Best Michael Schragger Podcasts (2024)

1
For Ken Pucker, circularity is just another win-win fantasy & distraction for the fashion industry. 1:02:48

10M ago1:02:48

1:02:48

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 In…

1
HOT OFF THE PRESS: Climate & The 1 Trillion Dollar Question 58:35

2y ago58:35

58:35

Now that climate action has rapidly moved to the top of the apparel industry's agenda, it is crucial that the industry moves from intention to action - and fast. The latest analysis indicates what we need to do, but the 1 trillion dollar question is how much capital will be required to do it. Enter the Apparel Impact Institute (AII) and Fashion for…

1
HOT OFF THE PRESS: Fashion is endangering our forests. A new report from Canopy weighs in on what we need to do about it. 1:11:53

3+ y ago1:11:53

1:11:53

Forests play a crucial role in promoting biodiversity, removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and supporting livelihoods, especially in poorer countries. But because wood is the basis for so many of our products, the pressure to exploit forests, usually in unsustainable ways, continues to increase. What does this have to do with the fashion in…

1
HOT OFF THE PRESS: Are the Sustainable Apparel Coalition and the HIGG tools making a meaningful difference? A new report weighs in. 53:26

3+ y ago53:26

53:26

It's been nearly a decade since Patagonia, Walmart and a number of other brands, retailers, manufacturers and NGOs established the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), an innovative industry collaboration. As the coalition's website states, its vision is "an apparel, footwear, and textiles industry that produces no unnecessary environmental harm an…

1
DEBATE: Part 2 - A proposed Swedish chemical tax on textiles - is this a case study in great government leadership or political greenwash? 52:10

3+ y ago52:10

52:10

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 pre…

1
DEBATE: Part 1 - A proposed Swedish chemical tax on textiles - is this a case study in great government leadership or political greenwash? 1:19:55

3+ y ago1:19:55

1:19:55

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 pre…

1
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: Sustainable investment expert Sasja Beslik thinks the fashion industry is a very poor performer and possibly a stranded asset. 56:59

3+ y ago56:59

56:59

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 h…

1
MAKE YOUR CASE: Phil Patterson believes the way we use chemicals in the textiles industry is broken and here is his plan to change it! 26:32

3+ y ago26:32

26:32

Phil Patterson, Managing Director at Colour Connections, has been working at the intersection between the textile industry and influential retail brands for over twenty years, and after some recent soul-searching he had an epiphany. He has come to the conclusion that the current way we use and dispose of chemicals is extremely wasteful and will not…

1
FACT OR FICTION: Alden Wicker and Sandra Roos think the fashion industry has a misinformation problem... do you agree? 40:41

3+ y ago40:41

40:41

In this episode we continue to explore the most commonly repeated "factoids" in fashion and sustainability in order to determine whether they are substantive and useful. As a reminder, a "factoid" is information that is reported and repeated so often that it becomes accepted as fact. During Stockholm Fashion Week, Mike spoke with Alden Wicker, free…

1
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: Femke Groothuis argues that tax reform is the best way to transform the apparel industry at the scale and pace required. 50:27

4y ago50:27

50:27

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…

1
LEADING CHANGE: What can a new psychology of climate action teach us about being better change agents? 54:30

4y ago54:30

54:30

As a listener of Big Closets Small Planet, you are likely interested and engaged in changing the apparel industry. So for those of you who are keen to strengthen your change agent skills, we are introducing a new segment called Leading Change. In this first episode we are joined by Per Espen Stoknes who is that rare combination of thinker and doer.…

1
INDUSTRY UPDATE: Circular business models, like clothing resale and subscription rental, are taking off - but can they ever fully replace today's retail models and deliver the radical sustainability improvements ... 56:22

4y ago56:22

56:22

Experts and practitioners agree that simply improving upon today's take-make-waste linear business models will not ensure the apparel industry can operate within the planet's ecological boundaries. Instead, a new circular economy is needed and thus new circular business models. Circular business models, like resale and rental, are not actually new.…

1
FACT OR FICTION: Does the apparel industry really create more greenhouse gases than flights and shipping combined? 33:40

4y ago33:40

33:40

In this new segment we will explore commonly repeated "factoids" in order to determine whether they are substantive and useful. Perhaps you have heard the statement that the production and use of clothing creates more climate impact than that of flights and shipping combined? A range of organisations - including the United Nations - have referred t…

1
INDUSTRY UPDATE: COVID-19 - Are millions of workers at risk? Will Bangladesh ever be the same? 43:02

4y ago43:02

43:02

The impacts of the corona virus on the apparel sector have been fast and furious. We are all affected, but millions of low-wage garment workers are facing a potentially catastrophic situation. In this episode we talk to a number of experts and union representatives to better understand what is happening on the ground, what responsibility buyers hav…

