ColorDry, a low waste and low impact dyeing technology, is NIKE’s newest initiative toward sustainable manufacturing. 

We’ve been keeping close tabs on NIKE  after our interview with the company’s VP of Sustainable Business, Hannah Jones. We’re glad to see that the activewear giant is setting an example for other large brands and paving the way for smaller ones to produce apparel with a significantly lower impact dyeing technology. NIKE has partnered up with Dutch company Dyecoo to create a sustainable dyeing method called ColorDry that eliminates the use of water and chemicals from the process.

The ColorDry technology has been put to use at Far Eastern New Century Corporation’s manufacturing facility in Taiwan, which is subcontracted by NIKE.  DyeCoo’s revolutionary engineering resulted in a dyeing method that replaces the water conventionally used in textile dyeing with recyclable CO2, which consequentially reduces the amount of energy used and eliminates the need for certain toxic chemicals.

It’s estimated that about 25 to 40 gallons of water are needed to process around 2 pounds of textiles in the current industry. It adds up to a lot considering that about 39 million tons of polyester alone (not counting all the cotton, viscose, nylon and so on that are also dyed) is colored in this way annually. The ColorDry process actually creates textiles with more saturated, intense and consistent color that the factory’s managers have ever seen, all the while reducing dyeing time by 40 percent, energy use by 60 percent and the carbon footprint by at least a quarter.

NIKE‘s COO Erik Sprunk sees the partnership with DyeCoo and the Taiwanese facility as a step in the right direction: “NIKE, Inc. innovates not only in the design of our products, but also in how they are made. We see sustainability and business growth as complementary and our strategy is to prioritize relationships with factory groups that demonstrate a desire to invest in sustainable practices and technologies.”

Hopefully more companies and nations will begin to utilize this revolutionary technology, making it more accessible to apparel producers of all calibers, and spurring on the development of even more sustainable methods. We hope to see the need for toxic chemicals and water waste eliminated in textile dyeing eliminated in the year future, as it affects our environment and health in more ways than many of us can even comprehend.

Images: NIKE

Related on EcoSalon
Interview: NIKE’s VP of Sustainable Business Hannah Jones

Dropless and Environmentally Friendly Textile Dyeing from DyeCoo

Interview: Michael Harari on Drying Off the Textile Dyeing Industry

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Nike Inc. is one of the biggest players in the world of sports, performance and activewear apparel and accessories. This global company has undergone impressive growth from its roots as a track and field athlete outfitter, although allegations of child labor, poor factory conditions and exploitation of workers has tainted the brand’s image in the past. With its global influence and research and development capabilities, the company can make a significant impact on the way the world designs, produces and uses clothing – we asked Nike’s Vice President of Sustainable Business, Hannah Jones, just how they are doing it in Part 2 of a 2-part series; read the first installment here.

Leena Ojala: How much is sustainability integrated into the design community at NIKE?

Hannah Jones: Our Considered Design ethos – and the belief that design processes adopted broadly can be a key driver of systems change – has been a cornerstone of our sustainability strategy. We have built tools such as the Nike Materials Sustainability Index (Nike MSI), a database that is the result of more than seven years of materials research and analysis, to make it easy for designers to create products with lower environmental impacts.  Nike also voluntarily sets sustainability targets, which include specific product design targets that are shared publicly.

We’re also working to make information and resources available to the design community at-large through initiatives like the MAKING app. MAKING includes data from the Nike MSI, putting information in the hands of designers and product creators beyond Nike to help them make informed decisions about the impacts of their materials choices.

LO: Which sectors or departments in the company have the furthest to go in terms of sustainability?

HJ: We can always do better by constantly refining the way we define our performance with greater focus and more attention. We are working to manage our impacts not only in our own business but in its reach across our value chain.

It’s much like the one-mile race, with world records bested by fractions of a second over years or decades without a major breakthrough but ultimately resulting in significant cumulative change.

We recognize the bar can always be higher and that sometimes it seems just out of reach. We’re constantly asking ourselves what company co-founder and legendary track coach Bill Bowerman asked the company’s first designers: “Is that the best we can do?”

We have looked across our value chain, at the areas of greatest impact, and where we have solid information to assess, understand and drive performance. In these areas we have defined targets we’re working toward.

