Our host Philip Berman sits down with Marie-Jeanne Gaertner, project and policy officer at RREUSE (Reuse and Recycling European Union Social Enterprises) to find out why the textile reuse and recycling sector in the European Union is facing an unprecedented crisis.

Gaertner says that a recent open letter to the European Commission and member states, penned by RREUSE, explains why the sector is on the brink of financial collapse, with social enterprises bearing the brunt of this turmoil.

She notes how the current 'crisis', which has seen several notable business failures in 2024, is unlike any previously encountered.

She claims that up to 16% of the textiles collected in some regions are simply waste that cannot be used and will need to be disposed – at a significant financial cost.

She adds, “So now that there are more and more opportunities to resell products on a consumer-to-consumer basis, we observe that consumers tend to resell themselves the most valuable items and donate or throw out the non-reusable ones."

What's discussed:

• RREUSE represents over 1,200 social enterprises across 30 countries, all dedicated to collecting, sorting, and repurposing textiles.
• These enterprises collected approximately 337,000 tonnes of textiles in 2023.
• They are now struggling with a growing influx of low-quality donations due to ultra-fast fashion.
• Blames the textile recycling problems on overconsumption of low quality apparel.
• Says impending regulation will only add fuel to the fire.
• Talks about required financing mechanisms to keep sector healthy to meet EU circularity goals.

Find out more about our daily news website and our pioneering printed magazine Ecotextile News at: www.ecotextile.com that's been reporting on environmental and social issues in fashion and textile supply chains sicne 2006.

This episode of Ecotextile Talks explores the legal challenge facing fast fashion company Shein as it considers listing on the London Stock Exchange (LSE). 

In the summer UK based charity, Stop Uyghur Genocide, asked the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) to reject any potential request from Shein to list on the LSE. 

At the moment, we don't know for sure whether Shein has submitted a request to the FCA so as we all wait, we thought that it would helpful for a lawyer to take us inside the legal case against Shein's listing on the London Stock Exchange.

Not just any lawyer, but the one representing Stop Uyghur Genocide, Ricardo Gama from the UK law firm Leigh Day. 

We discuss:

1. The legal basis for opposing Shein's potential listing, focusing on the UK Modern Slavery Act and the Proceeds of Crime Act.
2. How these laws could apply to Shein's operations, even though the company produces goods outside the UK.
3. The alleged evidence presented to the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regarding forced labor in the Uyghur region and its alleged connection to Shein's supply chain.
4. Shein's response to the allegations and correspondence from Leigh Day
5. The potential next steps in the legal process, including the possibility of a judicial review if the Financial Conduct Authority approves any potential Shein's listing.

In the interests of balance and journalistic integrity, we emailed Shein on 25th September to give it an opportunity to respond to the allegations being made in this podcast by Leigh Day, on behalf of Stop Uyghur Genocide, in particular that its supply chain allegedly features forced labour, and the consequential handling of criminal property in breach of the UK Proceeds of Crime Act.

We asked Shein for either a recorded interview to include at the end of this podcast, or a written statement but as of September 30th no one from Shein had replied.

In the podcast we also invited Shein to record a follow-up podcast with us, to respond to the content of this one.

If you would like to read more about the, "NCA and its failure to investigate imports linked to forced labour - see this Guardian article  

If you're interested in this issue, then you might like to listen to another recent edition of Ecotextile Talks entitled: "Can we trust textile factory audits in China?" which has an interview with the Executive Director of the Worker Rights Consortium, Scott Nova.

In this episode of Ecotextile Talks, we explore the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDD). This significant new European law entered into force on 25 July 2024 and will be rolled out in phases. 

Hosted by Philip Berman and featuring Alexander Kohnstamm, Executive Director of Fair Wear, this discussion sheds light on the critical need for companies to uphold human rights and environmental protections throughout their supply chains. Key questions covered include:

• How will the CSDD reshape human rights due diligence practices in the textile industry?
• What specific compliance measures must companies implement to align with this directive?
• In what ways is Fair Wear assisting businesses in navigating these new regulations?

Alexander also shares details about Fair Wear's upcoming Human Rights Due Diligence Academy, which officially launches on October 9th. This initiative aims to equip companies with the knowledge and tools necessary for effective compliance. For further information, visit HRDDacademy.com or reach out via email at [email protected]

Our host Philip Berman sits down with Claudia Kersten, managing director of the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) to discuss a cotton monitoring project which is literally out of this world. 

