Marking Earth Week and the same week in which the European Parliament adopts three pieces of legislation set to change the course of business history – including an incoming ban on the destruction of unsold clothing – Products of Change hosted a very special Fashion Workstream Webinar.
Available for Members to watch on demand, here – this session dives head first into the incoming regulation changes that will impact all producers of clothing across the fashion sector and what this will mean for licensing.
Led by Julia Redman, Products of Change’s Ambassador for Fashion, this special webinar welcomes guest speakers from Bluesign Technologies, Ridestore, and Fashion Enter as we take a look at the future of sustainability within the fashion sector.
European Green Deal
The UK and European textiles and apparel industry is facing a major shift in the current landscape thanks to incoming regulation falling under the European Green Deal’s strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles.
“The EU Green Deal has a very strong objective – aside from reaching new zero by 2050 – which is to decouple economic growth from resource use,” said Bluesign’s Mark Edridge. “It’s working under the proviso that everything you could possibly need in the future can be made from what we already have. You shouldn’t have to drive economic growth through mining, deforestation, harvesting, or drilling.”
Bluesign describes itself as a community of supply chain collaborators that works to bring its partners solutions by measuring, reporting, certifying, and providing the tools to help partners improve the environmental impact of their products. As such, it is one of the industry’s leading voices when it comes to bringing ‘clean’ product to market.
“By 2030, all textile products placed on the EU market will be durable, repairable, and recyclable,” Mark continued. “And the legislation that is coming will impact all producers – manufacturers, suppliers, distributors, and retailers – all those bringing product to the market in EU member states.”
Mark’s session went on to discuss what this would mean for the brand licensing industry and how such regulations – including the Ecodesign Regulations that will place a ban on the destruction of unsold clothing by as soon as 2026 – are going to deeply impact both licensors and licensees.
Products of Change members can now catch up on the latest insight on the subject by watching the Fashion Webinar on demand here.
Educating a purpose-led fashion industry
With regulation will be tightening around the circularity of materials, the fashion industry will need to innovate and create harder. Jenny Holloway is the ceo and founder of Fashion Enter, a social impact initiative and educational programme developed to nurture home-grown skills and talent while bringing fashion manufacture back to the UK.
Joining POC’s special fashion session, Jenny talked attendees through the ethos upon which Fashion Enter has been built, as well as its aim to drive forwards a purpose-led, creative industry here in the UK through education across areas impacting the sector, including repair and refurbishment.
Products of Change members can catch up on Jenny’s talk by watching the Fashion Webinar on demand here.
