk about environmental sustainability. On the social side, we are halfway there with Higg Facility Social & Labor Module (FSLM) or Social and Labour Convergence Program (SLCP).

People begin to ask, “Where’s the impact?” Collective action is one of our strategic pillars and approaches on how we use the tools to reflect how things are being done. But really, people need to get onto actions, in particular, for decarbonization because the deadline is coming very quickly for 2030.

TAL Apparel

SAC: Why are manufacturers interested in the SAC?

D.L.: As a manufacturer, we don’t participate in many multi-stakeholder initiatives because we’re a small team, and there are a lot of multi-stakeholder initiatives.

There are two reasons. Even right at the outset, the SAC’s approach to driving change was impressive. On the technical side, even 12 or 14 years ago, they introduced the idea of facility, environmental performance, product performance, and brand performance. There are multi-dimensions of sustainability, and this is a technical aspect that was pretty comprehensive at the time. And then the second reason is they involve partners across the supply chain. Manufacturers are actually at those tables. There are manufacturers talking about how to make the change.

A lot of multi-stakeholder initiatives are usually initiated by brands and retailers. Manufacturers are told to do something, or rarely consulted. A lot of the social and environmental issues are in the plant, so it’s always good to involve the people doing the change in the discussion about change.

We call this an equal partnership principle which has been instilled in SAC from the beginning, and that’s why you see a third of the board comprises brands and retailers, a third is manufacturers, and a third is affiliates. It’s in the governance model. That’s why it’s made so much progress and why it appeals to manufacturers to be part of this coalition.

SAC: How can the SAC, governments, NGOs, etc., support manufacturers more?

D.L.: For climate change, or even for social change, we do need a lot of players. NGOs, pressure groups, and coalitions like the SAC, to help bring people together and bring awareness to the issues.

For me, regulation, in particular on the environmental side, is one of the last levers for change in an industry or in a society, not just our industry but for many industries.

With regulation coming in, governments are beginning to put a price on decarbonization or forced labor. I think it’s a bit unfortunate that the private sector can’t do it by themselves but the private sector and pressure groups can get things going. That’s how big the change is, and not just for our industry. COP29, the United Nations, everyone has to get involved in this particular change.

SAC: What is essential in driving lasting change?

D.L.: A lot of work. The crux of one of the major problems, or the elephant in the room, is who is paying for it? The economic question has to be addressed somehow by someone. And progressive manufacturers may know this will just be the entry ticket to continue to play in this area.

But unfortunately, not everyone in the industry thinks like that. Some people think, “Maybe I can still be a little bit slower on this journey and still get away with it.”This doesn’t just apply to manufacturing, brands and retailers have the same issue, and in the end it ties to the consumer, as well.

If consumers aren’t paying with their pocket, buying or preferring brands that are sustainable, then it drives the behaviors of the brands. If a consumer doesn’t demand it or only certain section demands it, then it’s really not enough.

SAC: Who is involved in this?

D.L.: Now, to get something done. If you map out decarbonization, most of the footprint is actually in the fabric mill. So the fabric mill can make all the changes and can phase out coal if they want, but all that comes with a cost. It’s very simple. They may have just installed some machine that is coal based, how do they transition out of it?

At the end of the day, it is a cost-related issue. It requires some time commitment from the garment manufacturer, and the brands collectively agreeing to a long-term agreement because we’re still in a market economy. Some commitment of orders or long-term commercial agreement would help them to make that capital investment for change. If there is government or foundation funding that helps drive that – great. The industry is big, so you can’t only rely on philanthropic funding for that change. It’s really a combination of everything.

The financial market is also going through a sea change where they have to support the transition, as well. That’s just the commercial side, the other side is linked to the country, or the government of a particular country. So progressive brands, retailers or manufacturers can only progress so far. In Vietnam, for example, where we are based, even if we put solar panels on top of all my roofs, I will not hit my science-based target. It has to rely on off-site solar. And for off-site solar, the regulations are not clear. It depends on the Vietnamese government to allow a commercial entity to come in to set up off-site solar to basically decarbonize the grid. The decarbonization of the grid that we rely on is also part of the journey and that shows the country-level politics.

SAC: What is the single most important issue dividing the industry?

D.L.: It’s really, collectively, to have a mindset that we can do it. You just heard my story, it is multi-dimensional. It’s not just the brand committing to a manufacturer and the fabric mill; it’s the consumer, it’s the country you’re operating in, and it’s the wider energy transition. The whole thing is quite complex. We can work on the apparel-specific stuff: sustainable fibers, recycling, circular fashion, circular economy, but 2030 is only six years away, right? Six years can go by very fast.

