2045: scenarios for the textile and fashion industry: How will the industry look like in 5, 10 and 30 years time? Scenarios offer research-based insights, and potentially can show how realistic a world is, that looks rather quite different from what we're used to. What if Asia become today's Europe? What if we did not buy to own? What if everyone was a maker?
A week or so ago, the latest, sixth, IPCC report dropped.
My suggestion hence is simply read it.
Even if only the executive summary.
But just read it.
All I would like is to grab the opportunity to give a HUGE thank you to all the scientists involved.
Thank you dear IPCC scientists!
Thank you for all the work, the patience, and the glimmer of hope that despite it all remains a firm part of the reports.
Even this latest one.
In Europe, SMEs make up 99% of all companies, and provide 67% of employment a much higher percentage of jobs in developing countries.
Research has shown that they generate around 50% of the private sector’s turn over, and that SMEs contribute at least 80% to the national GDPs.
Yet less than 20% of policies, government investments etc. are made with them in mind.
Carbon – together with biodiversity – is one of THE most critical dimensions among the Planetary Boundaries. Because the already existing overshoot is putting our civilisation at risk. So far nothing new under the sun. The food and agri sector is - possibly together with the energy sector - one of the most important industries in this regard. Not only does it impact our living environment significantly - by how our food is grown - but also they play a key role to feed our global population. The big elephant in the room is of course: How well or badly do agri food companies perform right now in terms of their carbon footprint? And: Do they have at the least commitments to work on a Paris Agreement trajectory? I look into these questions. Spoiler Alert: There is not much to cheer about. Not at all.
Anger … a strong, passionate emotion. Sometimes conducive as it gives loads of strength to fight for what we see as a ‘better world and society’. But also sometimes a shot into our own foot.
In the sustainability world extemists views are common - on either side of the spectrum. Both sides advocating for fundamental change.
But as it the choice of words suggests: fundamental change is only possible if we change fundamentally. All of us.
Including the advocates and campaigners themselves.
Carbon – together with biodiversity – is one of THE most critical dimensions among the Planetary Boundaries. Because the already existing overshoot is putting our civilisation at risk. So far nothing new under the sun. The big elephant in the room is of course: How do companies perform right now in terms of their carbon footprint? And: Do they have at the least commitments to work on a Paris Agreement trajectory? I answer these questions. Spoiler Alert: Some 'villains' are doing rather well. So well in fact that they are leading the pack.
Circular economy is the antonym of linear economy. Linear economy has been the dominant industrial model in our history and postulates production is followed by consumption that then ends up with the disposal of used products. As opposed to this, circular economy seeks to rebuild capital, whether this is financial, manufactured, human, social or natural and sees products having a longer or a never-ending life that are either re-used as new inputs to create new products or shared and co-owned by different consumers.
Resting the case for innovation.
“Globalization presumes sustained economic growth. Otherwise, the process loses its economic benefits and political support.” (P. Samuelson). There is an evident illogic, impossibility, of the traditional 'economic growth' lemma.
The world, by and large, operates based on land-filling. The only way to improve the situation any time soon is: not to landfill. At all. Or at least as little as possible, and that asap.
To that extent, 2 reports on textiles the circular economy have been published, both of which look at the issue from different, and complementary perspectives.
What is it that we can learn from these 2 reports, side by side?
One, the old adage could not be any truer: One Man’s Rubbish is another Man’s Treasure. And: True cost accounting would make a huge difference.
Did you ever wonder, how the New Climate Changed reality could look and feel like at its worst?
Then, we may right now be getting a flavour of exactly that.
Ukraine's resource richness may be an important variable in a globalised world that will increasingly be struggling to access necessary resources in the decades to come. Because, after all, and as we learned when we played monopoly: Whomever controls the resources controls the game.
Understanding cross-border diversity in consumer behaviour, advertising, sales and marketing management is a widely studied topic of international marketing. Cultural difference matter particularly in business negotiations, advertising, consumer behaviour and marketing research. One of the most frequent approaches differentiates between high-context and low-context cultures, which impacts directly on the quality and quantity of information businesses are willing to share.
Recently, my colleague Ilaria Pasquinelli and I had the opportunity to participate in a, generally speaking, consumer facing product showcase and trade show.
For the purpose of this research, we built an interactive task which required the visitors to cut off one of their garment labels (i.e. the washing instructions), and then pin it to a map attached to a cork board according to 2 dimensions:
– ‘Made in‘: Where the garment was manufactured.
– ‘Made from‘: What the primary material the garment was made of.
On May 3rd 2012 the 2nd Fashion Summit took place in Copenhagen. Bringing fashion industry key people together to discuss sustainability with them, yet without using the term itself, is already a considerably achievement. Ilaria Pasquinelli attended and reports on her insights.
Mid last year, an interesting campaign piece was delivered to my mailbox: London based Offset Warehouse launched a capsule collection of T-shirts retailing at £4.99 (app. Euro 6, plus P&P). Now, the point is, that even if these T-shirt were sold through a major retailer, they would hardly have retailed at more than £10 - and this at a vastly superior quality then is often case.
It is end of March / early April 2020 as I write this. Corona (Covid19) increases its grip onto the world. Draconian, tough policy measures are being put in place limiting people's lives ... and rattling the global economy.
Could it hall happen again in the future? And if so - in what way?
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.
Carbon – together with biodiversity – is one of THE most critical dimensions among the Planetary Boundaries. Because the already existing overshoot is putting our civilisation at risk. So far nothing new under the sun.
The energy sector is the by far most impactful sector: directly and indirectly our carbon footprint depends on how they fuel our civilisation.
The big elephant in the room is of course: How well are badly do energy companies perform right now in terms of their carbon footprint? And: Do they have at the least commitments to work on a Paris Agreement trajectory? I look into these questions. Spoiler Alert: The results are pretty much in line with expectations. Yet: among the innovators, not everyone does perform as well as they probably should ...
Historically, fair trade has pitch to and sold thanks to consumers' guilt. A grave mistake as the currently ongoing consumption trends show. Quality, exclusivity is what has survived the economic downturn best.
Diversity and Inclusion is a highly relevant topic not ‘just’ because it is all about equality and justice. But as long as entire parts of our global population remain disenfranchised, and desperate to just survive from day to day, tackling challenges - and in particular Climate Change - that affect all of us, indiscriminately, remains impossible. Boards of Directors set out the "Tone at the Top', also in matter of diversity and inclusion. In fashion companies, what exactly is the tone, the music, that they are creating?
Does sustainability, or not, impact share price? Does it, or not, make for a profitable bottom line business case? Does it, or not, help increase efficiencies? Here the insights from research, and what they mean.
