Textile Insight

T odd Copeland founded Copeland Consultancy in 2020 to help companies build and implement sustainability strategies. He meets with cli- ents seeking guidance on how to implement more sustainable business practices. For example, a company may "really want to meet customer and employee expectations, but they are overwhelmed by the breadth and urgency of the issues," he explained. For Copeland, this type of work involves customizing a strategy with materiality assessment and stakeholder engagement, setting goals and a roadmap. Other clients may currently have a sustainability strategy and goals, but need help making measurable progress. Copeland may then implement specific initiatives in products, materials, chemicals and supply chains supported by a method of modeling and measuring the impacts of those changes. At the Spring edition of the Functional Fabric Fair, Copeland will lend his sustainability expertise at Day 0. Textile Insight: Tell us about a couple of your recent projects. Todd Copeland: "My background is in textiles, so many of my projects involve textiles, and most clients are brands, retailers, suppliers, and manufacturers of textile-based consumer products. I studied polymer and textile chemistry at Georgia Tech, worked in materials R&D for automotive interiors at Honda, and spent 14 years at Patagonia working on sustainability in materials innovation, corporate strategy and the supply chain. Most client projects are behind the scenes and the results of the work emerge in sustainability reports, product launches, company policies, and supply chain initiatives. One company I have worked with for many years is sock manufacturer Nester Hosiery (and their U.S. wool sock brand Farm To Feet). Since 2023, they procure 100% renewable electricity for their North Carolina operations from a solar panel installation less than an hour's drive away from the factory. is was announced publicly with Sol Systems and REI. Nester has been optimizing their sustainability performance across the board for years, which they communicate B2B using the Higg Index. Another long-time client, Ergobaby, initially asked me to measure and report their carbon footprint as one of their early sustainability initiatives at a time when I was looking for better ways of getting around with two very young daughters! I found their baby carriers to be very thoughtfully designed, and very similar to backpacks from a materials standpoint, Overwhelmed by Sustainability Initiative Expectations? Todd Copeland Is Here to Help. By Suzanne Blecher EXECUTIVE Q&A/FUNCTIONAL FABRIC FAIR 26 • Textile Insight ~ Spring 2025 textileinsight.com GREEN IS THE THEME

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