In the latest episode of Ecotextile Talks , Jeffrey Thimm from Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) discusses an initiative exploring the potential of combining artificial intelligence and satellite technologies to monitor organic cotton production. Podcast host David Styles discusses with Thimm how GOTS reached the point at which, with project partners the European Space Agency and tech firm Marple, it is watching over cotton production in India from space. Despite what may seem like a futuri...
Aug 23, 2023•16 min
The latest report from Cotton Campaign insists the time has come for the fashion industry to act conclusively on forced labour in Turkmen cotton fields, with human rights lawyer and researcher Allison Gill telling Ecotextile Talks that legal obligations must now be met. Speaking on behalf Cotton Campaign, an interdisciplinary coalition of human and labour rights organisations focused on cotton supply chains, Gill sits down with podcast host David Styles to discuss the past, present and potential...
Aug 16, 2023•21 min
As an apparent global push to include extended producer responsibility (EPR) frameworks in legislation gathers pace, podcast host David Styles catches up with Claire Kneller, managing director of WRAP Asia Pacific, to discuss the Australian Government’s approach. Claire joins the latest episode of Ecotextile Talks as a representative of the consortium behind Seamless, an initiative aiming to convince fashion brands and retailers to voluntarily contribute four cents per garment to fund textile ci...
Aug 09, 2023•20 min
In our latest Ecotextile Talks podcast, Philip Berman catches up with John Murphy, Hohenstein’s technical director for Europe, for an update on the company’s testing and certification process for its new Oeko-Tex organic cotton standard that was launched in April. The new testing procedure has been created to verify the labelling of organic cotton textiles, but with additional criteria that meets with the stringent Oeko-Tex Standard 100. It claims to ensure that cotton samples contain less than ...
Jul 11, 2023•18 min•Season 5Ep. 1
In a special edition of Ecotextile Talks to commemorate the ten year anniversary of the Rana Plaza collapse, host David Styles is joined by a range of expert guests who share their opinions on the disaster's wide-ranging impacts. The podcast explores how the catastrophe occurred, its lasting legacies for victims and the global apparel sector, as well as looking ahead to what the next decade may hold as the tragedy continues to cast a long shadow. Expert guests include: Miran Ali , vice-president...
Apr 17, 2023•40 min
Host Phil Berman sits down with Eva McGeorge, Lenzing’s Head of Marketing and Communications, to discuss the company’s recent global survey on consumer attitudes to sustainability in fashion. Lenzing says the aim of its new survey – the key insights of which will be launched exclusively in next month's edition of Ecotextile News – was to find out what drives and motivates consumers when it comes to shopping for textiles and clothing. Is it price? Sustainability? Or something else entirely? In th...
Mar 02, 2023•23 min•Season 4Ep. 10
Host Philip Berman talks to Oeko-Tex's Melanie Teutberg about Responsible Business - a new tool launched by the global certification company in a bid to help textile businesses navigate legal obligations under the deluge of new due diligence laws. The standard is based on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), the OECD Guideline for Multinational Enterprises, the OECD Due Diligence Guidance Textile and Footwear and the OECD Guideline for Responsible Business Conduct. It ...
Dec 13, 2022•16 min•Season 4Ep. 10
In today’s edition host, Philip Berman, talks to Dr. Krishna Manda, Vice President of Corporate Sustainability at the Lenzing Group, and Roberta Vernocchi, a Senior Materials Manager at Timberland Apparel, about launching a new traceable apparel collection using Lenzing’s Tencel Refibra technology. Manda and Vernocchi talk listeners through the new Timberland Fall 2022 collection that uses Tencel Refibra fabrics derived from a combination of sustainably sourced wood pulp and recycled cotton. “As...
Nov 02, 2022•27 min•Season 4Ep. 9
Welcome to the third edition of Editor’s picks. Each week the Editor of Ecotextile News selects a few key stories from the magazine that he thinks you need to hear, read out by AI voices. Then a human - Philip Berman - pieces it all together with music and voice-over, and a little magic turns it into a podcast for your aural delight! This week we report on: The UN accuses China of "serious human rights violations" and possible crimes against humanity in the detention and torture of Uyghur Muslim...
