Fashion Fabrics Made From Wood Are Set To Double In Volume: What Does This Mean For Forests And Emissions?

In the fast-growing next-gen materials market, cellulose fibers extracted from wood, old textiles, and even bacteria are performing akin to cotton, silk, and polyester. This offers an exciting opportunity to alleviate environmental problems caused by incumbent fibers, and at the core of this movement are man-made cellulosic fibers (MMCFs). For now, the transparent, environmentally and socially sustainable sourcing of MMCFs relies on quantifiable data from the likes of TrusTrace, GreenStory, and the Textile Exchange, among others. The focal takeaway regarding this fast-growing market is that not all MMCFs are created equal, and Challenge The Fabric certainly lived up to its name. An ongoing dialogue with the forestry and pulp industry is necessary to optimize and shed light on the calculable environmental and social benefits of MMCFs, to expand the market whilst safeguarding Earth and humanity.

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Challenge the Fabric 2024 will take place on May 14 – 15, in Milan

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If you have registered for the Symposium on May 15th but are no longer able to attend, we kindly ask you to notify us no later than 14 days prior to the event. Please notify us via email at ctf@ekmangroup.com

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AGENDA - CTF 2023

Tuesday 9th May

18:00 - 20:00

Welcome Mingle

Wednesday 10th May

09:00

Registration

09:30

Introduction and welcome

09:45

The opportunity of Green Textiles

Keynote speaker

Jonatan Janmark | Partner, McKinsey & Co

10:05

Sustainable Forestry

Keynote speaker

Valerie Langer | Fibre Solutions Strategist, Canopy

10:20

Forest to fabrics; the importance of sustainable forest practices

This panel discusses the importance of sustainable forest management. Topics
that will be discussed are centered around how sustainable forestry
management is defined, how farmers work with their forests to ensure and
protect the biodiversity, regeneration capacity and reforestation. The panel will
also discuss what sustainable forest management mean for different regions of
the world as well as how it influences sourcing strategies and the demands on
raw material suppliers.

Keynote speaker

Diana Tuomasjukka | Head of the Bioeconomy Programme, European Forest Institute

10:35

Break

11:05

Moderator

Oliver Lansdell | Director, Pulp and Paper, Hawkins Wright

Panel

Johannes Bogren | Vice President, Södra Cell Bioproducts

Anna Palmberg | Material & Innovation Developer, IKEA of Sweden

Surya Valluri | Chief Sustainability Officer, Birla Cellulose

Sofia Jorge I Board Member, Sustainability, Risk, Communication, People & Talent, Altri SGPS

11:50

Legislation, Policy, and Traceability

Over the last few years, we have seen an increase in legislation related to sustainability in textiles. For example, the EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles will require the use of more sustainable and recycled materials as well as identification through the Digital Project Passport (DPP). Organizations such as the Textile Exchange are supporting the industry by developing standards to classify preferred materials. Also new startups are focusing on helping brands achieve visibility on their supply chains. How can fashion brands and suppliers alike navigate this new landscape? What role can stakeholders like innovators, NGO’s and industry organizations play? What is required to educate and disseminate knowledge on legislation, policy, and traceability? This panel will explore these important topics.

Moderator

Christine Goulay | Founder, Sustainabelle

12:05 – Panel

Amit Gautam | CEO & Co-founder, Textile Genesis

Sara Mariani | Chief Sustainability Officer, OTB

Claudia De Witte | Sustainability Leader, Textiles, Eastman

12:45

Lunch

14:15

Committing to the future of Next Generation Solutions

This panel discusses the collective commitment at COP27 by brands such as Kering, H&M, Inditex to purchase over half a million tonnes of fibres stemming from Next Generation Solutions. The panel will address what this commitment means for the innovators in terms of the need for scaling, investments and partnerships and the potential challenges of reaching the scale needed.

Keynote speaker

Dolly Vellanki | Innovation Associate, Fashion for Good

Moderator

Brooke Roberts-Islam | Founder, Techstyler; Senior Contributor, Forbes.

14:30 – Panel

Jenny Fredricsdotter | Circular Business Manager, Re:newcell

Erik Karlsson | VC/Impact Investor, H&M CO: Lab

Julia Viner | Investment Associate, Fashion, Closed Loop Partners

Peter Majeranowski | CEO & Co-Founder, Circ

15:15

Break

15:45

Shaping the path forward

This panel will focus on how we can shape the path towards fashion’s sustainable future and highlight the possibilities within the MMCF field. It will discuss the importance of cross industry collaborations and how we can create long lasting change by engaging different stake holders from different industries. What can we learn from the development of other fibre categories or other industries? What will be critical to continue to grow in an innovative and sustainable way?

Keynote speaker

Andrea Rosso | Sustainability Ambassador, Diesel

Moderator

Bella Webb | Sustainability Editor, Vogue Business

16:00 – Panel

Amanda Parkes | Chief Innovation Officer, Pangaia

Dr. Shahriare Mahmood | Chief Sustainability Officer, Spinnova

Christina Iskov | Head of Innovation & Academy, Global Fashion Agenda

Malva Carlsson

16:40

Conclusion | Nina Elmersson – VP Innovare, Ekman

16:45

Cocktail