Latest news with #EllenMacArthurFoundation
CNBC
19-05-2025
- Business
- CNBC
Meet the sustainable fashion startup backed by H&M and Amazon
When Gilberto Loureiro spent summers working in a textile factory as a teenager growing up in Portugal, he discovered that he felt "hate and love" for how clothes were produced. The work was tough: Loureiro's job was to spend long days standing and watching for flaws in woven fabric as it ran through machines at a rate of about 15 to 20 meters per minute. "I really love the textile industry and problem solving, but I hate this … inspection working and inefficiencies and the waste. It's really one of the most difficult jobs in the world," Loureiro told CNBC via video call. In the decade since he undertook his first shift on the factory floor, Loureiro's mindset shifted. After taking a master's degree in physics, he co-founded of Smartex, a tech company that uses cameras, vision software and artificial intelligence to spot defects in textiles during their production, and therefore reduce the proportion of fabric going to waste. Loureiro claims the technology has prevented 1 million kilograms of fabric from going to waste in the past three years. Fashion has a big waste problem, with about a truckload of clothes thrown away and buried or burned every second, according to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, a nonprofit. Smartex claims that its defect-spotting technology means 0.37% more garments can be produced per kilogram of finished fabric — which adds up, if you consider that fashion giant Inditex (owner of Zara) used 678,596 tonnes of raw materials in its products in 2024, per its annual report. On top of that, fashion is an industry that's yet to fully embrace digitalization, Loureiro said, partly because it's seen as hard to do. Making clothes is complicated because supply chains can be long and fragmented, from growing and processing raw materials such as cotton, to weaving and dyeing textiles, designing patterns and sewing fabric into garments. At the same time, it's a fast-moving and unpredictable industry. "If this is the largest industry that is still untouched by [the] internet and is one of the largest pollutants in the world, and nobody is working on this in terms of technology [then] there is a massive gap here," Loureiro said. About 20% of water pollution globally is caused by dyeing and finishing during textile production, according to the EU. This lack of technology in apparel production and the potential for the industry to become more efficient has made Smartex appealing to investors, Loureiro said. H&M Group invested in Smartex in 2022, while Tony Fadell — inventor of the iPod and the Nest thermostat — led a $24.7 million investment round with Lightspeed Venture Partners in the same year. Smartex has raised more than $40 million to date, according to Loureiro, but given the industry's complexity and operations in multiple countries, he said, investors are "brave" to back it. "There is a huge value to capture. So that's a big risk, being reward," he added, given the size of the industry, which is estimated to be worth more than $1.8 trillion in 2025. Smartex and its high-profile investors caught the eye of Amazon, which has also put money into the company via its AWS Compute for Climate Fellowship, an initiative that backs tech startups in areas like food security, conservation and climate resilience. Lisbeth Kaufman, head of climate tech business development, startups and venture capital at AWS, launched the fellowship in 2023, with four companies winning a place on the program. "Climate tech startups, they have so much R&D [research and development] that they need to do ... maybe even more than ... standard tech companies, they have to invent new science or new technology, as well as new business models," Kaufman told CNBC via video call. Companies in the fellowship are given access to AWS experts as well as advanced computing services, and 20 firms will be selected to take part this year with a total investment of $4 million. Smartex uses AWS technology to train its machine learning models to identify flaws in fabric, which can vary significantly. Loureiro spends much of his time visiting textile factories, mostly in Asian countries like Bangladesh and Vietnam, where he finds factory owners keen to understand how quickly an investment in Smartex will pay back. "If in 30 seconds he's not convinced about the ROI [return on investment] payback, in less than one year, for example, you are out of the game ... We need to prove to them that they will save in materials, in yarn or in electricity," Loureiro said. Most of the factory owners who sign up spend "a few hundreds of thousands of dollars" on Smartex. "We need to make sure the savings are much, much bigger than the cost," Loureiro said. The average payback period for an investment in Smartex is nine to 18 months, according to the Apparel Impact Institute. The goal of Smartex is to become an "operating system" for factories in the whole fashion supply chain so that brands can track information such as where garments are coming from, where they are in the production process and how much water is used to produce items. "These are basic questions that are very difficult or impossible to answer by most fashion brands," Loureiro said. Fadell has likened the potential of Smartex to Apple's software ecosystem, Loureiro said. "It's not about the computer, the Mac or the iPhone or the AirPods, it's about what they can do all together, creates an ecosystem, a layer on top that becomes much more valuable."
