Het bericht Webinar: Under the Banyan Tree verscheen eerst op IAF.

• Inspiring conversations: Engage with industry pioneers, who are at the forefront of human rights due diligence, like Lara Wolters (MEP and rapporteur on corporate sustainability)
• Platform introduction: Watch the academy demo to explore features and benefits
• In-depth sessions: Delve into the key elements of HRDD and learn how the academy will guide you in supporting human rights
• Interactive Q&A: Get expert insights from Fair Wear professionals who know HRDD inside and out

Whether you’re new to HRDD or looking to deepen your understanding, this event will provide valuable insights and a sneak peek into the HRDD Academy. Don’t miss this opportunity to be part of a movement towards more ethical business practices.

You’re invited to the launch on Wednesday October 9, 2024!

Registration

Het bericht Launch HRDD Academy verscheen eerst op IAF.

Uzbekistan was chosen as the host of this year’s convention due to its rapidly growing role in the global textile and apparel industries. With a strong tradition in cotton production, recent strong export growth of textiles and garments and ambitious plans for sustainable growth, Uzbekistan is evolving into a key player in the textile value chain.

The event attracted over 350 leaders from more than 30 countries from the entire fibre, textile and apparel value chain, highlighting also the broad awareness that, in the words of IAF President Cem Altan: “Apparel and textile manufacturers hold the keys to meaningful, positive change. Initiatives such as decarbonization, reducing overproduction, enhancing transparency, and driving digitalization are critical—and they rely heavily on the efforts and investments of manufacturers.”

Mr. K. V. Srinivasan, ITMF President, pointed out: “The textile and apparel industry is going through a perfect storm of high input costs and low demand squeezing profit margins and leaving more and more capacities idle. Nevertheless, the winners of the ITMF Awards 2024 in the categories ‘Start-up’, ‘Sustainability & Innovation’ and “International Cooperation’ highlighted the capability of the industry to innovate and work together.”

Furthermore, the increasing regulatory pressures on the industry around the world were highlighted, with a call for shared responsibility. Cem Altan: “We are all aware that the apparel and textile industries are increasingly subject to regulation. As meeting these sustainability standards can be costly, it is crucial that the financial burden is shared equitably among all supply chain partners, from raw material to end consumer.”

“It is important that industry leaders and experts from the entire value chain meet in-person to discuss and analyse the short- and long-term challenges and opportunities of the industry going forward like sustainability, compliance, digitalization, or AI”, Mr. Srinivasan added.

As the convention closes, ITMF and IAF are confident that the partnerships and insights emerging from this historic event will drive lasting, positive change across the apparel and textile industries.

Photo (from left to right): 1. Chairman of Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Uzbekistan Mister Davron Vakhabov, 2. Governer of Samarkand Region Mister Erkinjon Turdimov 3. ⁠Cem Altan, IAF President, 4. ⁠Deputy Prime Minister Mister Jamshid Khodjaev, 5.President ITMF, K.V. Srinivasan 6. ⁠Chairman UZTS, Mirmuhsin Sultanov.

Het bericht IAF and ITMF Unite Global Fashion and Textile Leaders verscheen eerst op IAF.

This event is unique because it brings together the digital practitioners from leading brands, the leading tech suppliers, the global industry federation and two major educational institutes. All brought together in two exciting days in Amsterdam that cannot be missed by anyone who, like the organizers, believes that the fashion industry needs 3D digital to take us to the next level.

3D digital must touch the entire supply chain at scale for it to live up to expectations. Investments must involve and improve full supply chain processes, from raw material to consumer. Digital fabric libraries must offer enough choice and quality for designers to create digital designs leading to digital samples that are trusted by product developers to lead to excellent products. The heart of the matter is that we need to reach critical digital mass across the supply chain. This event will explore what barriers there are to be broken down in order to reach this critical mass quicker.

