Show cover of Big Closets Small Planet

Big Closets Small Planet

Fashion and apparel. It touches nearly everyone. When its at its best, fashion and apparel is not only functional, but also fun, expressive, sexy, and for some businesses, very profitable. But when it is at its worst, fashion and apparel is superficial, exploitative, polluting and extremely wasteful - in other words the essence of unsustainable consumption. And while it is argued that the industry's rapid growth has created employment opportunities for more than 300 million people worldwide, especially for women in poorer countries and those in extreme poverty, many garment workers still struggle to earn enough to pay to meet even their most basic needs. More alarming is the fact that as the industry grows - by 2030 more than 8 billion people will live on the planet, and nearly 5 billion of these will be part of the global middle class - its negative environmental impacts may become unmanageable, potentially undermining its social benefits and contributing to ecosystem degradation on local, regional and global scales. Who would have thought garments could be so destructive? The fashion industry must change now, but will we manage in time? Join Mike Schragger, founder of the Sustainable Fashion Academy, as he explores the challenges, incentives and disincentives and emerging solutions needed to rapidly transform the industry. Listen in as he talks with the business leaders, activists, researchers, innovators and entrepreneurs, investors, legislators, consumers and citizens - who are racing against the clock to find solutions that will transform the industry, thus ensuring it truly operates for the benefit of people and the planet. www.sustainablefashionacademy.org/podcasts/big-closets-small-planet

Tracks

Is our current for-profit economic model a root cause of many of today's sustainability challenges generally, and specifically in apparel and fashion? Dr. Jennifer Hinton, author and Post-Doctoral Fellow at The Centre for Environmental and Climate Science at University of Lund, has concluded so. She studies how societies relate to profit and how this relationship affects global environmental and social challenges. She has come to conclusion that a not-for-profit economy is better suited to our societal needs and that it should be applied to fashion and apparel as well. Listen in as we discuss Jennifer Hinton's analysis, her definition of a not-for-profit business, its relevance for fashion and apparel, Patagonia's new foundation, de-growth, and her proposals for a total transition from for-profit businesses to not-for-profit businesses. To learn more, visit www.jenniferhinton.org. 

5/8/24 • 53:25

Ken Pucker, former Timberland COO and current Professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts, recently published a series of pieces critiquing the circular agenda for fashion. In this content rich interview, Ken explains the history of how market-led voluntary solutions became the norm and the rise of what he calls Sustainability Inc., how circularity in the fashion industry is just another attempt to maintain the unsustainable status quo, the seven barriers preventing circularity from being a realistic solution, and what he thinks we need to do instead to ensure this industry can operate within the planetary boundaries. We discuss whether commercial companies are consciously deceiving their stakeholders about the potential of circularity, the limitations of unfettered capitalism and the psychology behind growth, and whether the industry should be much smaller. For more background, read his Business of Fashion opinion piece "Circularity is a Fashionable Fantasy" and his articles in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, "A Circle that is Not So Easily Squared: Can the fashion industry make a successful turn to a circular business model?" and "The Dangerous Allure of Win-Win Strategies".

6/29/23 • 62:48

Now that climate action has rapidly moved to the top of the apparel industry's agenda, it is crucial that the industry moves from intention to action - and fast. The latest analysis indicates what we need to do, but the 1 trillion dollar question is how much capital will be required to do it. Enter the Apparel Impact Institute (AII) and Fashion for Good (FFG), who have now weighed in regarding how much financial outlay is needed. You've probably already guessed it: they arrived at 1 trillion US Dollars needed over the next 30 years. During this interview, Michael speaks with Ryan Gaines, Finance Director at AII, and Rogier van Mazijk, Investment Director at FFG who co-authored this new report, "Unlocking the Trillion Dollar Opportunity". We quickly get into the weeds and discuss what needs investment, how much, and who needs to do it. We talk about the roadblocks, and we even hear how finance people view legislation and industry growth. So if you are committed to helping the apparel and textiles industry meet its climate targets, and want to know if and how we are going to get there, then this podcast for you.

