Textile Exchange relayed the urgency of climate action through different offerings, such as an exhibitor floor, a photographic installation and information sessions during its Conference 2024. Pictured, Naia from Eastman.
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Engagement and Collaboration Lead the Circular Path at Textile Exchange
Pictured, RE&UP.Global nonprofit Textile Exchange channeled its mission to develop planet-positive materials production into a meeting of experts in fashion, textiles and apparel with its Conference 2024, which focused on the theme “The Case for Change.” The Pasadena, Calif., event took place at the Pasadena Convention Center and via an interactive virtual channel online.
“This is an opportunity to come and understand the challenges in [the textile] marketplace and how we can contribute to not only sustainability but also to creating value for everybody in the value chain,” said Amy Cooper, general manager of USA business development and SVP North America for French biochemistry firm Carbios, who traveled to the conference from Kentucky. “Solutions already exist to these problems; they’re there but they’re not affordable in the context of the current environment.”
The Oct. 28–31 show encouraged attendees, speakers and exhibitors to speak candidly regarding how they can fortify their businesses by incorporating environmental best practices. All players along the textile supply chain must rely on one another to succeed, and enough opportunity exists for everyone to be successful.
“These are the sustainability champions here—a convergence of them,” said Jen Hodo, manager at Mumbai, India–headquartered Birla Cellulose, who noted that the company’s next phase is circularity as it continues to link up with other major industry players such as a recent partnership with U.S.-based textile-to-textile recycling company Circ. “The opportunity is to get the brands to buy in. We have the fibers available—we’ve had them for years now—so we need the brands.”
Collaboration was also top of mind for Andreas Dorner, general manager of RE&UP, the textile circular-technology firm based in The Netherlands.
“On the one side there should be competition, but on the other side the cake is big enough and everybody agrees—let’s go together. To make the change, everybody can have a slice of the cake,” said Dorner. “It’s not a dream anymore, it’s reality. It’s implemented, soft or strong, and you cannot turn it back. There is so much evidence now that it is working and it will become a very strong part of this industry. You have real companies, real products, interested buyers and interesting conversation.”
Pictured, “Sueño en Azul” (A Dream in Blue).Making it click through conversations
Many conversations on the exhibitor floor flowed from a strong roster of information sessions, roundtables and panel discussions. Carolina Sister Cohn, global marketing leader for textiles at Kingsport, Tenn.’s Eastman, maker of Naia, was grateful for the opportunity to discuss new materials-sustainability standards and regulations, and looked forward to fresh approaches to circularity.
“We were on the ‘Materials Matter’ panel trying to explain why it’s important to have the standards and how Eastman will support implementation. I was also on the panel talking about innovation and recycled feedstock, and the challenges in the industry because we have a lot of technology challenges still to overcome,” said Sister Cohn. “We are all together to try to solve the issues and try to make the textile industry more sustainable. No one can do that alone so we have to join forces.”
Theresa Murtha, director of raw materials at Faherty, attended the conference from New York and enjoyed the panel “From Risk to Opportunity: The Business Case for Climate Action,” led by Andrew Winston of Winston Eco-Strategies.
“He was very engaging and factual, and put a positive spin on things that are negative and we need help with,” noted Murtha. “A lot of the challenges are how we can move forward. I do raw-material development so for me it’s how do we go to the next level of not just general recycling but textile recycling, textile-to-textile and issues like that.”
Textile Exchange producers also sought to connect attendees to the global network of people and land from which materials originate before they are used to make their brands’ goods. These efforts included a photographic exhibition titled “Material Worlds,” a collaboration and competition that Textile Exchange hosted with Magnum Photos. The exhibition featured raw imagery depicting fiber sourcing in different regions of the world such as indigo cultivation in Cusco, Peru, depicted through the winning collection, “Sueño en Azul” (A Dream in Blue) by Alejandra Orosco.
Attendees who wished to extend their Textile Exchange experiences were encouraged to embark on one of the organization’s Nov. 1 field trips. These opportunities to explore fiber-and-material-sourcing and production businesses afforded stronger connections with the conversations attendees engaged in during the previous days. These excursions included visits to businesses such as Homeboy Threads, a Los Angeles textile processing and rehabilitation and reentry program for former gang members and individuals who were formerly incarcerated, in addition to a journey to Bowles Farming Company in Los Banos, Calif., a regenerative farming operation that includes cotton production.
