Egedeniz Group has been a long-standing early member of Textile Exchange since 2003. This year, we attended the Textile Exchange Conference held on 28th October – 1st November 2024. It was an event that brought together industry leaders, innovators, and sustainability committers around the globe. The conference, themed “The Case for Change,” emphasized the urgent need for transformation in the textile industry to address pressing environmental and social challenges.
Let’s look at what we took as key takeaways!
Data-Driven Decision Making
- Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): The power of LCA was emphasized as a tool to assess the environmental impact of products throughout their entire lifecycle. By understanding the environmental footprint of different materials and processes, businesses can make informed decisions to reduce their impact.
We are happy to announce through this blog, as Egedeniz Group, we are cooperating with Textile Exchange for LCA. Currently, we are providing organic and regenerative cotton data to support this initiative.
“Data is just data if we’re not doing the work to translate it into a story”
-Katia Osei | OR Foundation
- Traceability and Transparency: The conference stressed the importance of traceability and transparency in supply chains. By tracking materials from farm to factory, brands can ensure ethical and sustainable practices.
“Every producer that’s on the landscape has a long-term forward contract with the land, and a reciprocal relationship that is deep and binding.”
-Jack Kittinger | Conservation International
2.The Role of Standards and Certifications
- Textile Exchange Standards: Textile Exchange’s Materials Matter Standard was launched and introduced. The standard provides a framework for sustainable material production, ensuring transparency, accountability, and environmental integrity throughout the supply chain.
- Global Recycled Standard (GRS): The GRS, a widely recognized certification for recycled materials, was discussed as a tool to verify the recycled content of products and promote circularity.
3.Financing a Sustainable Future
- Impact Investing: The conference explored the role of impact investing in driving sustainable innovation. By investing in companies that prioritize environmental and social impact, investors can contribute to a more sustainable future.
- Green Finance: The importance of green finance was highlighted as a tool to mobilize capital for sustainable projects. By providing access to finance, businesses can implement sustainable practices and reduce their environmental footprint.
“We need net positive businesses that go about solving the world’s problems, not creating them”
-Andrew Winston | Winston Eco-Strategies
4. Human-Centered Sustainability
- Social Responsibility: The conference emphasized the importance of social responsibility throughout the supply chain. By ensuring fair labor practices, safe working conditions, and decent wages, the industry can contribute to the well-being of workers and communities.
- Community Engagement: The need for collaboration with local communities was highlighted. By working with farmers, artisans, and other stakeholders, the industry can create sustainable livelihoods and preserve traditional knowledge.
“Ultimately, cheap commodities require cheap labor. Everyone is being squeezed along this value chain because we are not making clothing with enough value embedded into it.”
-Liz Ricketts | The OR Foundation
Our ESG Commitment
As Egedeniz Textile ESG Team we are committed to playing our part of our future generations. We are constantly striving to find new and innovative ways to reduce our carbon footprint, conserve water, reduce waste, and promote sustainable sourcing practices. We are actively working to implement sustainable practices, reduce our environmental impact, and contribute to a more just and equitable textile industry.
It was great to hear more about the importance of the land and the farmers that give life to that land in an international conference. Let us quote one of our favorite speeches!
“Have you ever wondered what the world would be like if regeneration was taught at schools? Let’s face it, they are the future land owners, producers, decision-makers, technicians, and brands.”
-Paola Imbertı | OVIS21
This quote reminds us again how regenerative agriculture is key to our commitments.
Want to check more? Let’s go through Egedeniz Regenerative Agricultural Projects.
Through the Textile Exchange conference, we just not only gained invaluable insights and inspiration, we once again remembered Our Case for Change.
We are excited to apply these learnings to our own operations and to collaborate with our partners and suppliers to drive positive change. And go on further with our commitment to our case for change.
Join Us!
To be a part of our journey reach us from esg@
