Ecotextile Talks

Partner content made possible by Global Standards

Host Philip Berman talks Global Standards Managing Director, Claudia Kirsten and its Fibers Lead, Jeffrey Timm, about the launch of its new Global Responsible Textile Standard, which goes beyond organic fibres.

In this episode they explain:

• Why the organisation behind a 25-year-old organic standard decided to make the move, and discuss the structural shift inside Global Standards that made it possible

• What carries over from GOTS, and what doesn't

• Which fibres can't qualify;

• What it means for existing GOTS-certified companies, for blends, and for private label standards; and

• The tension between staying rigorous and having real market impact

Links for more information:

• Overview of the standard: https://global-standards.org/our-standards/grts

• GRTS resources page — where the standard itself is published: https://global-standards.org/our-standards/grts/grts-resources

In this episode of Ecotextile Talks, host Philip Berman speaks to Niall Maplesden, Director of The Knowledge Nexus, about the potential unintended consequences of the EU's Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR).

Niall recently explored the issue in Ecotextile News, asking whether policies promoting durable clothing, repair, reuse and circular textiles could affect order volumes for garment factories and their supply chains.

Drawing on more than 35 years in the textile industry, Niall explains why any reduction in production could be felt beyond brands and tier-one suppliers, by smaller subcontractors, informal garment workers and, further upstream, cotton farmers. The discussion looks at the need for 'a just transition' for the people producing the world's clothes.

Niall argues that, if the circular economy creates new work in sorting, reuse, repair and textile recycling, that investment should not be concentrated only in Europe.

It should also help create jobs and infrastructure in major textile-producing countries, including Bangladesh, India and Pakistan, where the effects of changing demand may be most keenly felt.

Key Topics Discussed: • The ESPR and durable clothing: How the EU Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation could reshape textile and apparel design. • Circular fashion and consumption: Could repair, reuse, resale and longer-lasting garments affect demand for new clothing? • Garment workers and supply chains: Why subcontractors, informal workers and satellite factories may be particularly exposed to changes in order volumes. • Cotton and fibre production: How reduced demand for virgin fibres could affect cotton farmers and textile-producing regions. • Textile EPR: Whether Extended Producer Responsibility fees could help fund circular-economy infrastructure and transition support. • Responsible purchasing: The role of brands in maintaining stable, fair supplier relationships as the apparel industry changes. • A just transition: How the environmental benefits of sustainable textiles can be shared more fairly across global fashion supply chains.

This episode is brought to you by our partner PICVISA a Spanish machine-vision company that builds AI‑driven optical sorting systems for waste, including dedicated solutions for textile sorting and recycling.

If you want to read Niall's original article

Textile sustainability strategist Shivam Gusain argues that the recycling sector has made incineration into a type of all-purpose villain, where the real barriers to recycling are much more practical.

Our latest episode fans the flames around textile and clothing incineration and asks whether the textile recycling sector is too quick to blame incineration as the 'bad guy' when the bigger challenge is to build practical recycling capacity amid current waste management and climate pressures.

Speaking to host Philip Berman, Gusain says the industry conversation is too focused on incineration as "the big hammering point" and on the idea that it is holding recycling back.

The podcast also tackles the idea that incineration is always the worst option on health grounds, saying there is often confusion between controlled incineration and open burning of waste.

This episode is brought to you by our partner PICVISA a Spanish machine-vision company that builds AI‑driven optical sorting systems for waste, including dedicated solutions for textile sorting and recycling.

If you want to read Shivam's original article

In this exclusive interview, Philip Berman talks to Harsh Saini, the outgoing interim CEO of Cascale, to explore the organization's bold new chapter.

Following a strategic rebrand and the implementation of a new governance structure, Cascale is evolving to meet the complex challenges of the modern consumer goods industry.

Harsh discusses the "unfinished business" of sustainability and how Cascale is empowering its members to move beyond measurement into meaningful, large-scale action. From the acquisition of the Better Buying Institute to the launch of the Manufacturer's Climate Action Programme (MCAP), this conversation highlights the innovative tools and partnerships driving the industry toward a net-zero future.

Key Topics Discussed:

• The Cascale Evolution: The strategic reasoning behind the rebrand and its expanded mission.
• Empowering Manufacturers: How MCAP is providing the roadmap for supply chain partners to set and achieve validated climate goals.
• A New Standard for Purchasing: Integrating Better Buying to foster deeper, data-driven collaboration between brands and suppliers.
• Global Collaboration: Partnering with organizations like the IFC to unlock the funding necessary for large-scale decarbonization.
• Strategic Leadership: Welcoming incoming CEO Ying McGuire to lead Cascale into its next phase of growth.

What's really inside that bargain fashion buy? Or that cheap new World Cup soccer strip?

In this episode of Ecotextile Talks, host Philip Berman talks to Steve Lamar, President and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), to discuss the results of new lab tests on counterfeit products, with some quite disturbing findings. He's not just talking about fake logos, but chemicals at unsafe levels and online marketplaces that may know more than they're letting on. Steve also shares what the industry is doing to fight back, and whether it's enough.

