Articles - Page 7 - Pamela Ravasio

Inevitable Policy Response: The day when politicians will kick into gear (I/III)

March 4, 2020

We all can see it happening before our eyes: Despite the Paris Climate Agreement to a climate trajectory of ‘well bellow’ 2 degrees (hence where the 1.5C number stems from) – the trajectory is not anywhere near that number. The Inevitable Policy Response (IPR) is the response by governments and legislators around the globe in taking action – hence enacting laws – in line with the 1.5 Degree climate goals.

Consumer-ism Labels

‘Eco’ labels and buying outdoor kit: Which ones are worth their salt?

February 26, 2020

In a recent blog post, we referred specifically to ‘eco’ labels that you may find on an outdoor product – or its hang-tag. Of course the key question is: what labels that you may encounter when shopping for alpine kit, are (reasonably) trustworthy? Here an overview.

Book Reviews Consumer-ism

What is the GDP? And: What Growth does it Measure?

February 19, 2020

The Gross Domestic Product (short: GDP) is the for most of the planet THE economic measure of all things. At least if governments as well as the economic newscasts are to be believed. With ‘The Delusive Quest for Growth’ David Pilling has written a biography-cum-history of the GDP: from humble beginnings as an effort to draw up national accounts through the present day incarnation and significance.

Consumer-ism Opinions

Responsible Outdoor & Sports Equipment Purchasing: Two birds with one stone

February 12, 2020

Buying outdoor and sports material is not always an easy task – more so, if current equipment has has shared many an adventure. The following key questions are therefore intended to support you – the sports and outdoor loving shopper – when looking around for a refresh or update of your kit.

Future Tech Materials Supply Chain

The new cool in traceability: DNA Tracers / Bio-based markers

May 29, 2019

Authentication and traceability backbone solutions have become a key technology for many a brand to prevent not only product forgery, but also to prove truthfulness of on-and-off product claims. What few realise: product authentication is just one half of a 2-part system (Figure 1) whereby authentication is applied to the product at its point of origin, and a traceability backbone ensures that the product reaches its destination – for example the end consumer – safely and untampered.

2019 - FFE - Retailer Sustainability Standards

Consumer-ism Labels

Retailer Sustainability Standards: A Top line Comparison

January 24, 2019

Every year at the end of January, the Future Fabrics Expo opens its door. In addition to over 5000 'better; fabrics, lectures and more, we collaborated to created an information poster on retailers' sustainability standards.

Future Tech Opinions

Value(s) of Personal Communication in the digital era

January 5, 2019

Digital tools and IT systems are a great enabler for more data, more stringent channels of how to communicate what the different players in the chain do, and how they do it, over large distances and across operations and organizations.Yet – digital tools are more human than we think they are … because they, in the end, are representatives of the values and the world view of those that have built them.

Definitions Governance Supply Chain

Fair Process, Consensus, Accountability: Governance and SLCP

August 3, 2018

The quality of governance is one of the key ingredients why projects, companies, and even governments fail in their tasks. It is also the key ingredient to achieve results, buy-in and participation. It is for this very reason that good governance was seen early on as one of the fundamental success factors for the Social Labor Convergence Project (SLCP).

Circularity Materials Supply Chain

One man’s woolly waste is another man’s woollen treasure

June 11, 2018

Wool is slowly recovering some of its former popularity. While for some it is an old acquaintance, for many others in our industry, and in this current time and age, it is a new, or maybe better novel, material for the portfolio. And what about Recycled Wool? This report answers many of the key questions.

Circularity Materials Supply Chain

Extended Producer Responsibility – Lessons from the Electronics industry

August 3, 2017

Within the EU, legislative requirements have lead to implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility schemes (EPRs) in the following industries so far: packaging, electrical and electronic equipment, batteries and automotive industries. In this article, we would like to look sidewise, and see what can be learned from the electronic and electrical equipment industry, as they have been ahead of the curve – although not always voluntarily, since the 1995 laws came into place – when it comes to the implementation of EPR.

