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The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) opened the doors to Planet Textiles at the Fiera Milano Rho exhibition center from June 12 – 13, welcoming attendees to the 2023 edition of the event, which was being hosted at this year’s Textile & Garment Technology Exhibition (ITMA 2023), the world’s largest international textile and garment technology exhibition. Under the theme, Future-Proofing Global Supply Chains, the event took place over two days and brought together over 200 delegates to network with industry peers and share learnings and best practices on how collective action can help accelerate industry transformation and future-proof global supply chains.
SAC CEO, Amina Razvi, began her welcome address by asserting the importance of collaboration in creating transformational change within the textile and apparel industry. Reflecting on the recent reports by climate scientists, warning that our world’s temperature could surpass the critical threshold of 1.5°C degrees for the very first time this year, Razvi highlighted the importance of future-proofing as the key to the well-being of millions of workers, their communities, consumers, and, above all, the planet we all rely on.
“Each and every one of us here today understands the complex and interlinked challenges before us. We share a steadfast commitment to fostering collective action, instigating change, and driving progress. So let’s seize the opportunity before us to create a more responsible, equitable, and just industry. By harnessing our collective vision, problem-solving abilities, and collaborative spirit, I am confident in our capacity to have a significant impact. I believe we can because I witness it every day within the SAC community,” Razvi said.
Razvi closed off her address with a call to action to attendees to join the SAC and support its initiatives and partners working to drive positive change and create a global industry that gives more than it takes – to people and the planet.
Zubeida Zwavel, Executive Director, Centre for African Resource Efficiency and Sustainability delivered the keynote addresses for day one of the conference. Andrea Rosso, Diesel Sustainability Ambassador, Diesel SPA and Kim van der Weerd, freelance consultant and host of the podcast Manufactured, delivered the keynote addresses for day two of the conference, respectively.
Zwavel shared how her experience growing up in Cape Malay, South Africa, working in her family-owned factory, influenced her journey into the field of sustainability. She highlighted the various projects she has been involved in, including working with the municipality in Hammarsdale on resource efficiency and waste minimization projects to reduce wastewater pollution from textile industries, and an eco-labeling project with the United Nations Environmental Programme among others. She highlighted the importance of building real partnerships and how, if we are to achieve the targets we’ve set, we must ensure key knowledge transfer, empowerment and, most importantly, compassion.
Rosso shared key aspects of Diesel’s responsible living strategy, lower impact material and circularity. On circularity, he highlighted the criteria established for each product, supplier and technology that the company follows in order to label their products with the responsible living tag. He stressed the importance of having standards across different stages of production – trim, fabric, fiber, treatment, etc – to empowering an organization’s requirement of the same of its suppliers before a final product comes in. He shared Diesel’s various innovative approaches to creating its products and projects such as Rehab Denim,as well as a pilot project with the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO).
Van der Weerd’s keynote focused on the need to establish common ground to drive effective decarbonization efforts. She called for all stakeholders to collaborate deeply and with empathy to drive change across the industry.
Navigating the Legislation Landscape
Addressing legislation and its impact on the footwear and apparel sector, Baptiste Carriere-Pradal opened the panel discussion by providing an overview of the current landscape, upcoming regulations and potential impacts for companies and how they can prepare for them.
Maxine Bédat, Director, New Standard Institute weighed in on upcoming legislation from the USA, specifically the New York Fashion Act, stating that feedback from various stakeholders has been instrumental in ensuring the policy developed is implementable. She highlighted how the Act has taken into consideration the fact that companies need time to make the necessary investments in readiness for its implementation. She went on to add that legislators are keeping track of developments in the EU to ensure it aligns as needed, avoiding a patchwork approach in its development.
Ilishio Lovejoy, General Manager, ESG, Simple Approach, shared the important role legislation has to play and the opportunity it offers to level the playing field. Speaking on the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, she highlighted some of the challenges the industry is facing in implementing it because of a lack of clear understanding of the requirements and how to meet them as a new law and the various ways it can be interpreted.
