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Forever Chemicals Found in Bangladesh and Diving into Sustainability Certifications
Induja from Trace
June 06, 2024
Happy Thursday!
We’re excited to kick off our newsletter this week with a discussion on what’s going on in the industry. This week we’ll dive into the recent PFAS contamination discovered in Bangladesh and take a look at a few common third party certifications within sustainable fashion!
Keep reading for a new section we’re launching: Sustainability Tips of the Week.
Thanks for reading!
Headlines
Dangerous levels of PFAS were found in the rivers and lakes of Bangladesh near many of the major garment factories.
PFAS is also known colloquially as “forever chemicals” because the contaminants can last for hundreds of years even after the original product has degraded. PFAS is not only harmful to the environment, but has shown to potentially have negative consequences to our health. It is for this reason, PFAS usage is now banned in many instances depending on the country, including food packaging usage in the U.S.
However, Bangladesh does not have specific PFAS regulations unlike the U.S. and Europe. Because the highest concentrations of PFAS were found near textile factories and Bangladesh is a major hub for textile production, this indicates the significant role that industrial textile manufacturing plays in local pollution.
This level of water contamination poses significant threats to the agricultural industry and general health of the people of Bangladesh.
Analysis of the Week
There are many certifications that companies can pursue to validate the sustainability of their products and business practices. Here are a few major certifications that customers and businesses trust for this purpose:
Certification | Usage | Pros | Cons |
|---|---|---|---|
BCorp | Verifies that companies meet the highest standards of overall social and environmental performance, public transparency and legal accountability. | Holistic certification which covers key areas such as Governance, Workers, Community, Environment, and Customers. This certification also has high recognition with the public. | Customers don’t have much insight into which areas companies particularly scored high in if they care about specific aspects more |
Cradle to Cradle | Product specific certification that verifies the product was designed in a way that the product can be upcycled and not create waste at the end of its life cycle | Focuses on the circularity of a product which is important in the long term for truly reducing waste | This is a product specific certification so many large brands could have this certification for certain products but doesn’t necessarily indicate the sustainability of a brand as a whole |
Fair Trade | Shows customers that the company uses equitable trade practices at every level of the supply chain, ensuring fair treatment, prices and environmental impact. | Minimum wage/payment is guaranteed for suppliers and employees working at fair trade certified farms | Difficult to make sure that poor labor practices are not reintroduced after certifications are expired |
GLOBAL ORGANIC TEXTILE STANDARD (GOTS) | Most well-known certification body for organic textile products. Companies must meet criteria regarding organic, ecological and social practices at all processing stages and be certified by an approved third-party. | High recognition within the industry and is considered to be a reliable certification | Can be expensive for small businesses to obtain and has a limited scope in the type of materials it can certify |
Sustainability Tips of the Week
We’re starting a new series where we share tips on curating a more sustainable wardrobe and leading a more sustainable lifestyle. This week we’ll dive into a few for affording ethical fashion!
One of the biggest issues consumers face with building a sustainable wardrobe is cost. While it is true that fast fashion products tend to be cheaper, there are ways to curate an affordable yet stylish wardrobe that’s still sustainable!
Buy fewer, high quality items: Invest in higher quality versatile pieces that will last longer than cheaper but low quality and trend based fast fashion pieces. In the long term, you can save more by buying less.
Upcycle old pieces: Whenever a piece of clothing you own is “out of fashion” find ways to create something new out of it (i.e turning a pair of jeans into shorts or dying your white dress a different color)
Shop Second-hand: Shopping second-hand not only reduces the production of more clothes but allows you to purchase more expensive brands at a cheaper price.
Swap or Rent Clothes: Borrow clothes from friends or family or rent nicer pieces when you need an outfit for a special occasion or a one time use.
Innovation in Fashion
Finesse, is the new age of fashion, Zara meets Netflix - a vertically integrated fashion house leveraging AI on big data & community feedback to predict trends, forecast demand, and optimize distribution, producing hit sell-outs every time in record time & eliminating the guesswork and overproduction inherent to fashion today.
One30M, is an online marketplace for Luxury Ethical Fashion. Leveraging the trillion-dollar fashion industry to solve the education epidemic by educating #one30million young women who are still denied access to education. ONE30M is a multi-vendor marketplace (think: Farfetch.com) that operates a sustainable drop-shipment model.
Stylumia, is a India based fashion tech company that utilizes AI for trend forecasting. By analyzing diverse data sources, it helps fashion brands understand emerging trends, ensuring they create collections that resonate with consumers.
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