Building Bridges and Cultivating Connections: Team Takeaways from Textile Exchange 2024
Connection, collaboration, innovation, and honesty: these terms encompass the key takeaways from our team after attending Textile Exchange 2024 in Pasadena, California.
Hosted in North America this year, the annual event brought together leaders and visionaries across the textile and apparel industries, all working toward a shared goal: advancing sustainability and circularity.
Our team left inspired by the vibrant discussions, actionable insights, and the powerful sense of community that Textile Exchange fosters year after year. From conversations about circular systems and Extended Producer Responsibility bills like California’s SB707, to building the business case for sustainability and the evolving challenges our global communities face, the conference reinforced the importance of honest dialogue and cross-functional collaboration as drivers of impactful change. With the evolving tides of the global textile ecosystem, attendees at the conference also underscored the growing importance of bringing divers players into these discussions to spark innovative, system-wide solutions in North America and across the global landscape. The community is ready to continue driving progress forward, and action-oriented toolkits like the “Building Better Logistics for Textile-to-Textile Recycling” toolkit were developed and shared at the conference for this exact reason.
Read on for some of our team’s personal takeaways from the conference and their hopes for the future of sustainability within the global textile ecosystem.
“Getting to reconnect with the community at Textile Exchange this year made it clear how much of an appetite there is to learn more about circular systems and the intersection with responsible sourcing strategies, and how having this shared space for organic connection is what will propel our industry forward. This is especially the case when honest conversations—which can sometimes be sticky at first—need to be had in order for all of us in the ecosystem to be set up for success as we move ahead.
Holding space for dialogue and remaining open to hearing other perspectives will allow us to get out of our echo changer and arm us with the tools and narratives required to take the essential next steps to propel cross-functional collaboration and industry innovation forward on a wider and more impactful scale.”
– Lina G Londono, VP of Sustainability and Solutions
“It was energizing to be amongst such a range of folks and businesses across the textile value chain at once. The conference was designed so there was space for connection, learning, and opportunity. As this year’s conference took place in North America, it was a unique opportunity to represent and exhibit the work and growth Debrand has achieved with our partners over the last year. “
– Christa Clay, Business Development Manager
Sustainability thrives on connection—between people, ideas, systems, and ecosystems.
“Every year (that I have attended), Textile Exchange has brought together an amazing and diverse community of people across the industry. This is the true value of the conference. The connections and conversations that have started here are significant.
I always walk away from the conference with a renewed sense of hope that we will solve the challenges ahead of us because the people I have met and that are also tackling these problems are caring, curious, ambitious, open, and willing to collaborate on shared goals.
Sustainability thrives on connection—between people, ideas, systems, and ecosystems. Only through genuine collaboration and shared purpose can we create impactful change that respects and preserves our world. Connection and collaboration allow us to achieve goals and create solutions that are beyond our individual reach.”
– Katie Capozzi, Key Account Manager
“There’s a clear buzz and energy within the sustainability and circularity ecosystem on finding new ways to drive tangible change with real results. It was uplifting to see folks from areas across the supply chain attend, and I think there’s only more opportunity to invite more cross-functional players into this space to learn from this community as well—from Operations, Brand, Legal, Finance, etc. It takes a collective effort to change systems, and fashion and apparel sustainability is one of the largest systems on a global scale that is ripe for this kind of innovation. We need more diverse players and voices to join the conversation and help move the needle.”
– Melanie Mok, Director of Marketing and Communications
We’re looking forward to staying connected with the community. Until then, make sure you stay connected with us by following us on LinkedIn or signing up for our newsletter to get the Debrand updates.