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09.05.2022: News from KW 18

Studies and Co.

Kearney "The Kearney CFX 2022 Report: Are fashion brands ramping up their circularity game?: The Circular Fashion Index (CFX) from Kearney Measures a brand's efforts to extend the life cycle of a product. 150 global brands from 20 countries were evaluated in six categories: Sports and outdoor, underwear and lingerie, luxury, high quality/affordable luxury, mass market and fast fashion. The results are calculated on the basis of seven criteria that assess both the primary market with new products (e.g. share of recycled material, availability of repair services and care instructions) and the secondary market (e.g. second-hand sales, rental and reuse of used clothing). The industry receives a total rating of 2.85 (out of 10), two years earlier it was 1.6. Leading brands are Patagonia, Levi's, The North Face and Esprit.

The two studies "How Circular is PET - A report on the circularity of PET bottles, using Europe as a case study" (PDF file) by Zero waste Europe and eunomia and "Not quite 100% - The Importance of Transparency in Non-Mechanical Recycling" (PDF file) by chemsec investigate the circularity of plastic/PET. Most recycled PET recovered from bottles in Europe is used in other lower quality PET applications such as trays, films or fibers. Of the 1.8 million tonnes of recycled flakes from bottles, only 31% are processed into bottle granules, the rest (69%) goes to other PET products, such as textile fibres. bottle-to-bottle quality rPET is likely to cost significantly more than the production of flakes and their use in the production of containers and textiles (downcycling). The report of Zero waste Europe calls for changes to EU policy (e.g. deposit collection systems) to prevent downcycling and enable bottle-to-bottle recycling. Chemsec addresses the gap between supply and demand for recycled materials and addresses shortcomings in mechanical recycling (e.g. chemical residues, problems with polymer quality). High costs and low supply are two further obstacles to a circular economy. Chemsec is therefore in favour of greater transparency in the area of non-mechanical recycling, which is not yet so well established, and advocates strict standards so that brands can get an idea of the sustainability of the various processes.

News

Situation of the economy: The Ukraine war continues to weigh on consumers' buying mood According to the German Trade Association (Handelsverband Deutschland), it is reaching an "all-time low". In the trade in textiles, clothing, shoes and leather goods, the Revenues down 8.4% in March. After "two record years in 2020 and 2021", e-commerce is also being slowed down due to poor consumer sentiment. Strict Corona lockdowns in China are weighing on the businesses of European companies Difficult in the People's Republic. In a survey of European Chamber of Commerce in Beijing, 75% of the companies surveyed said that the strict coronavirus measures had a negative impact on their operations. This Ifo Institute Expects continued strong inflation, as more and more companies in Germany want to increase their prices. The main reason for the rising prices is higher costs in the procurement of energy, raw materials, other precursors and merchandise. Economists do not expect inflation to fall rapidly in the coming months due to the tense situation in energy prices and ongoing concerns about a Russian supply stop..

Sustainability reporting in the EU: The European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG) is a private association founded in 2001 with the support of the European Commission to pool European interests and expert knowledge on accounting standards. The member organisations are European stakeholders, national organisations and civil society organisations. The European Commission's proposal for a Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) envisages the adoption of EU sustainability reporting standards (ESRS). In this context, the EFRAG Invited to the EEuropean Commission provide technical advice in the form of fully developed draft standards and/or draft amendments to sustainability reporting standards;. The drafts are now available for public consultation until 8 August 2022.

Countries of production

China aims to accelerate the transition to a circular economy in the textile sector and Increase recycling rate of old textiles to 25% by 2025. In order to get closer to its goals, China wants to improve the recycling network and expand the recycling channels. In addition, textile manufacturers should be more aware of their social responsibility, environmentally friendly textile design and the use of environmentally friendly fibres should also be promoted.

India: In the latest news update, we reported on the BHRRC Report (PDF file) on gender-based violence (GBV) and harassment in textile factories. 11 of the 12 companies that produced in the factories under investigation replied to the request from Business and Human Rights Resource Center, including the textile alliance companies C&A, H&M and Primark. C&A asserts that in its own audits there are no indications of GBV have found and agrees to use the information from BHRRC investigate the matter and remedy it. The claim that C&A set unreasonable production targets, but reject them. H&M Go to the Recently with the Indian producer Eastman Contract to Stop Gender-Based Violence one; they expect this agreement to contribute to a broader industry initiative. Primark Investigate the allegations already. In order to support the investigation, Primark asked the authors of the report to provide all the details in strict confidence.

Bangladesh: In the case of: Demonstrations for their Eid bonus in several suburbs Dhakas 27 textile workers were injured when the police hit batons, Rubber bullets and tear gas used. On April 25th, 78% of bonuses not yet paid out have been. May 1 (Day of Breaking the Fast/Eid al-Fitr) Faruque Hassan, President of the Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), that 100% of the workers of the joint factories would have received their bonus.

Indonesia: Seven years ago, the Indonesian clothing factory closed Jaba Garmindo He fired more than 2,000 workers. The two fashion companies Uniqlo and s.Oliver An open letter has now been sent to Indonesian workers asking them to pay US$5.5 million in compensation.. The letter also refers to the personal assets of Fast retailing (Uniqlo) Chairperson Yanai $26.4 billion. In an opinion of s.Oliver The company is committed to general responsibility towards all those who work in its value chain. The company is therefore in close contact with the Fla and the Fair Wear Foundation, the process and commitment to the former workers of the factory Jaba Garmindo to discuss and contribute to an aid fund for them. Fast reatiling points out that there is no legal obligation in this matter.