Economic Sustainability Practices

The European Parliament has officially passed Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation that fundamentally shifts the responsibility for textile waste management to fashion brands and retailers – with far-reaching global implications. This new law requires all producers, including e-commerce platforms, to cover the full cost of collecting, sorting, and recycling textiles, regardless of whether they are based within or outside the EU. The financial burden of Europe's textile waste now falls squarely on the brands that create it. What are the critical business implications? UNIVERSAL SCOPE: The legislation applies to all producers selling in the EU market, including those of clothing, accessories, footwear, home textiles, and curtains. No company is exempt based on location. FAST FASHION PENALTY: Member states must specifically address ultra-fast and fast fashion practices when determining EPR financial contributions, creating cost penalties for unsustainable business models. GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN DISRUPTION: As the world's largest textile importer, the EU's new rules will ripple across global supply chains, particularly impacting exporters from Bangladesh, Vietnam, China, and India who supply much of Europe's fast fashion. TIMELINE PRESSURE: Officially adopted September 2025, this creates immediate operational and financial planning requirements. COMPETITIVE RESHAPING: Brands and retailers will inevitably pass increased costs down their supply chains, fundamentally altering supplier relationships and pricing structures globally. What are the implications for various stakeholders? For CEOs and board members: This represents more than regulatory compliance – it's a complete business model transformation. Companies must now integrate end-of-life costs into product pricing, rethink supplier partnerships, and accelerate circular design strategies. For sustainability and decarbonisation executives: This creates unprecedented opportunities for circular economy solutions, sustainable material innovation, and traceability system development across global supply chains. Link: https://lnkd.in/dTyHtHuD #sustainablefashion #circulareconomy #textilwaste #epr #fashionindustry #sustainability #supplychainmanagement #fastfashion #environmentalregulation #businessstrategy #decarbonisation #textilerecycling #fashionceos #boardgovernance #climateaction #wastemanagement #producerresponsibility #fashionsustainability #textileindustry #greenbusiness

We spend our lives chasing the latest thing, but the $350 billion goldmine is in what we throw away. Every year, we throw away enough fabric to clothe millions, and India generates 8.5% of global textile waste annually. For decades, we saw this as the ugly side of being the world's textile hub. But something remarkable is happening. Here are the 3 practices that are quietly changing our waste problem into an economic revolution: 1/ Regenerative farming is changing everything for cotton farmers. Look at what happened in Aurangabad: → 6,000+ farmers switched from chemical fertilizers to natural methods, cutting costs while improving soil health → Digital training helps them track crop growth in real time, sharing data with buyers directly → Healthier soil means crops survive droughts better, giving farmers a steady income throughout the year → The Ministry of Agriculture is now scaling this to one million hectares. Farmers, manufacturers, and global brands are finally working together. 2/ Traceability has become the new currency.  → With 37% of consumers demanding proof of sustainability, our Kasturi Cotton initiative gives India an edge. The upcoming India-UK FTA (Free Trade Agreement) will open doors we couldn't imagine before. → The EU's Digital Product Passports are making transparency mandatory. India already has the systems in place. 3/ Circularity is turning waste into raw material: → Old factory scraps get redesigned into new products → Clothes are designed to last years, not seasons → We stop buying new materials when we can reuse what exists The numbers speak for themselves. 📌 They'll create 35 million jobs.  📌 They'll make India the global textile leader. 📌 These sustainability practices will generate $350 billion in growth. After two decades of watching this industry evolve, we're at a turning point. Even at Falabella and Attic Salt, organic yarn and sustainability are at the core of our business. We strongly believe in it and follow similar processes because we've seen how these practices transform quality and profitability. PS: If you're a sustainability or recycling expert, I'd love to hear your insights. Please message me here so we can connect.

Circular Economy Strategies 🌎 Circularity focuses on reducing waste, optimizing resources, and designing products with a full lifecycle in mind. These strategies not only mitigate environmental impact but also strengthen operations in an evolving regulatory and market landscape. Procurement plays a key role in embedding circularity into business operations. Sustainable sourcing of bio-based, recycled, and upcycled materials ensures the supply chain is both resilient and environmentally responsible. Additionally, make-to-order models help to reduce excess production and waste, offering a more efficient approach to resource use. Manufacturing processes are another critical area where circularity can be introduced. By minimizing energy use and streamlining material flows, businesses can limit waste and improve production efficiency. This approach also fosters innovation, as companies refine their processes to meet sustainability goals while maintaining operational efficiency. Designing products for circularity is essential to closing the loop. Creating durable, repairable, and modular products that can be easily disassembled or recycled helps extend product life and reduces the need for new materials. The design phase offers the most potential for innovation, as products can be reimagined for a circular lifecycle. The way products are marketed and sold can also support a circular economy. Offering products as a service, rather than ownership models, extends their lifecycle and enables more efficient use. Educating consumers about sustainable consumption and offering product returns for reuse further reinforces circular principles. Finally, circular operations close the loop through take-back programs, remanufacturing, and optimizing logistics. Building networks for waste collection, repair, and refurbishment ensures that products are returned to the value chain, reducing reliance on new materials. These strategies position businesses to adapt to a future where circularity is the new standard. #sustainability #sustainable #business #esg #climatechange #climateaction #circulareconomy #circularity