SAC’s Senior Director of Public Affairs Elisabeth von Reitzenstein took to the stage moderating a panel that sought to take a deeper dive into the European Union (EU) proposed directive on substantiating green claims. Starting off by highlighting the purpose of the directive, she shared how it is intertwined with existing pieces of legislation and ongoing discussions around it in the European Union parliament and Council of the European Union, particularly on the need for a common methodology to ensure harmonization of legislation in the EU, and the opportunity to complete it before the European elections, slated for next year.
Jia Liu, Global Sustainability Director, TÜV Rheinland Group shared her perspective on the proposed directive as a certification testing company, highlighting one of the requirements of the directive will be that all claims be backed by a methodology based on scientific evidence and to ensure that everything claimed is based on a life cycle approach.
Jeremy Lardeau, Vice President, Higg Index, Sustainable Apparel Coalition called for companies to get ready for upcoming legislation and take the initiative to engage with relevant stakeholders and to understand the requirements such as preparing to understand and have better product and style level data. He also called for more recognition for companies taking the lead in investing in better sustainability performance practices.
Accelerating Action on Greenhouse Gas Reduction
This year’s Planet Textiles conference also featured a number of sessions focused on collective action towards tackling climate change. Jeremy Levin, Senior Energy Specialist, Global Thematic Lead, IFC Global Manufacturing; Kurt Kipka, Chief Impact Officer, Apparel Impact Institute; and Shuvajit Mandal, Advisor and Country Manager, GIZ joined Joyce Tsoi, SAC’s Director, Collective Action Programs, to discuss the industry’s progress towards decarbonization, challenges and opportunities to accelerate action.
Kipka highlighted the importance of accelerating action in a concerted and focused way and of ensuring engagement with the right stakeholder partners to minimize redundancy. He also spoke about the importance of collecting and sharing data points across the board.
Mandal shared insight on GIZ’s programs, highlighting three perspectives working to incentivize factories to shift to renewable energy: cost-advantage, where by a clear business case for factories will encourage the shift to renewable energy; energy security, where by factories are looking to tackle the energy crisis, by insuring the security and quality of their energy; and the commitment to climate protection goals by brands, in order to maintain good relationships with them.
Levin shared his perspective on how the industry can accelerate efforts towards decarbonization, stating that brands and stakeholders need to do more to accelerate and unlock existing financing to improve bankability of projects.
Role of Data in Sustainability
Begoña Garcia, Senior Product Manager, Jeanologia S.L.; Brooke Roberts-Islam, Founder, Techstyler & Senior Contributor, Forbes; Cerian Atwell, Senior Sustainability Manager, Marks & Spencer; and Michela Gioacchini, Fashion & Sporting Goods Lead Quantis Italy, Quantis joined Joël Mertens, SAC’s Director of Product Tools, to share the different perspectives on the importance of Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) data in the supply chain and what it means for manufacturers.
Atwell shared how Marks & Spencer is using LCAs to inform their business decisions in light of upcoming legislation, highlighting how it guides their raw material choices and conversion of their materials into more sustainable versions of the same. She asserted a key need within LCA tools was for a way to reflect the impacts of dyeing and finishing, which account for 52% of the impact according to the roadmap report by Apparel Impact Institute.
Gioacchini shared insight on the evolution of the LCA space stating that more companies requesting LCAs have matured and now understand the kind of data they are looking for, resulting in more specific questions to guide the primary data collection. She highlighted the EU Green Claims Directive driving the increased demand from companies for LCAs and corporate product footprinting to guide their external communications.
SAC Executive Vice President Andrew Martin and Global Fashion Agenda CEO Federica Marchionni, delivered closing remarks for day one of the conference, while SAC Vice President of the Higg Index Jeremy Lardeau and ZDHC Implementation Director Klass Nuttbohm delivered closing remarks on day two of the conference.
The Planet Textiles conference concluded with the announcement of a partnership between the SAC and Apparel Impact Institute on an initiative geared towards supporting efforts to accelerate and scale decarbonization programs to accelerate the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions across the entire industry. The announcement was a testament to the SAC’s commitment to collaborating with stakeholders to co-create and scale solutions that drive systemic change.
Purchase Planet Textiles 2023 session recordings to watch the various panel discussions that took place. We also invite you to share your feedback on Planet Textiles 2023 using this survey link.
