Digitalization is changing the balance of power in fashion capitalism. In Switzerland, three out of ten pieces of clothing are already bought online. The major online retailers and trading platforms in particular are growing rapidly: Zalando, Amazon, Shein and Co. have become dominant players in the global or at least European fashion market within just a decade. They increasingly influence the supply as well as the data, surfing behaviour and screen time of consumers. But how responsible and transparent are the digital players?
Recherchetool für Materialien
Research Tool for Materials
The materials database contains media on our key topics of working conditions in the textile and clothing industry and the environmental impact of clothing. The types of media include studies, guidelines and reports, as well as films, podcasts and web tools.
Textiles are often produced under inhumane conditions. In addition to inhumane working conditions, enormous water consumption, chemicals in rivers and high CO2 emissions also make textiles a highly critical product from an ecological point of view. The joint project #Fair Wear Works by GNF and FEMNET aims to raise the awareness of managers, employees and apprentices in companies about the social and ecological relevance of responsible textile purchasing.
In order to record the current state of textile procurement in German companies, GNF and FEMNET conducted a survey in the second half of 2020. The aim was to determine the need for support offers for companies in order to be able to offer suitable training modules and information materials as part of the further project work. The results of the company survey on sustainable textile purchasing are compiled in the factsheet. It turns out that although the majority of companies already buy sustainable textiles, they do so rather sporadically.
Whether as protective clothing, bedding or merchandise items: Textiles are indispensable in many industries. It is well known that these are often produced under conditions that exploit people and the environment. Last but not least, the increasing interest of the public in aspects of sustainability is driving more and more companies to commit to socially and environmentally friendly production.
The joint project #Fair Wear Works by GNF and FEMNET aims to raise the awareness of managers, employees and apprentices in companies about the social and ecological relevance of responsible textile purchasing. The factsheet provides an overview of established sustainability standards by means of which socially and ecologically produced textiles can be identified.
Fast fashion, cheap fashion, short worn and quickly disposed of. There are still textile mountains. The providers now promise their customers sustainability and recycling of worn old clothes.
What good is the promise of the suppliers to produce new clothes from old textiles?
ZDFzoom author Anne Kauth pursues the promises of the industry and finds that the given fast fashion increasingly overwhelms the old clothes recyclers.
Since the current data situation is more than incomplete, the study ‘Sustainability is not in vain’ seeks to identify the relevant factors for pricing or differences in the pricing of conventional textiles compared to sustainable textiles by incorporating the expertise of the various actors (manufacturers, suppliers, textile service companies, buyers, purchasing associations, associations, experts). It differentiates between manufacturer prices, dealer prices, offer prices and care prices, deals with rental and purchase models and illustrates the impact of sustainability standards on the price of textiles using concrete case studies for workwear and flat linen. In addition, the study also covers initial approaches to integrating life cycle costs into the supply of workwear and flat linen.
Rounded off by recommendations that differentiate between different stakeholder groups (politics, large consumers, suppliers) and a comprehensive service section, the study is a helpful read for all those involved in textile procurement, including beginners.