LO: Why hasn’t NIKE adopted sustainable practices across the entire company?

Sustainability is built into the DNA of Nike’s business model, into our operations and into our culture where innovation is unleashed, shared and scaled. To advance in innovation and sustainability, both must be an inextricable part of the way we work. We know sustainability is a challenge that demands two approaches: building sustainability principles into the heart of business strategy and decision making – cultural, organizational, process, policy shifts. Sustainability is also an innovation challenge, which demands a new set of tools be deployed in order to hunt and solve innovation challenges. We are continually building capability across NIKE, Inc. to be able to do both.

LO: How, in your opinion, has NIKE helped foster a sustainable apparel industry?

HJ: The sustainability challenges we face, such as the use of innovative new materials and changing deep-rooted supplier behaviors, are much broader than Nike alone can address. Unprecedented levels of collaboration are crucial to promoting system transformation and developing effective and lasting solutions, and are core to our strategy. We recognize we can play a role in changing the underlying systems and transforming the way that industry, government and citizens share data and responsibility, working together to enhance transparency and accountability.

For example:

• The H2O Insight Water Tool, which we developed for the Nike Water Program and have made available through subscription to other companies, enables our vendors and other brands worldwide to more effectively track water quantity, quality and efficiency indicators.
• In 2011, we worked with other footwear and apparel companies to create a roadmap for achieving the goal of zero discharge of hazardous chemicals by our material vendors and contract manufacturers by 2020.
• Also in 2011, we joined with other leading apparel and footwear brands, retailers, manufacturers, nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), academics and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to launch the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC). We have shared our tools with them to help create an industry-wide index for measuring and evaluating product sustainability.
• In March 2013, Nike announced a partnership with Swiss company bluesign technologies to accelerate the supply of sustainable materials and chemistries for use in NIKE, Inc. products. Through the partnership, material suppliers will have access to an unprecedented amount of data that will enable them to make informed decisions and, ultimately, increase water and energy efficiency.

LO: What do you foresee being NIKE’s most important role in creating a sustainable and responsible apparel industry?

HJ: Nike is a large company by most standards, but our ability to influence meaningful change at the systemic level has limitations. It is absolutely crucial that we work with other players to prompt real, sustainable system change. We embrace partnerships and open-source collaboration. We have proactively shared our sustainable design tools to help create an industry standard and continue to look for ways to scale innovations at Nike and across our industry.

An example of this is our role as a founding member of LAUNCH, a strategic partnership between Nike, NASA, the US State Department and the US Agency for International Development (USAID).  LAUNCH identifies and fosters new ideas to create breakthrough innovations, with our current focus being on sustainable materials and low-impact making. It is estimated that around 150 billion garments were produced around the world in 2010, and by 2015, the global apparel industry is expected to produce more than 400 billion square meters of fabric every year. Knowing that, it’s not hard to imagine the significant impact new, sustainable materials can have on our environment.

LO: What does sustainability mean to you?

HJ: An unprecedented opportunity to innovate.  We have learned at Nike that designers and product creators deliver incredible results when faced with constraints. Sustainability is a constraint that encourages the re-imagination of what’s possible.

LO: What inspires you on a daily basis?

HJ: The incredible talent and diversity of thinking that exists at Nike. We have a culture that encourages and nurtures disruptive ideas. The creative thinking that emerges when diverse skills sets are brought together is inspiring.

Images: Nike Inc.

Related on EcoSalon:

Hannah Jones: Nike VP of Sustainability Interview Part 1

NASA, Nike and USAID Seek Sustainable Ideas in Textiles

Fostering a Responsible Fashion Industry: The Sustainable Apparel Coalition

The post Interview: NIKE’s VP of Sustainable Business Hannah Jones (Part 2) appeared first on EcoSalon.

Nike Inc. is one of the biggest players in the world of sports, performance and activewear apparel and accessories. This global company has undergone impressive growth from its roots as a track and field athlete outfitter, although allegations of child labor, poor factory conditions and exploitation of workers has tainted the brand’s image in the past. With its global influence and research and development capabilities, the company can make a significant impact on the way the world designs, produces and uses clothing—we asked Hannah Jones Nike’s vice president of sustainable business,  just how they are doing it in Part 1 of a 2-part series; look for the second installment on Friday of this week. 