The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) today announces a media partnership with FashionUnited, the world’s largest business-to-business cross media fashion platform for fashion professionals and companies. This collaboration will see both organizations working in close partnership in the development and promotion of content highlighting the SAC’s initiatives and efforts to engage with stakeholders in the textile and apparel industry to drive positive change.
As part of this partnership, FashionUnited is partnering with the SAC on two upcoming training sessions, the Higg Facility Environmental Module (FEM) 4.0 Training and Science-Based Target (SBT) Training, both of which will be hosted on June 14 in Milan, Italy, following on from Planet Textiles on June 12-13.
Ahead of the launch of the updated Higg FEM 4.0 and following the recent launch of the SAC’s Decarbonization Program, the trainings will provide opportunities for business professionals from across the value chain to participate in a set of in-person trainings to optimize their knowledge on using the facility-dedicated tool and how to set and implement science-based targets.
Sponsored by Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and Fabric Asia, the trainings will be led by SAC’s Angela Ng, Director of Facility Tools; Joyce Tsoi, Director of Collective Action Programs; Yasotharan Manivel, Manager of Collective Action Programs; and Executive Director of The Circular Institute, Michael Sadowski.
The SAC is pleased to be a Content Partner for ReThink HK, Hong Kong’s most ambitious business event for sustainable development. Join us on September 14-15, 2023 at the HKCEC for the 4th edition of this large-scale, cross-sector platform that champions ESG transformation and showcases game-changing innovation.
With 500+ expert speakers across eight themed Stages, ReThink HK will provide unparalleled insights into six key sustainability themes, including net zero & nature positive, circular transition, innovation & technology, people & purpose, sustainable buildings & facilities, and sustainable finance & supply chains. Plus, get challenged to solve sustainability issues at the newly added ReThink Roundtables.
As part of this partnership, the SAC will host a Roundtable session. Join Joyce Tsoi, Director of Collective Action Programs at the SAC for a guided and interactive experience focused on “Rethinking Textiles & Apparel”. This session will gather industry representatives to explore Scope 3 Decarbonization challenges and identify key solutions and opportunities for cross-sectoral collaboration associated with reducing carbon emissions throughout the value chain, identifying and mitigating risks associated with climate change and sustainability issues, and improving ESG performance through responsible and sustainable business practices.
Register today to take advantage of super-early bird passes; no discount code required. As a member of the SAC community, enjoy an exclusive discount to this event by using the discount code SACP23 for tickets purchased between June 6 and August 14.
The textile and apparel industry is under the spotlight more than ever and there is no doubt that the fashion and textile industry must transform to better serve the needs of people and planet. However, the complexity of the industry, with supply chains spanning across the globe, no organization or government can do it alone. Collaboration is the only way to protect our industry, the planet and its people, long term.
At the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), collaboration and partnership have always been at the heart of the organization, which was formed with an ambitious vision to bring together all stakeholders to develop a universal approach to measuring sustainability performance and to drive collective action.
This year’s GreenBiz23, which took place from February 14-16 in Scottsdale, Arizona presented a great opportunity for the SAC to engage in thoughtful conversations with other leaders on how stakeholders throughout the value chain can work together to tackle the systemic challenges of human rights and climate change.
Speaking on a panel titled, “The Higg Index: Lessons and Perspectives”, Amina Razvi, CEO of the SAC, joined James Schaffer, Chief Strategy Officer at Higg and Jeannie Renne-Malone, Vice President, Global Sustainability at VF Corporation in a thought provoking discussion, where she kicked things off by sharing the history of how the SAC came to be, during a time when organizations worked in silos and measured different versions of “impact”. The SAC has since been working to drive the radical change needed by bringing together organizations from across the industry and beyond to collaborate on sustainability solutions.
Amina shared insights and key learnings following the NCA notification in 2022 on the use of Higg Index data to support consumer-facing environmental claims. Reflecting on the challenges faced, she highlighted how the period created a positive opportunity for self-reflection for the organization and others in the industry. She went on to add that SAC is working collaboratively with authorities and stakeholders to drive clarity on what full ‘transparency’ means and how to communicate that in the best way possible.