Last year, I wrote a report looking at how the fashion industry’s current trajectory is incompatible with achieving key climate, nature, and human rights goals, with impacts only increasing while traditional growth remains a business imperative. This meaning growth based on unchecked resource consumption. In my each and every day, I can't believe we're still not talking more about this. Though I know, of course, why. The report, written for Textile Exchange, details out the case for pivoting to a model aligned with “regenerative economy” and “post-growth” principles. It shows how this will be necessary not only to bring the industry back in line with the planet’s limits, but to ensure its own resilience, mitigating future risk associated with supply chain instability, resource depletion, overreliance on finite resources, and incoming legislation. Here are the key takeaways: - Growth as it has been traditionally defined — whether in terms of sales, production, or market share — is deeply ingrained in overarching financial systems and corporate culture. - A significant challenge associated with elevating this topic to business leaders is terminology, but this should not hinder progress. - Pathways for change at the raw material level include eliminating the use of virgin fossil-based synthetic materials and championing sustainably sourced renewable and closed-loop, textile-to-textile recycled feedstocks. - These pathways require systemic support, advocating for ambitious government policy and collective corporate commitment to accelerate the transition to a post-growth model.  - The shift that needs to occur for transformational change is at the market level, rather than just at the individual business level, and it cannot be achieved by a single brand or the textile industry alone. The report details out necessary pathways to move all of this forward, which many of us are continuing to work on today. What role are you playing? You can read the full report here: https://lnkd.in/eScK9uyy #sustainablefashion #sustainability #textiles #postgrowth

What works—and what doesn’t—in efforts to address land degradation in Africa? A recent study in Sustainability Science identifies key success factors and lessons learned. Efforts to reverse land degradation and improve human well-being in Africa succeed when they manage to balance competing demands and engage local stakeholders effectively. The most successful projects share key characteristics: 💵 Economic incentives matter: Tangible benefits, such as increased income or resource security, keep communities motivated and invested in long-term success. 🤝 Engaging communities is essential: Inclusive governance structures that empower local populations, including women and marginalized groups, build legitimacy and trust. 🫴 External support is crucial: Financial aid, technical expertise, and material resources reduce the risks associated with adopting new practices, particularly in low-income settings. 🌍 Governance must be adaptive: Community-based management (CBM), backed by external guidance, often delivers better outcomes than top-down interventions, which can alienate local stakeholders. 🌈 Short-term gains and long-term goals must align: Addressing immediate needs, such as food security, while building toward broader ecological and social improvements ensures sustained engagement. 💪 Commitment and flexibility are key: Projects must maintain long-term support and adapt strategies as circumstances evolve, ensuring that initial successes are not squandered. However, the path to sustainability is littered with missteps. Projects stumble when: ⚠️ Incentives are unclear: Without tangible benefits, enthusiasm wanes, and participation falters. ⚠️ Communities are excluded: Top-down approaches, conceived in distant capitals, often fail to resonate with those most affected. ⚠️ Resources are insufficient: Inadequate funding or technical support shifts the burden to impoverished communities, stalling progress. ⚠️ Local dynamics are overlooked: Ignoring traditional governance systems or social structures undermines legitimacy and fuels resistance. ⚠️ Short-termism takes hold: Premature withdrawal of funding or oversight leaves projects vulnerable to collapse. ⚠️ Risk aversion prevails: In poverty-stricken contexts, populations are understandably hesitant to adopt new practices without guaranteed benefits. ⚠️ Political instability disrupts progress: Conflicts, as seen in Tigray and Burkina Faso, can undo decades of work in a matter of months. ⚠️ One-size-fits-all solutions fail: Projects that ignore the complexities of local contexts rarely achieve lasting success. The lessons are clear: sustainable development requires patience, pragmatism, and a commitment to long-term adaptation. Striking the right balance between immediate needs and future benefits is the only way to achieve resilience in Africa’s varied and challenging landscapes. Ruth Kamnitzer reports for Mongabay News: https://mongabay.cc/STkZpj