GOTS is working alongside the European Space Agency (ESA) and artificial intelligence specialist Marple to monitor Indian organic cotton crops from space – using AI and satellite imagery to verify farming techniques and identify fraud. 

The participants discuss how using satellite imagery and AI can distinguish between organic cotton fields from conventional ones.

The project, funded by the ESA involved visiting 6,000 fields in India to collect 'ground truth' data, which was used to train an algorithm to identify organic cotton fields. The current accuracy is 80%, with plans to improve it. The initiative aims to increase organic cotton production and integrity, benefiting both farmers and consumers.

Future steps include expanding to other regions, and refining the technology for higher accuracy. This accuracy is expected to improve through ongoing refinement and validation processes, involving more visual inspections and cross-checking with existing data.

GOTS says that the next steps will involve connecting the market and supporting organic conversion projects.

Fresh from his high-profile appearance at a recent US Congressional-Executive Commission on China hearing, Scott Nova, Executive Director of the Workers Rights Consortium in Washington DC, gave Philip Berman a hard-hitting interview questioning the reliability of social compliance audits in China. 

Scott says about auditing companies working in the Xinjiang region:

"I'm sure there are some that are actually claiming that they can conclusively demonstrate the absence of forced labor in the region, but no auditor should be working there. It's incredibly disreputable. Even aside from the fact that you can't conduct a methodologically credible audit there, what you were doing by operating there, Is you are enhancing the ability of the Chinese government to keep doing what it is doing to the Uyghur people because the best hope the Uyghur people have is that this economic boycott will convince the Chinese government that it is in its interest to chart a different course in terms of its treatment of the Uyghurs." Scott and Philip discussed the impact of the Ughur Forced Labor Prevention Act, in stopping goods made using forced Labor coming into the US. 

Interestingly, Scott said that since the Act has come into force, "to our knowledge, nobody has overcome that rebuttable presumption," that goods coming from that region were not made with forced labor. 

We followed up this point with Scott after the podcast - as it appeared that a number of goods had been seized by US customs under the law and Scott told us:

"On UFLPA seizures, there are two different phases of the process. In the first phase, CBP 'targets' shipments that it thinks have content from the Uyghur Region. Some of the targeted shipments are released because CBP determines they don’t have such content. If CBP does confirm there is content from the Uyghur Region, then the shipment is denied entry to the US, based on the presumption that all goods with content from the Uyghur Region were made with forced labor. That is the second phase. At that point, an importer can attempt to rebut that presumption by showing that no forced labor was actually used. No company has successfully done so. The released goods to which you are referring were released in the first phase, based on where the content was from."

It's a fascinating and broad-ranging conversation, with Scott and Philip discussing several issues around this topic, in particular:

Why, according to Scott, impartial factory audits are so hard to carry out in the Xinjiang region? 

Does he think the issue is confined to just this province?

Whether we should trust any social audits in China?

And what does he think this all mean for any company wanting to do business there?

You can read much more on this issue online at Ecotextile News where we most recently reported that a court ruled that the UK National Crime Agency’s (NCA) refusal to investigate forced labour links to cotton imported from China was unlawful.

This comes after cotton exports from the region continue to surge despite legislation in the USA.

In the final edition of our four-part podcast series, produced in partnership with Cascale, formerly the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, we discuss the need for collective action and pre competitive collaboration to deliver real impact. 

Regular host Philip Berman is joined by Joyce Tsoi, senior director of the decarbonization program at Cascale, and Magnus Dorsch, Head of Corporate Sustainability, at online retail portal About You. 

Topics covered

2 minutes What inspires Joyce and Magnus in their work?

4 minutes What is pre-competitive collaboration, its importance generally and for Cascale

5 minutes Its importance for About You and their Fashion Leap for Climate project

7 minutes Where is the mutual benefit of a project like Fashion Leap for Climate? 

8 minutes What are the challenges of pre-competitive collaboration, and how has Magnus managed them? 

9 minutes How does Magnues collaborate with manufacturers for About You’s private label? 

11 minutes Cascale’s collaboration with manufacturers.