4/6/22 • 58:35

Forests play a crucial role in promoting biodiversity, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and supporting livelihoods, especially in poorer countries. But because wood is the basis for so many of our products, the pressure to exploit forests, usually in unsustainable ways, continues to increase. What does this have to do with the fashion industry? A significant percentage of the fibres used in fashion come from wood, and the market for wood based textile fibres is expected to grow. Our industry may therefore be indirectly contributing to the unsustainable management and even destruction of our remaining forests. In this episode, Mike speaks with Nicole Rycroft, Founder and Executive Director of Canopy, an NGO that works with the forest industry's biggest customers and their suppliers to develop business solutions that protect our last frontier forests, and Robert van de Kerkhof, Chief Commercial Officer at Lenzing. Using two recent reports released by Canopy as a point of departure, Nicole and Robert explain why forests are crucial for our survival, what brands and viscose producers can and should be doing to protect them, what next generation innovations are needed and what it will cost to transform viscose supply chains by 2030.

12/16/20 • 71:53

It's been nearly a decade since Patagonia, Walmart and a number of other brands, retailers, manufacturers and NGOs established the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), an innovative industry collaboration. As the coalition's website states, its vision is "an apparel, footwear, and textiles industry that produces no unnecessary environmental harm and has a positive impact on the people and communities associated with its activities". In turn, members must commit to measuring and improving their social and environmental sustainability impacts, using the HIGG Index suite of measurement and management tools. A significant amount of resources and hard work has been invested in the SAC, so it is appropriate to discuss and constructively debate whether, after nearly a decade, the coalition's tools and overall work are making a meaningful difference. In this episode Michael speaks with Dara O'Rourke, associate professor at the University of California, Berkeley, and co-author of a report assessing whether the SAC's Facilities Environmental Model (FEM) and the act of standardising, measuring and reporting has resulted in meaningful improvements. Dara presents what he sees as the strengths and weaknesses of the FEM and explains the report's recommendations for increasing the SAC's impact. On top of this, Dara and Mike talk consumer psychology and communication, data, the limits of voluntary industry standards and monitoring, and why there are no silver bullets. The report can be found here: https://osf.io/preprints/socarxiv/g67d8/. 

11/25/20 • 53:26

Sweden has a reputation for being a sustainability leader in many areas, so you can imagine how curious we were to learn about a newish proposal from the current Swedish government for a chemical tax on textiles. The proposal was recently made available to stakeholders for comment, and of course, a robust debate has ensued. Is this proposal, as presented today, going to lead to a reduction in harmful chemicals in Sweden and globally? Or is it a smoke screen for a government that is looking for ways to raise revenues for its national budget? And is the proposal a done deal, given the political parties agreed to this ahead of time when forming a government? In Part 2 of this episode, Michael speaks with experts who are positive to the proposed tax. We hear from Therese Jacobsson, Head of Ocean, Water & Toxics at the Swedish Society of Nature Conservation (a well established Swedish NGO), and two researchers who participated in the proposed tax advisory group: Daniel Slunge, an environmental economist at the Gothenburg Centre for Sustainable Development and the FRAM Centre for Future chemical Risk Assessment and Management, and Åke Bergman, a professor at Stockholm University and highly respected environmental chemist. Unfortunately the politicians and political parties supporting the proposal did not respond to our request for comment. Given we need bold and smart government leadership more than ever, we think this is an excellent case study for exploring what good government leadership can look like as well as which government actions can be problematic.

