New Sustainability Series: Sustainable processes and collaboration across the supply chain
The second and third webinars in the SDC’s new Sustainability Series both focused on collaboration on circularity across the fashion and textile supply chain.
Webinar two, on 26th October was themed ‘Sustainability and circularity – a manufacturer’s view.’ This looked at the impact of wet processing and how manufacturers are responding to environmental challenges.
The expert speakers were Leonie Vaas, sustainability and innovations manager, at Hayleys Fabric PLC, Sri Lanka’s largest fabric manufacturer; and Tim Clark, technical director at John Smedley UK, manufacturer of fine knitwear. The discussion was chaired by Dr Claire Lerpiniere, senior lecturer in textile design at De Montford University.
Leonie shared two practical sustainability examples. Firstly, how they are converting plastic bottles into polyester material, and introducing a mobile app and QR code for consumers, to show traceability. Her second case study covered their use of a 100% natural dye made from mahogany sawdust, from furniture waste.
Tim spoke about sustainable processes, using their royal warrants as a structure, at their factory and mill in an area of outstanding natural beauty in Derbyshire. He highlighted that we can’t work in isolation to improve sustainable processes, giving examples of how they work with their global supply chains to reduce water, chemicals and energy, and map this.
Webinar three in the series, titled ‘Dyeing and finishing – a sustainable safe process?’ took place on 27th October. This delved deeper into the amount of water used as part of the dyeing and finishing process, as well as how harmful chemicals are exploited.
The four expert speakers covered retail, major chemical suppliers, and a certification supplier. They shared practical examples of collaboration, based on their many years’ experience and knowledge.
They were Rob Andrews CCol ASDC, fabric and product compliance manager at River Island; Prasad Plant, South Asia director at ZDHC Foundation; Lee Howarth, global key account manager at Archroma; and John Murphy CCol FDSC of Oeko-tex. Chairing was SDC president and chairman of NimkarTek Technical Services Pvt Ltd, Ullhas Nimkar.
They emphasised that innovation is key for the future of the industry. The need for safe chemicals and good processing were topics covered both on the retail side and from the chemical supplier side.
Rob shared some of River Island’s 12 commitments around people and planet and how it collaborates with suppliers on sustainability best practice. His emphasis on ‘right first time’ is based on his education with the SDC, and practical experience as a dyer.
Lee spoke about innovative processes and green chemistry. He emphasised that we need to work smarter, using biodegradable processes and tools like the world’s first online platform for impact calculation, to improve sustainability.
John, an SDC member for over 40 years, discussed testing and independent certification, work on standardisation and process control for sustainable production.
Prasad addressed a number of sustainable challenges facing the industry, including water and chemical use, and toxic chemicals. He emphasised that collaboration, transparency and commitment are key.
If you missed the second or third webinar in our new Sustainability Series and would like to find out more about collaboration on circularity, you can access the recording here: https://colour.network/online-courses/
There is a £20 fee to view for non-members, with a discount available to those watching all in the series.