Sourcing Journal Radio

When it comes to digitizing the complex apparel supply chain, the fashion industry has been slow to adapt, often because of hard-to-break manual habits. But the benefits of end-to-end digitization hits many touchpoints, including design and development, cost optimization, production planning, fabric control and shop floor execution.

In this fireside chat, Lauren Parker, branded content manager of Sourcing Journal, sits down with Akash Shah, managing director of solutions provider COATS Digital to discuss this “connected technology software arm” of Coats Group, and why the fashion supply chain urgently needs a digital transformation of the fashion supply chain.

Watch the fireside chat to learn:

·      Why COATS Digital more recently acquired technology companies FastReact, GSD and ThreadSol and how the new “connected whole” is greater than the sum of the parts.

·      How COATS Digital integrates production planning, method time-cost benchmarks and fabric optimization.

·      How digitization and a connected supply chain boosts sustainability and mitigates product waste

·      What is holding the fashion industry back from truly digitizing and how to reverse old-fashioned mindsets

·      Why end-to-end digitization is challenges along complex supply chains, and what to focus on first

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Modern consumers demand a lot from their footwear, and that means going beyond stylish design and a comfortable construction. Shoes must perform, whether they’re made for sport and recreation or casual use, and shoppers value lightweight silhouettes that are durable and retain their shape through wear and tear. On top of all these specs, consumers also want to see brands deliver footwear that is made more sustainably.

It's a tall order, and BASF chemical company has put considerable R&D into these challenges, especially for the hyper-competitive athletic footwear market where performance is a crucial and defining characteristic.

Watch the fireside chat to learn: 

·      How BASF’s new material technologies enhance various types of footwear

·      How BASF materials material complement supercritical foam technology (SFC) and how BASF was a leader in studying the technology for footwear.

·      How BASF’s two proprietary materials—Elastopan and Elastollan—differ from other PU (polyurethane) or TPU (thermoplastic urethane) products in the footwear industry

·      How BASF materials offer freedom of design within increasingly important 3D printing and injection molding techniques.

·      How shoes made with Elastopan and Elastollan are more sustainably created and sustainable in their end of life.

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One of the keys to cracking the code of footwear sustainability is reducing and managing waste. Currently, about 90 percent of shoes end up in landfills, where they begin to break down, but never fully decompose due to the materials used.

This problem informs innovation at insole manufacturer and supplier OrthoLite. “How can we develop true end of life solutions for footwear—focused on product and process—to ensure that we are providing true circular solutions so that footwear has a place to go versus a landfill,” said Kristin Burrows, OrthoLite’s chief brand officer.

In a conversation with Kate Nishimura, features editor at Sourcing Journal, Burrows discusses how OrthoLite is tackling footwear waste and why recycling isn’t the absolute solution for sustainability.

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Apparel production is often prone to defects—particularly in the finishing process—whether it be stains, holes, untrimmed threads or stitching defects. Unfortunately, brands often don’t leverage systems that can gather insight that could determine the root of the problem and help train a factory on corrective actions.

Even if a merchant is collecting high-quality data, it is often done manually and accessed by users across different departments and countries, according to Michael Bland, senior partnership director at supply chain compliance solutions provider QIMA.

In a fireside chat with Sourcing Journal business editor Glenn Taylor, Bland discussed the importance of digitizing data collecting and reporting capabilities to mitigate product defects and reduce quality control issues.

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Trimco Group is a trims, labels, packaging and store decorations solutions specialist, and as a stakeholder of the brands’ supply chain, they are directly concerned by the evolution of the regulations. Trimco has developed expertise in this field and designed an industry-specific solution for global brand clients to track and trace their supply chains. With the new Product DNA digital platform and in-house compliance team, Trimco accompanies brands in their sustainability journey. Trimco's tagline “Together, We Act” underscores that commitment.

Lauren Parker, branded content manager of Sourcing Journal, sat down with Camilla Mjelde, compliance and sustainability director of Trimco Group, to discuss the myriad challenges of knowing what you need to know.

Watch the Fireside Chat to learn: 

·      How, and why, a trims, labels, and packaging company got involved with tracking and tracing, and how Trimco is in a unique position to help companies push out their messages.

·      How Trimco’s three-tiered Product DNA supports brands to unlock their supply chain traceability and visibility value. 

·      How global brands can navigate the labyrinth of global regulations that sometimes conflict from country to country.

 ·      The legal and social consequences of non-compliance.