11/11/20 • 52:10

Sweden has a reputation for being a sustainability leader in many areas, so you can imagine how curious we were to learn about a newish proposal from the current Swedish government for a chemical tax on textiles. The proposal was recently made available to stakeholders for comment, and of course, a robust debate has ensued. Is this proposal, as presented today, going to lead to a reduction in harmful chemicals in Sweden and globally? Or is it a smoke screen for a government that is looking for ways to raise revenues for its national budget? And is the proposal a done deal, given the political parties agreed to this ahead of time when forming a government? In Part 1 of this episode, Michael speaks first with textile industry representatives to hear why they think the proposed tax is very problematic. You will hear from Jérôme Pero, Secretary General for the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry, Magnus Nikkarinen, Senior Policy Director in Sustainability at the Swedish Trade Federation, Mikael Larsson, researcher at the RISE Research Institute in Sweden, Eliina Brinkberg, Environmental Manager from Nudie Jeans Co. and Anna-Karin Dahlberg, Head of Sustainability at Lindex. In Part 2 you will hear from actors and experts who are more positive to the proposed chemical tax. Given we need bold and smart government leadership more than ever, we think this is an excellent case study for exploring what good government leadership can look like as well as which government actions can be problematic.

10/28/20 • 79:55

Sasja Beslik, Head of Sustainable Finance Development at J Safra Sarasin, fled Bosnia when he was 18 to escape the war. He ended up in Sweden and today spends his time leveraging the power of the financial sector to improve the world. He is particularly interested in the fashion industry's impact on people and has recently attracted attention for his calculations showing that a well-known fashion brand could afford to pay living wages to garment workers by increasing the prices on their clothes by only a few cents. In this interview Sasja weighs in on the apparel industry's sustainability performance and - spoiler alert - he comes down very hard on the industry. Sasja and Mike cover a range of topics, including the strengths, weaknesses and greenwashing of the sustainable investment industry in general, why he thinks apparel brands should be more directly responsible for paying living wages to factory workers, why a t-shirt should be more expensive, and why, despite it all, the fashion industry is still worth investing in.

10/14/20 • 56:59

Phil Patterson, Managing Director at Colour Connections, has been working at the intersection between the textile industry and influential retail brands for over twenty years, and after some recent soul-searching he had an epiphany. He has come to the conclusion that the current way we use and dispose of chemicals is extremely wasteful and will not achieve the environmental and health improvements we are aiming for. During this episode, Phil outlines his arguments for why we need to move from the current single use, linear buy-use-dump model for chemical use to a circular model, and he explains what this new model should entail. Key success factors in his proposal include making the chemical user responsible for the chemicals they use and a suggestion that a move to 'Zero Liquid Discharge', where no waste water discharge from wet processors is allowed, should be mandatory throughout the industry. Phil makes his case. What do you think? This podcast is supported by the Laudes Foundation, The Rylander Foundation, and TENCEL™. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News.

9/30/20 • 26:32

In this episode we continue to explore the most commonly repeated "factoids" in fashion and sustainability in order to determine whether they are substantive and useful. As a reminder, a "factoid" is information that is reported and repeated so often that it becomes accepted as fact. During Stockholm Fashion Week, Mike spoke with Alden Wicker, freelance journalist and founder of Eco-cult and Sandra Roos, Head of Sustainability at KappAhl and PhD in Environmental Systems Analysis, about commonly used social and environmental statements related to the fashion industry and if they are based on credible research and robust analysis. They then dive deeper to discuss whether fashion has a broader problem with misinformation regarding sustainability, the role of fashion journalists and fashion researchers in promoting misinformation, and what could be done moving forward to ensure robust and credible information is used when presenting the status of sustainability performance in fashion. This interview was inspired by an article written by Alden for Vox. 

