Digitization is quickly becoming a priority for modern apparel and footwear brands. Forced to collaborate from afar during the pandemic, teams have accelerated the adoption of virtual tools that streamline design and development, allowing multiple stakeholders to take part in the process.

3D creation digital platforms that live in the cloud can boost cross-team collaboration, drive efficiencies, cut costs and reduce the need for sampling. However, many fashion brands have been slow to adopt them, held back by unfamiliarity with the technology.

André Wolper, founder and CEO of Embodee, explains how Orchids by Embodee, its new web-based platform for 3D apparel creation, fosters communication and collaboration across teams, and improves design versatility.

Watch the fireside chat to learn:

·     What brands, manufacturers and service bureaus need to get started with Orchids and how it’s simpler than they might imagine.

·     How Orchids by Embodee is different from 3D design software that’s already on the market.

·     The types of decisions and experimentation that brand stakeholders can do within the Orchids platform.

·     How digital design and Orchids by Embodee mitigate costs and inefficiencies of physical sampling.

·     How design digitization helps reduce a company’s environmental footprint

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All too often, packaging creates another waste problem for the apparel industry, as countless boxes shipped every day ultimately end up piling up in landfills. This problem only gets compounded by the fact that many consumers aren’t even aware of what they should do when they discard a package.

Neenah, a specialty paper products and design solutions company, believes it has the answer to this problem in the form of its recently debuted NEENAH ENVIRONMENT® Mailer. The curbside recyclable mailer is designed specifically for soft goods companies to deliver apparel in an easy to carry, water-resistant, puncture-resistant package.

Listen to this chat between Jennifer Dietz, senior product manager, sustainable solutions at Neenah, Kristen Duncan, sustainable solutions development manager at Neenah, and Kate Nishimura, features editor at Sourcing Journal, to dive into eco-friendly packaging alternatives.

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When it comes to who is on the hook for environmental and ethical garment production, consumers are quick to hold brands’ feet to the fire. But every design’s sustainability profile begins at the fiber level. Now, mills and spinners are under increased pressure not only to use fibers that were grown or sourced responsibly, but to prove their compliance through certifications. What’s more, eco-friendly yarns and fabrications must stand up to traditional alternatives when it comes to quality and functionality.

In this fireside chat, Sourcing Journal features editor Kate Nishimura sits down with Ruth Farrell, general manager, textiles of Eastman, to talk how the company’s growing Naia™ fiber portfolio is gaining the trust of consumers, not to mention more than 50 partner brands.

Watch the fireside chat to learn:

·     How consumer attitudes toward sustainability have changed in the five years since Naia™ was introduced.

·     The role certifications play in building trust around circularity, biodegradability, end of life, etc. and why Naia™ has partnered with TextileGenesis.

·     Why sustainable fashion doesn’t have to come with compromise, and the style versatility of Naia™ in textiles.

·     How brands are committing to science-based goals to push back against consumers’ greenwashing fears.

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To deliver safer, greener chemicals for the apparel industry, Verdant Innovations wants to look 20 years ahead.

In 2022, the company burst on the scene to debut FIBRE-PURE™, its first line of specialty green sustainable chemicals geared toward textiles and nonwovens. Thus far, the line ranges from binding and coating applications used for healthcare gowns, masks and scrubs, to deodorizers and antimicrobial protection for apparel, athleticwear and performance wear.

In a recent fireside chat with Sourcing Journal's business editor Glenn Taylor, Matthew Short, business development manager, Verdant Innovations, explained how the company conducts a holistic Predictive R&D process based on projections nearly two decades down the road, instead of those required by today’s standards. Meanwhile, David Sasso, industry advisor, Verdant Innovations, highlighted that a chief concern among many brands is the impact of greener, safer more sustainable chemicals on the bottom line—both on a manufacturing and retail level.

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Virtual design has been a gamechanger in the fashion industry in streamlining sampling and speeding product creation. However, there is still room to optimize and standardize these digital tools to ensure that the image created on screen matches the eventual physical product.

Taking inspiration from industries like aerospace and automotive, Clothing Tech LLC has created parametric CAD technology that enables designers to tweak garment proportions using parameters, or measurements.

Clothing Tech's president Bill Wilcox spoke with Sourcing Journal features editor Kate Nishimura about what makes its Garment Digital Twin different and how standardization could evolve digital design.

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Despite how ubiquitous the term “sustainability” has become, the definition remains vague and open to individual interpretation. As consumers are seeking out lower impact products, this lack of standardization or clarity can lead to confusion.

“In today’s world, sustainability means so many different things to brands and consumers,” said Marc Lewkowitz, president and CEO of Supima, the promotional organization for American pima cotton. “The consumers’ choice to go and find sustainability or what they think means sustainability is still challenging, other than generic claims. It’s hard to identify and it’s almost impossible for a consumer to know exactly what sustainability looks like in a product.”

Listen to this fireside chat between Lewkowitz and Sourcing Journal founder Edward Hertzman to hear why paying for sustainability comes down to the consumer and how laws will raise the bar and onus for backing up claims.

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Maintaining quality standards is a rudimentary business goal, but the actions taken to protect product value can have wider implications across a company.

One best practice for improving quality is stronger supplier knowledge and collaboration, according to Rick Horwitch, chief of supply chain & sustainability strategy, global retail lead at Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services. Going past tier 1 and knowing every link in the chain allows companies to not only shore up standards, but also navigate disruptions.

“There’s a lot of conversation now in regards to supply chain mapping as it relates to traceability,” Horwitch said. “But I would argue that is not just a traceability issue; this is now a business and sustainability issue.”

Listen to this chat between Horwitch and Sarah Jones, senior editor, strategic content at Sourcing Journal, to discover the role of quality in consumer sentiment and satisfaction and why sustainability and quality go hand-in-hand.

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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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