Is our current for-profit economic model a root cause of many of today's sustainability challenges generally, and specifically in apparel and fashion? Dr. Jennifer Hinton, author and Post-Doctoral Fellow at The Centre for Environmental and Climate Science at University of Lund, has concluded so. She studies how societies relate to profit and how this relationship affects global environmental and social challenges. She has come to conclusion that a not-for-profit economy is better suited to our societal needs and that it should be applied to fashion and apparel as well. Listen in as we discuss Jennifer Hinton's analysis, her definition of a not-for-profit business, its relevance for fashion and apparel, Patagonia's new foundation, de-growth, and her proposals for a total transition from for-profit businesses to not-for-profit businesses. To learn more, visit www.jenniferhinton.org. 

Ken Pucker, former Timberland COO and current Professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts, recently published a series of pieces critiquing the circular agenda for fashion. In this content rich interview, Ken explains the history of how market-led voluntary solutions became the norm and the rise of what he calls Sustainability Inc., how circularity in the fashion industry is just another attempt to maintain the unsustainable status quo, the seven barriers preventing circularity from being a realistic solution, and what he thinks we need to do instead to ensure this industry can operate within the planetary boundaries. We discuss whether commercial companies are consciously deceiving their stakeholders about the potential of circularity, the limitations of unfettered capitalism and the psychology behind growth, and whether the industry should be much smaller. For more background, read his Business of Fashion opinion piece "Circularity is a Fashionable Fantasy" and his articles in the Stanford Social Innovation Review, "A Circle that is Not So Easily Squared: Can the fashion industry make a successful turn to a circular business model?" and "The Dangerous Allure of Win-Win Strategies".

Sweden has a reputation for being a sustainability leader in many areas, so you can imagine how curious we were to learn about a newish proposal from the current Swedish government for a chemical tax on textiles. The proposal was recently made available to stakeholders for comment, and of course, a robust debate has ensued. Is this proposal, as presented today, going to lead to a reduction in harmful chemicals in Sweden and globally? Or is it a smoke screen for a government that is looking for ways to raise revenues for its national budget? And is the proposal a done deal, given the political parties agreed to this ahead of time when forming a government? In Part 1 of this episode, Michael speaks first with textile industry representatives to hear why they think the proposed tax is very problematic. You will hear from Jérôme Pero, Secretary General for the Federation of the European Sporting Goods Industry, Magnus Nikkarinen, Senior Policy Director in Sustainability at the Swedish Trade Federation, Mikael Larsson, researcher at the RISE Research Institute in Sweden, Eliina Brinkberg, Environmental Manager from Nudie Jeans Co. and Anna-Karin Dahlberg, Head of Sustainability at Lindex. In Part 2 you will hear from actors and experts who are more positive to the proposed chemical tax. Given we need bold and smart government leadership more than ever, we think this is an excellent case study for exploring what good government leadership can look like as well as which government actions can be problematic.

Sasja Beslik, Head of Sustainable Finance Development at J Safra Sarasin, fled Bosnia when he was 18 to escape the war. He ended up in Sweden and today spends his time leveraging the power of the financial sector to improve the world. He is particularly interested in the fashion industry's impact on people and has recently attracted attention for his calculations showing that a well-known fashion brand could afford to pay living wages to garment workers by increasing the prices on their clothes by only a few cents. In this interview Sasja weighs in on the apparel industry's sustainability performance and - spoiler alert - he comes down very hard on the industry. Sasja and Mike cover a range of topics, including the strengths, weaknesses and greenwashing of the sustainable investment industry in general, why he thinks apparel brands should be more directly responsible for paying living wages to factory workers, why a t-shirt should be more expensive, and why, despite it all, the fashion industry is still worth investing in.

You've heard it before: The global environmental challenges we face are daunting and time sensitive. If we want to avoid catastrophic tipping points, we need to move quickly and ambitiously. If we want to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) we need to invest trillions of dollars. And so we scratch our heads and wonder if the actions we are currently taking are meaningful. We wonder if we must choose between economic development, job creation and the environment. And we cannot help but feel that even though our intentions are good, our actions amount to the equivalent of moving the deck chairs on a sinking ship. But what if there is a way to accelerate change at the pace we need, and create benefits for people and the planet? And what if the way to get there is by leveraging our tax system as a tool for transformative change? Most people like to stay away from tax, either because it's unsexy, too complicated, or punitive. But tax policy is the fundamental way we steer our nations and fund our public services. So what can tax policy, and tax reform do for the apparel industry? In this episode Michael talks with Femke Groothuis from the think tank Ex'tax about the potential power of tax reform to change the apparel industry. Femke explains both the theory and practice of green tax reform, and presents the results from recent case studies applying these principles in both high income countries in the European Union and Bangladesh. One of her key messages is that if countries use tax reform effectively, they will not have to choose between economic development and the environment. And this perspective has gained even more relevance since the Covid-19 induced economic crisis has put domestic revenues, jobs and sustainable growth at the top of the priority list worldwide.

This podcast is supported by the Laudes Foundation, The Rylander Foundation, and TENCEL™. It is produced in collaboration with Ecotextile News.