9/16/20 • 40:41

You've heard it before: The global environmental challenges we face are daunting and time sensitive. If we want to avoid catastrophic tipping points, we need to move quickly and ambitiously. If we want to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) we need to invest trillions of dollars. And so we scratch our heads and wonder if the actions we are currently taking are meaningful. We wonder if we must choose between economic development, job creation and the environment. And we cannot help but feel that even though our intentions are good, our actions amount to the equivalent of moving the deck chairs on a sinking ship. But what if there is a way to accelerate change at the pace we need, and create benefits for people and the planet? And what if the way to get there is by leveraging our tax system as a tool for transformative change? Most people like to stay away from tax, either because it's unsexy, too complicated, or punitive. But tax policy is the fundamental way we steer our nations and fund our public services. So what can tax policy, and tax reform do for the apparel industry? In this episode Michael talks with Femke Groothuis from the think tank Ex'tax about the potential power of tax reform to change the apparel industry. Femke explains both the theory and practice of green tax reform, and presents the results from recent case studies applying these principles in both high income countries in the European Union and Bangladesh. One of her key messages is that if countries use tax reform effectively, they will not have to choose between economic development and the environment. And this perspective has gained even more relevance since the Covid-19 induced economic crisis has put domestic revenues, jobs and sustainable growth at the top of the priority list worldwide. This podcast is supported by the Laudes Foundation, The Rylander Foundation, and TENCEL™. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News.

6/24/20 • 50:27

As a listener of Big Closets Small Planet, you are likely interested and engaged in changing the apparel industry. So for those of you who are keen to strengthen your change agent skills, we are introducing a new segment called Leading Change. In this first episode we are joined by Per Espen Stoknes who is that rare combination of thinker and doer. He is a psychologist, economist, politician, and the author of "What We Think About When We Try Not To Think About Global Warming". In conversation with Mike, Per Espen illustrates how psychological research helps explain why we do so little when we know so much, and how we can harness this research to find better solutions for driving change. We cover a broad range of issues, including the five psychological barriers to climate action, concrete solutions to overcome these barriers, Per Espen's surprising analysis of Greta Thunberg's strengths and weaknesses as a change agent and why we as change agents should stand up for our depression - even if being sad about the state of the world can feel counterproductive. Tune in to get inspired and receive concrete tips on how to be a better change agent! This podcast is supported by the Laudes Foundation, The Rylander Foundation, and TENCEL™. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News.

6/10/20 • 54:30

Experts and practitioners agree that simply improving upon today's take-make-waste linear business models will not ensure the apparel industry can operate within the planet's ecological boundaries. Instead, a new circular economy is needed and thus new circular business models. Circular business models, like resale and rental, are not actually new. But up until a few years ago, models like these were marginal, primarily employed by second hand stores and charity shops. How things have changed! Today, nearly every major brand has a circularity department working to develop and test these circular models as a means to increase their market share, profitability and sustainability performance. So is this the radical breakthrough we have all been waiting for? And will these models, if scaled, deliver the environmental and social benefits advocates are promoting? To get updated, Michael invited three industry pioneers - Gwen Cunningham, Lead of Circle Economy's Textiles Programme and Switching Gear Project, Jeff Denby, co-founder of The Renewal Workshop, and Sam Gillick-Daniels from WRAP (The Waste and Resources Action Programme) - to weigh in. If you are interested in getting updated on the current state of circular apparel business models and the challenges and opportunities facing them, this episode is for you. This podcast is supported by the Laudes Foundation, The Rylander Foundation, and TENCEL™. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News.

5/27/20 • 56:22

In this new segment we will explore commonly repeated "factoids" in order to determine whether they are substantive and useful. Perhaps you have heard the statement that the production and use of clothing creates more climate impact than that of flights and shipping combined? A range of organisations - including the United Nations - have referred to this when promoting the need for climate action in the fashion and textiles industry. But is this statement true? Mike spoke with Simon Glover, a journalist from Ecotextile News who recently investigated this topic, and Sandra Roos, a textile researcher at RISE Institute in Sweden, to learn what they found after digging deeper. Sandra also uses the opportunity to propose three things that are needed to ensure industry stakeholders have access to credible analysis to base their actions on.

