Sourcing Journal Radio

The fast pace of consumer demand combined with global supply chain disruptions is putting manufacturers on their heels to keep up—but Interloop knows it is more than capable of adapting to current uncertainties. In fact, the hosiery manufacturer has robust plans to more than double its current apparel capacity from 20 million to 45 million pieces. “Flexibility is the name of the game,” said Faryal...

Tackling sustainability within international cotton supply chains cannot be done with a one-size-fits-all plan. Both goal setting and measurements must account for the variety in global conditions.  Better Cotton remains cognizant of this fact as it reviews its standard to target greenhouse gas reduction and regenerative agriculture, among other pressing sustainability issues. “Although it’s one s...

Digitization is quickly becoming a priority for modern apparel and footwear brands. Forced to collaborate from afar during the pandemic, teams have accelerated the adoption of virtual tools that streamline design and development, allowing multiple stakeholders to take part in the process. 3D creation digital platforms that live in the cloud can boost cross-team collaboration, drive efficiencies, c...

All too often, packaging creates another waste problem for the apparel industry, as countless boxes shipped every day ultimately end up piling up in landfills. This problem only gets compounded by the fact that many consumers aren’t even aware of what they should do when they discard a package. Neenah, a specialty paper products and design solutions company, believes it has the answer to this prob...

When it comes to who is on the hook for environmental and ethical garment production, consumers are quick to hold brands’ feet to the fire. But every design’s sustainability profile begins at the fiber level. Now, mills and spinners are under increased pressure not only to use fibers that were grown or sourced responsibly, but to prove their compliance through certifications. What’s more, eco-frie...

To deliver safer, greener chemicals for the apparel industry, Verdant Innovations wants to look 20 years ahead. In 2022, the company burst on the scene to debut FIBRE-PURE™, its first line of specialty green sustainable chemicals geared toward textiles and nonwovens. Thus far, the line ranges from binding and coating applications used for healthcare gowns, masks and scrubs, to deodorizers and anti...

Virtual design has been a gamechanger in the fashion industry in streamlining sampling and speeding product creation. However, there is still room to optimize and standardize these digital tools to ensure that the image created on screen matches the eventual physical product. Taking inspiration from industries like aerospace and automotive, Clothing Tech LLC has created parametric CAD technology t...

Despite how ubiquitous the term “sustainability” has become, the definition remains vague and open to individual interpretation. As consumers are seeking out lower impact products, this lack of standardization or clarity can lead to confusion. “In today’s world, sustainability means so many different things to brands and consumers,” said Marc Lewkowitz, president and CEO of Supima, the promotional...

Maintaining quality standards is a rudimentary business goal, but the actions taken to protect product value can have wider implications across a company. One best practice for improving quality is stronger supplier knowledge and collaboration, according to Rick Horwitch, chief of supply chain & sustainability strategy, global retail lead at Bureau Veritas Consumer Products Services. Going past ti...

When it comes to digitizing the complex apparel supply chain, the fashion industry has been slow to adapt, often because of hard-to-break manual habits. But the benefits of end-to-end digitization hits many touchpoints, including design and development, cost optimization, production planning, fabric control and shop floor execution. In this fireside chat, Lauren Parker, branded content manager of...

Modern consumers demand a lot from their footwear, and that means going beyond stylish design and a comfortable construction. Shoes must perform, whether they’re made for sport and recreation or casual use, and shoppers value lightweight silhouettes that are durable and retain their shape through wear and tear. On top of all these specs, consumers also want to see brands deliver footwear that is m...

One of the keys to cracking the code of footwear sustainability is reducing and managing waste. Currently, about 90 percent of shoes end up in landfills, where they begin to break down, but never fully decompose due to the materials used. This problem informs innovation at insole manufacturer and supplier OrthoLite. “How can we develop true end of life solutions for footwear—focused on product and...

