Textile Exchange

Meet our 2024 Textile Exchange Conference host, Whitney Bauck. An award-winning climate and environment journalist, Whitney reports on food systems and agriculture for The Guardian and edits the print magazine at climate and culture publication Atmos. She’ll be hosting our conference for the second year running. This year, the three-day agenda will explore why integrating best practices for climate and nature at the raw materials level is an investment in business resilience for the fashion, textile, and apparel industry. Plenaries, workshops, and discussions will address the broader legislative, cultural, and climate contexts in which our industry currently sits, illustrating how proactive solution-building can transform risks into opportunities.

What does Textile Exchange do? Here, our CEO Claire Bergkamp explains our three core activities: 🌱 Climate and nature impact: We’re making sure the fashion industry has access to tools, data, and information to understand how raw materials impact climate and nature, and where they can make better decisions. 🌱 Engagement and partnership: We’re focusing on building relationships throughout the supply system that can facilitate real impact on the ground, connecting those who source raw materials with those who produce them and creating a dynamic community for collective learning. 🌱 The standards system: Our sustainability standards for raw materials help to send a demand signal back to farmers and facilities, incentivizing them to use more responsible practices on the ground.

A revision on the Content Claim Standard has begun, starting with a request for public feedback on the current version (V3.1). This revision is part of the development of the Materials Matter Standard to maintain alignment with our most current suite of standards, and is one of multiple opportunities for the public to provide feedback. Key topics include harmonizing criteria with the policy for transaction certificates and reviewing brand certification requirements. The revision process will take place in 2024-2025, with the new version expected to be published in 2026. The feedback period closes on September 30, 2024 How to Participate → Share your feedback on the existing CCS 3.1 via this form https://bit.ly/3yYGdLR → If you would like to participate in the revision process as a member of the IWG, please email your resume indicating your interest as well as a brief statement of interest that includes a summary of your expertise that will support this CCS revision to standards@textileeexchange.org

What challenges are we setting out to solve? Next up in our series of short videos is our Chief Strategy Officer, Ashley Gill. Having grown up on a cotton farm in West Texas, Ashley joined Textile Exchange in 2010 and has been driving change on the ground ever since. Here, she draws on her background both on the farm and within the organization to talk about the key obstacles to overcome if we want to facilitate the production of more sustainable raw materials for the fashion, textile, and apparel industry. The key takeaway? It all starts with connecting brands to the realities of farms and factories.

Get to know us 🌱   We’re grateful to have so many of you – from brands and growers to interested individuals – following along on our journey to make the raw materials in our clothing and textiles matter.   For those new here, we wanted to take a moment to re-introduce our organization and share some more about the work we do at Textile Exchange. To start, our CEO Claire Bergkamp explains our mission to drive beneficial outcomes for climate and nature, right from the start of the supply chain.

This International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples, we’re highlighting the connection between the materials in our clothing and textiles, their links to land and nature, and – through that – their impact on Indigenous Peoples and local communities (IPLCs).   Collaboration with these communities across product development initiatives and supply chain management is crucial to avoid continued harm to their cultures and natural resources. The deep expertise of IPLCs can also help develop stronger solutions for preserving traditional knowledge and stewarding resources around the world.   To provide the fashion, textile, and apparel industry with guidance on what equitable partnership looks like, Conservation International and Textile Exchange developed the Indigenous Partnership Principles for the Fashion, Apparel, and Textile Industries with direct input and leadership from 33 representative Indigenous Peoples and local community stakeholders. They include 12 criteria to guide companies to better center Indigenous Peoples and local communities’ rights and perspectives.   Download the Indigenous Partnership Principles at the link → https://lnkd.in/dMQy5seb

💬 Announcing the 2024 Textile Exchange Conference agenda: DAY THREE 📅 On day three of our annual conference, we will dive deeper into the on-the-ground collaboration needed to create sourcing systems that achieve lasting supply chain resilience and beneficial outcomes. What are the fundamentals of true supply system partnership and how can we establish equitable, lasting relationships? How can we start preparing for incoming policy and ensure compliance? And what innovations are out there to address increasing amounts of textile waste? By focusing on solution-oriented approaches and learning by example, our three-day agenda aims to concretize the notion that meaningful change is both achievable and already underway. The in-person event will be held at the Pasadena Convention Center from October 28-31, with an interactive virtual offering available. See the full agenda https://bit.ly/3ycTAaU → Register to attend https://bit.ly/4abJBiY →

💬 Announcing the 2024 Textile Exchange Conference agenda: DAY TWO 📅 The second day of our conference will be all about investing in long-term value creation for business, climate, and nature. We’ll start the day with an analysis on why lowering risk and building long-term resilience is essential for any organization, and why sustainability shouldn’t be seen as a silo. We will also be looking at the financial structures needed to support sustainability objectives, how to share risks and opportunities in full financial partnership with producers, and what net positive means for nature. The in-person event will be held at the Pasadena Convention Center from October 28-31, with an interactive virtual offering available. See the full agenda https://bit.ly/3ycTAaU → Register to attend https://bit.ly/4abJBiY →

💬 Announcing the 2024 Textile Exchange Conference agenda: DAY ONE 📅 Under the theme “The Case for Change,” the 2024 Textile Exchange Conference will explore why integrating best practices for climate and nature at the raw materials level is an investment in business resilience for the fashion, textile, and apparel industry. The first day of our conference will look at the current context in which the fashion, textile, and apparel industry sits: at the intersection of incoming legislation, increased instability for farmers, and an urgent need for better impact data. What are the operational risks if it doesn’t collectively change the way it works, and what tools, systems, and frameworks can be leveraged to pivot operations back within the boundaries of both planet and policy? The in-person event will be held at the Pasadena Convention Center from October 28-31, with an interactive virtual offering available. See the full agenda https://bit.ly/3ycTAaU → Register to attend https://bit.ly/4b9TFKJ → #textileexchangeconference2024

At Textile Exchange, we believe that the conversation around sustainability should be anchored in science and data – but filled with optimism and action. By highlighting tangible examples of progress, we can switch our lens from problem-orientated to solution-focused. Ultimately, we need to concretize the notion that change is achievable and there are already countless case studies to learn from. We are looking forward to sharing the agenda for the Textile Exchange Conference 2024 in the coming days, which will see us create a space for collective learning and experience sharing, transforming challenge into opportunity. #textileexchange #textile #climateaction