Perfect for brands and retailers at any stage of their process in DPC and 3D journeys, speakers will provide a candid overview of the common topics, challenges and solutions in DPC such as AI, end to end sourcing, digital product development and sales. Delegates will hear digital insights from Adidas, Eurojersey, Otto Group, Scott and leading technology providers. More speakers from major companies have confirmed and will be announced soon.

For more information, please go to:
3D Next LVL 3.0 Event

Het bericht SAVE THE DATE: 3D NEXT LVL 3.0 EVENT IN NOVEMBER 2024 verscheen eerst op IAF.

As frequent visitors of the ITMF and IAF annual conferences have come to expect, industry experts will share the cutting edge of the developments that currently define the textile-apparel industrial complex. The unique collaboration of the textile industry federation ITMF and the apparel industry federation IAF allows the organizers to give a full supply chain picture. At a time when collaboration across the entire chain is indispensable to meet the many challenges, this is a great asset.

Collaboration is also a central theme of a session featuring Inditex, Epic Group and International Finance Corporation (IFC, part of the World Bank Group). The speakers will focus on decarbonization and show how a collaborative approach across the supply chain can achieve the real progress that our industry needs.

The apparel and textile industries are rapidly becoming more regulated, heightening the pressure to create real and significant environmental and social improvements. In a unique, global regulation session, representatives of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), the China National Textile & Apparel Council (CNTAC), the European Textile & Apparel Industry Federation (EURATEX), and the Japan Textile Federation (JTF), will explain the shape that regulation will take in their countries and regions in the coming years.

These topics and several more about fibers, digitalization, AI, etc. will be discussed in the ancient city of Samarkand, Uzbekistan, a country with a rapidly growing textile and apparel industry, attracting interests from across the world. This convention will be a unique industrial gathering of leaders from across the entire textile and apparel supply chain, from all parts of the world.

For more information, please go to:

www.itmf-iaf-conference-2024-samarkand.org

Het bericht IAF & ITMF Convention in Samarkand, Uzbekistan verscheen eerst op IAF.

IAF & ITMF Key Messaging

We as IAF and ITMF, joined in the SCI on the issue of audit and standard fatigue, call on the apparel and textile industry stakeholders to:

1. Put audit fatigue back on the agenda. The increasing call for good purchasing practices in the era of mandatory human rights due diligence ensures now more than ever is the time to address this issue decisively.
2. Acknowledge that working with third party standard holders rather than using proprietary standards should, in the vast majority of cases, be the preferred option for brands and retailers
3. Acknowledge that, based on clear evidence, the Social & Labor Convergence Program’s Converged Assessment Framework (CAF) is the most promising road to successfully reducing duplicative social auditing:
   1. Supply chain actors (brands and manufacturers) should accept and adopt the CAF,
   2. Standard holders should converge and integrate or accept SLCP data in their systems.
4. Put much more effort into the reduction of standard fatigue, calling specifically on standard holders to reduce unnecessary, small and non-contentious differences in standards.

This manifesto provides more information on why we are making this call to action.

About SCI

The Standard Convergence Initiative (SCI) is an initiative of the International Apparel Federation (IAF) and the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) that aims to encourage alignment between industry & multi-stakeholder Initiatives as well as brand or retailer proprietary tools to help combat audit and standard fatigue in the textile and footwear sector.

Fighting audit fatigue as a necessary step in responsible purchasing

Reducing the audit burden on suppliers is increasingly recognized as an important step towards responsible purchasing practices. Tools such as the Common Framework for Responsible Purchasing Practices[1] and the white paper on Commercial Compliance issued by the Sustainable Terms of Trade Initiative[2] include recommendations on reducing audit duplication. Furthermore, in the 2022 Better Buying Purchasing Practices Index (BBPPI) over 60% of suppliers reported that their buyers now accept standardized audits or assessments instead of implementing their own proprietary tool[3]. This encouraging evidence suggests that the more progressive brands and retailers are driving an industry-wide shift to reduce repetitive and wasteful auditing.

