“We’ve been talking a great deal about the deleterious effects of Fast Fashion on our planet. Now we have a counterpoint to discuss—an effort in Congress to rein in fast fashion with the launch of the Slow Fashion Caucus. Plus, California is putting even more teeth into its recycling efforts with a proposed bill that establishes an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) program for recycling clothing and textile fibers. And France is proposing a Fast Fashion Tax and an EU ban on exporting used clothing.” - Writes Cary Sherburne - WhatTheyThink

“Procurement, workflows, and logistics need to be connected and optimized into one single workflow, as online print service providers need to be masters in cost-efficient and fast-turnaround print production spanning multiple sites and production devices. European section editor Ralf Schlözer points out how, in a remarkable move, online print provider Gelato is now opening up its software solution and production platform, GelatoConnect, to all print service providers”. By Ralf Schlozer | WhatTheyThink

“Observing this falter in digital fashion, many of the CEOs who touted Web3 as the poster child of luxury innovation have retreated sheepishly—removing all mentions of ‘metaverse’ from their roadmaps and frantically completing whichever qualifications allow them to sub-out the ‘Web3’ in their bios, all whilst writing off the money spent on NFTs as tax losses.” THIS OUTFIT DOES NOT EXIST

“Did you know that most of what you buy online and ship back as a return ends up in the landfill? It’s too expensive for most companies or their reverse logistics operators to put them back up for sale, so they just ship them off to the landfill. In this space, we have written a great deal about the evil effects of Fast Fashion, and this is just another one. I hope after reading this article, you will take a serious look at your buying habits.” - Writes Cary Sherburne - WhatTheyThink

“As you think about the characteristics of your wardrobe, integrated technology will increasingly become a deciding factor as to what you buy and wear, expanding the capabilities of apparel to meet needs perhaps you didn’t even know you had!.” - Writes Cary Sherburne - WhatTheyThink

“When we write about sustainability in textiles, we are often talking about the manufacturing processes. But for true sustainability, we need to go back a step further to understand where the feed stocks are coming from. As with most things sustainable, progress, albeit slow from a global perspective, is being made, with more attention being turned to more sustainable processes in agriculture.” - Writes Cary Sherburne - WhatTheyThink

“Whether it’s for-profit or not-for-profit, these are two examples that prove that secondhand chic is one of the paths out of the massive waste associated with today’s apparel industry. Every little bit helps. But even more importantly, perhaps initiatives like these will help push brands and retailers to be more responsible with their business models.…” - Writes Cary Sherburne - WhatTheyThink

“The fashion industry has been under fire for some time over its excessive carbon footprint and the pollution it generates. Now a new metric is being thrown into the mix: Traceability. In this article, we define traceability and cite several reports that paint a not-very-flattering picture of progress the industry is making.” - Writes Cary Sherburne - WhatTheyThink

“As Earth continues to heat up, brands, retailers and consumers alike are looking for innovate cooling technologies for textiles and apparel, and there are a number of them already on the market. As we note in this article, however, this is very much a “buyer beware” market, as not all cooling fabrics appear to operate as promised. Read on to learn more…” - Writes Cary Sherburne - WhatTheyThink

“We all have a role to play, whether we are suppliers, manufacturers, brands, associations, journalists, consumers or upstart companies looking to make dramatic changes. So the question for you, dear reader, is: What’s in your closet?” - Writes Cary Sherburne - WhatTheyThink

The problems were there back then, but they were exacerbated and brought to the forefront due to pandemic-related issues. With all the supply chain noise, we wondered whether there would actually be meaningful solutions soon, and/or whether reshoring and digital production would be accelerated. A Forbes article on the topic sheds some light here: - Cary Sherburne - What They Think

At the time of the acquisition completion, Shutterfly said, “This acquisition will increase the depth and breadth of what people can create, customize, and buy on the Shutterfly platform including wallpaper, fabric, and home décor. And it will connect 21 million active Shutterfly users to more than one million designs by independent artists in the Spoonflower global marketplace.”