Innovation Forum podcast

Trend watch: what the apparel sector needs to know

Kaley Roshitsh, editorial director at Cascale, formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, talks with Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh about major apparel industry trends including challenges of compliance with incoming regulation and the regenerative transition. They discuss what companies should look out for, the opportunities they should grasp and what best practice looks like.

 

Cascale is the knowledge collaborator for this year’s sustainable apparel and textiles conference series. Kaley will be at the New York event on 25^th-26^th June to continue the conversation. Click here for full registration details.

Securing sustainable crop nutrition: the role of fertilizers in regenerative agriculture

On 25th April, IF hosted a webinar in partnership with Yara International to discuss sustainable crop nutrition

Regenerative agriculture is an evolving, science-based and outcome-focused approach to farming, and has a significant role to play in safeguarding food security and sustainable nutrition. Central to this approach is the strategic utilisation of fertilizers. 

While fertilizers have historically been associated with environmental harm, when strategically integrated within regenerative practices, they can foster soil health and bolster nutrient cycles, leading to resilient yields and food security.

In this webinar, we discussed: 

• Which fertilizers can be employed within a regenerative farming approach, and how? 
• The ecological benefits that a sustainable use of certain fertilizers can help to achieve 
• The role of fertilizers in enabling sustainable crop nutrition through robust and regenerative food systems 

Hear valuable insights from: 

• Marina Ettl, Director for Funded Projects and Regenerative Agriculture Business Intelligence, Yara International 
• Jan Willem Sepers, Senior Director Agriculture EMEA, Lamb Weston 
• Paz Panunzio Moscoso, Research Scientist Sustainability and Strategic Research, Yara International  

The webinar was moderated by Tanya Richard, Chief Operating Officer and Head of Stakeholder Engagement at Innovation Forum. 

This webinar was held in partnership with Yara International.

Weekly podcast – How to move from carbon to nature-based disclosure

This week: Raviv Turner, founding member of the Nature Tech Collective and member of the nature data working group at the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures, talks with Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh about the dangers of being too carbon focused when thinking about impacts. They discuss how companies can move towards biodiversity and nature disclosure and, ultimately, action.

 

Plus: on the spot reflections from the sustainable apparel and textiles conference in Amsterdam with Kresse Wesling from recycled luxury accessories brand Elvis & Kresse. She talks about how apparel brands can best respond to the incoming regulations, particularly in the EU.

Building resilience through regenerative cotton in India

While in India, Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb spoke with CottonConnect’s CEO Alison Ward and global supply chain director Dawa Dorje about their sustainable cotton programme that focuses on delivering a supply chain with end-to-end transparency. They discuss the importance of smallholder inclusion and how they benefit from a transition to a more regenerative approach such as through reduced input costs and improved yields.

To learn more about the cotton value chain in India, watch this documentary created in partnership with CottonConnect.

Closing the value gap: how to build a fairer food economy

Amanda Archila, executive director at Fairtrade America, and Anna Mann, associate director of responsible business at Fairtrade Foundation, discuss the food price and value gap, and highlighting the root cause of the issue from the producer's perspective. In conversation with Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh, they talk about what constitutes fair pricing and how to evenly distribute costs along value chains.

 

Fairtrade Foundation and Fairtrade America will be at Innovation Forum’s future of food and beverage conference series in Amsterdam (13^th-14^th May) and Minneapolis (29^th-30^th May). Click for registration details to join us.

Monday briefing – Bringing end-to-end circular shopping experience to life

Decathlon's chief sustainability officer, Anna Turrell, reflects on the recent Innovation Forum sustainable apparel and textiles conference in Amsterdam with Ian Welsh. They discuss growing resale business models within the industry and the power of consumers in unlocking the potential from circular economy models.

 

Plus: Innovation Forum's Natasha Bodnar shares the latest updates for the upcoming scope 3 innovation forum, taking place in person this year in Amsterdam on 12th-13th June. Click here for more information and register now to benefit from the €200 early bird discount.

Weekly podcast – Certified sustainable fashion: the benefits of certification standards

This week: John Murphy, technical director for Europe at Hohenstein Laboratories, talks with Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh about certification standards for the apparel sector and the supply chain reassurances they can provide. They discuss the current apparel sector's approach to material certification and what the future of the sector can look like.

 

Plus: Christine Goulay from Sustainabelle Advisory Services and Amy Nguyen from Sustainable & Social highlights key takeaways from this week's sustainable apparel and textiles conference with Ian. They talk about the continued significance of circularity and innovation in implementing extended producer responsibility.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

How climate change is shaping the future of the Brazilian cattle sector

Niamh McCarthy, director for climate-related risk at Climate Advisers talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about what's coming up for the Brazilian cattle sector and shares some of the conclusions from the latest report from Orbitas, a Climate Advisers initiative. They discuss the opportunities for farmers to increase yield and diversify revenue streams, and the risks to avoid.

 

We'll be discussing findings of the Orbitas research into both the cattle and soy sectors in Brazil at a virtual event on 30th April. See here for the agenda and click here for full registration details.

Monday briefing – Collaboration to discuss the future of the apparel sector

Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh and Hanna Halmari talk about what’s coming up this week at the sustainable apparel and textiles conference in Amsterdam. They highlight new features at the conference this year and some of what attendees should expect over the two days.

 

Plus: Marina Ettl, director of funded projects and regenerative agriculture business intelligence at Norway-based fertiliser company Yara International, talks with Savanna Razzaque about what to expect at the upcoming webinar discussing the role of fertilisers in regenerative agriculture. Register for free to join live on 25th April at 2-3pm CEST. 

 

And, Innovation Forum’s Emily Heslop shares more information about the future of food and beverage conference returning to Minneapolis this year on 29th-30th May. Register before Friday 26th April for a $200 discount on conference passes.

Weekly podcast – The fabric of regulatory change in the apparel sector

This week: Kaley Roshitsh, editorial director at Cascale (formerly the Sustainable Apparel Coalition), talks with Innovation Forum's Ian Welsh about incoming regulation that companies in the apparel sector should be looking out for. They discuss the resulting challenges and opportunities, and what the future trends in the apparel sector might be, including from the rise and rise of regenerative agriculture.

 

Plus: Science Based Targets initiative receives backlash on its change of policy on carbon credit offsetting for scope 3 emissions; Earthwatch alleges some Better Cotton certified crop links with land grabbing and illegal land use change in Brazil; and, the Global Wind Energy Council says global wind power capacity is accelerating, but not yet fast enough to meet COP28 goals, in the news digest.

 

Host: Ian Welsh

 

Cascale is the knowledge collaborator for this year's sustainable apparel and textiles conferences in Amsterdam and New York. Click for more information