Recent SLCP progress to reduce audit fatigue

Right from its inception, IAF and ITMF have supported the Social & Labor Convergence Program (SLCP). SLCP has played a leading role in forging the path to converged assessments. Since launching in 2019, the Program has scaled rapidly, with over 7000 facilities worldwide choosing to complete an SLCP verified assessment in 2022 alone. There are now over 70 brands and retailers publicly committing to accept SLCP verified data from their suppliers[4]. The 2022 BBPPI findings show that most suppliers whose buyers accept SLCP are saving at least $5000 annually per buyer, and are reinvesting these savings in workplace improvements[1]. In addition,  SLCP engaged Manaus, a social impact research consultancy, to validate the existing methodology to calculate the costs saved as a result of implementing SLCP’s Converged Assessment Framework. The result was reaffirming, with an estimated $23 million USD saved by facilities in 2022 as a result of the reduction in audits

Several standard initiatives now accept SLCP verified data or have incorporated the Converged Assessment Framework into their standard/system. Examples include the Higg FSLM and Fair Trade USA. More recently, SLCP is working closely with the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) to align so that FWF brands can use SLCP’s data as part of their broader human rights due diligence approach. The 2022 pilot saw a high degree of alignment, carving a path for greater joint impact.

Despite the existing impact, more can be done to further ease the audit burden on suppliers and manufacturers. Reducing audit fatigue is not so difficult; instruments are in place. But currently the progress is too slow because too many brands & retailers and MSIs are not yet using these tools.  SCI has two key asks for brands & retailers as well as Multi-stakeholder Initiatives & standard holders:

SCI ask to brands & retailers

SCI calls on more brands and retailers to drop their proprietary standards in favour of working with third party standard holders. If this is not an option, SCI calls on more brands and retailers to  make the switch to converged schemes such as SLCP to further maximize the potential savings and benefits for facilities. With the wave of mandatory due diligence requirements entering into force throughout Europe and beyond, brands and retailers will need to demonstrate that they are doing much more than just auditing their suppliers, shifting internal resources from auditing to a broader spectrum of due diligence implementation. And as  a major part of the costs of avoidable duplication of audits and conflicting standards fall on manufacturers, brands and retailers can and should improve their purchasing practices also through their efforts to reduce audit and standard fatigue.

SCI ask to MSIs & Standard Holders

SCI is calling on standards holders to heighten their efforts to reduce both audit and standard fatigue, sometimes in a combined fashion.

SCI’s research performed by ITC suggests great overlap between the main social standards and highlights the opportunity for making big strides in the reduction of standard fatigue. There is plenty of low hanging fruit for the main standards holders to tackle among themselves. By evening out small and non-contentious differences in standards, standard holders will enable manufacturers to thread their way through a less dense jungle of sometimes even conflicting standards.

With support from GIZ’s Initiative for Global Solidarity (IGS), SLCP is also working with several of the leading schemes and standard holders to explore alignment & data sharing, to reduce the need for separate data collection and verification processes. Best practice in this context is the Sustainable Apparel Coalition which has fully integrated SLCP’s CAF in their Higg FSLM tool. Another recent examples of success includes SLCP’s ongoing collaboration with FWF.

SCI calls on all leading social schemes to follow these examples and to work towards compatibility between the systems and to accept and integrate SLCP verified data.

Het bericht SCI Manifesto on Audit and Standard Fatigue verscheen eerst op IAF.

Themed “Networks, Connections, and Boundaries,” the panels delved into diverse strategies for industry-wide network growth. Key topics of discussion included the future of retail, emerging technologies, and ESG initiatives.

First Day
During the opening ceremony, Fernando Valente Pimentel, Director-Superintendent of Abit, was joined by Mario Cezar de Aguiar, President of Fiesc; Giuliano Donini, President of the Fiesc Fashion Industry Development Chamber, and Edgard Usuy, Secretary of Planning of the State of Santa Catarina. Although Senator Esperidião Amin, leader of the José de Alencar Mixed Parliamentary Front for the development of the textile and apparel industry, couldn’t be present, he sent a video with an opening statement.