On the role of multi-stakeholder organizations to move the industry forward, Amina emphasized the importance of the industry coming together to demonstrate transparency and action in not only reducing its social and environmental impacts, but in delivering positive benefits to the planet and its people. She also called for harmonized legislation to help steer the industry’s efforts to tackle the worst impacts of climate change.
The panel closed off with a call for greater collaborative action, involving the entire value chain, to ensure everyone understands how to leverage standardized tools to not only assess where they are, but to use the data to actually drive performance improvement.
The SAC is excited to announce our marketing partnership with Innovation Forum for the Sustainable Apparel and Textiles Conference USA, taking place in New York on June 21 and 22.
The conference will provide an opportunity to address the urgent need for brands to align their practices with growing stakeholder expectations and develop strategies for achieving net-zero, transforming supply chains, engaging consumers, scaling circularity, and driving positive social impacts. The event will feature senior representatives from top organizations such as Carhartt, Lululemon, Conservation International, Everlane, and Gap Inc.
SAC’s Director of Higg Products Aaron Di Silvestro will speak at a session on Material dilemmas: How to obtain credible data on the full impact of material decisions.
For more information and to register, please visit the Innovation Forum website or contact Catie Ball at catie.ball@innovationforum.co.uk. Use our exclusive code ‘SAC10’ for a 10% discount on conference passes. Join us and other industry leaders to discuss the future of sustainable apparel and textiles.
The Sustainable Apparel Coalition has responded to the Substantiating Green Claims Directive, which was proposed by the European Commission on March 22.
Andrew Martin, Executive Vice President, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition:
“The long awaited Substantiating Green Claims Directive as proposed on March 22 by the European Commission falls short of its stated ambition to address greenwashing. At a time when ‘only swift and drastic action can avert irrevocable damage to the world’, as set out by the IPCC this week, this is a missed opportunity from the European Commission to be a global frontrunner on sustainability and fulfilling ambitions set out in its Green Deal.
“The Directive does not mandate a standardized and clearly defined framework based on scientific foundations and fails to provide the legal certainty for companies and clarity to consumers. This lack of focus has the potential to open the door to a range of varied and incomparable methodologies, risking undermining, rather than advancing, progress in the sector.
“After a decade in development, the EU commissioned and funded Product Environmental Footprint (PEF) is the most holistic, scientifically-grounded method to date for assessing the environmental impact of a product. We therefore urge EU policy makers to reconsider its inclusion within the Directive. As science evolves, so too will the PEF – constantly evolving, growing and strengthening to provide a more comprehensive picture of sustainability.”
The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) Board of Directors held their fourth quarter meeting on October 31 in Singapore. During the meeting, the Board welcomed three new members and discussed developments on key issues impacting the organization’s efforts to transform the industry, share progress against the strategic plan and align on the key revisions needed to ensure the SAC continues to work towards its vision of a global consumer goods industry that gives more than it takes — to the planet and its people. The meeting took place ahead of the 2022 Annual Meeting in Singapore.
Under the chairmanship of Delman Lee, Vice Chair, TAL Apparel, the Board meeting kicked off by welcoming the new members, including one new external advisor. The new additions will work with the SAC by sharing their advice and counsel on specific topics to help drive progress and collective action across the industry. The new members are:
With a background as an aerospace engineer and business economist and a PhD on “Corporate Happiness”, Dr. Rüdiger brings a unique perspective and approach to tackling the climate emergency we are living in. Dr. Rüdiger has served over 30 years as CEO of medium and large corporations in Aerospace, Telecom, Textile and Engineering/Innovation.
“I am honored for the opportunity to join the SAC’s Board of Directors. I’m excited to serve alongside my peers and work with the SAC to drive change and ensure progress is made in our industry,” said Dr. Rüdiger.
“I am humbled and grateful for the opportunity to represent the SAC manufacturer members. I believe collaboration across the value chain and collective action is key to transforming the industry. I look forward to bringing my experience and contributing towards achieving that goal,” said Krishna Manda, Vice President, Corporate Sustainability, Lenzing AG.
Krishna has over 17 years of experience in sustainability with various stakeholders, brands, manufacturers, associations, academia and NGOs and deep passion for embedding sustainability into core business functions, to nurture culture change anchored in values and to create holistic sustainability impact from raw materials to the final product.