1
INSPIRING INNOVATION: Is digital clothing the future of fashion and a solution to overconsumption? 31:02

4y ago31:02

31:02

The Fabricant, a digital fashion house, recently sold a piece of digital clothing - clothing that is only available in digital environments - for over 9000 USD. This experience helped them realise that their expertise in 3-d digital modelling could be used for a better purpose: creating a new industry sector for digital only clothing which is very …

1
HOT OFF THE PRESS: Pioneering analysis estimates 300 billion USD is needed by 2030... 54:58

4y ago54:58

54:58

...to develop and mainstream the sustainable apparel innovations required to meet key sustainability goals for the apparel industry. Listeners of this podcast series are familiar with our on-going focus on the crucial role finance and investment plays in enabling industry transformation. For the past two years SFA and Fashion for Good have been con…

1
MAKE YOUR CASE: Lewis Perkins warns the industry not to reinvent the wheel 11:41

4y ago11:41

11:41

In this new segment - Make Your Case - Big Closets Small Planet provides industry experts and stakeholders a platform to argue for a particular position or perspective. In this episode, Lewis Perkins, President of the Apparel Impact Institute (AII), outlines his organisation’s vision and advice for accelerating change in the apparel industry. He ma…

1
INSPIRING INNOVATION: Will molecular bonding of fibers mean the end of polyester? 9:30

4+ y ago9:30

9:30

Here is a quick dose of inspiration! At Planet Textiles, Mike spoke to Spencer Null about Natural Fiber Welding's breakthrough solution: enabling natural fibers like cotton to behave like polyester. Is this a game changer? It is if it means poor quality fibers can be upgraded to premium fibers... Listen to this bite size pod to get a quick lesson o…

1
BUSINESS LEADERSHIP: The optimist CEO of Lenzing, Stefan Doboczky, weighs in on circular business models, short-termism & watchdogs. 43:22

4+ y ago43:22

43:22

Do you ever wonder how CEOs from some of our industry's most influential companies view the big social and environmental challenges we are facing today and the potential of business and innovation to adequately address these? TENCEL is a sponsor of this podcast series, so Michael took the chance and invited Lenzing's CEO Stefan Doboczky to discuss …

1
INSPIRING INNOVATION: Can a simple phone call make invisible workers visible? 13:34

4+ y ago13:34

13:34

Dr. Lea Esterhuizen, an expert in gathering sensitive data from scared populations, believes we are unwittingly eating and wearing products that have likely been made or assembled using forced labor. Typically the apparel industry has used the "social audit" to address this problem. But social audits provide an incomplete picture of the situation. …

1
INDUSTRY UPDATE: Finance & Innovation - Today’s financing models don’t cut it. We need new approaches that are structured in a way to help reduce risk for all parties involved. 47:03

4+ y ago47:03

47:03

Mike had the unique opportunity to sit down with an impact investor and a vertical manufacturer to share their real world views on what it takes to accelerate the uptake of sustainable apparel technologies in the apparel supply chain. Tanvi Karambelkar, representing the newly launched Good Fashion Fund, introduces the fund’s pioneering approach for…

1
INDUSTRY UPDATE: Sound the alarm? Or have we overestimated the problems associated with microfibers & microplastics?!? 46:08

4+ y ago46:08

46:08

Between 2014 and 2016, an increasing number of journalists began reporting on disturbing new research showing that microfibers from synthetic garments were making their way from our washing machines into fish and other aquatic animals. Since then the textile industry has been scrambling to understand the extent of the problem and what our industry …

1
INSPIRING INNOVATION: The robots are coming! This development may be good for the environment, but is this the beginning of the end for garment workers in production countries? 17:43

4+ y ago17:43

17:43

The United States Military is required to make their clothing in the United States. But because very little clothing is produced in the United States today, the U.S. Military needed to find alternative solutions. Enter Pete Santora, who launched SoftWear Automation 13 years ago to respond to this challenge. Today his technology, which automates sew…

1
INDUSTRY UPDATE: A Sexy Update on the State of Chemical Management in Textiles Today. "As consumers, we've probably never been safer. As citizens, we have probably never been more unsafe..." 56:09

4+ y ago56:09

56:09

At Planet Textiles, Mike Schragger spoke with two of his favorite chemical and textiles experts, Phil Patterson and Linda Greer, about the state of the industry regarding chemical management in textiles today. If this does not sound sexy to you, then you don't know Phil and Linda! In addition to getting a primer on chemical history and good and bad…

1
INSPIRING INNOVATION: Subcritical water… what the “!#@%” is that? And what can it do for the apparel industry? 14:21

5y ago14:21

14:21

The founders of Tyton BioSciences are not personally interested in fashion, but that won’t stop them from using subcritical water to help solve the current textile-recycling conundrum. Mike Schragger talks to Luke Henning, CFO of Tyton, about their unique process for separating cellulose from polyester in blended materials. This podcast is sponsore…

1
INSPIRING INNOVATION: Apparel industry = waste. 34:29

5y ago34:29

34:29

Nearly 6 million tons of leftover textiles - the equivalent 18 million new clothes - are wasted in South East Asia and China alone. If we could remanufacture these textiles and reuse them, or ensure we only produce what we need when we need it, we may be able to significantly reduce the environmental impacts of clothing production and support the t…

