Planet Textiles

Managing Textile Chemicals A Multi-stakeholder, Global Challenge

Phil PattersonManaging Director – Colour Connections Textile Consultancy

Chairman – The RITE Group

World’s First Independent, Industry Wide Environmental Initiative

Legislation/Government, NGO’s, Media, Academia,

Mainstream and Cutting Edge Initiatives

www.ritegroup.org

What’s Out There?

• Great Dyehouses

• OK Dyehouses

• Terrible Dyehouses

What’s Out There?

• Great Brands

• OK Brands

• Brands that don’t care

What’s Out There?

• Great Chemical Manufacturers

• OK Chemical Manufacturers

• Terrible Chemical Manufacturers

What’s Out There?

• Great Governments

• OK Governments

• Governments who won’t impose restrictions on their industry

So.........What’s Out There?

Awful factories...... using.....

Awful chemicals..... to make products for.........

Awful brands.... under the not-so-watchful eye of...............

Ineffective governments

Where do we need to focus?

The top end of the industry?The bottom end of the industry?

Recent Campaign Agenda’s

• Greenpeace Dirty Laundry / Detox• Danish media

• Make the best better• Criticise the good for not being good enough

Imagine it works..........• Adidas – PERFECT• PUMA – PERFECT• Nike – PERFECT• H+M – PERFECT• IC Company – PERFECT• Bestseller - PERFECT

• Where does it get us?

You don’t have to be Einstein.......

• Top a bit better• Bottom – business as usual

Lets get real

• TOP DOWN will improve things but not solve the major problems

Lets get real

• Calls for ‘zero’ are ridiculous• IT DOESN’T EXIST anymore

Let’s Get REAL

• Most high profile chemicals are already the focus of brand controls

• Reducing limits will not change the big picture

Let’s get REAL

• Tighter brand standards should not be the priority

• Policing of existing ones would make major difference

Let’s get real – Greenpeace• Weak chemical evidence• Attacking brands that have done more than any

others• Selecting a country that is making significant

progress on environmental issues

• Enough focus on:-– Worker safety?– Untreated effluent?– Water, energy?

But......let’s get real

• Dyehouse effluent IS the right issue

But......let’s get real

• Managing chemical inputs is the right approach– Reducing POP’s CMR’s etc– Worker safety– Consumer safety– Environment

But........let’s get real

• Brands have to have full transparency / traceability and take ownership of supply base impacts

What works best?

• There’s only one winner

The Way Forward

• Yes – let’s try and get the best to become better

• Let’s not convince ourselves that top down ALONE will solve the problems

Bottom up • Requires hard work and action– Laws– Policing– Brand bravery to prioritise

compliance over margin– Investor patience to look

to long term

Message to NGO’s and Media

• We need discussion not dictatorship• The industry needs to improve• There are some IN the industry that want it to

improve• Balance principles with pragmatism• Aim for improvements not perfection

What are the priorities?

• Column inches, warm feelings, egos ?• Retribution for historical ‘offenders’• Improving the environment?

www.ritegroup.org

Reducing the impact of textiles on the environment