Greg brings over 25 years of experience in advising business leaders and leading communications functions for several of the world’s top companies and brands. He has previously led corporate communications and issues management functions and served as a spokesperson for five other Fortune 500 companies, including Walmart, Gap Inc., and FedEx.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to share my expertise in external communications and issues management. I look forward to serving as a strategic thought partner for the SAC, providing advice and counsel to help steer the organization’s communications efforts in the right direction,” said Greg Rossiter, Corporate Communications Consultant.
In addition, incumbent Board members Sean Cady, Vice President, Global Supply Chain and Responsible Sourcing at VF Corporation, and Tamar Hoek, Senior Policy Advisor Sustainable Fashion, Solidaridad were re-elected for a second term following elections by the membership.
SAC CEO Amina Razvi said, “We’re excited to welcome all the elected and re-elected Board members and advisors. By combining their diverse perspectives and experience, they will support and guide the SAC’s efforts to accelerate our collective action efforts, deepening collaboration throughout the value chain to bring about the radical transformation of the apparel and footwear industry”.
The recently concluded annual UN Climate Change Conference (COP27) brought delegates from all over the world to discuss the progress the world has made in the fight against climate change and the impact business is having on people and planet. As discussions progressed, it was clear the world has not made as much progress as needed to tackle the climate crisis.
From climate activists making waves and calling for more concrete action to curb climate change, to failure to make progress on limiting global temperature increase to 1.5°C, attendees highlighted the urgency with which the world needs to act to address the climate emergency we are living in. However, following the two-week long climate conference, the event concluded with a historic decision to establish and operationalize a loss and damage fund, particularly for nations most vulnerable to the climate crisis.
As an organization committed to leading the industry toward a shared vision of sustainability, the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), an independent and impact-creating organization that brings together around half of the apparel industry to enable positive social and environmental impact at scale joined other leaders in calling for deeper collaboration and accelerated action across the industry to drive change in the fashion industry and deliver on its decarbonization targets.
Speaking on a panel titled “Is the fashion eco-system ramping up to support transparency and sector decarbonisation?”,Amina Razvi, CEO of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, joined other distinguished leaders, where they discussed opportunities to create transparency in the supply chain, deliver on decarbonization targets, and drive positive change across the industry.
Amina acknowledged the progress the industry has made in understanding how to align on measurement, the insight and data available, highlighting that more than 21,000 organizations globally are using and scaling SAC tools within their business and supply chain and, as a result, are driving understanding, adoption and improvements.
However, on the progress of decarbonization strategies, Amina said, “There is clearly a lot more our industry needs to be doing and we need to be involving the entire value chain. It’s not just brands and retailers, it’s manufacturers, and the whole supply chain making sure that every company is looking at how they leverage standardized tools to not only assess where they are, but to use the data to drive performance improvement.”
Federica Marchionni, CEO of Global Fashion Agenda, shared her perspective on the key stakeholders needed in the drive for change and said that everyone has a role to play, including brands and manufacturers, financial institutions, governments, policymakers, consumers and media. Meanwhile, Kehua Hu, Sustainability Stewardship director, China National Apparel Council, spoke on the carbon-neutral goal of companies in China and said that it was not an optional goal but a mandatory one.
Syeda Faiza Jamil, Programme Director, Net Zero Pakistan at Pakistan Environment Trust, who recently held a roundtable on boosting decarbonisation partnerships at the SAC annual meeting in Singapore, spoke on the climate vulnerability of Pakistan and opportunities in the drive towards decarbonization and said there is an opportunity to scale up the organization’s work.
She shared how they are working with their member companies on capacity building initiatives and added that the pivot needed should be from planning conversations to real and radical action on the ground. On transparency, she called upon the fashion industry to trust the local expertise in different geographies to help optimize the efforts the fashion industry is making.
Claire Bergkamp, COO of Textile Exchange, shared a perspective on growth and said it all comes down to collaboration and thinking of new solutions and ways of doing things. She added that while there is a need for data to measure progress to make sure we are meeting our commitments, it should not let that get in the way of what needs to happen now.
The panel concluded with a call from all the panelists for deeper collaboration to scale solutions and accelerate action to address the urgent climate change issues and drive change across the fashion industry.