To mark the Lunar New Year (Year of the Dragon) on February 10, 2024, three Chinese fashion brands have teamed up with environmental non-profit organization Canopy. Multi-brand fashion company Ellassay Group, sportswear brand Engine Bird and socks company Happywool are the first Chinese brands to partner with Canopy to keep climate and biodiversity-critical forests out of their viscose and paper packaging supply chains, thereby protecting ancient and endangered forests.
FashionUnited spoke with Canopy founder and CEO Nicole Rycroft about the biggest sustainability trends shaping China’s fashion industry in the coming decade and how other Chinese fashion brands can adapt amid a global sustainability push.
Could you tell us a little about the three companies that are CanopyStyle and Pack4Good connected?
Together, the three companies represent eight brands. Ellassay is already well established and includes the brands Ellassay, Laurel, Ed Hardy, Iro, Vivienne Tam and Jean-Paul Knott. It is a company that is well positioned in terms of purchasing, machines and communication. Happywool is a sock manufacturer specializing in woolen items, and Engine Bird is an up-and-coming sports brand.
All three are very enthusiastic about leaning into this commitment and having conversations with like-minded people. They have not only committed themselves to no longer purchasing packaging that endangers virgin forests, but also to favoring next-gen solutions and promoting nature conservation. They are the first brands in China to formally commit, but they are shutting down more than 550 brands and retailers worldwide which account for annual sales of over one trillion US dollars.
How is China currently positioned in terms of producing next-gen materials?
The entry of the first Chinese brands is important because China is positioned to play a leading role in the production of next-generation low-carbon materials. China is also the largest textile and clothing manufacturer and exporter in the world. The country is also currently the largest importer of ancient and endangered forest fibers – more than 300 billion trees are felled each year for the production of viscose textiles and more than 3 billion for the production of packaging.
China is an epicenter of manufacturing, with many high-carbon, biodiverse forests contributing to the value chain. What is interesting, however, is that the country has a long tradition of producing packaging from straw. Worldwide, 11 billion tons of straw are produced from agricultural residues, most of which are currently produced in China.
The country traditionally works with alternative raw materials or materials that are produced as by-products of other processes. This can lead to greater openness and enable the production of quality products that the market needs.
What are some of the environmental goals?
As the Chinese government is strongly aligned with global 2030 goals – be they on climate or biodiversity – it has drawn up five-year plans to, for example, recycle 25 percent of China’s textile waste, resulting in 2 million tonnes of new low-carbon waste by 2025 , next-generation circular fibers, positioning China as an early next-gen manufacturing hub.
China could be a solution provider for global brands looking for low-carbon alternatives. Especially brands that sell to Europe or have their headquarters in Europe. In Europe there are a whole range of laws and regulations, for example the EU Deforestation Regulation or the Ecodesign Regulation, all of which will come into force either this year, next year or by 2026. This will a) ban goods made from the world’s ancient and endangered forests and b) impose minimum requirements on recyclable content.
The fact that there is a lot of textile waste and agricultural residues in China, and that the government has made a clear commitment to this, can help the country achieve its climate and biodiversity goals, but it will also have an impact on the global market put us in a truly competitive position to meet the demand for these low-carbon materials.
What are some of the benefits of these materials?
There are a variety of benefits to using next-gen materials: producing one ton of viscose from recycled textiles requires five tons less carbon, fewer chemicals, depending on the technology, 60-90 percent less water, less energy, the forests are preserved, pollution is reduced and any secondary environmental impacts associated with agricultural residues or textile waste are also offset.
Used textiles are an important source of the quantities stored in landfills worldwide. Landfills are the third largest source of anthropogenic methane, or CO2. Agricultural residues such as straw, left over after harvest every year, are burned by farmers in the fields, which not only releases CO2 but also leads to local health crises.
By returning these materials, which are currently disposed of as waste, back into the production chain, we create new jobs and additional sources of income for farmers. At the production level, we use 75 percent less energy, 60-90 percent less water, fewer chemicals and we stabilize our climate through biological diversity.
Will other companies in the Chinese fashion industry follow suit?
Of course, this takes time, but we are confident that these three companies will be the first of a growing number of Chinese fashion and apparel brands to play a leading role in this next innovation for sustainable next-gen circular materials.
I think even in the domestic market there is a growing awareness of China’s pride and ability to truly position itself as a global leader in the production of these materials. This will also encourage domestic brands to enter this space. Among the companies that produce viscose and are on the market with next-gen products, it is not surprising that most of them are Chinese fiber manufacturers.