Circularity Materials

Marine Micro Fibres: Moving from Conversation to Action

October 27, 2016

The effect of plastics in our oceans has been repeatedly hit in the news over the last few years. A hazard in two forms: as a plastic in totality; or as a microfiber/micro particle, which also carries chemistry (pollution) into the environment, from the product they started life as. Research to date shows that this pollution cannot be exhaustively blocked through wastewater treatment plants, consequently micro particles are ending up in our global waterways.

Governance Labels

Sustainability & Standards: Thoughts about best practice

March 12, 2016

Of the close to 500 eco-labels that exist worldwide, just over 100 apply to textiles, according to the Eco Label Index. Behind each label is, or should be, a standard that backs up the claim being made. Given the prevalence of standards, the following questions arise: Why do standards exist? What value do they deliver? What are their limitations? What is ‘best practice’ for standards, their development process? What about the proliferation of standards?

Finance Governance Opinions

Making a difference – or not?

January 14, 2016

The COP21 Climate Agreement that was reached this past December in Paris, and which comes into effect in 2020, is a milestone in global sustainability efforts. Yet - are we doing enough? What is enough?

Future Tech Labels Supply Chain

From the trees to the wood: with GS1 beyond product codes, towards traceability

September 6, 2015

Barcodes, RFID tags, and QR codes have each introduced a new era of on-product information distribution and acquisition. In this article I would like to look at a family of digital solution components that many brands and manufacturers will already use and be reliant on, and that – if integrated – could be leveraged to provide full-depth traceability.

Future Tech Governance

Open Data, Open Impact

June 26, 2015

Have you heard about open data? And about open source? The equivalent of open source in sustainability terms would be an ‘open standard’. But what would that mean?

Labels Supply Chain

Scaling down for scaling up. Or: Why SMEs matter

March 14, 2015

Large corporations now habitually report on their sustainability achievements, have resource efficiency programmes firmly implemented into their operations, and are investing to make their enterprises ‘future proof’. But what needs to happen for SMEs to do the same? After all they make up way over 80% of national economies ...

Materials Supply Chain

Italy: High-end Fashion Mekka – also for sustainability?

April 24, 2014

Italy. Known for the style of its inhabitants, the quality and sharp cut of its suits, the inventiveness of its fashion designers, the quality of its fabrics. Yet, if we were to talk sustainability in textiles and fashion, what is going on on the ground?

Materials Trade Shows

Sustainability at Paris Textile Fairs: between visionary and greenwashing

April 16, 2014

Twice a season the fashion circus congregates in Paris not for showing their own achievements off, but rather to get inspired for their own 'what comes next'. In this article, I'll give a brief overview of 2 locations, and 3 shows: Paris' Première Vision and TexWorld, and Italy's Milano Unica.

Globalisation Governance Supply Chain

Risky Fashion: The challenges of Integrating Product Design and the Supply Chain

March 7, 2014

The design stage is usually the longest, most expensive and riskiest part of the chain. Additionally, research has shown that at least an estimated 80% of a product's environmental (and to a lesser degree also social) impact is locked at the design stage into a product. By integrating the product design with the supply chain, companies can compress non-value adding time and costs in their supply chains, increase responsiveness and mitigate supply chain risks – while simultaneously managing (improving) their sustainability performance without added costs or efforts.

Labour Supply Chain

Cost of (Fair) Labour in Apparel (III/III)

March 6, 2014

What of all that are buyers aware of, and how do they use it? This is the second of the two questions for which the most insightful research with fairly hard data has been published by Prof. Doug Miller from Northumbria University in Newcastle. The two most relevant papers in this context are: 'What price a living wage' and 'Towards Sustainable Labour Costing in the Global Apparel Industry'

Future Fit Industries of 'Stuff': Governance, Responsibility, and the Age of Doughnut Economics