Read the full story at Fast Company.
Converse collaborated with the British vintage retailer Beyond Retro to collect more than 800 pounds of velvet and transform it into thousands of pairs of sneakers. This was a logistical feat, requiring the two companies to build a supply chain to upcycle vintage garments at scale. The project offers a glimpse into how Converse is trying to think outside the box when it comes to sustainability and potentially make more of its shoes from fashion waste.
Read the full story at Supply Chain Dive.
When it comes to supply chain ethics, retailers may no longer be able to cede responsibility to the brands they sell.
Read the full story in the Washington Post.
Fashion and clothing are a critical part of culture, society and individual expression. And at some point, most people are going to want or need to buy new clothes. To help reduce environmental and social impacts, how you shop — finding ways to reduce unnecessary purchases of new items, thinking about how you might wear what you buy and looking for clothes that will last — matters.
Read the full story from WPIX.
That cute top you purchased for less than your morning coffee, wore twice, washed once, and threw away because it fell apart as soon as it hit the washing machine agitator will sit in a landfill, leeching pollutants for up to 200 years.
If fast fashion (and polyester) existed during Susan B. Anthony’s lifetime, the dresses she would have worn advocating for women’s rights would still be lingering in a landfill.
Read the full story at Fast Company.
The clothing company Reformation sells a lot of cashmere—as of now, 39 different styles of cashmere dresses, along with cashmere hats, scarves, skirts, sweatpants, sweatshirts, and more than a dozen variations of cashmere sweaters. While the material actually makes up only a tiny fraction of the company’s total fabric use, cashmere is responsible for nearly half of the brand’s carbon footprint. So Reformation has spent the last few years working to replace cashmere with a recycled version instead. This fall, it launched a collection with 90% recycled fiber, a step closer to its goal of eliminating new cashmere completely.
Read the full story at Grist.
Last week, REI Co-op stores around the country closed for Black Friday. It’s a company tradition dating back to 2015, where the outdoor retailer asks customers to “opt outside” rather than participate in a post-Thanksgiving shopping spree.
But there’s one thing that REI hasn’t yet opted out of: a class of compounds known as “forever chemicals.” By using these chemicals in its water-resistant outdoor clothing, a coalition of nonprofits and health experts says REI is needlessly polluting the environment and damaging people’s health.
Read the full story at Glossy.
Rethinking performance wear with a sustainable lens is especially difficult. Products’ durability is prioritized, often forcing sustainability to fall by the wayside. But brands that are implementing sustainable practices at the design stage are proving the potential for sustainability in the category. Glossy spoke to the teams leading design at On Running, Allbirds and Athleta about how they’re designing performance clothing and shoes more sustainably. Leveraging innovative materials, and implementing design briefs and testing are among the effective strategies they listed.
Read the full story at Fast Company.
If you purchase a new body wash from skincare company KraveBeauty, you’ll be taking advantage of something that might otherwise have been waste. The body wash wasn’t a planned product, but a happy accident after a batch of the brand’s face cleanser didn’t quite meet its standards.
Read the full story at Documented.
Last week, six years after it was first announced, New York State implemented long-awaited ventilation regulations in nail salons. The new regulations require nail salon owners to protect workers and clients by providing proper ventilation to filter out toxic particles and fumes. The roughly 7,000 nail salons across the state will be required to install a mechanical ventilation system or risk losing their license to operate. The regulations come as workers, supporters, and a growing number of experts have sounded the alarm about the reproductive health hazards women nail salon workers are exposed to daily.
Read the full story at Supply Chain Dive.
Online retailer Shein plans to cut emissions across its supply chain by 25% by 2030, the company announced in September.
The targets are among the first public steps to cut carbon emissions for the company, which has become a formidable player in the U.S. fast fashion market. The growth has come with a heavy carbon footprint. Last year, Shein’s operations produced 6.3 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions.
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