A few years ago Professor Jason Hickel was invited to speak during an annual Textile Exchange conference. Why was that invitation noteworthy? Because Jason is an advocate for degrowth in fashion. Fast forward to 2024 and Textile Exchange released the report Reimagining Growth Landscape Analysis. Perhaps Jason’s intervention struck a chord? In this conversation, Michael speaks with Beth Jensen from Textile Exchange and Rachel Arthur, the report’s lead author, to explore the reasoning behind and t...
Jun 13, 2025•1 hr 1 min•Season 6Ep. 19
Ken Pucker, former COO at Timberland and now Professor of Practice at Tufts University , sustainable industry analyst, opinion columnist and critic, views himself as a completely independent voice when it comes to issues concerning fashion and sustainability. During last year’s Climate Action Week, Michael and Ken discussed a number of topics, including his views regarding the rise and negative impacts of instant fashion and why voluntary sustainability initiatives do not work and thus why we ne...
Jun 13, 2025•45 min•Season 6Ep. 20
The idea that the fashion and apparel industry can continue to grow by employing a green-growth model has been questioned by many leading thinkers. It is argued that for the industry to reduce its emissions at the pace and scale required and to operate within the planetary boundaries, overproduction and overconsumption must stop. This is especially challenging because, as critics explain, the dominant economic business model relies on growth, and business growth often neutralizes gains in emissi...
Jun 13, 2025•53 min•Season 6Ep. 18
The Kappahl Group is a signatory in STICA’s Company Climate Action Program. That is why we invited Elisabeth Peregi, CEO of the Kappahl Group, for a conversation about how a CEO from a midsized, privately owned apparel brand understands the challenges and opportunities with climate action. Michael and Elisabeth discuss if it’s possible to achieve financial growth and reduce emissions simultaneously, if legislation and financial incentives are necessary to enable the Kappahl Group and the industr...
Jun 12, 2025•43 min•Season 6Ep. 17
During STICA’s 2024 Climate Action Week, Maxine Bédat and her colleagues from the NRDC and the New York State Assembly updated us on the arguments for and status of the New York Fashion Act. Since then more has happened. Similar bills have been introduced in California and Massachusetts. In this conversation, Michael asks Maxine to provide an update on the status of the bills, including how they address climate action specifically, if and how the bills align or differ, why she thinks they will b...
Jun 12, 2025•42 min•Season 6Ep. 16
According to a recent report by the European Environment Agency, the greenhouse gas emissions from textile consumption in the EU was 355kg CO2e per person (based on 2022 data). So how does the EU Commission , which is responsible for developing and implementing the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles, think about climate action and textiles? Michael invited Matjaž Malgaj, the Coordinator of the cross-Directorate General team (DG ENV, DG GROW, and DG ENER) that works on making susta...
Jun 12, 2025•54 min•Season 6Ep. 15
During the past few years, a number of NGO campaign organizations, sometimes referred to as watchdogs, have set their sights on accelerating climate action in the apparel industry. Michael sat down Ruth MacGilp from Action Speaks Louder and Liv Simpliciano from Fashion Revolution to discuss what they want brands and other stakeholders to be doing, their complementary methods for getting them to do it, and how they assess progress to date. Their conversation explored topics such as the importance...
Jun 12, 2025•55 min•Season 6Ep. 14
Hakan Karaosman, whose mother was a garment worker, is a Professor in supply chain management from Cardiff University . Six years ago, Hakan and his colleagues asked “Where are the workers' voices in the discussions and decisions about climate strategies?” At that time no one was looking into fairness, inclusion, and justice in the context of climate action. Since then his research has uncovered inconvenient truths and best practices. In this conversation Michael and Hakan explore what is a “Jus...
Jun 11, 2025•50 min•Season 6Ep. 12
Nandita Shivakumar is a labor organizer and campaigner whose work has focused on gender justice, sustainability, and migrant rights in global fashion supply chains. She also represents the Tamil Nadu Textile and Common Labour Union (TTCU) , a 12,000 worker strong, Dalit women-led trade union, working to ensure dignity, safety and decent work for textile workers. In this conversation Nandita describes how she is witnessing first hand the impacts of global warming and specifically increasing heat ...
Jun 11, 2025•29 min•Season 6Ep. 13
The Laudes Foundation is one of the few philanthropic organizations that funds sustainability initiatives that specifically impact the apparel industry. The Foundation is also actively promoting the need for a Just Transition. That is why Michael Schragger invited Amol Mehra, human rights lawyer and Director of Industry Programmes at the Laudes Foundation , to explain the Foundation’s definition, vision and strategy for enabling a Just Transition in the apparel industry. Michael and Amol discuss...