This episode is brought to you by Andritz — global leaders in sustainable textile technology and textile recycling solutions. Learn more at andritz.com

In this episode of Ecotextile Talks, we go inside the development of Lenzing's newest TENCEL™ Lyocell innovation - HV100 - a fibre engineered to deliver the texture, drape and authentic wash-down character of cotton which was created in record-breaking time!

Johnny Truong and Julia Ulrich, from Lenzing, walk host Philip Berman through the market signals that they say sparked the idea, the technical hurdles of getting it into production, and why this fibre is opening doors for lyocell in denim's most coveted position - the warp.

This podcast is brought to you in a paid partnership with Lenzing.

At the moment, organic cotton farmers in countries such as India and Pakistan earn an average of just $1000 a year.

Meanwhile, premiums are stacking up through the supply chain, brands are charging more at retail, but the people actually growing the crop see only a fraction of the value.

In this episode of Ecotextile Talks, host Philip Berman talks to Bart Vollaard from the Organic Cotton Accelerator (OCA) about why he believes the current premium model isn't delivering for the farmers it's supposed to support, and reveals OCA's ambitious new strategy to change that.

They discuss how a pioneering new farm fund could decouple farmer income from the unpredictability of market premiums, why OCA is broadening its focus beyond economics into the social and environmental realities of farming life, and what it will take to move organic cotton beyond its stubborn 2.5% share of global production.

With 100,000 farmers across 70+ partners, OCA has the data and the relationships to make this work.

But as Bart explains, it won't happen without more brands stepping up.

Essential listening for anyone in sourcing, sustainability, or cotton supply chain leadership!

Istanbul Organic Cotton Summit

If you enjoyed this podcast why not check out others about cotton in our back catalogue...

Detecting fraud in the organic cotton chain

Are environmentalists to blame for cotton's declining share of the textile fibre market?

Monitoring organic cotton from space

Ecotextile Talks host Philip Berman speaks with ThredUp's Chief Strategy Officer Alon Rotem about the company's "resale as a service" model, from white-lable branded resale shops to multi-brand clean-out schemes that can turn underused wardrobes into store credit.

They discuss what the real driver is for consumers, how ThredUp's distribution centres work at scale, why brands decide to plug into this infrastructure than trying to build it themselves.​

They also discuss what happens to the garments that do not sell, ThredUp's aftermarket partners, and what % of items entering its ecosystem end up without a second life.

Philip and Alon also look at how California's new extended producer responsibility law could accelerate brand adoption of circular business models.​

Alon shares ThredUp's latest financial trajectory, the company's decade-long investment in technology, and how AI could transform the consumer experience of the resale sector, and potentially help them to finally return a profit after going public in 2021.

Links mentioned in the podcast

ThredUp's 2025 annual impact report

ThredUp's quarterly financial filings

British Vogue reporting on Yale's study about second-hand shoppers

This episode is presented in association with Techtextil North America, the premier trade fair for technical textiles and nonwovens, taking place from 4–6 August 2026 in Raleigh, North Carolina.

​

​

Ecotextile Talks, host Philip Berman talks to Frank Michel, CEO of the ZDHC Foundation, about why he thinks cleaner chemistry is becoming a hard ESG requirement rather than a nice-to-have for the global textile value chain.

They explore how ZDHC has evolved from its original Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL) focus into a broader nature-impact lens that links process chemistry to water quality, biodiversity, climate, and investor risk.

Frank explains the thinking behind ZDHC's new impact framework, developed with environmental consultancy Quantis, which uses lifecycle assessment (LCA) and facility-level data to model how switching from conventional to ZDHC‑conformant chemicals can cut pollution indicators – with early pilots suggesting local reductions of 80–96% when compliant formulations replace non-compliant ones.

They discuss why this work matters for ESG ratings, and why major rating agencies are now asking sharper questions about chemical risk, in an industry some investors increasingly compare to the fossil fuel one, from a risk perspective.

https://www.roadmaptozero.com/zdhc-quantis-report-2025

How to subscribe to Ecotextile News

https://www.ecotextile.com/membership-account/membership-levels/

Following Ecotextile Talks

Ecotextile Talks is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

In partnership with the British Textile Machinery Association (BTMA), host Philip Berman takes listeners on a virtual journey to ITMA ASIA + CITME in Singapore with guests Alex Zucchi of CEMATEX, Jason Kent CEO of the BTMA, and Richard Slack of Fibre Extrusion Technology.

In advance of the exhibition which starts on October 28 in Singapore, they explore how European and UK manufacturers are positioning themselves amid global shifts in textiles, from sustainability and circularity to the rise of technical textiles.

Alex explains why ITMA's format remains unique.

Jason highlights the UK's innovation-driven approach and the importance of Singapore as a neutral, accessible hub for Asian markets.

And Richard offers insight into how technical textile machinery manufacturers are differentiating through R&D, partnerships with universities.

Together they discuss how the textile machinery sector is responding to global supply challenges, and the growing demand for technical and high-value materials.