[pageLogInLogOut]

#Sustainability

Textile Exchange enhances MIE Tool with forest and air pollution risk categories

Textile Exchange has updated its Materials Impact Explorer (MIE) tool to include risk ratings and recommendations for forests and air pollution. This addition, along with a new category for manmade cellulosic fibers (MMCF), helps brands, retailers, and suppliers assess potential environmental impacts from the raw material stage.

Developed with insights from leading organizations such as the Apparel Impact Institute and the Rainforest Alliance, the MIE tool now enables users to evaluate biodiversity and environmental risks more comprehensively. 

Key Updates:

+ New risk categories for forests and air pollution

+ Inclusion of manmade cellulosic fibers (MMCF)

+ Expert contributions from top environmental organizations

One of the tools users, Veronique Rochet, Senior Director of Sustainability at PUMA, said:

“At PUMA we are currently taking steps to mitigate biodiversity risks and address environmental pollution risks through our 10FOR25 targets and supplier programs related to climate, chemicals, water, and air. We recently used the Materials Impact Explorer (MIE) tool provided by Textile Exchange to inform our biodiversity risk assessment of our key raw materials such as polyester and cotton. The MIE tool has helped us to review if we have the right strategies in place to address the risk of the potential impact on biodiversity and the risk of dependency in terms of environmental assets and ecosystem services that our organization relies on to function. We value having forests included as a risk category to explore further deforestation-free commitments in addition to our commitment to source all bovine leather used in our products from verified deforestation-free supply chains by 2030 or earlier. We also value having air pollution as a risk category as this is part of our Tier 1 and 2 supplier programs, but we also need to understand the risks in our upstream value chain. The MIE tool analyses risk in terms of potential impacts and dependencies at the very start of the value chain (Tier 4).”

The tool is designed for organizations that know the country of origin of their raw materials, where the farm, forest, or initial production facility is based.

Textile Exchange also acknowledges that forests are part of a broader land use change risk area; the organization plans to explore opportunities for building this out in the future.

The enhanced MIE tool is available to organizations familiar with the country of origin of their raw materials. Access the tool here.

https://materialsimpactexplorer.com/






More News from Textile Exchange

#Raw Materials

Textile Exchange publishes cotton Life Cycle Assessment study to strengthen impact data

Textile Exchange has published the first in a series of seven Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) studies designed to improve the quality and robustness of environmental impact data for raw material production across the fashion, textile, and apparel industry. The first LCA study focuses on cotton and addresses critical data gaps and methodology variability through new high-quality data across key producing countries. The study includes organic, regenerative, recycled, and country averages for conventional cotton production systems, providing a clearer picture of the associated environmental impact.

#Sustainability

Textile Exchange unveils commitment-based pathway for members to accelerate responsible raw material production

Textile Exchange has unveiled further details about its new membership structure, designed to guide the fashion, textile, and apparel industry in a collective course of action toward preferred production systems for raw materials and fibers.

#Yarns

Textile Exchange publishes the final criteria for its new Materials Matter Standard, marking a pivotal shift in connecting certification to impact

Textile Exchange has published the final criteria for its Materials Matter Standard—a major milestone in the organization’s multi-year transition toward a unified, impact-driven standards system for raw material production and primary processing. 

#Sustainability

Textile Exchange evolves its membership structure to unlock the next stage of collective action for climate and nature

Textile Exchange is excited to announce that it is evolving its membership structure to a more action-oriented, impact-driven model designed to provide clearly defined pathways that help organizations respond to the climate and nature crisis.

More News on Sustainability

#Sustainability

A new standard to combat plastic waste in forests

With DIN SPEC 35808 “Tree Shelter for Forestry Applications,” the testing and research service provider Hohenstein, in collaboration with Rottenburg University of Forestry, as well as forestry authorities and industry partners, has established a clear framework for bio-based and fully biodegradable tree shelters. The pre-standard defines requirements and practical testing methods designed to reduce plastic waste in forests and strengthen the long-term protection of soil and the environment.

#Denim

Denim moves towards sustainability

EIM (Environmental Impact Measurement), the global reference platform for measuring the environmental impact of garment finishing, presents the second edition of its annual report Denim Industry Progress & Insights 2025. The study analyses over 100,000 real denim finishing processes, providing an accurate and up-to-date view of the industry’s evolution towards more sustainable models.

#Recycling / Circular Economy

Europe’s textile future at a turning point: New 2030 Circularity Blueprint aims to scale recycling and unlock investment opportunities

The EU textile system is at a critical crossroads. Today, less than 1% of discarded garments are recycled into new garments, despite EU-wide obligations for separate collection. In response, Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) is launching the 2030 Circularity Blueprint, in partnership with ReHubs. This ambitious initiative is designed to support the transformation of the EU textile ecosystem to advance textile-to-textile recycling and drive the transition to a circular economy.

#Sustainability

Number of GOTS-certified facilities grow 15% globally as demand for credible sustainability standards continues to strengthen

Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS) certification continued to grow in 2025, with nearly 18,000 certified facilities worldwide, despite ongoing geopolitical uncertainty and rapidly evolving regulatory requirements across global textile supply chains.

Latest News

#INDEX 2026

“We clearly see that reliability, flexibility, service and total cost of ownership are becoming increasingly important again.”

The nonwovens industry continues to face a challenging market environment. Nevertheless, AUTEFA Solutions reports successful projects, new line sales and growing demand for energy-efficient and flexible solutions. In this interview, André Imhof of AUTEFA Solutions talks about competitiveness against Chinese suppliers, new service and recycling concepts, the growing importance of application development and the opportunities created by countercyclical investments.

#INDEX 2026

“Needle punching technology is more universal and sustainable than ever!”

Needle punching technology was long regarded as a rather traditional and comparatively slow technology within the nonwovens industry. In this interview, Johann Philipp Dilo explains why needle punching is more relevant than ever today – ranging from energy efficiency and resource conservation to hygiene applications, new machine concepts and design-oriented nonwoven solutions.

#Research & Development

Textile climate control system in workwear – exhibition at the 2026 SME Innovation Day!

Conventional protective workwear often reaches its limits during strenuous physical activity. In particular, the transport of sweat and excess body heat poses a problem. The German Institutes of Textile and Fiber Research (DITF) conducted research on flow-optimized, air-conducting textile structures that enable targeted climate control directly on the body. These structures can be integrated straight into protective work garments. The textile climate control system supports the body’s natural thermoregulation. This contributes to improved workplace safety and comfort.

#Nonwovens

PET spunbond from China – EDANA welcomes imposition of provisional anti-dumping measures

On 13 May 2026, after eight months of investigation, the European Commission imposed provisional anti-dumping duties of 45.6-50.0% on imports of PET spunbond from China. EDANA welcomes this expression of the Commission’s clear determination to protect EU industries from the unfair trade practices of Chinese producers.

TOP