Ani Wells believes “data is king” when it comes to sustainable fashion

Director behind denim blog Simply Suzette explains why science and sustainable fashion must now go hand-in-hand.

April 5th, 2021

Written by Ani Wells | Simply Suzette

There is no science to sustainable fashion. We’re working on it, but until now, real data in the fashion supply chain has not been sought out. And hey, I get it. I don’t think science and math were on the top of our career lists when getting into the fashion industry. But this new wave and ever-growing movement towards an ethical and environmentally sound industry is pushing us to collaborate and find the experts who can help us gather real data. Data is what will enable us to make sound decisions on sourcing and materials that are best for the planet, people and overall prosperity of a brand and industry. Because data is king.

With the serious lack of regulation in fashion and denim, people can virtually say anything they want with no consequence, but thanks to you, brands are feeling the pressure to back up their claims with some proof. But, oftentimes, new innovations are so bright and shiny we are too quick to hop on them without being fully versed in the research and data behind these new advancements. Look at viscose for example. We had all the right intentions of switching to plant-based materials but realized that it was a large contributor to deforestation and the chemical processing was quite toxic. But, what if we had the data to show us what the carbon footprint of 100 grams of viscose was?

It is currently very difficult to get data on fibres, especially natural fibres because there has never been direct communication with the farmer. But, since denim and apparel are inherently agricultural products with the opportunity to transform our soils through regenerative agriculture, it should be of very high interest to get to know the farmer responsible for producing your raw materials.

The push towards traceable supply chains helps drive this conversation and that's why FIBRETRACE® has worked on developing the Fibre Impact Module (FIM). The FIM collects and aggregates previously uncaptured impact data from farms including carbon emissions, water use, energy consumption and other environmental performance data that is shared by farmers and their agronomists with third-party verification. With FIM, farmers now have the opportunity to actually showcase their efforts towards improving their farming methods, so we can reward the ones who are really trying.

Using the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol accounting standard as its backbone, the FIM is integrated directly into the FIBRETRACE® platform and empowers individual farmers to demonstrate their commitment to environmental excellence through farm-level impact such as the soil carbon content of cotton as it makes its way from the farm to finished production to the end consumer.

“Utopia for my team and I would be a future where all brands can take full ownership of their supply chain and therefore the full impact on individual goods. The FIM is our next step towards utopia.” - Danielle Statham, Co-Founder of FIBRETRACE®, Good Earth Cotton®, and Sundown Farms.

When we can truly understand each level of the supply chain, we can make a real impact. And in the midst of trying to use our businesses for good, you might make some new friends along the way as you deepen those relationships :)

Catch Ani’s quick chat with our co-founder, Danielle, on the future of fashion below!

Source: https://www.simplysuzette.com