LO: What is NIKE currently doing in the name of sustainability?

HJ: Nike is a growth company and sustainability is increasingly important to our growth strategy. In essence, we’re committed to delivering a portfolio of products using sustainable materials that enhance performance.  Nike’s vision is that these products will ultimately become “closed loop” – that is, they will use the fewest possible materials and be assembled in ways that allow them to be readily recycled into new products. We are integrating sustainability principles into our business processes to generate innovation that delivers products and services combining performance and innovation and that’s better for the athlete and the planet.

LO: Which one(s) of NIKE sustainability ventures would you say has been the most successful in instigating positive change? Why?

HJ: As innovators, we thrive on the challenge to redefine performance and unleash innovation. We recognize that we cannot achieve our bold goals for sustainability simply by delivering incremental improvements. We will frequently need to deliver innovations that change the way things are done today, including innovation in sustainable materials, high-efficiency and low-waste manufacturing methods, and partnerships that inspire long-term growth, profitability and sustainability.

Here are three examples of work we are doing:

Waterless dyeing – Driving innovation into our product creation process demands that we also invest in innovative technology. This past year we formed a partnership with a company that created a way to dye apparel using CO2 instead of water. This partnership was facilitated by our new Sustainable Business & Innovation Lab, a team at Nike created specifically to identify external opportunities for collaboration to promote sustainable growth.

Manufacturing Index – We are changing the way we measure factory performance, adding environmental and labor-sustainability metrics to the traditional supply-chain measures of quality, cost and delivery. We are building incentives into our relationships with suppliers – those that prioritize and focus on workers and sustainability in their planning and operations will benefit. Those that don’t will feel the financial impact.

Target setting – We continue to push ourselves with aggressive aims, targets and commitments, and equally distribute the accountability for these across the business. That said, a goal is never a destination. It’s a checkpoint where we reassess and recommit to new challenges and opportunities.

LO: How does NIKE translate sustainability into innovation and vice versa?

HJ: Nike believes sustainability is the world’s greatest innovation challenge. Looking through the creative lens of innovation, we aim to create breakthroughs that improve our world and are also better for our athletes and our investors. This is a fundamental re-writing of the old belief system in which sustainability was often cast as a cost to business, or a drag on performance. The evidence tells us this simply does not need to be the case, and indeed, the combining of sustainability and innovation can trigger advances in both.

A great example is our Nike Flyknit technology. It’s a new way to knit a shoe upper out of what is essentially a single thread. It’s great for the athlete because it is lighter and offers a more custom fit. It’s good for the planet because it drastically reduces waste from the upper production process, by an average of 80 percent in the Nike Flyknit Lunar1+ when compared to typical Nike running footwear. And shareholders benefit from the reduced cost of production and increased margins. It’s a nascent technology that holds tremendous opportunity to be scaled over time.

Read part 2: Interview: Nike’s VP of Sustainable Business Hannah Jones (Part 2)

Images: Nike Inc.

Related on EcoSalon:

NASA, Nike and USAID Seek Sustainable Ideas in Textiles

Fostering a Responsible Fashion Industry: The Sustainable Apparel Coalition

The post Hannah Jones, Nike VP of Sustainable Business: Behind-the-Scenes Interview (Part 1) appeared first on EcoSalon.

A call for sustainable ideas that revolutionize the development of  fabrics.

Back in 2010 NASA, Nike, the US Agency for International Development and the US Department of State joined forces in an effort to bring together sustainable ideas for developing solutions to global challenges. Called LAUNCH, this worldwide initiative has been creating an open forum for the presentation of various sustainability solutions for issues such as energy, health and water.

For 2013 the LAUNCH Systems Challenge 2013 the team is looking for solutions in the development, manufacturing and recyclability of textiles, with successful submissions to be presented at the end of September. This year’s challenge looks to “transform the system of fabrics to one that advances equitable global economic growth, drives human prosperity and replenishes the planet’s resources.”