Apparel production is often prone to defects—particularly in the finishing process—whether it be stains, holes, untrimmed threads or stitching defects. Unfortunately, brands often don’t leverage systems that can gather insight that could determine the root of the problem and help train a factory on corrective actions. Even if a merchant is collecting high-quality data, it is often done manually an...

Trimco Group is a trims, labels, packaging and store decorations solutions specialist, and as a stakeholder of the brands’ supply chain, they are directly concerned by the evolution of the regulations. Trimco has developed expertise in this field and designed an industry-specific solution for global brand clients to track and trace their supply chains. With the new Product DNA digital platform and...

The fashion industry has increasingly embraced 3D design and digital “virtual twins” to speed up the manufacturing process, replace physical samples and save money. But the technology hasn’t always delivered when it comes to solving the industry’s biggest pain points.  One serial entrepreneur who’s been reducing manufacturing costs in the automotive, aerospace and electronics industries for 40 yea...

Enhanced performance textiles cool you down when you’re hot, and help keep you warm when you’re cold. They also help you sleep better, perform better athletically, and stay cool and collected when it counts.  Such thermoregulatory properties might sound like science fiction, but Cocona Labs developed its proprietary 37.5 Technology directly from nature. The company’s creator found he could withsta...

Already aspiring to deliver “the greenest ecosystem that denim has ever seen,” Crescent Bahuman Limited is taking other supply chain imperatives head on with the launch of its “Smart Factory 4.0” journey and implementing tracing technology from PaperTale. The digitization investments come as the denim manufacturer aims to fortify its ongoing sustainability and transparency initiatives with the sup...

Of all the takeaways from the pandemic period, one of the most crucial is the value of strong partnerships. Fabric sourcing firm Concept III saw firsthand how the trials of Covid-19—from freight issues to factory closures— strengthened the working relationships along the supply chain. In its own operations, the U.S-based company was a trusted source of on-the-ground information for both brands and...

More than ever before, companies must know the intricacies of their supply chains. Chief among the pressures to better understand where exactly goods stem from is a growing spate of due diligence legislation, including the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) in the United States. Signed in December and going into effect in June, this law expands the burden of proof for importers. Companies...

If one proposed piece of legislation passes, fashion brands could soon encounter a harsh reality that could cost millions if their supply chain isn’t up to snuff. While brands have already had to wade through significant and often confusing legislative changes in 2022 via the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, they may need to freshen up on the terms of the recently introduced Fashion Sustainabil...

When it comes to moving fashion goods around the world, the logistical challenges are not easing up. Zero-tolerance Covid measures have parts of China under a prolonged lockdown. Labor shortages and conflicts are grinding the gears on the West Cost of the U.S., as negotiations with the port workers get off to a slow start. on top of it, capacity, congestion, and pricing continue their uncertain da...

The supply chain bottlenecks that have persisted over the past year have led many brands to worry about delivery delays and rising freight and raw material prices. And while getting the shopper the product swiftly is a top priority, brands can’t afford to ignore quality assurance issues that can occur from the source to the store. Throughout the Covid-19 pandemic, footwear brands in particular hav...

Fashion brands and retailers might use stylish products, hip branding and slick marketing to set themselves apart to consumers, but on the supply chain side of things, differentiation excellence takes a logistical turn. Here, seamless technology and scale economics have emerged as major competitive differentiators, and it’s often where brand and retail successes are won or lost.  In this Fireside...

Fashion companies have not typically had full visibility into their supply chains. But in response to increasing calls from consumers for transparency, the apparel industry is aiming toward more oversight of each step in the production process. “The textile supply chain is inherently filled with opacity because that provided the flexibility and cost advantages that manufacturers could leverage to...

“If you can't measure it, you can't improve it,” said Paul Magel, president, application solutions group of software solutions company CGS. “And if you don't have the visibility, you don't even know what you're measuring.” Even a fully transparent supply chain has so many moving parts and independent “bubbles” that need to be digitalized and linked for visibility and real-time tracking. It’s all a...