Blogs / An Interview with Tamar Hoek, SAC Board Chair, on Where the SAC is Going Next

An Interview with Tamar Hoek, SAC Board Chair, on Where the SAC is Going Next

Tamar Hoek, board chair of the SAC, wearing a taupe blazer and black tie-neck blouse. Hoek detailed milestones.

Kaley Roshitsh

December 13, 2023

In light of the transition news for outgoing CEO Amina Razvi, Board Chair Tamar Hoek details what’s worth celebrating and the potential ahead for the SAC.

SAC: Who are you? What’s your role at the SAC?

Tamar Hoek: Hi there! My name is Tamar Hoek, I am senior policy director at Solidaridad. We are an international civil society organization with 1,200 people in more than 40 countries on 13 different commodities. I am responsible for the advocacy work we do for cotton and textiles, and I am heading Solidaridad’s global linking and learning program for these two commodities.

Solidaridad has been a SAC member for years, and we have contributed to many working groups and the development of the Higg Index suite of tools. I joined the SAC Board two-and-a-half years ago, have been the Secretary for the last two years and took over the role as chair in the September board meeting in Boston during the annual member meeting.

SAC: There’s a lot of change recently at the SAC. Why a new CEO? Why now?

T.H.: As announced in September during New York Climate Week and highlighted at the SAC’s Annual Meeting in Boston, the SAC has updated its strategy. With the changing world, and the increased challenges like climate change, social injustice and economic volatility, it was important to sharpen the focus of SAC on three foundational pillars.

In the last few years, Amina [Razvi] has worked with the Board to lead the SAC through significant growth, the development of key strategic partnerships, and the updated strategic vision. As the organization enters into this new phase of growth and works towards impact expansion, we have mutually agreed that the time is right for her to step away and for the Board to identify a successor.

SAC: Who is leading the charge on a new CEO – and day-to-day operations?

T.H.: We have a number of moves in place to support the CEO transition period.

Amina will remain in the CEO role through the end of December to ensure the start of a smooth transition. The Executive Team will continue to oversee day-to-day operations and key strategic initiatives, while providing ongoing support and guidance. In addition, the Board of Directors has established a dedicated Transition Taskforce, which includes members with specific expertise in managing transitions and change management, Sean Cady from VF Corporation, Delman Lee from TAL Apparel (both past chairs) and myself. The Taskforce, which I am overseeing, will provide strategic direction and governance during the transition period and we are in regular contact with the Executive Team.

It is crucial that our day-to-day operations will continue smoothly. And while a transition comes with changes, the SAC wants to ensure that the operations maintain the smooth operation of essential functions. We will keep employees, members, and stakeholders informed of relevant updates through our regular communication channels. This includes the search for Amina’s successor – currently underway by a global recruitment agency – and any significant milestones as the search progresses. If members have specific questions or concerns about how the transition may affect their organization, we encourage them to reach out to their membership engagement manager.

SAC: Where is the organization now compared to when it started?

T.H.: We’ve achieved remarkable milestones together during Amina’s tenure, like a new strategic plan in 2021, that was refocused in 2023 to prioritize sustainable impact at scale, the doubling of SAC’s membership since 2019 (over 300 organizations), and the evolution of the suite of Higg Index tools with over 24,000 organizations adopting the tools, facilitating standardized sustainability reporting worldwide. This also includes successfully managing the Worldly spin-off in 2019 and overseeing plans for the Social & Labor Convergence Program spin-off in January 2024, creating a more robust ecosystem of partners.

SAC: Where is it going next?

T.H.: We are actively listening during this time. The SAC’s mission remains unchanged. There is a lot of positive momentum, recently the Board of directors approved the strategic plan and 2025 goals. As I said before, Solidaridad works in 13 different industries, and we clearly see that the apparel and footwear industry is a frontrunner when it comes to a lot of sustainability topics and definitely has a lot of momentum.

The update of the strategic plan offers opportunities to take the Higg Index suite of tools to the next level, using the power of data to create impact by collaborating and taking collective action, and at the same time looking into how we can share this mission.

SAC: How will this transition affect current partners, members and staff?

T.H.: This transition will not impact our ongoing partnerships, which have been identified as critical to us achieving our shared goals and broader mission. We remain fully committed to maintaining and strengthening our relationships with our valued members and partners. Our focus is on ensuring continuity, collaboration, and open communication to continue delivering value together.

SAC: Why is this an exciting time to be part of the SAC?

T.H.: At the presentation of the revision of the strategic plan, Amina very well said, and I am quoting a couple of her words: “We can either remain passive participants or become catalysts for profound, industry-wide change.”

While the focus in the last few years has been on building the Higg Index suite of tools, the sharpened focus aims to create a meaningful, measurable impact on the industry’s most urgent issues.

