Manufactured

We all know that there’s a kind of essentialism that happens in conversations about sustainable fashion (and beyond). It’s shorthand that artificially groups together very diverse groups of people and lumps them according to a single or several defining features. This episode is an open discussion of two such terms: “brand” and “supplier.”

Do apparel manufacturers have mapped pathways for achieving their decarbonization targets, or not? This episode features responses to this question from three different manufacturers: Mustafa Ahmad the General Manager of Sustainability for US Apparel & Textiles in Pakistan, Krishna Manda the Vice President of Corporate Sustainability for Lenzing, and Matthew Guenther, the Director of Environmental Sustainability for TAL Apparel.

This is an audio version of a piece I wrote for the Asia Garment Hub called “Practical Tips for Talking to Manufacturers About Decarbonization.”

This conversation brings together representatives from different levels of the denim supply chain: brand (Boysih Jeans), mill (Candiani), and farm (the Sourcery). We talk about which part(s) of making a pair of jeans has the biggest impact on carbon emissions? Do we know? We talk about the possibilities: what role can companies operating in different parts of the denim supply chain can take towards reducing carbon emissions. And we also talk about the limits: what challenges do companies face when it comes to reducing carbon emissions? The conversation is an edited version of a webinar Kim moderated for Transformers Foundation.

Why did MAS sign-up for science-based targets? What are their challenges? What kind of support is needed from brands and retailers?

This is a short message from Crispin Argento, Co-founder and MD of Sourcery, about a fundraiser they’re doing to support Pakistani cotton growers adversely impacted by current flooding.

Will empowering consumers to shop differently really drive fashion’s transformation?

I've been thinking a lot about the controversy surrounding the Higg Material Sustainability Index. It's taken me some time to put together my thoughts, and I'm not sure I'm totally there yet. But here it goes...

What do two manufacturers, one brand, and one ex-social compliance auditor think: do social compliance audits make factories better places to work? What’s the intention behind social audits? Are audits about assurance? Or should they be a tool for collaboration and conversation? Or both?

Is visibility a sensible way of approaching wellbeing in fashion supply chains? Is the fact that subcontractors are invisible really what causes adverse human rights outcomes? Or are adverse human rights outcomes in fashion supply chains a symptom of how we distribute financial risk?