These days, you would be hard-pressed to find a company that has not laid out any sustainable commitments. And yet, there is a gap between what companies have said they will do and what they have actually accomplished.
This disconnect between targets and progress will be front and center at Sourcing Journal’s upcoming Sustainability Summit, happening on March 19 in New York. With the theme Ambition vs. Action, the full-day event will dive into why there is a chasm between good intentions and actual impact and how the industry can bridge the difference.
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“As a longtime industry observer, I’m frequently shaking my head over unrealistic company projections,” said Peter Sadera, Sourcing Journal’s editor in chief. “Are firms intentionally misleading, or is the challenge greater than assumed? I’m looking forward to finding out together.”
The Sustainability Summit will gather attendees including top management, sustainability executives, sourcing teams, compliance officers and more at Tribeca Rooftop to hear educational sessions, network with likeminded peers and discover solutions that can help them meet their environmental and social goals.
Among the topics on the agenda is certification, including the role that third-party seals of approval can play in boosting credibility for sustainability claims. How much stock are the industry and consumers still putting on certifications, and what is the future for these schemes?
Another top-of-mind topic is worker welfare. Social responsibility is just as imperative as environmental action, and everyone in the value chain has the mantle to protect human rights. However, too often, news surfaces of misconduct, whether it is allegations of debt bondage and forced overtime or union-busting. The summit will look at how fashion and textile firms can close the gap on social responsibility and safeguard the most vulnerable in their workforce.
Also getting a lot of attention are next-gen materials. Innovators are hard at work building solutions that address circularity, biodegradability, carbon footprints and more, but what will it take to transition these from vision to viable, commercial option?
What may finally give industry players the impetus they need to invest in meaningful change is legislation. Policies are cropping up that will regulate everything from climate disclosures to green claims and due diligence. To comply with a growing spate of rules and guidelines, companies must have a better understanding of the entities in their supply chains and what precisely is in their products.
One trending type of policy that is set to completely change how the industry operates is extended producer responsibility (EPR), which mandates that companies take ownership of their textile waste impact, even beyond the point of sale. This is expected to lift recycling and circular solutions. As more regions—including California—make EPR a reality, companies need to be ready to comply.
A common thread of the Sustainability Summit discussions will be collective action. Nothing can be accomplished without pre-competitive collaboration. Material innovations cannot scale without buy-in from multiple brands, factory customers have an integral role to play in improving practices on the shop floor, and building up circular infrastructure requires participation from many players.
The Sustainability Summit will provide ample opportunities for companies to find and meet these collaborators, whether it is hearing from them on stage or bumping into new partners during a networking break.
Click here to register for the Sustainability Summit.