The challenge is calling for innovations with the potential to scale up in two years, alongside early stage technologies with a focus on positive environmental and social impact. Anything from business models and financial instruments to technologies, research accelerators and education schemes will be accepted, as well as education. Submissions should align with at least one of the following points of interest:

In textiles:

• Multi-purpose synthetic and biosynthetic materials.
• Smart and/or self-­healing materials.
• Technical fabrics with novel or surprising attributes.
• Fabrics that efficiently and effectively enable recycling.
• Applications that eliminate toxins in fabrics.
• Models that accelerate the development of low or positive environmental impact fabrics.
• Data generation and capture technologies and mechanisms that enable traceability across a product or fabric’s lifecycle.
• Decision support and educational tools that guide positive impact design and inform better choices of chemistries and materials.
• Open technology platforms to enable sharing, collaboration, contribution and unlimited accessibility to data that improves the analysis of sustainability impacts and stimulates an open data ecosystem.

In textile manufacturing:

• Solutions that increase energy, water, and raw material efficiency in the manufacturing process.
• Manufacturing processes and technologies that enable maximum conversion of materials and minimum consumption of natural resources.
• Solutions that put workers at the heart of the innovation process.
• Zero waste or closed loop systems that eliminate waste and create equitable, empowered workforces.
• Scalable, innovative business models that are sustainable and equitable.
• Manufacturing processes that reuse waste.
• Programs that support local business inclusion across the system of fabrics.
• Information and data exchanges that build entrepreneurial capacity & worker inclusion.
• Data generation and capture technologies and mechanisms to increase transparency across the value chain.

The challenge is now open for submissions and early-bird submissions are due by June 15^th, and  the challenge closes on July 15^th. Proposals from companies (small to large), consultants, entrepreneurs, inventors, non-­profits, research institutions, social enterprises and venture capitalists are welcome. The 10 winners of the challenge will be announced at the forum held from September 26^th to 28^th, 2013, where their innovations will also be presented. Although no cash prize is awarded, the winners will receive support, networking and mentoring from influential business and government leaders.

If you don’t quite meet the criteria of the LAUNCH challenge, check out the nano-challenge for university students. This complementing challenge will be accepting submissions that adhere to the same criteria and timeline as the official challenge, and will be acknowledged at the September forum. Make sure to spread to word or begin working on your own submission!

Images: launch.org

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ColumnNike has proven that it can “just do it” when it comes to incorporating sustainability into its supply chain… or has it?

Not so long ago, the Nike brand was synonymous with sweatshops and child labor.

But over the past decade, it has successfully reinvented itself into a poster child for innovation and sustainability in the apparel industry. Under its Nike Better World campaign, it has launched game-changing initiatives like doubling its use of recycled polyester in apparel; starting the Reuse-A-Shoe program, which has turned 28 million old shoes into things like sport courts, tracks, and playgrounds; and creating the Nike Materials Index, which seeks to clarify the environmental impact of internal design decisions. And ostensibly, it has cleaned up its labor issues.

For many, it’s a rags-to-riches story – proof that it is possible for one of the largest shoe companies in the world to embrace social responsibility and still turn a hefty profit. If they can “just do it,” why can’t the rest?

The story, however, is slightly more complicated. This week’s return of Behind The Label looks at the good – nay, great – elements of Nike’s about-face, along with the not-so-good aspects.

The Good

Nike’s corporate social responsibility efforts have been lauded throughout the industry. However, the company makes clear that it’s less altruism that drives forward their sustainability efforts – it’s the need to prepare for a “fundamentally different operating environment,” one in which “competition for scarce natural resources affects the cost and availability of the inputs needed to make our products” and “rising energy costs and greenhouse gas emissions lead to increasing pressure on traditional models of product manufacturing and transportation.”

Its sustainability pillars are four-fold:

• Creating a portfolio of sustainable materials
• Prototyping and scaling sustainable sourcing and manufacturing models
• Igniting and driving market transformation
• Creating digital services revenue

Now, it’s easy for companies as large as Nike to talk the talk when it comes to sustainability goals. But Nike is also walking the walk, particularly when it comes to the technology of sustainability.