Jun 11, 2025•42 min•Season 6Ep. 11
Already today global warming is having an impact on companies, workers and communities in countries where a majority of global production currently takes place. In particular, heat stress is increasing. But while brands, buyers and manufacturers set targets to reduce their emissions, do they understand the impacts of heat stress on workers today and will they take sufficient action as this problem continues to grow? Are they also aware of the business risks they are facing if they fail to invest...
Jun 11, 2025•36 min•Season 6Ep. 10
The Apparel Impact Institute (Aii) has become a central player in setting and implementing the apparel industry’s decarbonization agenda. To achieve this, Aii conducts industry analysis, sets industry targets, engages brands, suppliers, philanthropic and financial institutions all with the aim to support brands and manufacturers to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. In this conversation, Michael checks in with Lewis Perkins, President & CEO of Aii, to discuss how the work is progressing ...
Jun 10, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 6Ep. 9
Lutz Walter founded and leads the European Technology Platform for the Future of Textiles and Clothing (Textile ETP) , a network of research and technology experts from the textile sector, including representatives from universities and technology centers from all over Europe. Lutz is a thoughtful thinker and analyst when it comes to the future of the European textile industry, and so we wanted to hear his views on the potential of the European industry to reach its science-based climate targets...
Jun 10, 2025•1 hr 2 min•Season 6Ep. 8
To reach their greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets and to transform their businesses, companies are hoping they can increasingly replace revenues from their current business models with revenues from circular business models – that is repair, resale or subscription services. The theory is that these models are better for the climate because they extend the life of garments and replace the need for virgin production. Still, while many companies have experimented with these new models, most...
Jun 10, 2025•37 min•Season 6Ep. 7
The Good Fashion Fund (GFF) was launched in 2018 to demonstrate that an impact fund that supports textile suppliers in their sustainability journey, especially midsize manufacturers operating in tiers 1-3, can result in substantial climate and environmental improvements, positive social impacts and financial returns for investors. We invited those managing this fund, Bob Assenberg and Jayanth Kashyap, to explain why they believe the GFF model is now proven and, with refinements, can be scaled. T...
Jun 10, 2025•55 min•Season 6Ep. 6
Nicole Rycroft from Canopy believes “next-gen” materials are to forests and climate as renewables are to fossil fuels and climate. Her organization’s strategy is to remove the incentive to cut down forests, especially endangered forests, which play a crucial role in climate action. According to Nicole, man-made cellulosic fibers are the third largest fiber type used in apparel (think rayon, modal, viscose, Lyocell) and they are derived from forest ecosystems. Canopy reports that 300 million tree...
Jun 10, 2025•48 min•Season 6Ep. 5
The H&M Group , a STICA signatory, is by far the largest emitter of greenhouse gases among those companies participating in STICA’s Company Climate Action Program. From a sustainability perspective, H&M has been criticized for its business model, while in the context of climate action it has received praise for its climate leadership. Michael invited two of H&M’s climate experts, Henrik Sundberg and Kim Hellström, to provide an update on the H&M Group’s climate work to date. Henr...
Jun 09, 2025•1 hr 3 min•Season 6Ep. 4
In on-going discussions about who is responsible for bearing the cost of sustainability investments in the supply chain, one issue emerges repeatedly: that there are power imbalances between buyers and manufacturers and that more equal partnerships are needed if manufacturers are going to be able to invest in more sustainable solutions. It is therefore not surprising that this debate continues in the context of climate action. A growing group of stakeholders argue that the current approach to cl...
Jun 09, 2025•1 hr 15 min•Season 6Ep. 3
Experts working with the Apparel Impact Institute are developing the first quantitative performance evaluation benchmarks for apparel and textiles in order to clearly compare the performance of one facility vs another in the areas of energy and emissions. Kurt Kipka, Chief Impact Officer at Apparel Impact Institute , and Phil Patterson, founder of Colour Connections , are optimistic that this approach can dramatically accelerate decarbonization in the supply chain because it will reward better p...
Jun 09, 2025•41 min•Season 6Ep. 2
We wanted a broader perspective on the state of decarbonization in apparel supply chains from a practitioner who is working actively in this field. So we turned to Peter Ford. Peter spent the past six years at the H&M Group, starting out managing factory-level environmental sustainability in Cambodia, Vietnam and Myanmar, before overseeing global decarbonisation implementation and the Green Fashion Initiative. Now, at EnergyLab Asia , he is using this knowledge to support the climate transit...
