#Sustainability

2022-03-24

The great green washing machine, part 2

A new white paper, authored by Veronica Bates-Kassatly and Dorothee Baumann-Pauly and launched by the consultancy Eco-Age, looks at some of the major concerns with sustainability assessments that are currently used for fashion.

This paper follows the first of the series, which looked at how fashion defines sustainability and how a vital metric, impact on the multidimensionally poor, is left out of the equation.

Part 2 moves into environmental impact assessment, arguing that the cradle to gate measurements used by fashion ignore the harmful outcomes in some garments use and disposal.

The authors make a case for measuring impacts per wear, rather than per kilo, and investigate the overlooked impacts of polyester.

Throughout the paper, the authors include an action point for each concern that is raised, urging policymakers and corporations to ensure that present actions do not compromise future generations.

IWTO Secretary General Dalena White welcomed the new paper’s findings, saying, “‘Sustainability’ has become a fashion trend and very lucrative business model, but in the world of textiles, it is interwoven with greenwashing and manipulated data sets, carefully selected to optimise profits.

“The European Commission recently actioned a sweep of 344 websites making sustainability claims and found nearly half were lacking in evidence and 42% of green claims were exaggerated, false or plain deceptive.”

The European Commission promises to publish a European strategy for sustainable textiles this July.

Read the paper here:

https://eco-age.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/03/Great-Green-Washing-Machine-Report-Part-2_FINAL.pdf

Key issues raised:

• The limited scope of life cycle assessments (LCAs)

• Water use in cotton farming, the impact of lower yields on farmer income and biodiversity, and the overlooked impact of manure

• Digging deeper into existing sustainability studies – time frames, locations, allocation methods, and values that radically change impacts

• Overlooked impacts of polyester and microfibres

Insights from the authors

Eco-Age supported the launch of the white paper, ‘The Use and Misuse of Sustainability Metrics in Fashion’ and the authors share their insights here https://youtu.be/3kKDmji1X3A

Learn More About the Links Between Wool and Sustainability

For more information on wool and its many environmental benefits, take a look at our fact sheets, statistics and guidelines. You can find all resources here:

https://iwto.org/resources/

“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.”

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“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.

The Or Foundation, adidas, BESTSELLER, H&M Group, and Inditex launch Apparel Recovery Coalition, responding to impacts of post-consumer textile exports

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NEUMÜHLE launches mono-material hoodie designed for textile recycling

With the Circular Mono Hoodie, Zurich-based label NEUMÜHLE introduces a new essential designed around a single-material principle. The textile construction is cotton throughout, right down to the sewing thread. Entirely free from elastane, the hoodie launches as a Limited Drop for CHF 139. Take-back, collection and existing recycling partnerships complement its circular design.

EIM evolves into a new Environmental Intelligence to measure the impact of textile production

¿Do we really know the environmental impact behind a garment? Answering this question remains one of the textile industry’s major challenges. Garment production involves multiple stages, from yarn and fabric to final finishing, carried out by different players across the supply chain. Accesing reliable data from each process, connecting it and establishing a common language are essential to understanding a product’s true impact.

Mayer & Cie. Global gears up tor ITMA Asia 2026

Mayer & Cie. Global will focus on mattress fabric production at ITMA Asia, taking place in Shanghai from 20 to 24 November 2026. The company will showcase one of its flagship models for this application: the OVJA 2.4 EM. Joining the mattress fabric specialist will be an OV 3.2 QCe, presented at ITMA Asia in a configuration for knitting double-face fabrics in E40. This gives the OV 3.2 QCe a combination of capabilities rarely found in the market. The German textile machinery manufacturer will also introduce its new portfolio strategy and share updates from its development team at its Albstadt headquarters.

FET highlights advances in fibre spinning technology at Dornbirn Global Fiber Congress

Fibre Extrusion Technology Limited (FET) presented its latest developments in fibre spinning technology at the Dornbirn Global Fiber Congress in Austria in September 2026. In a presentation entitled “Spinning a good yarn”, Dr Jonny Hunter examined recent technological developments and challenges facing the fibre industry, highlighting the company's expanding range of specialised fibre extrusion and spinning systems.

Vietnam’s market evolution creates new sourcing opportunities at VIATT 2027

As Vietnam’s textile industry continues to upgrade and scale, new opportunities are emerging for suppliers of advanced raw materials, design-led fabrics, production technologies, and sustainability solutions. The Vietnam International Trade Fair for Apparel, Textiles and Textile Technologies (VIATT) will return 24 – 26 February 2027, presenting a cross-sector platform – spanning apparel, home and technical categories – for overseas companies to connect with manufacturers, brands, sourcing offices, retailers, and industry buyers from Vietnam, ASEAN, and beyond.