13 minutes Magnus’ challenge of working with small manufacturers 

14 minutes Joyce and Magnus discuss Cascale’s Manufacturer Climate Action Programme - MCAP

 What do manufacturers think about the programme?

Discussion about science-based targets

20 minutes What challenges do manufacturers face in decarbonising?

21 minutes Particular issues with manufacturers sourcing renewable energy in South East Asia.

22 minutes Could manufacturers be focusing on energy efficiency as a first step? What about biomass?

24 minutes Magnus discusses what About You is doing to become more energy efficient and source more renewable energy. They are setting examples as a form of social signalling.

27 minutes Magnus and Joyce leave us with inspiring end messages! 

30 minutes End

We sit down with Sean Cady, vice president of global sustainability, responsibility and trade for VF Corporation and also elected board director for Cascale, and Andrew Martin, executive vice president of Cascale for our latest podcast on decarbonising the fashion supply chain.

This third of a four part podcast series, features a deep dive into how best to tackle carbon reductions in the global apparel industry and take a closer look at Cascale’s shift from tools to programmes.

In the second of a four part podcast series in partnership with Cascale, formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, we look at the potential impact on the textile industry of revolutionary new EU laws on green claims and eco-design. 

Regular host Philip Berman is joined by Elisabeth von Reitzenstein, senior director of public affairs at Cascale and Baptiste Carriere-Pradal, co-founder of the 2BPolicy consultancy.  

You can sign up to Cascale's public affairs newsletter, that Elisabeth mentions in the podcast, here.

You can get in touch with Baptiste's consultancy company here.

Welcome to a new four part podcast series in partnership with Cascale, formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, about the big challenges facing the industry, and Cascale's role in co-creating solutions at scale. 

The first episode is about Measuring for Impact with host Philip Berman in conversation with: 

Quentin Thorel, the Group Head of Sustainability of CIEL Textile with its HQ in Mauritius. 

Ciel Textiles supplies fabrics and garments to some of the most iconic fashion brands in the world such as Polo Ralph Lauren, Armani, Hackett, Barbour, Levis, Tommy Calvin Klein, Lacoste and the list goes on and on…

It employs 23,000 people in four countries, Madagascar, Mauritius, India and Bangladesh and since 2019 has used both the Higg Facility Environmental, and Higg Facility Social & Labor Modules across all of its sites.

And Jeremy Lardeau, Senior VP of the Higg Index at Cascale who oversees the strategic direction and development of the Higg Index suite of tools. 

Sustainability data and measurement are critical to drive meaningful action, so we ask whether Higg Facility tools (Higg FEM and Higg FSLM) can help users to improve the way they make sustainable decisions, and whether the Higg FEM 4.0 update has brought necessary changes to the tool? We also discuss why the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) has changed its name to Cascale.

In the second episode of this podcast series, produced in partnership with the Apparel Impact Institute about its Climate Solutions Portfolio (CSP), we take a look at the tool it's built to help decide who should get the funding, and what a winning application looks like. 

As a quick re-cap, the CSP aims to find, feature and fund any initiative, project or piece of tech with the potential to reduce energy use and/or greenhouse gas emissions at scale in the industry.

And it has up to 250,000 dollars per year to award to projects that have the data to show they have the potential to make an impact.

In this episode, Ecotextile News correspondent Phil Patterson and environmental scientist Linda Greer explain how they developed a tool they call the 'Ready Reckoner' – to objectively compare the overall CO2 savings of different innovations and solutions across all parts of the textile manufacturing process.

Phil Patterson told host Phil Berman that he's come up with a punchier, and more colloquial nickname for the tool.

“Apologies for my language, but it's a bit of an ‘eco bullsh*t detector’ because there's lots of innovation out there but there are lots of people overclaiming the benefits that their solutions can deliver."

“What we’ve created is what we call a gas map of the entire supply chain, which is essentially looking at where greenhouse gases emissions occur, allocating a percentage of those emissions to individual processes within the supply chain.

Patterson and Greer talk in detail about how the tool can be used, and how it can be improved in the future as better data becomes available.

And most importantly they both drop some big hints on what they are looking for in applications, with lots of do's and don'ts.

Applications are open from 1 to 31 March, 2024.

To find out more about the Portolio, do check out its dedicated site where you can also contact their team if you need help with your application.