New York, April 22, 2019 — Sourcing Journal, the premier online trade publication for apparel and textile executives, is launching today Sustaining Voices, a yearlong web series that honors the latest innovations, products, companies and initiatives driving forward a greener apparel industry. The program, which was developed in collaboration with Cotton Incorporated, grew out of a desire to support, encourage and recognize the industry’s hard-fought-for gains in this area.
“Our goal with Sustaining Voices is to create a platform that celebrates the industry’s accomplishments and inspires all stakeholders to continue to move fashion toward a sustainable future. We look forward to jumpstarting important conversations around how we, as an industry, can turn intent into action on a broad scale with real results,” said Edward Hertzman, founder and president of Sourcing Journal Media. “We know progress comes through collaboration, and we’re honored to have Cotton Incorporated as a partner in this mission. The organization continues to demonstrate a commitment to sustainability from farm to finished goods.”
Throughout the year, Sustaining Voices will recognize the efforts of both individuals and companies across five categories: raw materials, supply chain and logistics, brands and retailers, factories, and initiatives.
This April, Sourcing Journal announces the honorees in the raw materials category. They include:
- We aRe SpinDye, for scaling up its sustainable synthetic-textile dyeing process
- PrimaLoft, for innovating a recycled and biodegradable polyester fiber and textile
- Polartec, for developing a synthetic fiber that actively resists shedding
- Lenzing, for increasing the percentage of post-industrial recycled cotton in its Tencel x Refibra lyocell
- HeiQ and DuPont, for collaborating on a first-of-its-kind PFC-free water-repellent finish for leather
- Alfie Germano of Nanollose, for using coconut waste to create the first tree-free viscose rayon
- Isaac Nichelson of Circular Systems, for advancing the transformation of agricultural waste into high-value textiles
- Akshay Sethi of Ambercycle, for simplifying polyester extraction and recycling from castoff mixed-fiber garments
In addition to profiles of each honoree, the Sustaining Voices website will feature articles and podcasts related to all aspects of apparel sustainability.
Related Stories
Honorees in the subsequent categories will be announced throughout the coming months. Each was selected by Sourcing Journal in consultation with a select group of apparel industry experts, who considered the “wow” factor, uniqueness, scalability, buzz and impact each person, program and company had on sustainability in the past year. The advisors included Jesse Daystar, chief sustainability officer at Cotton Incorporated; Jeff Wilson, senior business development manager for sustainability at NSF International; circular-fashion strategist Annie Gullingsrud of AllKind; and Amy DuFault, director of communications at the Pratt Institute Brooklyn Fashion + Design Accelerator.
Visit SustainingVoices.com.
About Sourcing Journal
Sourcing Journal is the largest, most comprehensive and authoritative B2B resource for executives working in the apparel, textile and footwear industries. Hyper-focused on delivering timely news, insightful analysis and revealing data, Sourcing Journal is empowering industry leaders to make informed business decisions. Sourcing Journal readers rely on the publication to navigate every aspect of this dynamic, complex and vast business, including supply chain, raw materials, sustainability, logistics, fulfillment, product development, compliance, retail and technology.
About Cotton Incorporated
Cotton Incorporated, funded by U.S. cotton producers and importers of cotton and cotton textile products, conducts worldwide research and promotion activities to increase the demand for and profitability of cotton.