With that the SAC is deeply committed to create a more sustainable and fair world for all, which very much aligns with Solidaridad mission. The SAC has all actors around the table: brands, manufacturers and affiliates – now 50 percent of the apparel industry – which is not easy for multi-stakeholder initiatives. What inspires me here is that we can solve the industry’s most urgent and systemic challenges by working closely together, by creating collective impact amongst the members and partners.

Over the last few weeks, while working on the transition, I have been inspired as well by the enormous dedication of the SAC’s Executive Team and the staff. So, as the chair of the Board, I am looking forward to working with the SAC, the Executive Team and staff, and the members and partners in this transition phase and in the next evolution towards impact.

SAC: Anything else to add?

T.H.: Change always brings uncertainty, but I am confident with the current SAC staff and executive team, with our close partners like Worldly, and the contribution of all of our over 300 members, the transition will lead to bigger opportunities and greater impact at scale in the near future.

Thank you to our stakeholders, members, and staff, for being part of this collective evolution.

Find a video online: https://www.youtube.com/embed/X30BmdTWfag?&controls=1

Blogs / It All Starts at the Top: Why the Fashion Industry Needs to Embrace Equity in the Boardroom

It All Starts at the Top: Why the Fashion Industry Needs to Embrace Equity in the Boardroom

Gender Equity

Amina Razvi

April 13, 2023

Women dominate the world of fashion. They comprise the majority of workers from the design phase, to the facility floor and drive the majority of purchasing decisions as consumers. Despite this influence, they are significantly under-represented in the C-suite and in board rooms across the globe, with women occupying just 20% of boardroom seats globally. While 80% of garment workers are women, 75% of CEO roles within the textile and apparel sector are held by men. We need more women leaders because gender equity is critical to achieving our long term success as an industry, and will enable us to thrive as a global community.

Increasing diverse voices at every level, from the boardroom to the facility floor, gives us the best opportunity to solve the multiple crises we face and co-create solutions by involving all who have a role to play and are often most impacted by these decisions. Prioritizing equity at every level across an organization through investment, policy and a culture that actively supports women can result in transformative impact – for businesses and society. In doing so, companies and consumers can benefit from the broadest possible range of creative approaches and ideas, creating greater resiliency and opportunity for all, not just some. To transform our industry as radically as the latest IPCC report determines to avert the worst impacts of climate change – women need to not only have a seat at the table but they must be involved in the decision-making processes at every point in the continuum.

Unfortunately, throughout the corporate world, women leaders are currently leaving in droves. What’s been dubbed the ‘Great Breakup’ has seen women executives quitting their companies at the highest rate ever. According to management consultant McKinsey’s Women in the Workplace report, businesses are struggling to hold onto the few women leaders they have, because many are expecting more equitable, supportive, and inclusive workplaces and are willing to leave to find it.

What part can we play to stop the mass exodus of current female executives, while simultaneously encouraging the next generation of women leaders? In practice, we need to acknowledge that women’s experiences are different. To support this difference, we need better policies, greater mentorship and to ensure equity for women at all levels of business. One of our manufacturer members, CIEL Textile, runs the GO Beyond Gender program. It has an ambitious target of 35% of Women at Management level by 2030, and a broad variety of initiatives designed to work towards that target. Eric Dorchies, CEO, from CIEL Textile said “In order to launch the program we underwent a process of real collaboration, uniting the top leaders and participants from our different business units across Mauritius, India, Madagascar and Bangladesh. We had to recognize change starts at the top, and we will see this filter down through our business”.

In addition, there needs to be clear pathways to promotion for women across the entire value chain. Mentorship is particularly important in this regard. I’ve been very lucky to have had a couple of women mentors, but most have been men, simply because they tend to have the time. Now as a leader myself, I understand this situation firsthand. When women ask me to mentor them, allocating time is often challenging. We need to help nurture the women in our teams and across our companies and dedicate time to empower them to grow and develop and organizations should support this.

As a woman in a leadership position, I firmly believe that to address the challenges ahead and create the best possible version of our industry, we need greater representation at all levels. Imagine the impact we could see if we placed an emphasis on ensuring greater diversity. How could supply chains change for the better? What new solutions could we see towards tackling climate change, improving human rights, increasing gender equity, and reversing biodiversity degradation? What could the ripple effect be from the boardroom to the factory floor? We are missing an opportunity to unleash the full spectrum of innovation, creativity and alternative styles of thinking and leadership to bear on the challenges we face. We are limiting our opportunities to truly thrive together. From a societal and equality perspective, it is essential that we find new ways to help women rise through its ranks. It is my belief that women leadership is critical to achieve the greener, cleaner and fairer future we all desire.