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Coach Parent, eBay and More Join The Fashion ReModel Initiative
A group of apparel brands and retailers have made the pledge to a more circular business model by joining The Fashion ReModel project. Backed by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the initiative was launched last year at the Global Fashion Summit with the goal of embedding circular business models into everyday operations for fashion brands. Coach, Kate Spade and Stuart Weitzman parent Tapestry, Colombian apparel group Crystal S.A.S., French sporting goods retailer Decathlon and U.K. department store John Lewis form the second cohort of the multi-year project. More from Sourcing Journal Progress Is a Process at Everlane Armedangels Launches SaXcell Denim Collection Inside Unifi's Textile-to-Textile Recycling Operation The Fashion ReModel works with brands to demonstrate how they can make money without making new clothes and contributing to the problem of overconsumption and textile waste. The project challenges participating brands to scale up circular practices such as recycling, repair and resale while dialing back on production of new goods. 'Brands and retailers joining The Fashion ReModel is a strong signal that industry leaders are ready to take the next step towards a new normal for the fashion industry, with circular business models at its heart,' said Jules Lennon, fashion lead at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. 'While practices including rental, repair and resale are already firmly on the agenda of businesses across the globe, successfully implementing them has often proved challenging, resulting in them remaining at a small scale.' According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the millions of tons of clothing produced, worn and thrown away each year equals a truckload of clothing being burned or buried every second in landfills globally. By signing on to The Fashion ReModel, these companies pledge to make design choices and policy decisions that will lead to the growth of circular business, which the Ellen MacArthur Foundation said could rise to 23 percent of the global fashion market by 2030. 'Brands must now demonstrate that they can take the next step and embed these models into their core operations, driving change towards an industry where clothes are kept in use for longer and their lives are extended to many more people,' Lennon said. The new cohort of brands joins an existing group of participants that includes Arc'teryx, H&M Group and Primark. Earlier this year, the H&M Foundation endowed The Fashion ReModel with a donation of around $15 million. That funding will allow The Fashion ReModel to help participating brands to tap into the $73 billion rental and resale market in fashion, according to 2021 data from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation. 'We recognize that the future of fashion lies in evolving the traditional link between growth and new resource consumption,' said Logan Duran, vice president of sustainability, Tapestry. 'Our participation in The Fashion ReModel represents a pivotal moment in our sustainability journey—one where innovation meets responsibility. By quantifying the climate impacts of circularity, we're not just following industry trends; we're helping to create the roadmap that others may follow.' The Fashion ReModel built its framework on standardized definitions and principles shaped by more than 150 players throughout the fashion value chain. Participants follow these guidelines to expand circular practices, reporting to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation each year to update their progress. 'Joining this project offers a fantastic opportunity to accelerate our business model transformation towards essential circular solutions for the apparel industry,' said Maeva Lombardo, sustainability director, Decathlon. 'Reuse, second life and repair are central to our sustainability commitment, making this a natural next step in building a more responsible future and it reflects our shared conviction that industry-wide collaboration is essential to transform our practices in service of the planet.' Sign in to access your portfolio
Forbes
01-05-2025
- Business
- Forbes
Sustainability Leaders Confront Fashion Industry On Carbon And Waste