Sep 02, 2022•13 min•Season 1Ep. 4
Welcome to the third edition of Editor’s picks. Each week the Editor of Ecotextile News selects a few key stories from the magazine that he thinks you need to hear, read out by AI voices. Then a human - Philip Berman - pieces it all together with music and voice-over, and a little magic turns it into a podcast for your aural delight! This week we report on: How a shortage of rain is reining in cotton production (2.54 min). Major plans from the Policy Hub to cut textile waste in Europe (8.19 min)...
Aug 26, 2022•17 min•Season 1Ep. 3
Welcome to the second episode of Editor’s picks. Each week the Editor of Ecotextile News will select a few key stories from the magazine that he thinks you need to hear, read out by AI voices. Then a human - Philip Berman - pieces it all together with music and voice-over, and a little magic turns it into a podcast for your aural delight! This week we report on: The Sustainable Apparel Coalition putting a global halt on the use of Higg MSI data on consumer-facing product labels following a legal...
Jul 05, 2022•17 min•Season 1Ep. 2
In our latest Ecotextile Talks podcast, cotton expert Simon Ferrigno gives his own views to host Phil Berman on why he’d like to see a parliamentary-style inquiry into widespread fraud in the organic cotton sector. Ferrigno also talks about his recent opinion piece on organic cotton fraud which was published as a special eight-page feature in the April/May 2022 edition of Ecotextile News magazine and later posted online here. Ferrigno reveals how, since he wrote his article, even more whistleblo...
Jun 30, 2022•33 min•Season 4Ep. 8
Welcome to the first episode of Editor’s picks. Each week the Editor of Ecotextile News will select a few key stories from the magazine that he thinks you need to hear. This week we report on: How fashion is reacting to the implementation of new regulations in the US that assume any product partly or wholly made in the Xinjiang region of north-west China, is linked to the region’s labour camps and cannot enter the country. (2.15) Some promising new DNA-based technology that claims to pinpoint th...
Jun 29, 2022•19 min•Season 1Ep. 1
Randy Rankin, Eurofins Consumer Products Assurance Global Client Development Director for North America discusses the current key environmental, social, and governance risks facing the global textile and apparel industry. Rankin tells our host, Philip Berman, how he believes that new and proposed legislation on the fashion industry – on both sides of the Atlantic – are the key developments that should be concerning global brands right now. He cites the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence D...
May 31, 2022•36 min•Season 4Ep. 7
Alexa Raab, the global brand and communications manager for bio-materials with US chemicals giant DuPont, explains how the company's partially *bio-based Sorona PTT is helping to lower carbon emissions and increase circularity, and why its launched a Preferred Mill Network programme to support the fibre's expansion. *37% comes from corn-starch
Apr 14, 2022•24 min•Season 4Ep. 6
This episode is brought to you by Higg, the technology platform that helps companies measure, manage, and share their social and environmental sustainability data. Host Philip Berman talks to McKenzie Everett, from the cycling apparel brand Pearl izumi, about her company's commitment to sustainability, and how it uses the Higg Product Design Tools to measure, manage, and share the environmental impact of its products. To date, 300 leading brands have used the Higg Product Design Tools to measure...
Mar 22, 2022•30 min•Season 4Ep. 5
Host Philip Berman talks to Alisia Mätz, from OEKO-TEX®, about the launch of their new tool to help facilities measure and manage their carbon emissions and water usage. Their new Impact Calculator (IC) has been implemented into the STeP certification system at the start of 2022. You can find more details about it here ....
Mar 14, 2022•22 min•Season 4Ep. 4
Ken Pucker discusses why 25 years of corporate social responsibility has done little to curb carbon emissions from the textile industry, and why we urgently need new laws to save the planet. Ken is a former chief operating officer at Timberland, a lecturer, and a vocal critic of the Environmental and Social Governance Industry. His most recent article for the Harvard Business - entitled The Myth of Sustainable Fashion has gained some traction online - so we thought it was time to get him on our ...
Feb 17, 2022•30 min•Season 4Ep. 3
Host Philip Berman talks to Caroline Ledl, Head of Product Management Textiles for the Lenzing Group, about how her company plans to halve its CO2 emissions per tonne of product by 2030, and also be completely climate neutral by 2050.
