World Textile Summit to take place during ITMA 2015

The World Textile Summit 2015 a unique one-day event that brings together the world’s most influential textile business leaders to debate issues of strategic importance to the global industry will be taking place on 13 November during ITMA 2015 in Milan, Italy and co-located at the fair grounds.

The Summit will be an opportunity for textile business leaders to share and discuss their own direct experiences, with several presenting short case studies and engaging in audience debate on topics that include, the investment case for green technology and value creation from the use of sustainable materials.

The event will seek to answer sustainability question that matter to the industry’s strategic decision makers and respond to the questions What return should I expect from capital investment in resource efficient technologies; How do one establish and monitor a sustainable supply chain; What are the market opportunities that arise from a strategy based on clean production and sustainable materials; how to manage the risks to corporate reputation.

Vivek Tandon, Co-founder, Aloe Group will set out why strong sustainability credentials can help a business to attract investment from capital markets.

Aloe states that its mission is to develop hard-asset based companies, which provide proven technological solutions to environmental and social challenges – especially those experienced by the high growth markets of Asia and it bases its approach on the UN Global Compact. Its investments include India’s Polygenta, which makes filament yarns from recycled PET bottles.

Sustainability as a key factor in differentiating brands and companies Paula Oliveira, Director, Interbrand will explore how companies can differentiate themselves from their competitors through their commitment to sustainability and build a unique identity that will attract customers.

Her advice comes against the background of a recent survey of CEOs by the United Nations Global Compact on sustainability, which revealed that ‘brand trust and reputation’ were their top reasons for taking action on sustainability. However, others have warned of the temptation of ‘greenwashing’, which can undermine trust, and stress that sustainability must be about driving substantial and authentic change.

The event is sponsored by leading textile-machinery companies and environmental standards bodies including SPGPrints, MS Italy, bluesign technologies, Oeko-Tex, Reggiani, and Oerlikon. Supporting partners include the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, The Textile Institute and the Better Cotton Initiative.