5/13/20 • 33:40

The impacts of the corona virus on the apparel sector have been fast and furious. We are all affected, but millions of low-wage garment workers are facing a potentially catastrophic situation. In this episode we talk to a number of experts and union representatives to better understand what is happening on the ground, what responsibility buyers have for ensuring workers get paid, what this crisis reveals about the apparel supply chain, and if Bangladesh will ever be the same. You will hear from a number of smart and committed people: Mark Anner, Associate Professor in Labor & Employment Relations; Anne-Laure Henry-Greard from the ILO / IFC BetterWork Program; Jenny Holdcroft, the Assistant General Secretary at the IndustriALL Global Union; Towhidur Rahman, President of the Bangladesh Apparel Workers Federation; and Amina Razvi, Executive Director, Sustainable Apparel Coalition. This podcast is supported by the Laudes Foundation, The Rylander Foundation, and TENCEL™. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News.

4/29/20 • 43:02

The Fabricant, a digital fashion house, recently sold a piece of digital clothing - clothing that is only available in digital environments - for over 9000 USD. This experience helped them realise that their expertise in 3-d digital modelling could be used for a better purpose: creating a new industry sector for digital only clothing which is very good for business and the planet. Mike speaks with Amber Slooten, Fabricant’s Creative Director and Adriana Hoppenbrouwer, Fabricant’s Commercial Director about the potential for digital clothing to meet our short term fashion desires while reducing negative environmental impacts. We talk #outfitoftheday, market potential, gaming, social media behaviours, fast fashion, human needs and more. Is this the future of sustainable fashion? This podcast is supported by the Laudes Foundation (formerly the C&A Foundation), The Rylander Foundation, and TENCEL™. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News.

4/15/20 • 31:02

...to develop and mainstream the sustainable apparel innovations required to meet key sustainability goals for the apparel industry. Listeners of this podcast series are familiar with our on-going focus on the crucial role finance and investment plays in enabling industry transformation. For the past two years SFA and Fashion for Good have been convening stakeholders to analyse this topic while calling for an analysis estimating how much financial investment is needed. Now we have it! A new report "Financing the Transformation in the Fashion industry" makes a strong case for what financial investment is needed. Michael spoke with two of the report's authors, Katrin Ley from Fashion for Good and Catharina Martinez-Pardo from BCG. Katrin and Catharina explain how they estimated the amount of finance required, what six barriers currently prevent access to this capital, and what six solutions should be implemented to overcome these barriers. If you truly want to understand how the innovation and finance space should work, this is the interview for you. It also reminds us that actors who are serious about transforming the industry need to be honest about what it will take, and will need to act to implement these solutions now. This podcast is supported by the Laudes Foundation (formerly the C&A Foundation), The Rylander Foundation, and TENCEL™. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News.

3/25/20 • 54:58

In this new segment - Make Your Case - Big Closets Small Planet provides industry experts and stakeholders a platform to argue for a particular position or perspective. In this episode, Lewis Perkins, President of the Apparel Impact Institute (AII), outlines his organisation’s vision and advice for accelerating change in the apparel industry. He makes a case for why the duplication of efforts will slow industry progress, and warns against starting new initiatives when existing initiatives can deliver the impact needed. He also outlines the key steps he believes needs to happen to ensure significant progress is made. This is thought provoking opinion piece, so have a listen and let us know what you think by contacting us at bigclosets@sustrainablefashionacademy.org. This podcast is supported by the Laudes Foundation (formerly the C&A Foundation), The Rylander Foundation, and TENCEL™. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News. Lewis Perkin’s opinion does not reflect the official position of Big Closets Small Planet, or that of our supporting partners. 

3/11/20 • 11:41

Here is a quick dose of inspiration! At Planet Textiles, Mike spoke to Spencer Null about Natural Fiber Welding's breakthrough solution: enabling natural fibers like cotton to behave like polyester. Is this a game changer? It is if it means poor quality fibers can be upgraded to premium fibers... Listen to this bite size pod to get a quick lesson on cool chemistry, and get inspired by a potentially disruptive approach. This interview was recorded in June 2019. This podcast is supported by the C&A Foundation, the H&M Foundation, The Rylander Foundation, and Tencel. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News. 

