#Retail & Brands

2023-01-26

First-of-its-kind Cradle to Cradle Certified® Gold Cashmere Sweater

Ralph Lauren Corporation (NYSE: RL) introduces The Cradle to Cradle (C2C) Certified® Gold Cashmere Sweater, an iconic product made to be worn, loved and live on responsibly for generations to come. Available in Men’s Purple Label and Women’s Collection brands, the first-of-its-kind luxury sweater is the first of five iconic Ralph Lauren products (“icons”) that the Company has committed to have C2C Certified® by 2025.

The Company also launches Cashmere Recycling Program in North America and Europe

Woven from fine cashmere fibers, dyed in rich hues and featuring a transformed signature label cut from organic cotton, the C2C Certified® Gold Cashmere Sweater was analyzed through a multi-step certification process with the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute, a non-profit that has set the global standard for products that are safe, circular and made responsibly. The C2C Certified® Gold crewneck sweater is set to replace the original icon, and the certification will be expanded to include additional cashmere styles.

“The kind of luxury we stand for at Ralph Lauren has always been about timelessness, authenticity and a life well-lived,” said Katie Ioanilli, Chief Global Impact and Communications Officer. “Today more than ever, we believe true luxury encompasses not only a product’s beauty and quality, but how it was made and how it will endure. That’s why we’ve created the industry’s first-ever Cradle to Cradle Certified® luxury cashmere product, with plans to deliver four more verified icons by 2025.”

Developed as part of the Cradle to Cradle certification process, Ralph Lauren also launched today its Cashmere Recycling Program for 100% cashmere in partnership with Re-Verso™, a leading textile production company that bridges science and technology to create a circular economy manufacturing system for high-quality wool and cashmere. The program, initially available in North America and Europe, allows consumers to ship their 100% cashmere items – from any brand – to Re-Verso™ in Prato, Italy to be recycled.

The C2C Certified® Gold cashmere sweater will be highlighted in a multi-media consumer marketing campaign featuring models Andreea Diaconu and Simon Nessman, a real-life couple who have a personal commitment to preserving and protecting the environment. The campaign will be shared across Ralph Lauren social channels and RalphLauren.com, where consumers will find more information about the sweater, recycling program and the Company's efforts to support a circular economy.

For more than 50 years, Ralph Lauren has been committed to creating timeless products that never go out of style. The Company’s approach to Global Citizenship & Sustainability, Timeless by Design, is anchored in this philosophy and ensures timelessness is embedded from inspiration through to products’ every use and re-use across generations. As part of this, the Company has set a goal to implement circular principles into its design and development process by 2025. The Ralph Lauren Live On promise further builds on these commitments and the Company’s existing circularity strategy by enabling its past and future products to live on responsibly by 2030.

“Production is a product”

From technical textiles and AI-driven robotics to the limitations of textile circularity: Professor Dr Thomas Gries looks back on more than two decades of development at ITA Aachen. In the interview, he explains why production technology remains a decisive success factor, discusses international collaborations and innovation ecosystems, and shares his views on the transformation of production landscapes and the challenges facing an increasingly regulated industry.

“We need to move away from the price trap and return to a value-driven mindset.”

With its new Textile Innovation Center, KARL MAYER is sending a strong signal for innovation, collaboration, and the future of textile applications. In this interview, Karl Josef Mayer discusses new opportunities in warp knitting, the processing of staple fibres, recycling, the changing role of machinery manufacturers, and why the textile industry must once again focus more strongly on the value of textiles. by Oliver Schmidt

“Innovation, resilience and international experience remain the great strengths of the Swiss textile machinery industry”

Geopolitical uncertainty, growing competitive pressure from China, new free trade agreements and the shift towards a circular economy are currently reshaping the global textile industry. In this interview, Cornelia Buchwalder discusses the current mood within the Swiss textile machinery sector, the industry’s distinctive innovative strength, new market opportunities in India and Asia, and the technological trends that could shape the upcoming trade fair cycle leading up to ITMA 2027.

Recover™ secures multi-year recycled cotton agreement with H&M

Recover™ has signed a multi-year agreement with H&M to support the integration of its recycled cotton fiber, RCotton, for use in H&M’s products. Since early 2024, H&M and Recover™ have collaborated on product development, which now enables scaled commercial introduction of Recover™ mechanically recycled cotton into H&M’s collections.

GORE-TEX® KIDSWEAR launches innovative membership scheme for kids’ jackets

With its revolutionary new membership model, GORE-TEX® Kidswear now offers families a simple, flexible and sustainable way of kitting out their children in top-quality jackets. It is aimed at the parents of children aged between five and ten and kicks off with a choice of functional winter jackets.

KARL MAYER presents a textile TEXTRONIC® innovation at ITM 2026

With highly efficient machines and continuous textile innovations, KARL MAYER underscores its role as a reliable partner for discerning top-tier customers. Just in time for ITM 2026 in Istanbul, the industry leader is introducing a true innovation: an eyelash lace with its characteristic fringed look – combined with a previously unattainable 4-way stretch. While the established fabric could until now only be produced as rigid version or with one-dimensional stretch, the new elasticity in both dimensions expands the possibilities for cross-band panel fabrics.

DYNEEMA® and NP Aerospace advance personal protection for military servicewomen

Dyneema®, owned by Avient Corporation, an innovator of materials solutions, is supplying its high-performance unidirectional (UD) materials to world-leading armor manufacturer NP Aerospace, enabling the production of armor systems designed specifically to fit the female body. With 2,000 new armor systems, including 4,000 plates, made in the United Kingdom (UK) and delivered in June 2026, this collaboration addresses a long-standing lack of high-quality personal protection specially built for female defense and security personnel.

Textile Exchange publishes comprehensive polyester LCA study

Textile Exchange has released a new Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study on polyester, providing detailed data on the environmental impacts of both virgin and recycled polyester production. The study aims to strengthen understanding across the fashion, textile and apparel industries and support more informed decision-making regarding polyester sourcing and production.