In this latest episode of Ecotextile Talks, supported by the technology company Higg, listeners hear from Jeremy Lardeau, Vice President, Higg Index at the Sustainable Apparel Coalition; and Cash East, Director of Analytics at Higg, who explain how the Higg Materials Sustainability Index can make a significant, positive impact on environmental sustainability in the global fashion industry.

They outline why material selection matters in the textile sector when it comes to the environment, how product designers can use the MSI as an entry point to improve the eco-credentials of their supply chains, and tell us where they hope the Higg MSI will be in five years. 

In this special episode of EcoTextile Talks brought to you by Higg, producer Phil Berman explores how the global apparel industry can effectively measure and improve social and environmental sustainability performance, and the important role technology and data play in scaling these efforts.

Our guests are Higg CEO Jason Kibbey and Amina Razvi, Executive Director of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition Amina Razvi.

Former BBC producer Phil Berman hosts our Radio Show to find out if blockchain can be an important new tool for clothing retailers to provide real-time transparency in their supply networks when sourcing wood fibre – and even wool.

Our guests in the studio are Robert van de Kerkhof, Chief Commercial Officer at fibre maker Lenzing; Giovanni Schneider, CEO of Italian wool and cashmere processor the Schneider Group; and Amit Gautam, CEO of blockchain specialist TextileGenesis.

Listeners can find out why transparency is so important when it comes to sourcing viscose, lyocell and wool and make sure that the clothes they sell do not come from ancient and endangered forests.

Journalists from Ecotextile News magazine discuss the situation of forced labour in Xinjiang, China, which supplies 22 per cent of the world’s cotton crop. This newscast asks how much of this crop finds its way into the clothes sold by leading high street brands. Is every retailer somehow tainted with cotton that’s been allegedly been picked or processed using forced labour? And is this situation being weaponised by some US politicians as part of the on-going trade war in the run-up to the US elections?

Why does the industry rely so much on sourcing raw cotton from this region anyway? After all, there are alternatives.

Read more at ecotextile.com

A behind the news conversation between the journalists at Ecotextile News on what lies ahead for global textile events in the wake of the current pandemic. How can trade show organisers respond? What are they doing now to connect an industry where commerce is based on fabric touch – as well as price and design? And was the old way of working really sustainable anyway?

In this pilot episode, we introduce some of the journalists who work on Ecotextile News, and discuss how lock-down has changed our way of working, and reveal some of the big stories we've been looking into behind-the-scenes and publishing on www.ecotextile.com