As we leave Earth Month 2025, and with prospects for any positive legislation or government environmental action at the national level in the U.S. stymied in the short-term, sustainability leaders are turning their attention to state legislatures, foundations, and the nonprofit sector to help achieve their goals. One of the largest polluting industries, which remains largely unregulated, is the apparel and footwear – or fashion -- industry. But that lack of regulation may change if environmental leaders in California, New York and other states are able to get a version of the Fashion Act passed in state legislatures. As introduced in New York, the Fashion Act would mandate that any apparel or footwear company doing business in New York that has global revenue of $100 million or more be required to map their supply chains down to their raw material providers. Once these supply chains are mapped, companies would be required to reduce the negative environmental impact of these providers by setting and achieving climate reductions in line with the Paris Agreement, work with suppliers to effectively manage their chemical use, and take steps to improve the lives of garment workers in the industry. The environmental impact statistics are staggering. While environmental leaders remain cautiously optimistic of some legislative help at the state level in the United States, and many countries in Europe have initiated efforts to rein in the industry, there are no real global standards or regulations, and little attention to this crisis has historically been shown by many companies or foundations. One notable exception is the H&M Foundation, which is committed to supporting the textile industry's journey to halve greenhouse gas emissions every decade by 2050, while promoting a just transition both people and the planet. Funded by the Persson family, the H&M Foundation recognizes change makers, leaders, and innovators who are working to transform the industry. Since 2015, its Global Change Award has backed 56 trailblazing teams, helping to move innovative ideas toward real world solutions. Another is the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (UK and US), which is committed to furthering a circular economy designed to eliminate waste and pollution, circulate products and materials, and regenerate nature. Through evidence-based research, the Foundation seeks to contribute to solving global challenges like climate change and biodiversity loss, and through its support of organizations and individuals, it creates learning opportunities through circular economy courses and resources for teachers and academics. The nonprofit Apparel Impact Institute leverages data to identify solutions that stand to make a meaningful carbon reduction in textile production, and it uses this portfolio of solutions to help suppliers create customized decarbonization plans, implement programs, and secure financing for improvements. Its Fashion Climate Fund is aimed at empowering suppliers with subsidies to jumpstart carbon technology assessments and efficiency programs, and to assist in the development of industry leaders engaged in cutting-edge research, comprehensive reports and the convening of key stakeholders. While tackling a huge global industry that employs over 430 million people and is valued at over $1.84 trillion is a monumental challenge, sustainability leaders are hoping to slow down the 'fast fashion' trend by both requiring companies to reduce their carbon emissions and use of water and encouraging consumers to purchase less and recycle their clothes rather than discarding them. The future of the planet may require no less.
Forbes
18-04-2025
- Business
- Forbes
The Secret World Of Fashion Waste, Trash Dumps, And Global Inequity
TOPSHOT - Aerial view of used clothes discarded in the Atacama desert, in Alto Hospicio, Iquique, ... More Chile, on September 26, 2021. EcoFibra, Ecocitex and Sembra are circular economy projects that have textile waste as their raw material. The textile industry in Chile will be included in the law of Extended Responsibility of the Producer (REP), forcing clothes and textiles importers take charge of the waste they generate. (Photo by MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP) (Photo by MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP via Getty Images) This is the fourth article in the ongoing series exploring the intersection of fashion and sustainability—a journey that has uncovered the hidden emissions, toxic water pollution, and microplastic fallout sewn into the seams of what we wear. In this installment, we continue our focus on fashion's waste crisis—one so vast that its impact is now visible from space. What happens to that waste is rarely shown on runways or in advertising campaigns? It piles up in deserts like Chile's Atacama, where mounds of unsold garments—many still tagged—create sprawling landfills of fast fashion excess. It floods markets in West Africa, where secondhand donations, disguised as charity, arrive by the millions each week—only to overwhelm local waste systems, pollute beaches, and burn in open pits. This article exposes the underbelly of global fashion's waste pipeline—from overproduction in the Global North to under-regulated dumping grounds in the Global South. It examines the systemic failures that allow this cycle to continue unchecked, and challenges the industry to move beyond lip service toward real responsibility, repair, and reform. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the world produces over 92 million tons of textile waste annually, equivalent to a truckload dumped every second. According to Glimpse From The Global, vast quantities of unsold and discarded clothing are now littering desert landscapes, forming what many have dubbed 'the great fashion garbage patch.' Towering mounds of textiles sprawl across the terrain, with some garments—price tags still intact—entangled among plastic bags, bottles, and other waste. According to recent estimates, as much as 39,000 tons of unwanted clothing are dumped in the end up annually in Chile's Atacama Desert—visible from space—and that figure continues to grow. Textile waste is often made of synthetic materials like polyester, which can take 20 to 200 years to break down, according to Business Waste statistics. These dumps not only scar the landscape, but also release toxic dyes, microplastics, and methane into the air and soil, worsening climate change and polluting nearby communities Women search for used clothes amid tons discarded in the Atacama desert, in Alto Hospicio, Iquique, ... More Chile, on September 26, 2021. EcoFibra, Ecocitex and Sembra are circular economy projects that have textile waste as their raw material. The textile industry in Chile will be included in the law of Extended Responsibility of the Producer (REP), forcing clothes and textiles importers take charge of the waste they generate. (Photo by MARTIN BERNETTI / AFP) (Photo by MARTIN BERNETTI/AFP via Getty Images) Although donation is marketed as a noble gesture, according to Greenpeace, Germany alone collects roughly 1 million tons of used clothing each year—a figure that has surged by 20% since the mid-1990s, fueled by the relentless pace of fast fashion. Yet only a fraction of these garments are resold within the countries where they're collected. In the UK, for instance, just 10–30% of donated clothing is resold domestically, with similar patterns observed in the U.S. and Canada. The majority of second-hand clothes are shipped overseas, feeding into a vast global trade. Take the UK-based charity Oxfam: of the 11,000 tons of clothing it receives annually, only 27% is sold through its local shops. The rest is either discarded or exported—primarily to Eastern Europe and parts of East and West Africa. It's estimated that over 70% of reused clothing from the UK alone ends up abroad, joining the billions of second-hand garments exchanged in the global resale economy each year. The rest are shipped to countries like Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda, where, up to 40% are too damaged to wear and end up in informal landfills, beaches or are burned. Ghana alone receives 15 million garments per week, overwhelming local waste systems and half of this amount is unsellable. This aerial view shows a dump site where secondhand clothes are discarded at Old Fadama in Accra, ... More Ghana, on November 15, 2023. Ghana became the world's largest importer of used clothing in 2021, according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC) data site, with garments worth $214 million shipped mostly from China, the United Kingdom and Canada. (Photo by Nipah Dennis / AFP) (Photo by NIPAH DENNIS/AFP via Getty Images) The evidence is undeniable: pollution due to fashion is no longer hidden. It is floating in oceans, poisoning rivers, and piling up in deserts visible from space. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the UN, fashion is among the world's highest-polluting industries—yet it remains one of the least regulated. Dr. Hakan Karaosman, chief scientist of Fashion's Responsible Supply Chain Hub, powerfully argues, sustainability must go beyond green marketing and material choices. It must become embedded across the full spectrum of operations—from fiber to final stitch—grounded in science, ethics, and justice. His research underscores that true progress lies in transparent, inclusive supply chains that not only reduce emissions but also protect people and ecosystems. The way forward requires bold shifts at every level. 1. Brands must move from performative sustainability to systemic accountability—investing in cleaner technologies, circular design, and the communities they source from. 2. Governments must implement policies that hold producers responsible for waste, emissions, and labor practices—both at home and abroad. 3. Consumers, empowered with knowledge, must demand better—not just for aesthetics, but for equity and environmental survival. In the next article in this series, our attention will shift to labor, spotlighting the millions of workers—from fast fashion hubs to luxury ateliers in—whose low wages and unsafe conditions are quietly fueling the environmental crises in their own countries. Many brands may tout eco collections and possess sustainability certifications, but they remain silent on investments in waste infrastructure, water treatment, or environmental resilience in the very places where they profit most.
