Latest

Book Reviews

The ‘Making of” Climate Modelling

April 29, 2025

How do we know what we know about climate change? Computing the Climate takes us behind the scenes of modern climate science, exploring the history, models, labs, and minds that shaped and continue to shape our understanding. This journey not only sheds light on the past but also explains why and how our actions today influence the range of possible futures of our planet's climate.

Book Reviews Future Tech

Enabling a low carbon future: Emerging Tech – What’s the Hype about?

December 14, 2021

As companies and countries around the world pursue net zero targets, one big question is: How do you ensure the carbon removal technologies we will need 20 to 30 years down the road are available, affordable and easily scaled? S&P Global recently published a podcast mini-series on emerging climate technology. The series not only introduces a range of much hyped about, CO2 saving or CO2 removing technology, but also looks at scaling, the truth of potential impact, and financial viability.It is for this reason that I would like to list the three episodes in this post – and invite everyone to spend the 3 x 20 minutes to wrap their head around these insights.

Biz Strategy Book Reviews Future Tech

Water & Energy Generation: Conjoint or Fraternal Twins?

March 2, 2021

In last week’s post I looked at energy companies and their trajectory relative to the Paris Climate Agenda. The insights clearly suggested a mixed picture. A clear point of how important it is to decarbonised the way we fuel our economy and global society. But that’s unfortunately not all there is to the energy generation picture! What few people realise: Energy generation requires water. A lot of water. Not just in the energy generating processes, but also in the extraction of the energy source (coal in particular), and/or the making of the necessary equipment. Some insights ... illustrated at the example of China.

Biz Strategy Book Reviews Governance

The Courage to Act: The inside view on creating change

February 16, 2021

Sustainability is usually thought of as an environmental issue. And it is. But but not only. It is in fact a mindset. One that takes courage. This magazine - come out of a creative collaboration - explores three key questions by interviewing personalities in business (Vincent Stanley from Patagonia, Eric Garnier from Choba Choba, Adriana Marina from Hecho x Nosostros, Fergal Smith from the Moy Hill Farm and Andy Middleton from the TYF Group), and by giving space to written creativity of sustainability professionals. The three fundamental questions are: How does ‘creating change’ feel from within? What does it mean to swim against the business mainstream because genuinely the status quo does not work? Where and how does courage come into play?

Book Reviews Governance

Beating the dragons: Fairy tales in the board room

August 18, 2020

Fairy tales are typically something for kids. Particularly young kids. Over the centuries they have been used to convey fundamental social mores, warnings from danger, and to inoculate a shared understanding of what ‘good’ and ‘bad’ looks like. These characteristics though make fairy tales an ideal, if very uncommon, vehicle to convey information and learnings also in management literature. This book hence is a rare find.

The Most Beautiful Job in the World - Mensitieri

Book Reviews Labour Supply Chain

Luxury? The original gig economy

June 16, 2020

Let’s put the conclusion at the beginning: This book is a must read, for those that intend to ‘go into luxury’, fashion, or any other creative industry. But also for all those that are of the opinion that the ‘Gig Economy’ only came into being with companies like Uber, AirBnb, Just Eat and the like. In fact, luxury – and linked to it – the creative arts have been pioneering the Gig Business Model for many decades already.

Book Reviews Opinions

Sustain What? The Global Pandemic and Resistant Economies

May 12, 2020

Few economists have truly the track record to justify themselves talking about systemic issues, impacts and outlooks - other than in blatantly generic truths. In his series 'Sustain What' - intermittently focused on the topic of the systemic aspects of Corona/Covid19 - renowned journalist Andrew Revkin has sought out a range of experts.

Book Reviews Definitions

The Power of 7: Seven Episodes of Old vs New Economics

April 21, 2020

Doughnut Economics = An economic system that respects the planetary boundaries as well as the societal attributes of welfare. To create an economic system that works for the humans and the environment around us.

Book Reviews Materials Supply Chain

The Pleasure to know the How and Why: Craftsmanship, Connection, Activism

March 11, 2020

Daring to ask and daring to understand: the key ingredients that turn a passive customer in an active (activist) participant in our market economy. This book portrays 26 natural dye artisans, in beautiful pictures, honouring their skill and wisdom.

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.

Book Reviews Labels

Results of 6 years Global Compact: The Proof of the Corporate Behaviour Paradox

September 19, 2013

The UN Global Compact (GC) report published at the beginning of September 2013, and which draws a conclusion on its achievements since 2007 (it was launched in 2000), shows that there is a behaviour-versus-statement gap at corporations. This is worrying.