1
BUSINESS LEADERSHIP: Climate Action - The H&M group boldly committed to becoming climate positive by 2040. But getting there requires unprecedented leadership and change. Is the H&M group in over its head ... 49:20

5y ago49:20

49:20

In a refreshingly candid and constructive interview, Mike spoke with the H&M group’s Kim Hällström about what has happened since the company first made their important public climate commitment and what we can learn from the H&M group’s insights and experiences in order to help the entire apparel industry reduce its emissions in line with a 1,5 deg…

1
INSPIRING INNOVATION: What if using your credit card to purchase clothing could actually help combat global warming? 32:06

5y ago32:06

32:06

If we knew the specific climate impacts of each of our purchases, such as the greenhouse gas emissions of our favourite dress or shoes, would we make more climate friendly purchases? And would the companies who make fashion and apparel products – now knowing that we know the climate impacts of our clothing purchases - offer more climate friendly op…

1
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: Innovation - Edwin Keh thinks that to solve the fashion industry’s sustainability challenges we need to radically rethink R&D. 45:28

5y ago45:28

45:28

Mike speaks with Edwin Keh, CEO of the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles & Apparel Limited, about his team's pioneering and surprising breakthrough in the area of textile recycling, his deep conviction that to accelerate the development and uptake of sustainable solutions our industry needs to do R&D very differently, and why industry innova…

1
INDUSTRY UPDATE: The Innovation Ecosystem - Do you want the inside scoop about which sustainable apparel innovations are hot and which are not? Then ask two passionate, albeit a bit wacky, business development ... 45:15

5y ago45:15

45:15

Do you get excited when hearing about breakthrough sustainability apparel innovations - such as fibers made from fruit waste or blockchain technology being used to track and trace the origin and content of your clothing? Do you sometimes wonder if these breakthroughs are too good to be true? Greg Stillman and Rogier van Mazijk work with visionary e…

1
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: Jason Kibbey: “Beware of the ‘Circular Fairies’!” 1:01:39

5+ y ago1:01:39

1:01:39

Jason Kibbey, CEO of the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), has been been leading one of the most important sustainability trade organizations in the apparel sector for the past 8 years. Jason joins Mike Schragger online from his office in San Francisco to chat about the progress the apparel sector is making, his assessment of the SAC to date, an…

1
INDUSTRY UPDATE: Finance & Innovation - Show me the money! 48:10

5+ y ago48:10

48:10

Sustainable solutions are emerging but is there enough investment capital available to ensure they succeed? Mike Schragger talks with Fashion for Good’s Rogier van Mazijk about the innovation process, the exciting sustainable solutions that could save the fashion industry, and the need for billions, if not trillions of dollars to ensure these innov…

1
THOUGHT LEADERSHIP: Linda Greer believes in radical transparency! 50:43

5+ y ago50:43

50:43

Linda Greer, Senior Scientist at the National Resources Defense Council (NRDC) joins Mike Schragger online from her office in Washington, D.C. to share her experiences working to improve the apparel sector, her initial ideas for creating a climate roadmap for apparel and her conviction that transparency as it is practiced today is not effective eno…

1
INSPIRING INNOVATION: Akshay Sethi is convinced that all of our clothes will be made from recycled materials by 2030. 28:17

5+ y ago28:17

28:17

Mike Schragger talks to the smart and savvy Akshay Sethi about the science behind polyester recycling, the rapid development of the his company Moral Fiber, the steep learning curve he has faced when starting a company directly after graduating from university, and his conviction that all of our clothes will be made by recycled materials by 2030. T…

1
INDUSTRY UPDATE: Climate Change - Are you and your company serious about helping to solve the global climate crisis? 56:43

5+ y ago56:43

56:43

Then Cynthia Cummis & Michael Sadowski from the World Resources Institute think you should start by setting science-based targets for reducing your climate emissions. Cynthia & Michael joins Mike Schragger online from their offices in Washington, D.C. and Portland, Oregon to discuss the apparel industry’s surprising impact on the climate, the Scien…

1
INSPIRING INNOVATIONS: Style Lend & Good On You are betting that they can improve your consumer behavior. 26:08

5+ y ago26:08

26:08

What if customers could improve the environment and make money by renting out their clothes simultaneously? And whom do you trust to provide an honest assessment about the ethical and environmental performance of apparel products and the companies behind them? Mike Schragger talks to Lona Alia from Style Lend and Sandra Capponi from Good On You, tw…

1
OUTING THE FASHION INDUSTRY: A crash course in sustainable fashion. 12:58

5+ y ago12:58

12:58

If you are new to the field of sustainability and/or fashion and apparel and want to quickly up get up to speed, then this podcast is for you. Mike Schragger, the host of Big Closets Small Planet, uses these 12 minutes to explain why we need to completely transform how we produce, use and dispose of fashion and apparel - before its too late.…

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