Launching the Future Supplier Initiative and More

Author

Induja from Trace
June 20, 2024

Happy Thursday!

We’re excited to kick off our newsletter this week with a discussion on what’s going on in the industry. In conversation this week we’ll dive in The Future Supplier Initiative and an analysis on the sustainability of a hotly debated fabric.

Keep reading for a brand spotlight! As a reminder from last week, Trace is excited to announce new product features on our platform. Click here to learn more!

Thanks for reading!

Headlines

The Future Supplier Initiative was launched by The Fashion Pact in partnership with Apparel in an effort to support decarbonization in the apparel sector by providing financial incentives and technical support to suppliers. 

During year 1, factories will be prioritized based on impact, and the initiative will identify technical proposals for achieving decarbonization, and decrease the cost of capital for loans towards these factories. Year two of the program will focus on implementation and monitoring of the impact created through these investments.

The initiative is starting in Bangladesh with brands like Gap, H&M, and Mango with a goal of expanding to include other regions and brands. We’re excited to see what the long-term impact could be on the industry.

Analysis of the Week

Let’s dive further into sustainable fabrics by exploring a hot topic: vegan leather vs traditional leather. While there are proponents for both, there are valid concerns with each product. Let’s take a look at some of the common concerns and how they stack up with each material.

Consideration

Traditional Leather

Vegan Leather

Ethical Concerns

There are concerns about animal welfare, as animal hides are used for purposes that are considered a “luxury” good vs a necessity. 

Vegan leather doesn’t use real animal hides, eliminating the conversation around animal cruelty. 

Biodegradability 

At the end of its life, traditional leather can biodegrade more easily compared to many synthetic alternatives. However, this may not be the case if the leather has been treated with non-biodegradable chemicals.

Many vegan leathers are made from plastic-based materials (PU, PVC), which are significantly less biodegradable. 

Longevity

Traditional Leather is known to age well, and the quality is high meaning that the product can be used indefinitely as well as resold/repurposed more effectively. 

The quality of vegan leather is considered to be lesser than that of traditional leather as it doesn’t age as well, nor does it mimic 

the product quite as well. Users may discard the product faster as a result. 

Environmental Impact of Production

The livestock industry is resource-intensive, requiring large amounts of water, land, and feed, and contributing to deforestation and loss of biodiversity.

Vegan leather generally requires fewer natural resources (such as land and water) compared to raising livestock for traditional leather. However, the PVCs and synthetic materials often used in vegan leather can cause significant CO2 impact. 

As you can see, there are significant considerations for vegan leather as well as natural leather. There are still many strides being made in the production of vegan leather to combat some of the issues in the industry today such as creating mushroom leather, but the technology is still at a fairly early stage. 

One alternative to consider as a consumer is purchasing second-hand/vintage leather. Natural leather ages well so you can still get high quality leather products while not contributing to the production of new leather.

Brand Spotlight

Learn about one of the sustainable brands on Trace’s marketplace!

Check out today’s featured brand: Gooseberry Fool

Gooseberry Fool is an ethically made, organic cotton collection of clothing and accessories made for babies and toddlers, handmade by artisans. Gooseberry Fool values slow fashion, sustainability, and fair compensation for its artisans. 

Rachel, the founder of Gooseberry Fool , who initially started crocheting for her own children, before starting to sell her pieces. Eventually she expanded to working with artisans in South India. Gooseberry Fool uses 100% organic cotton that has been GOTS (Global Organic Textile Standard) Certified. 

Gooseberry also encourages circular economy through its preloved program: offering customers vouchers for donating pre-loved Gooseberry items that no longer fit their children. These items are donated to vulnerable moms in need of baby clothes. 

Check out Gooseberry Fool for sustainable, ethically made, and stylish baby clothes!

Innovation in Fashion

Stylatude - An image and brand consulting company for fashion brands 

Locker - A chrome extension that allows you to quickly save and organize products to buy for later 

Tailored Industry - On demand knitwear company that holds no existing inventory and supports brands from design to production

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