States and financial bodies using modelling that ignores shocks from extreme weather and climate tipping points, writes Damian Carrington. https://lnkd.in/et-3yWge Flawed economic models mean the accelerating impact of the #climatecrisis could lead to a global financial crash, experts warn. Recovery would be far harder than after the 2008 financial crash, they said, as “we can’t bail out the Earth like we did the banks”. As the world speeds towards 2C of global heating, the risks of extreme weather disasters and climate #tippingpoints are increasing fast. But current economic models used by governments and financial institutions entirely miss such shocks, the researchers said, instead forecasting that steady economic growth will be slowed only by gradually rising average temperatures. This is because the models assume the future will behave like the past, despite the burning of #fossilfuels pushing the climate system into uncharted territory. Tipping points, such as the collapse of critical Atlantic currents or the Greenland ice sheet, would have global consequences for society. Some are thought to be at, or very close to, their tipping points but the timing is difficult to predict. Combined #extremeweather disasters could wipe out national economies, the researchers, from the University of Exeter and financial thinktank Carbon Tracker, said. Their report concludes governments, regulators and financial managers must pay far more attention to these high impact but lower likelihood #risks, because avoiding irreversible outcomes by cutting carbon #emissions is far cheaper than trying to cope with them. “We’re not dealing with manageable economic adjustments,” said Dr Jesse F Abrams, at the University of Exeter. “The climate scientists we surveyed were unambiguous: current economic models can’t capture what matters most – the cascading failures and compounding shocks that define climate risk in a warmer world – and could undermine the very foundations of economic growth.” “For financial institutions and policymakers, it’s a fundamental misreading of the risks we face,” he said. “We are thinking about something like a 2008 [crash], but one we can’t recover from as well. Once we have ecosystem breakdown or #climatebreakdown, we can’t bail out the Earth like we did the banks.” Mark Campanale, CEO of Carbon Tracker, said: “The net result of flawed economic advice is widespread complacency amongst investors and policymakers. There’s a tendency in certain government departments to trivialise the impacts of climate on the economy so as to avoid making difficult choices today. This is a big problem – the consequences of delay are catastrophic.” Read more below. Read the report here: https://lnkd.in/erv73pNh

We’re now at the point where mountains of clothing waste are shaping EU law. With the new EU textile EPR rules, responsibility for that waste shifts directly to producers. From 2025, brands will fund the collection, reuse, and recycling of the products they put on the market. Fast fashion will mean higher fees. Circular design will mean lower ones. Consider this: a €5 T-shirt made from blended fibres, badly constructed, and treated with harsh chemical finishes may be nearly impossible to recycle—under the new EPR regime, such garments will now attract significantly higher fees from producers. But a jacket designed for repair, with mono-material fabrics and safer dyes, could cost less to place on the EU market. For those of us working on sustainable production and eco-design, this is a turning point. Change begins with how we design, source, and shape supply chains. #Sustainability #CircularEconomy #FashionInnovation #EcoDesign #EPR #EUTextiles #GreenProduction #SustainableFashion

Gartner's 2024 Hype Cycle for Environmental Sustainability highlights 38 essential technologies set to transform the sustainability landscape. For those new to the Hype Cycle, it tracks the evolution of new technologies through five stages: 1️⃣ Innovation Trigger: New tech gains attention. 2️⃣ Peak of Inflated Expectations: High expectations, limited real-world use. 3️⃣ Trough of Disillusionment: Challenges arise, hype fades. 4️⃣ Slope of Enlightenment: Practical applications begin to emerge. 5️⃣ Plateau of Productivity: The technology goes mainstream and delivers value. 🔹🔹 Here are my top 5 picks from this year’s Hype Cycle, focusing on software and AI-driven sustainability: 1. GreenOps: GreenOps integrates sustainability into operational practices like DevOps, helping companies track and reduce their carbon footprint throughout the software development lifecycle. 2. Cloud Sustainability: Cloud providers are optimizing workloads and infrastructure to make cloud computing greener. Despite its potential, scaling these practices remains a challenge. 3. AI for Sustainability: AI is being used to address environmental challenges like climate change and resource management, leveraging data to deliver more sustainable solutions. 4. Environmental Sustainability of Software: Organizations are adopting energy-efficient coding practices and tools to measure software's carbon footprint, making software development more eco-friendly. 5. Net-Zero Data Centers: Data centers are evolving to balance energy consumption with renewable sources, focusing on innovations in power management and clean energy adoption. 🔹❗ What’s Missing? Green AI Deserves More Focus As AI models become more resource-intensive, developing energy-efficient AI is key. Green AI ensures that progress doesn’t come with high environmental costs. 🌿 Explore my GitHub repo for Sustainable AI - https://lnkd.in/dDqMCJ6n, to learn more about promoting sustainable AI practices. Feel free to contribute to the movement toward building greener AI Sustainable AI (Green AI) may be partially addressed under some subsections, but it needs its own focus to ensure AI developments actively reduce environmental impacts. 📊 Additional Insights: Technologies like ESG Management and Reporting Software and Sustainable Procurement Lifecycle Analysis are gaining traction in the Slope of Enlightenment, though adoption has been slower. Companies are recognizing the need for robust systems to manage environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data, but mainstream use is still evolving. For more details, check out the full Gartner Hype Cycle for Environmental Sustainability 2024 here: https://lnkd.in/d2aZ4Tgf #SustainableAI #GreenOps #CloudSustainability #GreenAI #FutureTech #GreenSoftware #SustainabilityInTech #HypeCycle #ESGManagement #SustainableProcurement #NetZero