11/27/19 • 09:30

Do you ever wonder how CEOs from some of our industry's most influential companies view the big social and environmental challenges we are facing today and the potential of business and innovation to adequately address these? TENCEL is a sponsor of this podcast series, so Michael took the chance and invited Lenzing's CEO Stefan Doboczky to discuss a wide range of topics in a recent interview. They touch upon Stefan's expectations of business leaders, the economics of sustainability investments, the circular model of Lenzing, the danger of short-termism, the conservative nature of the industry, climate change and forestry, and Stefan's personal view of a better world where "being something is more important than having something..." If you ever wanted to peek into the mind of a global fiber company CEO, here is your chance. This podcast is supported by the C&A Foundation, the H&M Foundation, The Rylander Foundation, and is part of the #MakeItFeelRight campaign from TENCEL™. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News.

11/13/19 • 43:22

Dr. Lea Esterhuizen, an expert in gathering sensitive data from scared populations, believes we are unwittingly eating and wearing products that have likely been made or assembled using forced labor. Typically the apparel industry has used the "social audit" to address this problem. But social audits provide an incomplete picture of the situation. "There is a serious problem with worker invisibility". And that is why Lea started &Wider. Listen in to hear Lea describe her company’s elegant method to enhance social auditing by gathering anonymous data from workers - making the invisible visible. To paraphrase Lea, fast fashion has been toxic, but it has also taught brands to be fast and innovative. This podcast is supported by the C&A Foundation, the H&M Foundation, The Rylander Foundation, and Tencel. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News. 

10/30/19 • 13:34

Mike had the unique opportunity to sit down with an impact investor and a vertical manufacturer to share their real world views on what it takes to accelerate the uptake of sustainable apparel technologies in the apparel supply chain. Tanvi Karambelkar, representing the newly launched Good Fashion Fund, introduces the fund’s pioneering approach for providing financing to manufacturers who want to invest in high impact but often disruptive technologies - which are very high risk. Abhishek Bansal, representing Arvind - a vertical manufacturer based in India, describes the challenge of implementing radically new technologies in practice. Listen in as these two experts break down the complexities, share their views on larger industry trends and highlight what needs to happen to transform the industry in the short and longer terms. “The problem with the textile industry is that it is still seen as a niche. But the problems we are solving with our fund are universal...” This is a great learning conversation, if we do say so ourselves! We hope you agree. This podcast is supported by the C&A Foundation, the H&M Foundation, The Rylander Foundation, and Tencel. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News. 

10/16/19 • 47:03

Between 2014 and 2016, an increasing number of journalists began reporting on disturbing new research showing that microfibers from synthetic garments were making their way from our washing machines into fish and other aquatic animals. Since then the textile industry has been scrambling to understand the extent of the problem and what our industry should do about it. It's now 2019, so what more have we learned since researchers first sounded the alarm? And what is our industry currently doing to address the challenge? Mike sat down with Sophie Mather from The Microfibre Consortium to get updated. Sophie has been working at the forefront of this issue, so there is no one better to provide a "state of play" on this topic. Listen for the first 25 minutes to get a comprehensive industry update and continue listening to dive deeper into the weeds. This podcast is supported by the C&A Foundation, the H&M Foundation, The Rylander Foundation, and Tencel. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News. 

10/2/19 • 46:08

The United States Military is required to make their clothing in the United States. But because very little clothing is produced in the United States today, the U.S. Military needed to find alternative solutions. Enter Pete Santora, who launched SoftWear Automation 13 years ago to respond to this challenge. Today his technology, which automates sewing by using robotics, is ready to be scaled not only in the U.S., but around the world. In this fascinating, fast paced discussion Pete and Mike discuss the environmental benefits of automation, Pete's perspectives on whether his technology will make garment workers in production countries obsolete ("Robotics did not kill the automotive industry, tariffs did..."), and why joint ventures and increased R&D investment are the only ways to accelerate the transformation of the apparel and textiles industry. Think google vs. the textile industry... This podcast is supported by the C&A Foundation, the H&M Foundation, The Rylander Foundation, and Tencel. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News.

