#Sustainability

2021-09-30

Sustainable Apparel Coalition and Higg welcome Tommy Hilfiger as the newest brand partner to launch Sustainability Profiles

Today the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), a global multi-stakeholder nonprofit alliance for the consumer goods industry, along with its technology partner Higg, have welcomed Tommy Hilfiger as the latest brand partner to launch the Higg Index Sustainability Profiles. The profiles, which feature data-backed environmental claims, provide customers with unprecedented visibility into a product’s impact and deliver a unified approach for transparency in the fashion industry.

Tommy Hilfiger, which is owned by PVH Corp, will be adding Higg Index Sustainability Profiles to a selection of their products as part of a pilot program in partnership with Amazon, the SAC and Higg. The pilot, featuring 247 products, will run for six weeks on Tommy Hilfiger’s owned EU ecomm. The products will also be added to Amazon’s Climate Pledge Friendly program. In line with Tommy Hilifger’s vision to create fashion that wastes nothing and welcomes all, this pilot marks a definitive step in the brand’s journey to communicate more transparently with its customers.

“The SAC is proud to welcome Tommy Hilfiger as the newest brand partner to join the Higg Index transparency program. This marks a major milestone in the brand’s sustainability journey and we are thrilled to collaborate with them.. We look forward to working with the team as we continue to expand the program to include environmental and social impact providing a consistent way for brands, retailers, and manufacturers to share sustainability performance information with their customers. Sharing this information is necessary to help customers make better and more informed decisions and drive transparency at scale.” said Amina Razvi, Executive Director of the SAC.

Transparency is critical to driving systemic change for a healthier planet and overcoming greenwashing, which continues to be a serious problem in the fashion industry. As public interest in sustainability grows, consumers and governments are demanding greater accountability and transparency from brands. France, for example, recently passed a bill that will require businesses to feature carbon labels on their products, setting the expectation that businesses take responsibility for their environmental impacts, starting with disclosure.

“Real, tangible change in the fashion industry cannot be accomplished alone. Our belief has always been that industry partnership and collaboration is essential to creating the future of fashion that we all very much want to see. We are proud to be a partner of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and excited to pilot the Higg Index Sustainability Profile on our European ecommerce sites, to support our consumers on their journey to shop more sustainably. Transparency is essential in our vision to create fashion that Wastes Nothing and Welcomes All and we’re excited to expand this program in the coming seasons,” said Esther Verburg, Executive Vice President, Sustainability, Business & Innovation, Tommy Hilfiger Global.

“Tommy Hilfiger is setting a great example for the fashion industry through its commitment to transparency,” said Higg CEO Jason Kibbey. “By using contextualized data to back up sustainability claims, it’s taking an important step to provide greater visibility into the environmental impact of its products while also strengthening its relationship with customers.”

“This new approach to transparency from the SAC community is a long awaited and brave initiative that could provide the systemic change the industry has needed to make for some years. As with all new initiatives, the SAC Transparency Programme is not perfect, but the foundations are there for the programme to be ground-breaking. But to achieve its potential, SAC needs to clearly define the 10 year roadmap for the programme and act with confidence to deliver to that roadmap,” said Dr. Mark Summer, PhD, a Lecturer in Sustainable Fashion, University of Leeds, United Kingdom.

The SAC and Higg launched the first phase of the transparency program, starting with a product’s material environmental impacts, in May, with Amazon, H&M and Norrona as the first brand partners to participate. By 2023, the program will expand to incorporate social data from facilities, becoming the first holistic system for communicating sustainability performance across a product’s lifecycle.

After spending a decade developing and launching the groundbreaking suite of Higg Index tools, offering credible sustainability data, the SAC believes using a common language and leveraging consistent, systematic measurement is critical for improved performance at scale. While the Higg Index tools continue to evolve with the latest science and technology, the tools are currently the most comprehensive and widely adopted value chain sustainability measurement tools in the industry. As a result, the Higg Index sets a solid foundation to unlock transparency at scale and spur collective action towards industry transformation.