Jun 09, 2025•51 min•Season 6Ep. 1
Is our current for-profit economic model a root cause of many of today's sustainability challenges generally, and specifically in apparel and fashion? Dr. Jennifer Hinton, author and Post-Doctoral Fellow at The Centre for Environmental and Climate Science at University of Lund , has concluded so. She studies how societies relate to profit and how this relationship affects global environmental and social challenges. She has come to conclusion that a not-for-profit economy is better suited to our ...
May 08, 2024•53 min•Season 5Ep. 1
Ken Pucker, former Timberland COO and current Professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts , recently published a series of pieces critiquing the circular agenda for fashion. In this content rich interview, Ken explains the history of how market-led voluntary solutions became the norm and the rise of what he calls Sustainability Inc., how circularity in the fashion industry is just another attempt to maintain the unsustainable status quo, the seven barriers preventing circulari...
Jun 29, 2023•1 hr 3 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Now that climate action has rapidly moved to the top of the apparel industry's agenda, it is crucial that the industry moves from intention to action - and fast. The latest analysis indicates what we need to do, but the 1 trillion dollar question is how much capital will be required to do it. Enter the Apparel Impact Institute (AII) and Fashion for Good (FFG) , who have now weighed in regarding how much financial outlay is needed. You've probably already guessed it: they arrived at 1 trillion US...
Apr 06, 2022•59 min•Season 4Ep. 1
Forests play a crucial role in promoting biodiversity, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and supporting livelihoods, especially in poorer countries. But because wood is the basis for so many of our products, the pressure to exploit forests, usually in unsustainable ways, continues to increase. What does this have to do with the fashion industry? A significant percentage of the fibres used in fashion come from wood, and the market for wood based textile fibres is expected to grow. Our i...
Dec 16, 2020•1 hr 12 min•Season 3Ep. 15
It's been nearly a decade since Patagonia, Walmart and a number of other brands, retailers, manufacturers and NGOs established the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) , an innovative industry collaboration. As the coalition's website states, its vision is "an apparel, footwear, and textiles industry that produces no unnecessary environmental harm and has a positive impact on the people and communities associated with its activities". In turn, members must commit to measuring and improving their ...
Nov 25, 2020•53 min•Season 3Ep. 14
Sweden has a reputation for being a sustainability leader in many areas, so you can imagine how curious we were to learn about a newish proposal from the current Swedish government for a chemical tax on textiles. The proposal was recently made available to stakeholders for comment, and of course, a robust debate has ensued. Is this proposal, as presented today, going to lead to a reduction in harmful chemicals in Sweden and globally? Or is it a smoke screen for a government that is looking for w...
Nov 11, 2020•52 min•Season 3Ep. 13
Sweden has a reputation for being a sustainability leader in many areas, so you can imagine how curious we were to learn about a newish proposal from the current Swedish government for a chemical tax on textiles. The proposal was recently made available to stakeholders for comment, and of course, a robust debate has ensued. Is this proposal, as presented today, going to lead to a reduction in harmful chemicals in Sweden and globally? Or is it a smoke screen for a government that is looking for w...
Oct 28, 2020•1 hr 20 min•Season 3Ep. 12
Sasja Beslik, Head of Sustainable Finance Development at J Safra Sarasin , fled Bosnia when he was 18 to escape the war. He ended up in Sweden and today spends his time leveraging the power of the financial sector to improve the world. He is particularly interested in the fashion industry's impact on people and has recently attracted attention for his calculations showing that a well-known fashion brand could afford to pay living wages to garment workers by increasing the prices on their clothes...
Oct 14, 2020•57 min•Season 3Ep. 11
Phil Patterson, Managing Director at Colour Connections , has been working at the intersection between the textile industry and influential retail brands for over twenty years, and after some recent soul-searching he had an epiphany. He has come to the conclusion that the current way we use and dispose of chemicals is extremely wasteful and will not achieve the environmental and health improvements we are aiming for. During this episode, Phil outlines his arguments for why we need to move from t...
Sep 30, 2020•27 min•Season 3Ep. 10
In this episode we continue to explore the most commonly repeated "factoids" in fashion and sustainability in order to determine whether they are substantive and useful. As a reminder, a "factoid" is information that is reported and repeated so often that it becomes accepted as fact. During Stockholm Fashion Week, Mike spoke with Alden Wicker, freelance journalist and founder of Eco-cult and Sandra Roos, Head of Sustainability at KappAhl and PhD in Environmental Systems Analysis, about commonly ...
Sep 16, 2020•41 min•Season 3Ep. 9