Forbes
18-04-2025
- General
- Forbes
The Hidden Crisis Of Fashion: Waste, Dumping, And Global Inequity
This is the fourth article in the ongoing series exploring the intersection of fashion and sustainability—a journey that has uncovered the hidden emissions, toxic water pollution, and microplastic fallout sewn into the seams of what we wear. In this installment, we continue our focus on fashion's waste crisis—one so vast that its impact is now visible from space. What happens to that waste is rarely shown on runways or in advertising campaigns? It piles up in deserts like Chile's Atacama, where mounds of unsold garments—many still tagged—create sprawling landfills of fast fashion excess. It floods markets in West Africa, where secondhand donations, disguised as charity, arrive by the millions each week—only to overwhelm local waste systems, pollute beaches, and burn in open pits. This article exposes the underbelly of global fashion's waste pipeline—from overproduction in the Global North to under-regulated dumping grounds in the Global South. It examines the systemic failures that allow this cycle to continue unchecked, and challenges the industry to move beyond lip service toward real responsibility, repair, and reform. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation, the world produces over 92 million tons of textile waste annually, equivalent to a truckload dumped every second. According to Glimpse From The Global, vast quantities of unsold and discarded clothing are now littering desert landscapes, forming what many have dubbed 'the great fashion garbage patch.' Towering mounds of textiles sprawl across the terrain, with some garments—price tags still intact—entangled among plastic bags, bottles, and other waste. According to recent estimates, as much as 39,000 tons of unwanted clothing are dumped in the end up annually in Chile's Atacama Desert—visible from space—and that figure continues to grow. Textile waste is often made of synthetic materials like polyester, which can take 20 to 200 years to break down, according to Business Waste statistics. These dumps not only scar the landscape, but also release toxic dyes, microplastics, and methane into the air and soil, worsening climate change and polluting nearby communities Although donation is marketed as a noble gesture, according to Greenpeace, Germany alone collects roughly 1 million tons of used clothing each year—a figure that has surged by 20% since the mid-1990s, fueled by the relentless pace of fast fashion. Yet only a fraction of these garments are resold within the countries where they're collected. In the UK, for instance, just 10–30% of donated clothing is resold domestically, with similar patterns observed in the U.S. and Canada. The majority of second-hand clothes are shipped overseas, feeding into a vast global trade. Take the UK-based charity Oxfam: of the 11,000 tons of clothing it receives annually, only 27% is sold through its local shops. The rest is either discarded or exported—primarily to Eastern Europe and parts of East and West Africa. It's estimated that over 70% of reused clothing from the UK alone ends up abroad, joining the billions of second-hand garments exchanged in the global resale economy each year. The rest are shipped to countries like Ghana, Kenya, and Uganda, where, up to 40% are too damaged to wear and end up in informal landfills, beaches or are burned. Ghana alone receives 15 million garments per week, overwhelming local waste systems and half of this amount is unsellable. The evidence is undeniable: pollution due to fashion is no longer hidden. It is floating in oceans, poisoning rivers, and piling up in deserts visible from space. According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation and the UN, fashion is among the world's highest-polluting industries—yet it remains one of the least regulated. Dr. Hakan Karaosman, chief scientist of Fashion's Responsible Supply Chain Hub, powerfully argues, sustainability must go beyond green marketing and material choices. It must become embedded across the full spectrum of operations—from fiber to final stitch—grounded in science, ethics, and justice. His research underscores that true progress lies in transparent, inclusive supply chains that not only reduce emissions but also protect people and ecosystems. The way forward requires bold shifts at every level. 1. Brands must move from performative sustainability to systemic accountability—investing in cleaner technologies, circular design, and the communities they source from. 2. Governments must implement policies that hold producers responsible for waste, emissions, and labor practices—both at home and abroad. 3. Consumers, empowered with knowledge, must demand better—not just for aesthetics, but for equity and environmental survival. In the next article in this series, our attention will shift to labor, spotlighting the millions of workers—from fast fashion hubs to luxury ateliers in—whose low wages and unsafe conditions are quietly fueling the environmental crises in their own countries. Many brands may tout eco collections and possess sustainability certifications, but they remain silent on investments in waste infrastructure, water treatment, or environmental resilience in the very places where they profit most. For further details, here are the other articles in the series:
