Fashion giants agree on forest-positive textile fiber collaboration
The fashion firms, supported by Ben & Jerry’s and HH Global, have signed up to source “Next Generation Solutions” to fashion fibers through an initiative led by environmental nonprofit Canopy. The companies have agreed to purchase more than half a million tonnes of next-generation fibers, which Canopy claims has a lower carbon footprint and a reduced biodiversity impact compared to traditional textile and packaging materials. Canopy believes the announcement, made to coincide with COP27, will help the transition to nature-positive business models. “We are thrilled to advance this commitment with forward-looking partners who are willing to challenge the status quo and in doing so provide a breakthrough for these game-changing technologies,” Canopy’s executive director and founder Nicole Rycroft said. “This commitment will allow us to take a historic leap closer to the $64bn of investments in sustainable alternatives needed to ensure forest conservation for our planet’s climate and biodiversity stability.” The investment will help build up to 20 new pulp mills for Next Generation materials, as well as providing farm communities with new markets to replace the common practices of burning straw residue and landfilling materials. Canopy claims it will prevent an estimated 2.2 million tonnes of CO2 emissions compared to the production of virgin forest fiber.
Source edie