Women's Wear Daily writes about sustainability

Check out this article about the workshop I helped organize with Textile Exchange.

http://www.wwd.com/markets-news/markets-features/sustainability-expanding-its-reach-5826740

Here is the workshop held on March 1, 2012.  It was a great space in SoHo New York which created the opportunity to co-learn and interact in a way that allowed for deep understanding of sustainability in the textile and apparel industry.

Guest blogger time! Sustainable Fashion

I am excited to welcome back Christian Smith as a guess blogger to Sustainability in Review about sustainable fashion.

Christian Smith works as a CSR Manager for a leading online UK retailer. His focus is on the environmental side of things, measuring out Greenhouse Gas emissions as well as finding ways to reduce our overall impact. Recently graduated from University College, London with an MSc in Environment and Sustainable Development.

Fashion and the environment

H&M do it, so do Nike, Patagonia are doing it well. All of a sudden lots of big (and small) fashion companies are talking about the environment and the people who work for them. Not just where they sell clothing but also where they make them. This series is going to focus on why that’s happened and what it means for the broader industry. We are going to take a look at fashion in relation to areas such as water, soil/agriculture, food production, health and oil. Fashion, believe it or not, is dependent on all of these things and the people who work in these areas.

Water

The impact of fashion on water is immense. From the growing process through production to the end user, water use has been essential to the fashion industry since the beginning. And that reliance is concerning. The demand for clothing is increasing, not just through keeping up with fashion but also the increasing global population.

A lot of clothing is made from cotton.  And cotton is a very water intensive crop. An estimated 25million tonnes is produced annually. On an annual basis, approximately 70million tons of water is wasted.  The cotton industry evaporates 210 billion cubic meters of water while at the same time polluting 50billion cubic litres.[1]  3.5% of global water usage is for cotton crop production.[2] 60kg of water is used to create a cotton t-shirt, from cultivation of cotton through to production. An additional 45kg is discharged as waste per kg of output. This figure, however, only includes the virtual or embedded water, and does not take into account the use of water once owned by the consumer.[3]

One of the most devastating effects of cotton production has been the shrinking of the Aral sea (pictured above) to just 15% of its original size. The loss of water affects not only the cotton and textiles industry, but the livelihoods of all those using the sea. For instance, the Aral Sea was once home to 24 native species of fish providing 40,000 tonnes of fish a year – a valuable source of income and nutrition. Beyond the direct effect on the sea, the surrounding biodiversity has also been severely damaged with only an estimated 15-20% of the Tugai Forests remain - in an area home to 29 native plant species. 

This damage has opened the eyes of many to make a change. Many companies now understand the problems with water use and have started working on minimising their impacts in this area. Levis, for example, has developed technology to create its WaterLess denim range at the same time launching a save water campaign. Many companies now recommend washing clothes at 30 degrees or lower and sometimes even less frequently. Replay, the Italian brand, has developed a dying process that also uses technology that enabling the company to use less water to dye its denim.

In addition to the quantity of water used is the quality of water.  Conventional cotton uses 25% of the world’s pesticides and impacts surrounding environments as they persist in the soil and water.  A lot of work is being done to encourage farmers to use fewer pesticides. Organic cotton is the aim as that truly minimises water pollution, but other solutions are also available. Cotton Made in Africa/Better Cotton initiative are two programs which work alongside farmers, helping them to grow cotton more responsibly therefore reducing their overall impact on their water supply. 

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[1] Chapagain, A., Hoekstra, A., Savenije, H., & Gautam, R. (2006). The water footprint of cotton consumption: An assessment of the impact of worldwide consumption of cotton products on the water resources in the cotton producing countries. Ecological Economics, 186-203.

[2] Fashion Futures 2025

[3] Well dressed? The present and future sustainability of clothing and textiles in the United Kingdomhttp://www.thehindu.com/news/states/other-states/article458101.ece

Sustainable Living TMI

Ok I am warning you right now - this is probably Too Much Information about me for some of you.  But I wanted to talk about one of my bad behaviors that I finally found a sustainable solution to.  Here it is... SHAVING!

