Writer, Investor, Advisory Director, Berkshire Partners – Professor of Practice, Fletcher School Tufts University
The fashion industry continues to advance voluntary and unlikely solutions to its plastic problem. Only higher prices will flip the script, writes Kenneth P. Pucker.
https://www.businessoffashion.com/opinions/sustainability/why-fashion-should-have-a-plastic-tax/?utm_source=newsletter_dailydigest&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily_Digest_030524&utm_content=intro
H&M’s new deal to buy $600 million of “circular” polyester over seven years from Syre, a Swedish startup it co-founded, underlines one of fashion’s dirty secrets: Making new polyester from recycled bottles sounds environmentally friendly but, in reality, polyester is a huge source of pollution. And recycling bottles to make more polyester might be worse than the alternative — keeping the bottles in the beverage industry where they can be recycled.
Now some fashion companies are moving toward circular, textile-to-textile solutions that cut recycled bottles from the process altogether.
https://www.greenbiz.com/article/why-hm-turning-away-polyester-recycled-bottles?
utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_source=newsletter&utm_content=Circularity&mkt_tok=MjExLU5KWS0xNjUAAAGSTOPV6kTgCsfQ9RWoislXUGzKE6XEQIv4CH-P6WpK0l-NGzM9fPViOR3tM2ngKUsw_sCb6KDitxIt3RmbbiT-ktO8BYzhmECT-CcGvJJk7g
Ken Pucker, professor of the practice at The Fletcher School at Tufts University, worries about many things. One of them is whether the fashion industry is going about circularity the wrong way. 
The collapse of Renewcell, which until recently transmuted clothing castoffs into sheets of dried pulp that could be dissolved to create viscose, rayon and other man-made cellulosic fibers, has been preying on his mind. Shortly after the Swedish company revealed that it would be declaring bankruptcy, H&M Group, its largest stakeholder, announced that it was linking arms with investor group Vargas Holdings to launch a new venture to ramp up the production of textile-to-textile recycled polyester. The retailer currently sources its recycled polyester from bottle-to-textile recycling, which has come under fire for nicking old plastic bottles from the more efficient and repeatable process of making new soda or water containers.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/syre-succeed-where-renewcell-failed-130000814.html
With the French and European elections happening in June, French Republicans are trying to sway voters by targeting Shein and its production practices. Some are taking to TikTok to promote the most recent bill dubbed the “fast fashion tax”.
The proposed legislation, called “loi 2268”, which was passed by the center-right political party Horizona through the lower Assembly on March 14, now has to go through the French Senate next spring. It was promoted by Antoine Vermorel-Marques, right-wing MP, in a March 14 video on TikTok. On the platform, he parodies fast fashion haul videos while promoting his political proposals.
Fashion companies argue proposed government mandates for greater supply chain transparency are ‘impractical.’ They shouldn’t be, writes Kenneth P. Pucker.
https://www.businessoffashion.com/opinions/sustainability/why-big-brands-are-pushing-back-against-sustainability-regulations/
In this episode, Dr. Divya Jyoti and Kim sit down with Ken Pucker, former Timberland COO turned sustainable fashion critic, who now works as a Professor of Practice at the Fletcher School. Fun fact: Ken’s career began in manufacturing, and at the time he joined Timberland, they were still producing much of their footwear.
Though it wasn’t necessarily their intention at the outset – this episode ended up focusing on levers for change. Ken shares why he has chosen to focus on shifting the rules of the game through legislative action, but we also discuss the need for systemic change, or to rebuild the “whole house” – and the difficult task of shifting cultural beliefs needed to achieve this.
Ken also reflects on his time at Timberland, and his realization that despite Timberland being a poster child for sustainability, the company’s environmental impact worsened under his watch. He shares how this led him to let go of ideas and assumptions based on infinite resources and growth. If you’re interested in learning more about Ken’s view, I highly suggest checking out his recent publication, “A Circle That Isn’t Easily Squared,” featured in the Stanford Social Innovation Review.
This episode is part of the “Crossover Moments” miniseries, where we explore key moments of personal transformation that led people to question and ultimately reject conventional approaches to sustainable fashion.
Excess is built into the economics of the industry at every step of the value chain, writes Kenneth P. Pucker.
https://www.businessoffashion.com/opinions/sustainability/fashion-waste-business-model-design/?utm_source=newsletter_dailydigest&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily_Digest_201223&utm_term=R7CCWIZCQJD3ZPWK6R3U72MNQA&utm_content=top_story_2_title
For much of the last decade, advocates for sustainable businesses have argued that reporting on ESG measures would lead to a sustainable future. It hasn’t happened, writes Kenneth Pucker.
https://www.businessoffashion.com/opinions/sustainability/fashion-sustanability-reporting-wont-tell-you-esg/?utm_source=newsletter_dailydigest&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Daily_Digest_220823&utm_content=intro
Fashion brands and marketers have a new roadmap for sustainable transformation.
Incorporating buzzy practices, including regenerative agricultureand circularity, companies like Outerknown, J. Crew Group and VF Corporation are demonstrating the benefits of progress in several of the 12 areas of transformation laid out in a new report from Accenture.
But there’s a gulf between what the economic system incentivizes and what must happen to pull clothing manufacturing within the planetary boundaries.
https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/heres-how-marketers-accelerate-fashions-sustainable-transition/
One of fast fashion’s biggest players says it’s taking major steps toward a more sustainable business model. But in an industry predicated on low cost, low quality and high production volume, experts say it won’t be simple.
“It’s hard to see how they actually deliver on their emissions reductions targets,” said Ken Pucker, a professor at the Fletcher School at Tufts University in Medford, Mass., who focuses on sustainability.
“Because volumes are going to continue to go up.”
https://www.cbc.ca/news/business/fast-fashion-sustainability-targets-1.6913112