Its latest innovation is called Flyknit – a new shoe created through a mechanized knitting process that minimizes weight (for a better “barefoot” running experience AND lower shipping costs) as well as waste (66 percent less than the brand’s popular Air Pegasus+ 28).

The computer-controlled weaving technology is a “game-changer,” Nike president Charlie Denson told Bloomberg News last March. The technology eliminates the need to cut and assemble multiple parts of the shoe, which is the most labor-intensive part of the process and a large reason Nike has long outsourced cheaper labor in Asia. Denson says that the technology cuts costs so much “that eventually we could make these shoes anywhere in the world.” Including, potentially, on-site at your local Nike store.

The Bad

Indeed, Nike has come a long way from its position at the center of the sweatshop movement of the 1990s, when it was revealed that the company was using child labor in its overseas factories. The news sparked student movements on college campuses across the country, which lobbied their administrations to divest themselves from campus and sports apparel that were made under sweatshop-like conditions.

Since then, Nike has made an effort to work with advocacy groups and unions to address their concerns. But apparently, the company hasn’t worked hard enough. For instance, in 2011, garment workers at the Sukabami plant near Jakarta, Indonesia, claimed that they were mentally and physically abused at factories making Converse, a brand that is owned by Nike. The workers reported that supervisors “slapped them in the face, kicked them and called them dogs and pigs,” according to a report from the Associated Press. Workers at the factory made around 50 cents an hour – “enough for food and bunkhouse-type lodging, but little else.”

According to the AP, Nike is aware of such abuses in its factories, but it is unable – or unwilling – to stop them. An internal report released in 2011 showed that about two-thirds of the 168 factories contracted by Nike to make Converse products fail to meet Nike’s standards, with twelve in the most serious category, 97 in a category for no progress, and six that hadn’t been audited.

The Questionable

When Nike released the Flyknit shoe, it also launched the Nike Flyknit Collective – a large-scale marketing campaign centered around a platform for creative innovators who were embracing the fundamental principles of the shoe’s design. As part of the campaign, Nike hosted large scale art installations in six major cities, producing video and media content to share on the web.

Nike is famous for lavish advertising, endorsement deals, and marketing stints like this one. The Flyknit campaign easily cost millions. And recently, Nike made headlines for closing one of the most lucrative athletic sponsorships in history — $200 million over 10 years to 23-year-old golf star Rory McIlroy.

When faced with such sums, it’s difficult to explain why Nike can’t pay its factory workers more than 50 cents an hour, or why it claims that it can’t scrounge up the resources to more vigorously monitor its overseas factories.

The advances taken by Nike have been tremendous. And it’s possible that Nike’s latest advance, a shoe knit mechanically, is its greatest yet.

But have Nike’s shiny sustainability efforts distracted us from the fact that substandard conditions continue to perpetuate its overseas factories? The campus protests may have stopped in the 1990s, but it appears the problems continue to exist more than 20 years later. Nike has proven that it has the resources to overcome sustainability barriers previously thought insurmountable. Let’s hope its next efforts are directed toward creating a better world for its workers.

Images: Nike Better World, Nike Sustainability Strategy, Nike Flyknit Collective

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Is it plastic technology or just consuming less plastic that’s the answer? It’s up to us.

It’s a very simple equation: Plastic=bad. This is why we stick our fold-up totes in a purse to go to the grocery store, and why we fill up our water bottles at the fountain instead of buying another from the vending machine. But as hard as we try, it’s difficult to eliminate plastic entirely. For example: Despite my best efforts, at this very moment my house shelters one bottle of Heinz ketchup in the fridge and a bottle of Nyquil in the medicine cabinet.

As it exists today, plastic is lightweight, versatile, convenient and affordable – qualities that not all packaging materials possess (we’re looking at you, glass and paper). The solution is to find a sustainable alternative for traditional PET, or polyethylene terephthalate, which is made from fossil fuels.

The Coca-Cola Company thinks they’ve found it. They’ve implemented a new plant-based PET into their bottling line, which they’re reporting has a lower environmental impact than traditional PET. That’s why four other companies – Nike, Proctor & Gamble, Ford and Heinz, – have teamed up with Coca-Cola under the umbrella of the Plant PET Technology Collaborative (PTC), to fund research and accelerate the use of plant-based plastics.

According to Katherine Schermerhorn, a spokesperson for Coca-Cola, plant PET is currently made from a number of different sources, including sugarcane, sugar beets, corn and cassava. The PTC is currently developing criteria to ensure that plant PET will be made solely from non-food competing sources, and will be produced sustainably.

Most of their future projects are still confidential at this point. According to Ed Sawicki, the associate director at Proctor and Gamble, the PTC will be looking at work at universities, research labs and other academic institutions in addition to the member company labs.

But the work done so far looks promising. Schermerhorn estimates that Coca-Cola’s use of plant PET packaging has, over the past two years, helped save more than 100,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide. In 2009, Coca-Cola produced nearly 10 billion bottles using plant PET, and has a standing goal to use the material in all their PET plastic bottles by 2020. Heinz is currently licensing the technology from Coke for use in their plastic ketchup bottles in the United States and Canada.

It seems oddly incongruous to hold up several multinational corporations for laudable business practices. The phrase “sustainable packaging” seems to be an oxymoron. Moreover, it’s hard to picture a staid product like a 2-liter bottle of Coke as of-the-moment and eco-friendly.

But the ubiquity of these products is the very reason why it’s important for these companies to take a step in the right direction. Bringing reusable bags to the grocery store won’t stop everyone in the world from buying the occasional bottle of condiments (even when it’s so easy to make).

But we’ll all breathe easier knowing that even so, the air is still a little bit cleaner…right?

Image: Steven Depalo

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Sustainable style news from EcoSalon’s West Coast Fashion Editor.

Hurlyburly’s Done – Costa Mesa based surf and skate brand Hurley and Nike have partnered up with Otis College of Art and Design to create Considered, a mentorship program for students that challenges them to come up with eco-friendly fashion ideas that follow the Nike Considered Index Tool, which evaluates all aspects of the supply chain. The program provides students who want to gain more than just a fashion education an opportunity to embrace design while considering the long-term effects on the environment. Organized into a contest style format, the resulting collections will be presented at Hurley’s H Space Gallery from 6-9 p.m. Thursday, October 20th.

Wear Something Rare – San Francisco is a sizzling hotbed for locally producing ingenuity these days. Check out some of the Bay Area’s hottest new indie designers at SOMA’s 440 Brannan’s fall sale event this Thursday, October 20^th from 6-10 p.m. Featuring local lines Johnathan Baker, gr.dano, Zansus Purses, Heiros, MENK and my favorite find of late, Suzy Tamimi. One of San Francisco’s “Ones to Watch,” the talented designer’s head turning fall collection shows her strong sense for creating a scene stealing look.

7 Year Niche  – What does it take for a local designer to keep her entire production – from first sketches, to patterns and samples through to socially responsible manufacturing – in San Francisco? According to Saffron Rare Threads designer Priya Saraswati, it takes Grit, Gloss & Glamor. Celebrating 7 years of business and flattering, fabulous fashion, Saraswati and her team are throwing an anniversary event and fashion show this  October 20^th. Delicous drinks, haute street food and the most lively bunch of lovelies you could hope to shop with. Enjoy a 15% discount all night.

The post Eco Style West Vol. 32 appeared first on EcoSalon.

Hormone disrupting chemicals, found by Greenpeace, can affect immune systems and alter sexual development.

Greenpeace recently reported that clothing items bearing the logos of 14 global brands – including Adidas, H&M, Calvin Klein and Abercrombie & Fitch – have been found to contain nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs), chemicals that can break down to form the hormone-disrupting substance nonylphenol (NP). Just this morning, Reuters released the news that Nearly 300 Cambodian workers fell sick this week at a garment factory producing goods for Swedish fashion brand H&M.

“Workers smelled something bad coming from the shirts,” said 26-year-old Norn Leakhena, a worker at the factory.

Greenpeace also reports in their findings that “Of the 78 articles of clothing bought and manufactured in locations all over the world, two thirds (52) tested positive for these chemicals – demonstrating that the use and release of these substances is a global problem affecting the entire textile industry, and further reinforcing the findings of the first Dirty Laundry Report, published 6 weeks ago.”

We caught up with Tommy Crawford, Communications Manager for Greenpeace International to help us break down what this means for us in terms of personal as well as ecological safety.

Are the hormone disrupting chemicals coming from finishes on the clothes?
Nonylphenol ethoxylates (NPEs) are used as surfactants in textile production. They subsequently break down into the toxic nonylphenol (NP) in the manufacturing process in wastewater discharges, as well as when finished clothes are washed by the consumers. This means that the persistent, hormone-disrupting NPs end up predominately in rivers and waterways in the countries of production but also in the countries of sale – including countries where use of the parent compounds (NPEs) is banned.

Would you say these are brands targeted mostly at a younger demographic who could care less about toxic clothing?
Toxic chemicals are a concern for everyone, regardless of their age. Greenpeace is not looking to discourage people from buying these brands, but we are interested in empowering their consumers to challenge these brands to produce their clothes in a way that does not come with a high price for people and the environment. A toxic-free future is possible, and concerned and empowered consumers have already played a massive role in convincing Nike and Puma to commit to the total elimination of all hazardous chemicals from their production by watching and sharing the campaign video and signing the petition. Over 600 supporters and activists even took part in the world’s biggest coordinated striptease to send a clear message to the brands to “Detox” our future.

The Greenpeace report says that chemicals are entering waterways and altering organisms. Why should we care?
We should care as we are talking about very problematic toxic chemicals entering into our water and our environment and having harmful and often unknown impacts. Chemicals that have no safe levels. Chemicals that stay in our environment for a long time (persistent), build up in the food chain (bioaccumulative), and that are hormone disrupting and toxic.

The substances Nonylphenol ethoxolates (NPEs) that we found in the clothes breakdown into the toxic nonylphenol (NP) once released into sewage treatment plants or directly into rivers (such as in manufacturing wastewaters, or during normal washing by consumers). NPs have the ability to mimic natural estrogen hormones. Scientific studies have found that exposure to NP can lead to altered sexual development in some organisms, particularly fish and other aquatic organisms. Lab testing on animal cells has also observed NP impacting immune system cells. Many of these effects can occur at relatively low levels.

With 13 countries involved in the supply chain for all these tested brands, how can they be regulated to ensure change? Is it too big a project?
No it is not. Suppliers in all these 13 countries are supplying big international clothing brands. By campaigning on the clothing brands, urging them to take responsibility for the toxic discharges in the manufacture of their clothes and becoming part of the solution by cleaning up their supply chains we can witness positive results for people and the environment in all production countries. It is not an impossible task, we have already seen both Puma and Nike committing to a toxic-free future by 2020.

Following its commitment last Wednesday Nike immediately took measures to start the elimination of NPEs in their supply chain by informing all of their suppliers around the world that NPEs need to be eliminated. Nike immediately moved NPEs from their list of ‘future restricted substances during manufacture’ to their existing list of ‘restricted substances during manufacture.’ This means that by encouraging the brands to commit to creating a toxic-free world, we can bring about positive and widespread change in all the countries of manufacture – very important for all the millions of people living in the countries of production who are dependent on rivers and other waterways for their drinking water.

Will you be checking back with Puma and Nike regarding their commitment to change?
Yes, both companies have publicly committed to come back with a Plan of Action with a road map detailing how they will get to zero discharges of hazardous chemicals by 2020. Nike, for example, wrote last week in its public commitment: ”Within eight weeks Nike Inc. will announce it’s action plan for the goal of eliminating hazardous chemicals within our supply chain addressing transparency, chemical management, including how we will address the need for industry disclosure in line with the right to know principles and a time-line for the highest priority hazardous chemicals.” Puma has also committed to publishing an action plan detailing how they will deliver their commitment within the next eight weeks.

Greenpeace will be closely watching this process and reviewing the plans of action to ensure they will indeed lead to the brands and their suppliers achieving toxic-free production by 2020.

Images: Greenpeace

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According to the Wall Street Journal, a group of roughly 100 well-known apparel brands and retailers including Nike, Levi’s Timberland and Patagonia “Have developed a software tool to help them measure the environmental impact of their apparel and footwear, from raw material to garbage dump.”

