Packaging Innovations 2020 | Q&A: Birmingham event to address sustainability

‘Sustainable materials and products’ are the new black in fashion. Commitment is high with fashion brands from large to small and new to iconic, all are focusing on improving their sustainability like never before. When it comes to environmental sustainability in the fashion textile space, raw materials have been one of, if not the, most significant focus areas. Generally speaking, the industry has used the same raw materials for generations: t. Their environmental burdens that these materials bear are major contributors to global climate change, natural resource depletion, and biodiversity loss – to name a few among a long list of concerning effects. Therefore, there’s a dire need for the next generation of textile materials, and that calls for innovation. “Going for all of these challenges, we need actually innovation.” – An interviewee

There are a few stats in our ongoing Pulse data that have troubled me for quite some time: 70% of people living in America say they feel moderately to very strongly responsible for changing their daily choices to positively impact the environment. 77% say the average person should be taking concrete steps to reduce their environmental impact (though this is down from 90% in 2016). 80% agree that we have a moral duty to leave the earth in as good or better shape than we found it. I’ve been troubled because it’s not what’s actually happening. We don’t see three-fourths of the American population taking steps to reduce their environmental footprint (beyond recycling or wishcycling). Even in our own studies, only 26% of the American population can name a brand they’ve intentionally purchased or not purchased because of the perceived environmental or social record of the manufacturer. And while 26% is a great number — and headed in an upward right trajectory when you look at the data over the last 13 years — it’s still not 70-80%.