Sustainability in the textile and apparel industry is the theme of Abit workshop

Last Wednesday (June 15), Abit (Brazilian Association of the Textile and Apparel Industry) welcomed executives and researchers to a workshop on how sustainability can be used and can drive textile and apparel industry strategies. The event was the result of a partnership between Texbrasil, the Brazilian Fashion Industry Internationalization Program, developed by Abit and Apex-Brasil (Brazilian Trade and Investment Promotion Agency), and Uniethos, a consulting firm specializing in sustainability strategies for the industry.

With discussion of issues related to social and environmental aspects that impact the fashion chain, the event also covered the sustainability panorama at Brazilian companies and how this concept can contribute to competitiveness in domestic production. Executive Gustavo Horta, who plans to start a venture in the retail fashion area, came in search of information on the sector. “Sustainability will be one of the pillars of the business and the main added-value of our product, which is why it is a very big concern,” says Horta. He added that “the discussion was extremely advantageous, since it brought together a very interesting group of people with different opinions, which brought a lot of richness to the dialog.”

Evelise Anicet, a professor at UFRGS (Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul) and a coordinator at the university’s Sustainable Fashion Center said that “being here today is so important to me. The people that came and the contributions are excellent.” She is also a member of Contextura, an experimental ethical fashion brand from Rio Grande do Sul that is connected to the Creative Economy Observatory at UFRGS. Ursula, from Umatex, said that her biggest motivation for attending the talk was information. “In the middle of the country’s economic and political situation, finding information is essential. Moreover, everyone here is very invested and the discussion is fantastic,” she says.

The workshop, which was led by Regi Magalhaes (the director of Uniethos who holds a PhD in Environmental Science from the University of Sao Paulo and has international executive education in sustainability, supply chain and shared value), was also aimed at training member companies on how to raise their degree of compliance with international sustainability demands, allowing them to securely access new markets outside of Brazil.

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