Sustainable Business Podcast by Innovation Forum

Mary Linell-Simmons, director of marketing at Fairtrade America, talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about some of the human rights impacts of the coronavirus pandemic in commodity supply chains.

Taking the the coffee sector, she argues that fluctuating prices driving the timing of crop harvesting brings a number of labour rights risks. And they discuss the child labour risks for the cocoa sector in west Africa, and the necessary sensitivities required to address the challenges.  

This week: Amol Mishra, global commercial director at CottonConnect, talks about some of the challenges around scaling projects in the developing world. He argues the case for designing them so they can have a real impact on producer communities and so that brands have the certainty and supply security they need.

Plus: the UN’s Race to Zero campaign, CDP’s list of shame, land rights in Indonesia and pandemic impacts on ocean pollution, in the news digest.  

Hosted by Ian Welsh

 

Renee Henze, global marketing and channel development director at Dupont Biomaterials, discusses, with Ian Welsh, some of the challenges for apparel brands in developing real circularity in garments.

They talk about why customers are ever keener to buy products that have greater recyclability, and the pitfalls for business to ensure the recycling infrastructure necessary is in place. And, as Henze points out, the fact that a garment can be recycled doesn’t mean that it is.

Dupont was a sponsor of Innovation Forum's recent sustainable apparel and textiles conference.

PEFC’s CEO and secretary-general Ben Gunneburg and Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh talk about how sourcing fibres from sustainably managed and certified forests can make real improvements in terms of environmental impacts for the fashion sector.

They discuss potential consumer trends post-pandemic, how relationships with brands around transparency might change, and why a chain of custody approach can help.

PEFC was a sponsor of the recent Innovation Forum sustainable apparel and textiles conference.

This week: Terry Lawler, fabric development manager for Naia at Eastman, discusses what the coronavirus pandemic has meant for the apparel sector, and the innovations required to meet the resulting change in consumer habits. She outlines what brands should consider doing to rethink sourcing policies to enable more sustainable supply chains.

Plus: latest Global Forest Watch report, Ikea doubles down on circularity with Ellen MacArthur Foundation, and dangers of microplastics from tyres revealed, in the news roundup.

Hosted by Ian Welsh

Pauline Op de Beeck, client manager at the Carbon Trust, and Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh discuss the importance of definitions for companies and organisations striving for net-zero emissions.

They talk about best practice in off-setting and why actually cutting emissions is essential, how to include scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions and why creativity is an essential part of how to really get to grips with greenhouse gas impacts.

Joining Innovation Forum’s Toby Webb at the recent sustainable apparel and textiles conference are Patagonia’s senior manager for traceability Nicholas Allen, Cotton Council International’s European director Stephanie Thiers-Ratcliffe, and H&M’s head of sustainability Pascal Brun.  

They discuss some of the challenges for business in really getting to know their supply chains, the benefits of supplier mapping, and examples of how traceability lead to transparency.

Introduced by Ian Welsh

This week: Mary Linnell-Simmons, Fairtrade America’s director of marketing, discusses some of the trade and human rights implications of the coronavirus pandemic, including commodity supply chain child labour risks, and how consumer relationships with brands are changing.

And, Intel’s senior manager for supply chain sustainability, Mike McDonnell, talks about some of the ongoing compliance challenges for a company with 10,000 suppliers and how more specific rules and guidance is a real help.

Hosted by Ian Welsh

Drew Northern, director, global anticorruption at Cook Group, talks with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh about how business should respond to human rights violations and what appropriate mechanisms can be put in place to remedy victims effectively. They discuss how to ensure worker voice solutions work well, and the benefits of tailoring remediation plans to individual cases.

 

Recorded at the recent Innovation Forum sustainable apparel and textiles conference are Anna Maria Rugarli, senior director of sustainability and responsibility EMEA for VF Corp, Renee Henze, global marketing and channel development director for DuPont Biomaterials, and Burak Cakmak, dean of fashion at Parsons.

They debate with Innovation Forum’s Ian Welsh the fundamental building blocks necessary for shifting the apparel sector from linear to circular models. They discuss the challenges to achieving this, the cross-sector collaboration required and the need for thinking of circular solutions from the point of design.