Who will fund fashion’s sustainable future?

While speakers emphasised that sharing financial risk is not only more equitable, it will also increase supply chain resilience, they said the industry is far from applying that in practice, from Tier 1 manufacturers all the way through agricultural supply chains.

“Agricultural supply chains are very volatile, both economically and environmentally. Sharing risks continues to be an important topic. I believe companies are still far from walking the talk here. Sustainability departments understand it’s key for the production of regenerative materials. But there is still a huge gap,” says Mariana Gatti, independent impact strategist and project director at Farfarm, a consultancy promoting and implementing organic and regenerative agriculture. “Resilient farm businesses invariably build stronger local and regional communities and economies. Farmers in the Global South are, in my opinion, a huge source of inspiration for that.”

Textile recycling

With sessions on textile waste, textile innovation and logistics for textile-to-textile recycling — which became a standing-room-only session, not a common sight throughout the conference — it’s clear that the industry is taking a legitimate interest in next-gen materials, and textile recycling in particular. The exhibit hall was filled with startups specialising in textile sorting and recycling. Many of them reported having meaningful conversations with brands or suppliers, and felt confident that concrete steps towards commercialisation are on the horizon.

Outward signs are still meagre, at least relative to the scale that’s needed. Partnerships do exist, and two were even launched during the conference — Circ, which recycles cotton-poly blends, announced a deal with Indian conglomerate Aditya Birla Group, while Ambercycle, which recycles polyester, launched a partnership with Arc’teryx — but until next-gen materials are regularly featured in products in mass quantities, their impact is going to be limited. Startups say that now feels different than even six months or a year ago, and they feel the wheels are turning. If that’s true, then there’s hope that 2025 and 2026 will start to reveal some of the change that the industry has been promising is happening behind the scenes.

Growth

At the end of November, Textile Exchange will release a report on reimagining growth — explaining the need to decouple financial growth from the increased use of natural resources, and exploring avenues through which fashion can attempt to do that.