Looking beyond profit In a world where businesses are more than just profit-driven entities, social responsibility is the heart of sustainable growth. Small businesses, in particular, hold immense potential to champion positive change within their communities and beyond. Here’s how: Community Engagement: Small businesses are woven into the fabric of their local communities. Engaging in community-centric initiatives like supporting local causes, sponsoring events, or initiating volunteer programs not only builds goodwill but also nurtures a stronger bond with customers and neighbours. Sustainability Practices: Implementing eco-friendly practices, reducing waste, and opting for sustainable sourcing can significantly impact the environment. Simple steps like reducing plastic usage or adopting energy-efficient measures can make a substantial difference and set an inspiring example. Ethical Business Practices: Upholding ethical standards in business operations is key. Fair wages, ethical sourcing, and transparent dealings not only build trust but also contribute to overall social well-being. Giving Back Initiatives: Introducing philanthropic efforts such as donating a percentage of profits to charitable causes or creating products/services that directly support a social cause can channel business success into meaningful impact. Employee Well-being: Prioritizing employee well-being through fair wages, a supportive work environment, and growth opportunities not only fosters a positive workplace culture but also contributes to the broader social fabric. Small businesses wield the power to be catalysts for change, driving impactful social initiatives that resonate with their core values and resonate with their audience. The beauty lies in the ripple effect; a small action can inspire larger movements and shape a better tomorrow. How do you champion social responsibility in your small business? Share your thoughts and initiatives! Let's inspire each other to make a positive difference. #SocialResponsibility #SmallBusinessImpact #CommunityEngagement

𝗔 𝗻𝗲𝘄 𝗦&𝗣 𝗿𝗲𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝘀𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗲𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝗵𝗮𝘃𝗲 𝗮 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶-𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗹𝗹𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗱𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗯𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗶𝘁 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗰𝗹𝗶𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗰𝗵𝗮𝗻𝗴𝗲. 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗯𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗹𝘀 𝘀𝘂𝗴𝗴𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗰𝗼𝘂𝗹𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗰𝗵 𝘂𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝟯𝟯% 𝗼𝗳 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗚𝗗𝗣 𝗯𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟰𝟬. The S&P Global Report "Sustainability Insights: Why Planning For A 2.3°C Warmer World Is Critical This Decade And Next," paints a sharp quantitative picture. Their model predicts that by 2040, it’s very unlikely (2.5% probability) that the global average temperature rise will stay below 1.5ºC compared to the preindustrial average. It finds a 50% chance that cumulative economic costs from warming could reach between 9% and 33% of global GDP by 2040 in an unprepared 2.3°C scenario. Yet, even these multi-trillion-dollar figures could represent a lower bound if tipping points are reached. The frequency and severity of climate hazards will not increase linearly with temperature, and current models struggle to price in future extreme weather events or the crossing of climate tipping points.  The analysis suggests we are not just miscalculating risk, we are fundamentally misunderstanding its nature. Proactive investment in both mitigation and adaptation offers a clear path forward, giving a "triple dividend,". The benefits are threefold: 🔸 𝗔𝘃𝗼𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗮𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 directly reduce damage from physical climate hazards. 🔸 𝗘𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗼𝗺𝗶𝗰 𝗴𝗮𝗶𝗻𝘀 generate positive returns through outcomes like lower insurance costs and increased agricultural output, compared to the high-warming scenario. 🔸  𝗦𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗼-𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝗯𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗳𝗶𝘁𝘀 would deliver wider community advantages, such as reduced mortality rates and improved flood defences from natural solutions like mangroves. This highlights the critical need for increased investment in climate mitigation and adaptation, a need that is particularly acute in developing nations. 𝗠𝘆 𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 The data shows that investing in resilience is not a sunk cost but a high-return strategy that mitigates avoidable losses, creates economic value, and builds a more stable society. It's time to reevaluate our risk frameworks and redirect capital toward resolving one of the most acute environmental, social, and economic problems of our time. #ClimateRisk #SustainableFinance #ClimateAdaptation #Economics #RiskManagement #ESG #ClimateChange #Resilience Source: https://lnkd.in/eayC25-Z ___________ 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘰𝘸𝘯. 𝘍𝘰𝘭𝘭𝘰𝘸 𝘮𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘓𝘪𝘯𝘬𝘦𝘥𝘐𝘯: Scott Kelly