Book Reviews Globalisation Supply Chain

The state of the (fashion) world as it happens in Australia

August 21, 2013

Australia is a little bit like a big blank spot of knowledge as far as many of us here in Europe (and the US) are concerned. The recently launched ‘Australian Fashion Report‘ is the first piece of work that looks very specifically at the sustainability and ethical trade practises of brands that are retailed in Australia, both local Australian as well as global brands.

Book Reviews Circularity Globalisation

Economies of Recycling – The globalised value of trash

August 8, 2013

That textile waste – in the shape of garments as well as in other incarnation – has increasingly a commercial value in an area of globalised markets was a topic here in Shirahime on more than one occasion. This book takes on a larger perspective: Each chapter of the this book offers insights into the recycling economy of a distincly different industry.

Book Reviews Labels Materials

Spotlight on labels: Cradle to Cradle Practitioners in Apparel and Textiles

July 19, 2013

The Cradle to Cradle (C2C) idea has been around for a good decade now, longer if we’d track it right back to its inception. The first C2C fabric was developed sometime in the early 2000s, and flies now around the world as upholstery fabric on the A380 Airbus models.

Book Reviews

The Classroom Approach: Teaching to Make A Difference in Fashion

July 11, 2013

To teach university-level fashion student about sustainability in the fashion industry is complicated. Not so much because of the topic itself, but rather because there are so many facets to it. Here we review 1 of 2 books created specifically for teaching.

Handbook of sustainable textile production

Book Reviews Materials Supply Chain

Know thy facts: A handbook for textile sustainability practitioners

June 6, 2013

The textile supply and production chain is complex. With this in mind, the ‘Handbook of sustainable textile production‘ is a unique resources: bit fosters knowledge acquisition across the different disciplines and specialities in the textile production chain, it prepares the ground for a factual, holistic discourse, and dissemination of best practise.

Book Reviews Globalisation

The better consumer in Europe – summary of new report

March 28, 2013

The “Better Consumer” report aims to be a source of reliable information to those executive saying “Show me there is demand, and we'll be happy to cater to it” when asked why their fashion brand is not producing better, more sustainable products.

Book Reviews Materials Supply Chain

Developments in the organic cotton market: Interview with Simon Ferrigno

March 14, 2013

Uncertainty is widespread in the cotton market: Textile Exchange published organic cotton production figures. The current Farm & Fiber Report shows a drastic decrease. Simon Ferrigno on the current developments of the organic cotton sector and about his predictions for the future of the eco fashion market.

Book Reviews

1052 shades of colour: The versatility of Japanese historic natural dyes

February 21, 2013

Japanese historic textiles, as much as their modern version, are famouse for their distinct colour ranges. What few know: all 1052 of these shades are created with natural dyes (only!), and each has its own distinct name.

Book Reviews Brand Review Finance

Better Business Series: Experts’ Review of Puma’s Environmental Profit & Loss Accounts (E P&L)

December 12, 2012

On December 14th, PPR published the expert review report on Puma’s Environmental Profit and Loss Account (E P&L). The panel of experts that had been commissioned to undertake the review brought some of the most eminent names in the industry together, among them John Elkington, Peter Bakker, or Pushpam Kumar.

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

Book Reviews

The ‘Making of” Climate Modelling

Enabling a low carbon future: Emerging Tech – What’s the Hype about?

Water & Energy Generation: Conjoint or Fraternal Twins?

The Courage to Act: The inside view on creating change

Beating the dragons: Fairy tales in the board room

Luxury? The original gig economy

Sustain What? The Global Pandemic and Resistant Economies

The Power of 7: Seven Episodes of Old vs New Economics

The Pleasure to know the How and Why: Craftsmanship, Connection, Activism

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

Results of 6 years Global Compact: The Proof of the Corporate Behaviour Paradox

The state of the (fashion) world as it happens in Australia

Spotlight on labels: Cradle to Cradle Practitioners in Apparel and Textiles

The Classroom Approach: Teaching to Make A Difference in Fashion

Know thy facts: A handbook for textile sustainability practitioners

The better consumer in Europe – summary of new report

Developments in the organic cotton market: Interview with Simon Ferrigno

1052 shades of colour: The versatility of Japanese historic natural dyes

Better Business Series: Experts’ Review of Puma’s Environmental Profit & Loss Accounts (E P&L)

Categories

Categories

Join the Newsletter

Join the Newsletter