It’s been an intense couple of weeks at the intersection of fashion, tech, and sustainability. Here is a list of five topics I’ve been hearing a lot about in the industry.
1. Renewcell
First, Renewcell went bankrupt after having failed to raise enough capital to “reach their strategic goals”. Many of you have come up and given me praise for my post-game analysis of the disaster a couple of weeks ago. Industry insiders at other recycling companies took a sigh of relief when they realised that Renewcell’s overly ambitious growth goals turned out to be born out of their own reality distortion field. The textile recycling transformation will take time.
Some have expressed worry that Renewcell would result in a backlash of textile recycling technologies across the board. Others were disappointed that H&M did not step in and save the company, taking it as a sign that the Swedish retailer had given up on their sustainability efforts. Both these worries turned out to be false. Just days after the Renewcell downfall, Finnish Infinited Fibre Group announced a fresh round of funding, with H&M as one of the backers. And a week later, H&M announced one of their biggest investments yet, namely….
2. Syre
This joint venture between industrialist investor Harold Mix’s Vargas Holding and H&M Ventures had been rumoured since last summer when news of the initiative leaked to Dagens Industri. It turned out that they had been working on it for much longer. For the last two and a half years, the project now called Syre has been under development.
Many are frustrated over the fashion industry’s over-reliance on synthetic materials, which represent over 50% of all textile production, and some view this as just another excuse to produce more polyester. But therein lies both the problem and the opportunity for Syre’s recycled polyester. It’s not realistic to think that we will stop with polyester altogether, so the more we can move away from virgin materials the better. And Harold Mix and H&M can provide the resources needed to scale production.
And according to my interview with CEO Dennis Nobelius, Syre will not only focus on polyester fibers in the future. “We are building a textile powerhouse”. Could an acquisition of Renewcell be part of that plan, perhaps?
You can read my interview with Dennis Nobelius here.
3. Re:Uniqlo
Meanwhile, in London, I got a chance to meet some of the top lieutenants at the Japanese fashion retailer Uniqlo, who were in town to participate in an open discussion with leading fashion sustainability journalists from all over Europe (yes, I count myself as one of them).
It was a fascinating event, not only because there were some good insights from their dry PowerPoint presentation.
I learned that the use of recycled polyester had doubled between 2022 and 2023, now accounting for 30% of all production. They had reduced their greenhouse gas emissions by 46% between 2021 and 2022. They were taking measures to get more control over upstream supply chains, including raw materials, which is boding well for the upcoming EU regulations on traceability and Digital Product Passports.
But the most fascinating thing was how they opened up to questions and feedback from the participating journalists after their presentation. Many harsh and tough questions came from the audience, which were well-read about the industry’s sustainability challenges. I’m hard-pressed to think the above-mentioned H&M would arrange a similarly transparent event, much less their Spanish colleagues Inditex.
The big drawback I thought was their overly excited focus the Re:Uniqlo program, an in-store platform where they showcased upcycled garments by local designers and services for customers to bring in old garments and get them repaired and restored. Forgive my cynicism, but I’m getting tired of sustainability initiatives that put the responsibility on the consumers. Also: alterations and repairs as part of your sustainability efforts? How innovative! It’s like tailors never existed…
4. Kappahl’s Digital Product Passport
A week later I found myself in Gothenburg for my very first D-Congress, where they had a series of highly interesting sessions on traceability, data sharing, and Digital Product Passports for the fashion industry.
I’ve previously interviewed Kappahl, TrusTrace, and GS1 Sweden about their pilot project for a Digital Product Passport, and now I got to see it live. Sandra Roos, sustainability director Kappahl, showcased the DPP in front of the audience, scanning the QR code on the garment and watching the data appear on screen.
It was an undramatic presentation, but felt like a milestone in sustainability reporting in the Nordic fashion industry. This was the first time I got to see how a DPP was to function in the future, opening up to ha whole world of opportunities, not just from compliance, but from commercial and experiential aspects as well.
I can’t wait to see where this technology is headed, and I promise to report back once we get more information on the status of the pilot.
5. The need for scale
All of these initiatives underscore a sentiment that I’ve been promoting tirelessly the past few months: we need solutions that can scale throughout the enormous fashion industry. Every small step counts of course, but Mother Earth only cares if significantly scale back on unnecessary logistics, non-renewable energy sources, over production, and other emissions-enduring aspects of the industry.
After two weeks of observing the industry’s various sustainability initiatives, I’m left with a strong sense of optimism.