“Production is a product”

From technical textiles and AI-driven robotics to the limitations of textile circularity: Professor Dr Thomas Gries looks back on more than two decades of development at ITA Aachen. In the interview, he explains why production technology remains a decisive success factor, discusses international collaborations and innovation ecosystems, and shares his views on the transformation of production landscapes and the challenges facing an increasingly regulated industry.

“We need to move away from the price trap and return to a value-driven mindset.”

With its new Textile Innovation Center, KARL MAYER is sending a strong signal for innovation, collaboration, and the future of textile applications. In this interview, Karl Josef Mayer discusses new opportunities in warp knitting, the processing of staple fibres, recycling, the changing role of machinery manufacturers, and why the textile industry must once again focus more strongly on the value of textiles. by Oliver Schmidt

“Innovation, resilience and international experience remain the great strengths of the Swiss textile machinery industry”

Geopolitical uncertainty, growing competitive pressure from China, new free trade agreements and the shift towards a circular economy are currently reshaping the global textile industry. In this interview, Cornelia Buchwalder discusses the current mood within the Swiss textile machinery sector, the industry’s distinctive innovative strength, new market opportunities in India and Asia, and the technological trends that could shape the upcoming trade fair cycle leading up to ITMA 2027.

ITMF names three winners of the Sustainability & Innovation Award 2026

Three projects from the UK, Korea and China have been selected as winners of the ITMF Sustainability & Innovation Award 2026. The projects address textile-to-textile recycling, chemical recycling for automotive textiles and a regenerative approach combining silk production with ecological restoration.

180 years of TESTEX: From Zurich silk testing to global certification

For 180 years, TESTEX has developed alongside the textile industry while maintaining the same underlying purpose: creating trust through independent and reliable measurement. Founded in Zurich in 1846 as the Zurich Silk Conditioning Institute, TESTEX has grown from a local institution serving the silk trade into an international Swiss testing and certification institute for textiles and leather.

Cascale launches member-led process to shape 2030 strategy

Cascale has launched a member-led process to define the industry alliance’s strategic direction for the next decade. At the Cascale Annual Meeting 2026 in Athens, CEO Ying McGuire announced that members will contribute to an industry system map that will inform Cascale’s 10-year vision, its 2030 strategy and priorities for 2027. The new strategy is scheduled to be finalized in December.

VDMA Textile Machinery with new Executive Board

At the general meeting of VDMA Textile Machinery held in Hanover at the end of September, Dr Janpeter Horn, Managing Director of A. Herzog Maschinenfabrik, was re-elected as Chairman of the trade association. Regina Brückner, managing partner of Brückner Trockentechnik, and Verena Thies, managing partner of Thies Textilmaschinen, will once again serve as vice-chairs for the next four years.

EFI and Agfa’s DPS Business to combine andform a global, full-service industrial inkjet company

Electronics for Imaging, Inc. (“EFI”), a leading industrial inkjet business and portfolio company of Siris, and Agfa-Gevaert (“Agfa”) today announced a definitive agreement to combine Agfa’s Digital Printing Solutions business (“Agfa DPS”) with EFI. An affiliate of Siris will hold a 60% interest and Agfa will hold a 40% interest in the jointly held company, which will bring together the operating capabilities of EFI and Agfa DPS under a governance structure whereby Siris and Agfa will act as equal partners.

KARL MAYER invites the Global Textile Industry to celebrate its 90th anniversary at its German Headquarters in 2027

KARL MAYER is turning its anniversary year 2027 into a milestone for the textile sector. To mark its 90th anniversary, the industry leader is inviting customers, partners, and experts from around the world to a unique event series in September aimed at pushing boundaries, unlocking new opportunities, and jointly setting the course for a new era in textiles – just as KARL MAYER has done throughout its history. The company’s headquarters in Obertshausen, near Frankfurt, is the place to be.