Sustainability and profitability - can they co-exist? PI Apparel Supply Chain Forum seeks to find out
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PI Apparel’s first Supply Chain Forum of the year is taking place this month in Amsterdam. From increasing demand for sustainability and ethical practices, to navigating complex trade regulations and Supply Chain disruptions, fashion executives must stay agile and adaptable to succeed in today’s market.
PI Apparel will bring together key industry players to reevaluate Supply Chain strategies in light of the highly turbulent environment of the last several years.
Key focus points include:
- Geopolitics Winds of Change: the impact of political and economical shifts on fashion supply chains
- Sustainable Supply Chains: paving the way for the future of fashion through the successful implementation of ethical practices
- Fashion Forward: embracing digital transformation across the supply chain
Questioning:
- What is the financial and environmental return on investment of circular apparel?
- How can you balance the need for transparency with concerns around data privacy and security?
- What impact does the rise of e-commerce have on traditional supply chain models?
When it comes to sustainability, there has been an increase in demand for brands to be more transparent with their sourcing and production processes. Fast fashion brands in particular have been under intense scrutiny in recent years for their contribution to landfill waste and CO2 emissions. According to ethical brand rating company Good On You, H&M has set a science-based target to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 through using renewable energy as part of their supply chain and offering a recycling program when customers return clothing. While more brands are pushing for greener practices, the implementation of sustainable strategies unearths new risks. These include how supply chains can be both profitable and efficient while being sustainable and how do you balance the demand for transparency with data privacy?
Some industry pioneers are also exploring what comes after sustainability. How can we maintain these practices in the long-term and how do we avoid a greenwashed future? There have been increasing talks in the industry about supporting a circular economy by building the right infrastructure within future supply chains.
According to the Ellen Macarthur Foundation, the current linear economy of fashion supply chains leaves economic opportunities untapped, puts pressure on resources, pollutes and degrades the natural environment and creates negative societal impacts at local, regional and global scales. They report that while clothing represents more than 60% of the total textile used, clothing use has declined by almost 40% in the last 15 years. By moving to a circular system, the Ellen Macarthur Foundation estimates that the industry can unlock a $560 billion economic opportunity through implementing new business models that increase clothing use, focusing on safe and renewable inputs and innovating the ways we can reuse clothing.
PI Apparel’s Supply Chain Forum will be directly tackling these issues with their line-up of expert speakers from leading companies like PVH, Timberland, Primark and Asics. They will be addressing both the opportunities and risks of digital transformation, whether or not brands will need samples if they are able to offer digital options and the best practices for managing inventory across multiple sales channels - to name a few.
Key sessions include:
- Panel - Expecting the Unexpected: Navigating Unpredictability and Disruption in Fashion Supply Chains with Agility and Resilience
- Focus Group - The Future of Fashion: On-Demand Manufacturing as a Game-Changes for Supply Chain Transformation
- Mastering the Digital Fashion Frontier: Unlocking the Potential of E-Commerce and Omni-Channel Strategies in Fashion Supply Chains
- Reshaping the Fashion Industry: Onshoring and Nearshoring as Key Strategies for Supply Chain Resilience and Localization
Join PI Apparel in Amsterdam on 30-31st May to be a part of the push towards a greener future. Please note that delegate registration is only open to valid end user delegates, namely brands, retailers and manufacturers.