On the first-day, during panel 1, IAF President Cem Altan addressed crucial points about the common plans that should be undertaken by sector agents,aiming for a collaborative and global approach to network growth. Cem delivered a lecture on the theme “Market: ‘From Boundaries to Bridges,'” alongside Henry Costa, Director of Renner, and Tiago Inácio Peixoto, CEO of Cataguases — two major Brazilian retail and textile companies.

IAF’s guidance is for manufacturers to increasingly adopt sustainable practices, investing in machines with a lower environmental impact. However, Altan emphasized that not all can achieve this alone, stressing the need for government support to improve indicators that were predicted before the pandemic.

The growth rate in the European Union is projected to be 0.8% in 2023 and 1.4% in 2024, with inflation rates of 6.5% and 3.2%, respectively. These figures significantly impact companies that have reduced their investments. “If companies don’t sell, they can’t invest. Achieving the sustainability goals imposed by the EU by 2040 will be challenging”, Altan quoted.

The panels of the day continued with the topics “The Importance of Industrial Policies” and “Technology, Integration, and Organization in Networks”. The first day concluded with a special session marking the launch of the Fashion and Climate Guide for the decarbonization of the textile and apparel industry. The initiative is a collaboration between Abit, ABVTEX, and SENAI CETIQT — crucial institutions for the development of the sector in the country — with consultancy provided by Reos Partners.

Second Day
Luiz Alberto Marinho, Managing Partner of Gouvêa Malls, opened the second day by talking about the consumer at Omniera. According to a McKinsey study, customers have exhibited growing demands, with 87% of consumers expressing a preference for online shopping. Subsequent discussions encompassed advanced materials, public-private partnerships, collaborative initiatives, and sustainability.

The closing lecture featured executive Rachel Maia, CEO of RM Consulting, underscoring the shared responsibility of the industry to heighten awareness of sustainable practices, such as ESG, in an effort to preserve the planet.

The upcoming edition of the International Abit Congress is already confirmed and is scheduled to take place in Salvador, Bahia, in November 2024.

Het bericht Abit Congress discusses network growth with IAF participation verscheen eerst op IAF.

Consistent with Interloop’s green footprint, this 1.3 million sq. ft. plant is designed in alignment with LEED standards and is currently in the certification process.

“We’re setting new standards, harnessing innovative technologies, and relentlessly pursuing process improvement,” says Navid Fazil, Chief Executive Officer of Interloop. “Through our LEED certified infrastructure, a self-reliant, green energy grid, and transition to biomass fuel, we’re committed to increasing Interloop’s sustainability impact on an unprecedented scale.”

Spanning across 232 acres, Interloop Apparel Park combines high-tech multi-category manufacturing with centralised sustainability operations and services. Key highlights include:

• 5th Hosiery Plant, certified with LEED Gold
• Water Recycling Plant, with plans to enhance capacity to 60%
• Solar Park, taking Interloop’s solar capacity to 25 MW
• Day Care Centre with a capacity for 150 children

To learn more about Interloop Apparel Park, click here.

For more information, contact Noor Jehan Sadiq at njsadiq@interloop.com.pk

Het bericht Interloop Limited’s 1.3 Million sq. ft. Apparel Plant begins operations at Interloop Apparel Park verscheen eerst op IAF.

– Cotton On announced as a new foundation member of Seamless
– Phase one of establishing Seamless is completed

In what may be a first for any industry initiative, Australia’s Clothing Stewardship Scheme, Seamless, has created a board role for a Guardian of Nature. This dedicated role will focus on ensuring the interests of one of the most important stakeholders in the drive to circularity is represented in strategic decision-making.

A first of its kind national product stewardship scheme, Seamless aims to make Australian fashion and clothing truly circular, and significantly reduce the 200,000 tonnes of clothing that currently goes to Australian landfill each year. Created by a Consortium led by the Australian Fashion Council with Charitable Recycling Australia, Queensland University of Technology, Sustainable Resource Use and WRAP Asia Pacific, Seamless is now being established by the Transition Advisory Group (TAG).

