Textile Insight

textileinsight.com November/December 2022 ~ Textile Insight • 9 is not enough alignment around a single set of rules and noted that chemical management remains largely voluntary. With a lack of strong legislation, despite efforts in the EU and to a degree in California, a complicated landscape exists. Clothes can be shipped into the U.S. with all sorts of toxic chemicals. "Consumers can go on Instagram and buy a top that gets shipped directly to them in the U.S. that could be laden with toxic chemicals," said Wicker, author of the forthcoming book To Dye For: How Toxic Fashion is Making Us Sick. In addition to lack of alignment on the legal front is the fact that brands and retailers have established their own set of requirements. is is a result of companies being in different stages of their sustainability journey. "Some are at the forefront, influenced by slightly different focuses and built their own systems accordingly. ZDHC and AFFIRM came about to try to form an overarching umbrella," said Scott Echols, ZDHC director, adding, "en you have Oeko-Tex and bluesign, both very good. But both are voluntary." Echols mentions that the tipping point for action in chemical compliance was the Greenpeace DeTox campaign that got brands around the table, and the need to develop trust and work with competitors. Even if the industry was able to align around that one standard how would that come about? Data is key, but interest by the scientific community around clothing/ fashion is weak. Collecting data and doing research is an expensive, time-consuming endeavor and there are still a lot of unknowns around toxicity. "Price gets into the conversation," stated Zaki Saleemi, owner of a mill in Pakistan. "For example, I have a Tier 1 supplier, but might need to go to a Tier 2 supplier because of the cost if the marketplace demands this. e hidden element is price and price pressure mills are subjected to." He continued, "There has to be a baseline established, and that has to be a collective, cumulative standard along the lines of ZDHC. e consumer doesn't see the work that goes into product with clean chemicals. ey understand about worker rights, but not about restricted substance ingredients lists." Wicker weighed in: "It shouldn't be a consumer choice, it's an opaque system, and factories do not get rewarded for doing the right thing. Sometimes it's just 'make it blue, I don't care how you do it' – that's how people think." Isabella Tonaco, executive director, Sustainable Chemistry for the Textile Industry (SCTI), an alliance of chemical companies founded in 2020, said, "Textile industry's focus on compliance is the minimum. We need to move from compliance to positive impact, make the tools to compliance easy to use by all, so knowledge flows down the value chain." n Technical performance fabrics designed for: · Outerwear · Accvewear · Running · Surf · Skiing · · Snowboarding · Golf · Luggage · Packs · Tents · Tacccal Gear · Sleeping Bags www.brookwoodcompanies.com ® AN INTEGRATED TEXTILE COMPANY MILITARY CONSUMER INDUSTRIAL MARKETING DIVISIONS BROOKWOOD FINISHING BROOKWOOD LAMINATING MANUFACTURING ROLL GOODS IN STOCK SOLUTIONS4™ TRIDENT TEXTILES

• Cover