9/18/19 • 17:43

At Planet Textiles, Mike Schragger spoke with two of his favorite chemical and textiles experts, Phil Patterson and Linda Greer, about the state of the industry regarding chemical management in textiles today. If this does not sound sexy to you, then you don't know Phil and Linda! In addition to getting a primer on chemical history and good and bad chemicals (hint: salt and starch can be bad too, in case you were wondering...), Phil and Linda get "into the weeds" by addressing some of the most important issues debated today, such as: 1) does the high profile ZDHC initiative, which a significant number of key players have joined, have the potential to make a significant difference; 2) if Greenpeace's sudden departure as a textile watchdog is a serious blow to those who want to accelerate change; and 3) where innovation is and should be taking place. They agree and disagree, and their answers will surprise and delight you - and hopefully make you smarter. This podcast is supported by the C&A Foundation, the H&M Foundation, The Rylander Foundation, and Tencel. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News. 

9/4/19 • 56:09

The founders of Tyton BioSciences are not personally interested in fashion, but that won’t stop them from using subcritical water to help solve the current textile-recycling conundrum. Mike Schragger talks to Luke Henning, CFO of Tyton, about their unique process for separating cellulose from polyester in blended materials. This podcast is sponsored by the C&A Foundation, the H&M Foundation, The Rylander Foundation, and Tencel. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News. 

6/5/19 • 14:21

Nearly 6 million tons of leftover textiles - the equivalent 18 million new clothes - are wasted in South East Asia and China alone. If we could remanufacture these textiles and reuse them, or ensure we only produce what we need when we need it, we may be able to significantly reduce the environmental impacts of clothing production and support the transition to a circular fashion system. Mike Schragger talks with Nin Castle from Reverse Resources and Ian Brown and Dale Floer from Scalable Garment Technologies about their groundbreaking solutions for turning mountains of textile waste into valuable resources and for reducing the amount of waste overall. Are you curious what their innovative solutions are? Think data mining, a textile waste marketplace and 3D printing inspired knitting machines! This podcast is sponsored by the C&A Foundation, the H&M Foundation, The Rylander Foundation, and Tencel. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News. 

5/29/19 • 34:29

In a refreshingly candid and constructive interview, Mike spoke with the H&M group’s Kim Hällström about what has happened since the company first made their important public climate commitment and what we can learn from the H&M group’s insights and experiences in order to help the entire apparel industry reduce its emissions in line with a 1,5 degree warming pathway. Considering we are in a state of emergency when it comes to global heating, this is an interview you can’t afford to miss. This podcast is sponsored by the C&A Foundation, the H&M Foundation, The Rylander Foundation, and Tencel. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News. 

5/22/19 • 49:20

If we knew the specific climate impacts of each of our purchases, such as the greenhouse gas emissions of our favourite dress or shoes, would we make more climate friendly purchases? And would the companies who make fashion and apparel products – now knowing that we know the climate impacts of our clothing purchases - offer more climate friendly options? In other words, can consumption and effective climate action go hand-in-hand or are we kidding ourselves? Mike spoke with Johan Pihl and Jacob Odqvist, two entrepreneurs who are developing a number of solutions that they say will make it easier for you and me – as consumers – to fight climate change. This podcast is supported by the C&A Foundation, the H&M Foundation, The Rylander Foundation, and Tencel. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News.  

5/15/19 • 32:06

Mike speaks with Edwin Keh, CEO of the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles & Apparel Limited, about his team's pioneering and surprising breakthrough in the area of textile recycling, his deep conviction that to accelerate the development and uptake of sustainable solutions our industry needs to do R&D very differently, and why industry innovation - for its own sake - is misguided. And if that's not interesting enough for you, the "professor," as Mike refers to him, also weighs in on the historical relationship between China and "the West", the fundamental limitations of today's business models, and why he has become the "favorite son-in-law." This podcast is supported by the C&A Foundation, the H&M Foundation, The Rylander Foundation, and Tencel. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News. 

5/8/19 • 45:28