Key achievements of the Seamless TAG since July 2023:

• • Establishing a product stewardship organisation (PSO) that looks at product stewardship within a circularity framework.
  • Creating mechanisms to ensure that all actors across the clothing supply chain are actively engaged with the PSO.
  • Developing an organisational constitution with clear objectives related to clothing circularity.
  • Outlining the role of supply chain stakeholders in the governance of the organisation.

The TAG is made up of Foundation Members of Seamless along with a range of clothing supply chain specialists including NSW Environment Protection Authority, Charitable Recycling Australia and Waste Management and Resource Recovery Association. The clothing industry is further represented by A.BCH, bassike, Future Fashion Agency and the Australian Fashion Council.

In making the announcement, Danielle Kent, Seamless Project Director said: “The core goal of Seamless is creating a circular clothing industry by 2030, where responsible stewardship and citizenship are embedded across the entire clothing lifecycle.

“I’m delighted by the tremendous leadership of the Seamless TAG. The group has already approved one of the most progressive, stakeholder-centred constitutions of any product stewardship scheme. Now, they have taken this a step further, by placing nature at the centre of every important decision.

Rosanna Iacono, Independent Chair of the Seamless TAG, applauded the courage and commitment of the TAG members in completing this critical phase for the PSO, commenting: “The diverse thinking and thoughtful contributions of all TAG members have resulted in the development of a Constitution and the appointment of an Executive and Governance Board where joined-up thinking and action will underpin the delivery of ambitious industry transformation and optimal outcomes for all key stakeholders”.

Kent also welcomed Cotton On as the newest Seamless Foundation Member, joining the Sussan Group, Big W, David Jones, Lorna Jane, Rip Curl, R.M. Williams, and THE ICONIC. “Cotton On is a valuable addition to the growing group of brands who want to reduce the clothing that go each year into landfill in Australia and we warmly welcome them on board.”

Michelle Pacey, Cotton On General Manager for Product said: “Guided by our purpose to make a positive difference in people’s lives, Cotton On recognises its responsibility towards circular fashion and is committed to being part of the solution.

“Change starts with all of us, and industry collaboration is a huge part of making the greatest impact. Cotton On’s partnership with Seamless is an important step in the right direction as we work together with other brands to find industry wide sustainable solutions,” Pacey said.

Kent stated that the TAG is set to hand its work over to the new Board of Directors who will continue to establish and operationalise Seamless over the coming months. The new Seamless Board will meet for the first time in November to progress the appointment of an independent Chair, independent Directors, and the CEO.

Het bericht Seamless breaks new ground with ‘Guardian of Nature’ independent director board role verscheen eerst op IAF.

 The 38^th World Fashion Convention organized by the IAF and Spesa in Philadelphia has officially begun on Monday afternoon, October 23^rd. On the same day in the morning the IAF General Assembly unanimously accepted the IAF’s Board of Directors proposal to extend the current IAF President’s Cem Altan term with a further two years.

Mr. Altan is himself a garment manufacturer, representing the Istanbul Apparel Exporters Association (IHKIB) in the IAF. His term extension reflects the IAF’s strong focus on uniting apparel manufacturers globally and defending their interests. In his opening speech he referred to IAF’s mission to enable and promote stronger, smarter and more sustainable supply chains. He noted that the industry’s needed transition is moving too slowly. A major reason for this is that even though manufacturers often have the tools in hand to make the necessary environmental, social and financial improvements, they are mostly not sufficiently enabled in current supply chain- financially or organizationally- to use these tools.

He called on the industry to maintain a positive path forward, staying away from the low value trap, and collaborating across the supply chain using technology and process innovation to create more value. During the two-day conference, a broad range of speakers on topics ranging from digitalization, data technology, legislation, sourcing strategy, sustainability and transparency are shedding their light on industry transition. An equally broad range of sponsors, representing available solutions for our industry’s transition, make this convention possible.

www.conventionphiladelphia.com

Het bericht The 38th IAF World Fashion Convention Has Officially Begun! verscheen eerst op IAF.