I have been shaving my legs since I was in high school - that was a few years ago so the amount of disposable razors, their plastic composite and all the packaging has added up. At first I figured - well a razor isn't that big so the environmental impact must be small, right?  But then over time I learned of this concept called embodied impact - which is the impact of everything it took to make that product and to dispose of it.  Now that little razor compounded by 20 years of using and disposing was adding up.

It wasn't until I went to Palm Springs about a year ago with some friends and the gentleman of the group wanted to visit a shaving store. (? they have whole stores dedicated to shaving? well you always learn something new) There I saw a steel razor where you just switch out the blade when it is dull, limited waste and no packaging.  The store staff answered by questions about - yes women can use these razors they aren't just for the guys and what to look for in a good razor.

Well as I have mentioned time and time again - change takes time and I finally bought my steel razor!  I am so excited. I tried it out and it works amazingly. But in full transparency I did nick myself twice and it takes some getting used to.  I am so happy to have nicely shaven legs and know that I didn't create a ton of packaging and plastic waste. (Plastic in our waste stream is pretty bad.)

And the nice bonus - it is a cheaper investment.  For instance to replace the "head" of my  old razor with new blades it cost me $13 for 4. I was also due to get a new handle since I the old one was getting pretty gross - that would have put me back another $20.
My new Merkur steel razor was $34 and a box of 10 blades is $7.  Think a year from now - if I use 2 blades a month I will have saved. $27.60.

It is fun when sustainability efforts save you money!  Happy Shaving all.

Voicing your values

I have spent the last 3 days, one more to go, in a room with 30 other sustainability professionals receiving a training on a new methodology for assessing factory working conditions.  The training is essential as we all shift our thinking and approach from measuring "compliance" to a code of conduct in a factory to actually understanding what the management functions are in a factory and the reasons behind the success or unsuccessful implementation of good working conditions.

After today's training I decided to take the long way back to my hotel past the Washington Monument and take a look at the new Martin Luther King Jr Memorial.  Now I have a hard time with our society's obsession to create heros - my problem is that no person is an island - but is influenced by their background, those who came before them and the community they are a part of.  So it was interesting for me to walk through his memorial with this bias and be humbled.

The memorial is beautiful and evokes a passion and a vision that this man had, the confidence to share his thoughts in a divided time.  A excitement for a better world infused me as I reflected on my day and read his quotes and thought of the work that the people I was training with were trying to do.

How do we give those who are not heard voice?  How do we protect human and labor rights in a climate where people should "just be happy to have a job?" The desire and intention to have a better world is a theme that so many people share and try to strive for every day.  Adopting a philosophy of peace and vision that "we the people" have the ability to make decisions everyday to be heros make a difference and Martin Luther King Jr is an example of this.

I have heard that 2012 is a year of change - as cynical as I can be, if I look back on how far we have come in corporate social responsibility it is true.  There is a strong desire to see the world be better and have the fortune to work with so many people who share this dream. 

Holiday cheer

Now in full disclosure I do become a bit of a scrooge around this time of year.  I can't handle the over consumption, but at the same time I want to give gifts to my friends and family.  So I end up feeling stuck in the middle.
This is a hard year for many people who feel stuck in the middle.  There is a very visible need to conserve money and resources since the unemployment rate remains quite high in the USA, however the only solution that gets thrown around is to consum more to get our economy going.  You can see the problem here.  There are a lot of smart people trying to figure this out and what healthy economy looks like.

I come back to the idea of values and investing your hard earned dollars into quality not quantity, less equals more and dealing with our drive to consume for the sake of consumption.  This holiday, as with every holiday, we have an opportunity to do more with our money.  And while it is hard to justify spending $80 instead of $60 for a sweater, realize that buying cheap has some pretty negative impacts. (Check out this article on how Walmart has destroyed the environment and our jobs)

There is an opportunity to do more that just tick off a name from your TO DO list.

