Sourcing Journal Radio

For the past year, the apparel and footwear industries have been on edge as tranche after tranche of tariffs have been placed on goods coming out of China. And while our industries had largely been spared, consumers are likely to feel the full brunt of the impact starting with Spring ’20 goods. In response to the uncertainty and hit to the bottom line, brands and retailers have been searching for production alternatives around the globe. And while many are trying out new destinations, most would agree that nowhere compares to China.

In this episode, which is sponsored by Texworld USA, Ron Sorini, principal at the Sorini, Samet & Associates law firm, and Jonathan Gold, vice president for supply chain and customs policy for the National Retail Federation, discuss how apparel firms are adapting to this new normal, the ways in which they could potentially mitigate the tariff impacts and whether it's possible to create a tariff-proof sourcing strategy today.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Blockchain is—finally!—evolving from buzzword to mainstream terminology, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t saddled with confusion.

In the latest episode of Sourcing Journal Radio, SJ founder and president Edward Hertzman sits down with Amit Guatam of TextileGenesis to learn how the technology can be used to authenticate fibers, which—for as long as clothing has been sold—has been nearly impossible to do.

TextileGenesis’s traceability platform was designed specifically for the apparel industry. It intends to provide transparency into the entire supply chain—from fiber to finished product—thereby helping companies advance their sustainability goals. In his chat, Guatam breaks down, in the simplest terms as possible, exactly what blockchain is and why the digital ledger technology is so valuable for fiber authenticity.

It’s so meaningful, in fact, that Guatam believes that it will change the way supply chain partners interact and the level of trust that exists between them. “I fundamentally believe that the biggest impact of blockchain will be in the supply chain [and] will be in the authentication of the ingredients across the supply chain,” he said. “Lot of transaction certificates are being used in this industry with a PDF file, and it takes one minute to convert a PDF file into a Word document, change all the data, and [change it] back to PDF. … The entire industry trusts these transaction certificates based on PDFs to drive authentication, and that's where blockchain can make a huge leap forward.”

Listen to learn:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Menno van Meurs, CEO of Tenue de Nîmes, talks about sourcing premium denim and building a sense of community in denim.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Whether they’re jumping into a spin class or running to the office, consumers today expect the same thing from their clothes. They want them to look great, feel even better—and have a positive impact on the planet. And DuPont™ Sorona® offers exactly that. The 37 percent plant-based polymer can be used to add comfort and durability to formal wear, workout clothes and everything in between.

Renee Henze, global marketing director for DuPont Biomaterials at DuPont Industrial Biosciences, spoke with Sourcing Journal’s publisher Caletha Crawford to discuss the demands on clothing today and how DuPont™ Sorona® meets those expectations.

“Because of the capability to add softness and to add stretch properties to everything from pants to suiting to even some high-end fashion, we really have been able to make clothes a lot more comfortable and a lot more friendly to the wearer,” she said. “And that is absolutely what our brand partners are looking for.”

And it’s not just clothing, the Sorona® fiber’s ability to not only stretch but also recover makes it a natural fit for footwear as well.

“If you have an athletic shoe, and you're expecting it to hold up and it's holding your foot or you're doing some type of athletic event, you really want that shoe to have the right structural characteristics, to stretch and feel comfortable, but then recover when you need it to recover,” Henze said.

Listen to the podcast to learn about:

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Isko product manager Baris Ozden discusses trends, street style and why the future of sustainability relies on “responsible innovation.”

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

The U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement has several key points that differentiate it from its predecessor—points the textile and apparel industries need to take note of before it comes up for a vote in Congress. Here, Suzanne Richer, director of the Trade Advisory Practice for E2Open, points out:

• The differences between NAFTA and USMCA

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

It can be a touchy subject, but this is no time for hurt feelings. The apparel industry simply isn’t doing enough when it comes to climate change.

In a provocative, no-holds-barred episode of the Sustaining Voices podcast, produced in partnership with Cotton Incorporated, Sourcing Journal publisher Caletha Crawford explores whether our incremental changes are having the impact that’s needed. Joining her are Morton Lehmann, chief sustainability officer for Global Fashion Agenda, and Jeff Wilson, senior business development manager of sustainability for NSF International.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Where to source and how to source smarter is top of mind for the entire apparel industry right now. With the speed of change and so many competing demands, it can be challenging to weigh the options.

In this episode, we’re joined by Saskia Hedrich and Karl-Hendrik Magnus, apparel experts from McKinsey & Company. In their roles, they have been examining the business, economic and political trends that are impacting the fashion industry from the supply chain through retail, and helping to create a framework for executives looking for insights and solutions.

In addition to our discussion here on a range of topics related to their work and recent reports, McKinsey will be hosting a panel on October 17 at our Sourcing Summit in New York.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

More than 150 million trees are logged each year and turned into cellulosic fabric, many from ancient and endangered forests. As a result, irreparable damage is being inflicted upon the roots connecting our world’s facilities.

In this podcast, Amanda Carr, director of strategic initiatives at Canopy, talks about the problem and her organization's efforts to raise awareness and slow the erosion of this natural resource. And Franco Costantini, managing director at Control Union, provides details on his company’s Connected traceability platform and how it helps brands and retailers establish and stick with responsible sourcing.

Canopy's CanopyStyle initiative, now in its fifth year, seeks to end logging from these threatened areas while supporting the development of alternative fibers and advancing large-scale conservation efforts. Canopy's latest initiative is ForestMapper, a web-based publicly available tool that enables all purchasers of forest products to discern whether they’re at risk of sourcing from these areas.

“Studies are showing that when intact forests are cleared or degraded, there’s a reduction in cloud cover and rainfall,” noted Carr. “We can think of forests of a sort of simple ecosystem on the planet, or we can start connecting them in our minds to all of the services they provide.”

Above all, the interactive ForestMapper tool intends to bring transparency to the supply chain so brands, retailers, manufacturers and designers can make the necessary changes to stop sourcing from these vulnerable areas.  

With Connected, Control Union helps brands and retailers meet their CanopyStyle commitments by providing visibility throughout the entire supply chain. Costantini added that not only does increasing transparency help companies identify where they’re sourcing from, the aggregation of data can also bring to light inefficiencies and previously unknown cost savings. 

Consumers, meanwhile, are seeking more transparency into their apparel purchases, and they are placing a higher value upon the products and brands that share this information, according to Costantini.

“We are at the moment of a cultural change,” said Costantini. “People are more aware of sustainability issues. Brands, by consequence, are able to implement their [strategies]. It’s like snowballs: The more people who are aware, the more momentum is created.”

Listen to the podcast to learn:

• The role that trees play in the health of our planet

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transparency has been a hot topic in apparel recently but the industry is still struggling to gain visibility into much of the supply chain—and as a result, it is missing opportunities for improvement. A recent report from the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable outlines the benefits brands and retailers could realize if they truly made transparency a priority.

Alison Kiehl Friedman, executive director of the ICAR, joins us to discuss what’s holding the industry back, the catalysts for change and the possible rewards.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices