Interviews

The True Cost Calculator is a freely accessible, self-assessment tool to enable fashion professionals efficiently measure, compare, and minimise the ecological, environmental, and social impact of clothing throughout its entire lifecycle. Anse Smeets, Researcher and Project Manager Circular Economy, at Vito NV, one of the organisations behind the tool, talks nitty-gritties.

The Cotton 2040 project of the charity Forum for the Future was a platform which aimed to accelerate progress and maximise the impact of existing sustainable cotton initiatives. A year after the platform published its Impact Report, texfash speaks to Neil Walker, Senior Sustainability Strategist, about the project's legacy.

In the first week of October, H&M announced that it would phase out virgin down by the end of 2025. The decision has brought to the fore once again the issue of down usage. President of leading down player, Allied Feather + Down, Daniel Uretsky talks about the intrinsic circular nature of down and how it is a sustainable proposition.

The number of polybags produced annually to store, transport and protect apparel and footwear stands at a staggering 180 billion. Fashion has a packaging problem too, and providing a sustainable solution is TIPA Corp with its compostable alternative. Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Daphna Nissenbaum talks about fashion’s problems and TIPA's innovative solutions.

LiteHide is an innovative process that effectively eliminates the scourge of tanneries: the use of salt, which is a huge global land and waterway pollutant. Alexandra Pelka, Head of Europe and Business Development of Leatherteq Limited—the innovator of the technology—talks at length about leather, processes and technology.

Oxford Economics, leaders in global economic forecasting and quantitative analysis, has just published an exhaustive report on the state of the second-hand clothing trade between the EU27+ and three African nations. Johanna Neuhoff, Director of Economic Consulting, Continental Europe, delves deep into the nuances of the sector and the bearing it has on people on both sides in this free-wheeling conversation.

NextGen materials innovator Keel Labs has announced the commercial launch of garments made with its seaweed-based Kelsun fibre as a range being released later today by California brand Outerknown. Co-Founder Tessa Callaghan tells texfash what it took to get Kelsun from the concept stage to its commercial arrival.

One of the product launches that the fashion world was eagerly looking forward to this year was that of Mexico-based innovator Polybion’s NextGen material, Celium. CFO Alexis Gómez-Ortigoza and CEO Axel Gómez-Ortigoza tell texfash what it took for them to get Celium to a global launch and how they see the market developing in the years ahead.

The Uganda Circular Textile project is designed to support a transition to a local textile manufacturing base by incorporating clothes that would otherwise end up in landfills into new products and design. Leading the project, which kicked off earlier this year, is WasteAid. Director of Programmes, Michelle Wilson, explains what it takes to navigate the second-hand clothing landscape in the country.

Less than a month ago, the Ghana Used Clothing Dealers Association (GUCDA) released a report which contended that media reports of waste were gross over-estimates. These reports and also the campaigns are being driven by flawed data, argues GUCDA General Secretary Edward Atobrah Binkley in this riveting interview with texfash.