Here are some things to keep in mind when you are shopping:

• Does the company you are purchasing from have a strategy for its social and environmental impact?
• Is this product Organic, Fair Trade, Local?
• Is this cute for now, but will be first in line at the next garage sale?
• Does this gift add value to this person's life for the better?

Enjoy the season and enjoy the opportunity to help shape the world to be a little better in 2012.

Sustainability around the world

I just got back from a 10 day trip to Hong Kong, China and India visiting apparel suppliers for prAna.  This trip was different than ones I had done in the past.  Usually I am visiting factories reviewing audits and focusing on problems that the factory may have meeting prAna's code of conduct.  It has been adversarial and while informative, I always wondered how productive and how much change was really being made.

This trip I took a different approach - I met with suppliers to share the direction and vision of sustainability that prAna and other apparel companies are taking with the hopes to drive environmental and social benefits down the supply chain.  I was able to share the desire for a clean environment and protection of workers rights.  I am a realist and know that where we currently are globally is not sustainable, nor is it something that can easily be changed.  So there is an openness to meet suppliers where they are at and still share what kind of future we all want to see.

What happened was a very different conversation than I have had in the past.  There was a lot more honesty and transparency about what the "real" situation was on the ground regarding labor laws, industrial practices, environmental norms, government and brand involvement in bringing about change or lack there of.  It wasn't easy to hear that solutions are going to be challenging to implement and perhaps not even in my lifetime.  But there was a desire all around to see some kind of change.

I was also excited to hear all of the stories that suppliers were taking to improve social and environmental issues they were facing.  The drivers for these changes were different from each factory and each country, but every bit helps.  One factory realized that they couldn't improve social security benefits because workers did not see the value in also paying into the social security scheme, so the factory was focusing on training workers about the benefits to pension, unemployment insurance, and medical leave.  Yes it means less money in the workers pockets, but it ensures their ability to be provided for.  Another factory was facing huge increases to their energy costs so they did an energy audit and changed over all of their lighting to LED lights and are now saving 40% of their previous energy bill.  Another factory recycled their fabric scraps to a company that makes rugs out of the fabric.

I was reaffirmed that there is a global desire to see the world be a better - amore healthy place for the environment and people. Solutions are not a western top down enforcement, but a globally shared initiative that all partners who we interact with can learn from each other.

While I saw more pollution and poverty than I ever do here in the USA I have a renewed sense of optimism that we all can be better and with more and more people doing there part - the change will come. 

Occupying Sustainability

I love the Occupy movement that is going on right now.  I am proud that people are actually expressing their discontent for the greed and the institutions in the USA and globally that feed into that greed. I didn't think Americans had it in them to rock the boat.  I say this because in the USA we have so much in comparison to developing countries where poverty and the lack human rights are prevalent.  So I figured we would never make too much noise for fear of losing what we do have.  But what I see here in the USA are people who feel frustrated that all of our efforts cannot be boiled down to making profit for companies.

Watching the news and with what is going on with Occupy Wall Street and the additional Occupy movements made me think of the corporations that fit into this protesting.  Specifically those companies where social and environmental responsibility are not a part of the company ethos, where truly they are focused on profit for profits sake.

Often when sustainability experts talk about the reasons why companies should invest in authentic sustainability behaviors and initiatives it is driven by a sense of risk if you don't.  I see the Occupy movement as a risk.  If you are a company that cannot show their commitment to sustainability then they are a target - as another institution that does not serve the people of the USA nor the planet.

Customers have choice now - if I want to buy a laundry detergent I can buy it from a company that invests not only in providing a clean non-toxic product, but one that has a robust benefits program for its employees and that invests back into its community. I don't have to buy it from a multi-national corporation that does not deliver on these issues.

Watching the campaign to move your money from your bank and putting it with a local credit union is propping up the notion that "we the people" have power and the ability to exercise that right through the purchases and investments we make.

There is an energy in the air that is new, that is dynamic and powerful.  What will come out of this is anyone's guess, but if I were a company that did not have a commitment to its employees, customers, the environment and the global community I would be starting to think it might be time.