Jan 13, 2022•34 min•Season 4Ep. 2
In the latest Ecotextile Talks podcast, host Philip Berman speaks with the Lycra Company’s sustainability director, Jean Hegedus, about how its eponymous stretch fibre can play a part in textile circularity. Known for being hard to extract when separating blended textile waste, Jean Hegedus provides an insight into how elastane fibre could still play an important part in circular textile supply chains, if the economics stack up. She also adds to the debate of whether PET bottles should be levera...
Dec 16, 2021•23 min•Season 4Ep. 1
In the final episode in our five-part documentary series, we get to hear two brands' views on the future of textile to textile recycling and talk to shoppers about their attitude to buying more sustainable clothes. Features interviews with: Jodi Evering, Fabric and Sustainability Manager, Filippa K; and Camilla Skjønning Jørgensen, Sustainable Materials & Innovation Manager, Bestseller
Dec 01, 2021•23 min•Season 3Ep. 5
The fourth episode in our new five-part audio documentary looks at the potential impact of the 2025 Waste Directive on the reuse and recycling of textiles.
Nov 12, 2021•25 min•Season 3Ep. 4
The third episode in our new five-part audio documentary examines the challenges of sourcing enough of the right feedstock for chemical textile-to-textile recycling. Ecotextile Talks speaks to Södra’s Niclas Berg, whose job involves sourcing feedstock for the company's ‘OnceMore’ process, and Lina Wiles, Head of Sustainability in Sweden for Elis, which is currently Södra’s major supplier. We also talk to: David Stevens, CEO of the Textile Services Association (TSA) whose members meet 90-95 perce...
Nov 05, 2021•19 min•Season 3Ep. 3
To coincide with this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, we’re bringing to you part two of a new five-part podcast series, in affiliation with Forestry industry group Södra, that explores how diverting textiles from landfill can accelerate the industry’s environmental ambitions. In this second episode , Ecotextile Talks host Philip Berman talks to Södra’s Johannes Bogren and Helena Claesson about the magic behind their recycling process. Plus we also hear from Um...
Nov 02, 2021•19 min•Season 3Ep. 2
Ahead of this year’s United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in Glasgow, we’re bringing to you part one of a new five-part podcast series, in affiliation with Forestry industry group Södra, that will explore how diverting textiles from landfill can accelerate the industry’s environmental ambitions. In this first episode , Ecotextile Talks host Philip Berman speaks to Södra’s Johannes Bogren, the founder of Accelerating Circularity Karla Magruder, circular fashion researcher and consulta...
Oct 29, 2021•19 min•Season 3Ep. 1
To coincide with the release of a new scientific study from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography, in San Diego, Florian Heubrandner, VP of Global Textiles Business at the Lenzing Group, discusses the importance of fibre biodegradability.
Oct 27, 2021•27 min•Season 2Ep. 7
Ecotextile Talks host, Philip Berman, talks to Harald Notz-Lajtke from Hohenstein, about how their laboratories can now use a form of PCR testing to determine the exact percentage of GMO cotton in a sample. This could be a game-changer in helping companies spot fraudulent rather than accidental contamination in the organic cotton supply chain.
Oct 11, 2021•15 min•Season 2Ep. 6
Host Philip Berman talks to Kate Heiny, Zalando's Director of Sustainability about how the company is helping brand partners improve their sustainability in a number of different key areas with the help of Higg tools.
Aug 19, 2021•26 min•Season 2Ep. 5
The third of our series of podcasts supported by Higg - the technology platform that helps companies manage, measure, and share their environmental and social impact data. In this episode, Philip Berman talks to Hanna Hallin, Treadler's Global Sustainability Manager, about how the H&M Group's new company is helping rival retailers find more sustainable suppliers.
Jun 25, 2021•25 min•Season 2Ep. 4
John Frazier, senior technical director at the Hohenstein Institute America, talks about why the fashion sector needs to up its game on chemical management, and how an Eco Passport can help retailers and brands to clean up their supply chains, at the same time tackling tighter regulations on chemicals.
Jun 14, 2021•18 min•Season 2Ep. 3