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The fashion industry has increasingly embraced 3D design and digital “virtual twins” to speed up the manufacturing process, replace physical samples and save money. But the technology hasn’t always delivered when it comes to solving the industry’s biggest pain points.

 One serial entrepreneur who’s been reducing manufacturing costs in the automotive, aerospace and electronics industries for 40 years recently applied his expertise to the fashion industry. The resulting company is Clothing Tech LLC, and its patented product is called the Garment Digital Twin™.

In this Fireside Chat, Bill Wilcox, president and founder of Clothing Tech LLC, sits down with Kate Nishimura, features editor of Sourcing Journal, to discuss the software and its many advantages, namely speed and precision.

Watch the fireside chat to learn: 

·      The difference between designing in 3D and visualizing in 3D and why it matters

·      How Clothing Tech’s Garment Digital Twin™ creates a digital definition that is instantly readable by a computer

·      How more precision design significantly reduces the return rate for garments ordered via e-commerce

·      How Clothing Tech’s Garment Digital Twin™ embeds the tech pack right into the pattern

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Enhanced performance textiles cool you down when you’re hot, and help keep you warm when you’re cold. They also help you sleep better, perform better athletically, and stay cool and collected when it counts.

 Such thermoregulatory properties might sound like science fiction, but Cocona Labs developed its proprietary 37.5 Technology directly from nature. The company’s creator found he could withstand the high levels of heat in Japan’s volcanic sand baths due to a mineral that balanced heat gain and heat loss through moisture management. Fast forward to today, where the company has harnessed this technology and embedded it into textiles for apparel, footwear, bedding, home goods and more.

In this Fireside Chat, Edward Hertzman, founder of Sourcing Journal, sits down with Scott Whipps, EVP global apparel, and Beth Amason, VP of fabric innovation, at Cocona Labs, the makers of 37.5 Technology. They explain how their natural mineral technology works to enhance the textiles of their brand partners, and how it also creates a more sustainable product.

Watch the Fireside Chat to learn:

· What the number 37.5 specifically represents in thermoregulation and how its technology can be applied to textiles

· How this technology has been proven to increase athletic performance and endurance, both for professional athletes and the sports enthusiast

· How 37.5 Technology is different from wicking or phase-change technology

· How Cocona Labs partners with its brand partners to help them explain the technology to their consumers

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Already aspiring to deliver “the greenest ecosystem that denim has ever seen,” Crescent Bahuman Limited is taking other supply chain imperatives head on with the launch of its “Smart Factory 4.0” journey and implementing tracing technology from PaperTale.

The digitization investments come as the denim manufacturer aims to fortify its ongoing sustainability and transparency initiatives with the support of more granular data.

Listen to the chat between Zaki Saleemi, vice president of Crescent Bahuman, and Edward Hertzman, founder of Sourcing Journal, to learn how the company's Smart Factory supports "intelligent decision-making."

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Of all the takeaways from the pandemic period, one of the most crucial is the value of strong partnerships.

Fabric sourcing firm Concept III saw firsthand how the trials of Covid-19—from freight issues to factory closures— strengthened the working relationships along the supply chain. In its own operations, the U.S-based company was a trusted source of on-the-ground information for both brands and mills as travel slowed down. Amid factory furloughs and changing personnel, the sourcing agency also provided consistency and industry knowledge to its partners.

“Because of our long-term relationships and our partners, we are able to give real, truthful, factual information that is allowing the brands to continue to evolve and do their business,” said Chris Parkes, managing partner at Concept III.

In this chat with Sourcing Journal founder Edward Hertzman, Parkes explained how his company worked with brands to navigate the challenges of the pandemic and why working with an agent is smoother than dealing directly with manufacturers.

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More than ever before, companies must know the intricacies of their supply chains. Chief among the pressures to better understand where exactly goods stem from is a growing spate of due diligence legislation, including the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) in the United States.

Signed in December and going into effect in June, this law expands the burden of proof for importers. Companies bringing goods into the United States already face Withhold Release Orders (WROs) on products with certain materials—including cotton—that were thought to be associated with forced labor in China’s Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region. With UFLPA, the scope of banned imports extends to all merchandise with an origin in the XUAR—whether or not there is evidence of potential forced labor.

This conversation between MeiLin Wan, vice president, textile sales at Applied DNA Sciences; Andrew Samet, principal at trade consulting firm Sorini, Samet & Associates; and Edward Hertzman, founder and president of Sourcing Journal, covers what to expect as UFLPA goes into effect.

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