This Eco Index, similar to what appliances go through to achieve an Energy Star label is an informal software tool that asks companies to consider their environmental and labor practices. The answers to the questions translate into an eco-value score that, (when the program is ready for the retail market), will allow consumers to make a decision whether they want a product based on its index score.

Many of the companies are hoping it will be an invitation to try their product as it will set them apart from competitors based on insider know how.

The index will debut at the Outdoor Retailer trade show in Salt Lake City next month.

While many of the questions companies must answer cover significant supply chain steps like manufacturing, shipping, and even disposal, one of the biggest eye openers for consumers will be to see their part in the equation.

The WSJ reports that for example, consumer washing of a pair of Levi’s 501’s contributes to half of the water used and carbon dioxide produced in the life of those jeans. Levi’s has already won points simply for advising consumers to wash with cold water, line dry and donate to Goodwill which puts them ahead of the curve.

Like Energy Star ratings, the Eco-Index value system will allow a semi-sustainably aware public of the need to conserve and have more of a connection to what they are wearing and how the clothing got to them.

Do you think the public is ready for this and that it will make a dent in how we consume?

Image: ecouterre

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A few years ago, “eco fashion” became the hottest buzzword. The media in particular loved it and used every opportunity available to position it as the hottest trend. Recall those “Green is the New Black” headlines everywhere? Fast forward to today, and we know that eco fashion is definitely not a trend. It is a movement, and one that is taking the world by storm.

How so? Well for starters, a growing number of designers are now sourcing more sustainable fabrics than a few years ago, and the variety and quantity of those fabrics has grown out of this demand. An increasing number of brands and retailers are now engaged in ethical sourcing, and are working with their suppliers to create benchmarks and standards. Many companies now understand the benefits of corporate social responsibility (CSR), even if their product or service is not “green”.

Organic Exchange (OE) offers more evidence of this eco fashion movement. According to their Organic Cotton Market Report, global sales of organic cotton apparel and textiles has grown by $1 billion in 2009, which amounts to a 35 percent increase over 2008. And at the same time that organic cotton sales have grown, overall cotton clothing and home textiles sales have shrunk by seven percent.

However, the rise of organic cotton has been steady for nearly a decade – on average by 40 percent each year since 2001. You just didn’t hear much about it because it wasn’t deemed important enough by mainstream media and industry. But that seems to be changing.

Organic Exchange estimates that the organic cotton market will continue to grow at this steady pace of 20-40 percent – both this year and next, to about $6 billion; and that the organic cotton market has been driven largely by consumer interest in “green” products, and by retailers and companies looking to offer more organic options.

So just who are the top organic cotton buyers from 2009 according to the OE report? You might be shocked to learn that it’s some of the biggest names in retail, including Nike, Walmart and Adidas.

But really, this isn’t all that surprising when you consider the report Exporting Textiles: March to Sustainability, that recently profiled the top brands and retailers who are implementing environmental sustainability throughout their global supply chains. Among the 19 companies profiled are once again, Nike, Walmart and Adidas! So what exactly are these companies doing to be given such accolades? Let’s take a look.

Adidas adheres to the ISO14001 standard and has an internal environmental benchmarking assessment that they use to collect data from their suppliers. Their top three sustainability priorities are embedding environmental sustainability across the business, effectively managing business risks and social compliance in the supply chain, and extending engagement internally and externally.

Walmart, as we all know, has issued their Sustainability Index, which asks their suppliers a series of questions as they relate to social and environmental practices. They also carry GOTS certification on organic textiles (although questionable to what degree) and their focus on energy efficiency is now shifting toward their suppliers.

Nike uses a few internal tools such as Material Analysis Tool (MAT) and Considered Index to evaluate its life cycle impacts. They have a water program, and have integrated energy efficiency practices at supplier factories.

According to this report, which focuses primarily on energy efficiency, carbon emissions, water and chemical footprint as well as logistics, these three companies rank in the top 5 (Levi Strauss & Co. and Marks & Spencer round out the list).

And so the evidence is mounting. It becomes clearer every day that eco fashion is a movement, and one that is gaining solid ground. I look forward to actively watching as more and more of the big brands and retailers move toward increased sustainability, motivated by people like us who demand quality and ethics from the products we choose to buy.

Image: adifansnet

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