Visitors from 60 countries attend virtual Sustainability Conclave 2022

More than 1,100 people, mainly belonging to the textile-apparel industry, attended the Conclave, which ended on June 7, 2022. The virtual summit was organised by Fibre2Fashion, a leading B2B and knowledge platform for the global textile and apparel industry.

The keynote speech was delivered by Roop Rashi Mahapatra, Textile Commissioner, Government of India. She applauded the event and assured the ministry’s support for the initiative.

Speaking at a session on ‘Low workers’ pay in fashion: Is there a way out?’, Anannya Bhattacharjee, International Coordinator, Asia Floor Wage Alliance, said “Brands must ensure a living wage to workers because living wage is a strategy to fight for a more sustainable planet and sustainable supply chains.”

Dominique Muller, Policy Director, Labour Behind the Label (LBL), said, “It is now time for change – to address systemic causes of poverty wages in the garment and footwear industry, and force brands to take accountability.”

In his turn, Gonzalo Xavier Estupinan, Regional Wage Specialist in the Decent Work Team (DWT) for Asia and the Pacific at the ILO, cited Efficiency Wage Theory, and said that paying higher wage than the market rate increases efficiency in hiring, productivity on the job, and minimises staff turnover. It also increases employee motivation, boosts employee loyalty, increases productivity and promotes equity among the workforce.

During a panel discussion on ‘Material innovation: Pulse of research in sustainable textile materials’ on the second day of the conclave, Carlo Centonze, CEO & Co-Founder of Switzerland-based HeiQ, said that “only one per cent of all textiles are recycled today, and hence there is a need to bring new concepts as quickly as we can to the market.”

Participating in the discussion, Sydney Gladman, Chief Scientific Officer at the US-based Material Innovation Initiative, said there is a demand for next-gen alternatives like plant-based and bio-based materials. However, at present, there is no large-scale production, but the materials are being tested by brands by launching collections.

There is still a long way to go before the textile industry achieves zero-carbon production process, as there is a great need to create awareness as to what being zero-carbon actually means, said Muthusamy Gunasekaran, Technical Customer Service Specialist - South Asia, Thailand & Middle East, Lenzing Group, during the panel discussion on ‘Process innovation: Making production eco-friendly and circular’.

In his welcome note, Fibre2Fashion’s executive director Jose Daniel said that sustainability can no longer be ignored by anyone. “Going sustainable involves rethinking on all the aspects—technology, consumer demand and sourcing.”

Other topics that were discussed during the two-day event were: Pacing towards SDGs: How is fashion industry contributing?, Industry movers: Associations leading the sustainable change, Bridging certification gaps: Efforts for credible certification standards, Re-wearable fashion: Market for worn clothes and challenges, Technology in fashion: Developments in transparency and traceability, Bringing sustainability to scale: Government policies towards change, Accelerating Action: Taking Sustainability/ESG to center stage, and Waste to value: Trends in textile waste recycling and circularity.

As a platform, Fibre2Fashion has been promoting the need for the industry to go sustainable through articles, news and interviews with the experts in the field. The 22-year-old organisation has so far released five editions of Sustainability Compendium comprising expert opinions, sustainable innovations, and featured the various sustainable practices adopted by the global textile and fashion companies.

Did you miss out the event? Click here to view the recordings.