Textile Insight

R ecent virtual presentations by the Transformers Foundation brought together representatives of the denim supply chain along with industry experts to share ideas, experiences and possible solutions to reform and rebuild chemical management systems. e topic is significant as many aspects of industry have chemical impact. Currently that includes decarbonization, circularity, worker health, consumer safety, biodiversity and due diligence, the legal perspective on legislation. ere is a lot of work to be done, especially when execs describe the current situation as: "Needlessly complicated, woefully ineffective;" "Expensive, inefficient, redundant;" and "A frustrating endeavor with lots of mistakes." An investigative report on chemical certification authored by Alden Wicker, founder of EcoCult, served as the jumping off point for in depth discussion. A lack of alignment, a lag in textile toxicology research and uneven legislation on consumer product chemical safety, were a few of the top takeaways from Wicker's extensive reporting. Her account, titled "Fashion's Certification Complex: Needlessly Complicated, Woefully Ineffective," points out that many organizations offer almost identical services, and yet the supply chain must adopt all of them, and front the cost. Many brands and retailers have even created their own suite of restricted substance lists (RSLs) and testing protocol on top of the third-party auditing they require. While brands and retailers use chemical management as a differentiator, a marketing tool, and a way to shirk responsibility, it is the supply chain — from the chemical companies to the denim laundries — that pays for testing, certification, and management of these overlapping safety protocols. Several other problem areas were also cited. Wicker explained, "Consumer advocacy groups continue to test clothes and accessories and find heavy metals, hormone disrupting chemicals, carcinogens, and banned azo dyes." Uncertainty about how many types of chemicals are currently used in the fashion industry or global commerce is another worrisome aspect. According to Wicker, 3,000, and up to 5,000 chemicals are registered for use in fashion. Wicker informed webinar attendees that far from stamping out the use of contamination and banned chemicals and dyes, certification and auditing schemes are expensive, hard to scale up, and easily circumvented by those who wish to cut corners. She added, though private certification and testing schemes may not have delivered, we can build on them to make a more efficient, more innovative, fairer, and more effective global chemical management program. It is possible to make fashion products safe—for everyone. Suggested Solutions What emerged from part 2 of the Transformers Foundation virtual event was a strong need for industry alignment around chemical management in the denim supply chain. A roundtable discussion on the topic brought together a handful of individuals with different perspectives yet united in the belief that it will take collaboration up and down the denim value chain to drive change. "e situation represents unnecessary complexity. We need to take this to the next level," commented Alberto de Conti, marketing director, Rudolf Group. Many large brands have already joined ZDHC, the industry group dedicated to ensuring factory effluent is free of hazardous chemicals, but panelists agreed that there still Call to Action Industry thoughts on Confusion & Complexity of Chemical Certification. IN THE MARKET / CHEMICALS 8 • Textile Insight ~ November/December 2022 textileinsight.com PUTTING COLLABORATION FIRST Agree to align to a single standard. ZDHC, MRSL and AFIRM RSL Develop in house technical expertise. "Brands use certification b/c they don't have the in-house knowledge and work with design teams." Lobby government to incorporate standards into law. Solid chemical management should be a ticket to play and not viewed as a differentiator. Provide ingredient lists for consumers Treat your suppliers ethically

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