“The textiles industry is on track to miss its climate targets and exceed the 1.5 °C pathway laid out in the Paris Climate Agreement, according to the latest annual reports from global non-profit Textile Exchange, which paint a bleak picture of fashion’s response to the climate crisis. While change is happening, and material innovations are growing, the scale and speed of change is insufficient, the reports find. The industry will need to invest in a major acceleration of preferred fibres and material innovations, as well as hit the brakes on global growth in order to make up for lost progress. In the organisation’s Preferred Fiber & Materials Market Report and the Organic Cotton Market Report, Textile Exchange recommends a three-pronged approach: reduce overall production; invest in scaling innovation; and swap out harmful materials for preferred ones. “The industry needs to shift its priorities from short-term economic growth to long-term resilience,” says Textile Exchange’s chief strategy officer Ashley Gill. “Awareness-raising and efforts around material substitution really need to kick into high gear if we are going to make a change within the eight years that we have left.” One of Textile Exchange’s near-term goals is to increase the availability and quality of Life Cycle Assessment data across the industry, so brands can better understand which material innovations will drive the most impact at scale, and whether their efforts are truly moving the needle. On the whole, global fibre production grew to a record-breaking 113 million tonnes in 2021, proving the pandemic slowdown to be fleeting. This is almost double 2000 levels, when global fibre production sat at 58 million tonnes. At current rates, it will continue rising to 149 million tonnes by 2030, despite sustainability experts’ demands for degrowth.” Excerpt 📝 Bella Webb Link in bio to read the full article. 🔗