January 12, 2012
Dear Friends,
On behalf of the Textile Exchange family, I send my warmest wishes for a wonderful new year to you and yours!
Looking back on the past 10 years to our humble beginnings as Organic Exchange in 2002, we could never have anticipated the rate at which companies explored and adopted more sustainable business practices. Nor could we have foreseen the need for organizations like ours who not only offer a neutral, safe space for industry-changing and often sensitive issues but help move companies with very few resources along the sustainability pendulum as quickly as their more resource and experience rich counterparts.
In order to support both incremental shifts and truly disruptive sustainable innovation and ensure we have natural resources to support the textile, apparel, footwear, and home furnishings markets and the employees, economies, and communities they in turn support, we need everyone’s participation. We all have a hand in shaping what our world can and will become, and it can be shaped for the better. We can equip the next generation of leaders and leave them with a healthy legacy. Our Textile Exchange team has set a goal of an additional appeal of $200,000.00 USD to help continue our mission of working with the textile supply chain. And we need your help.
I am personally appealing to each of you to donate online a gift of $25, $50, $100, or $1,000 or more by April 1. We will be updating you weekly on our progress, either through direct communication or on our home page at www.TextileExchange.org.
Your continued support will allow us to build on our previous success with the following:
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Access to Information. The Textile Exchange Website and Farm Hub website are the go-to resources for sustainable textiles information 24/7. Additional funds are needed to expand our site to include added features like a more robust Sustainability Help Desk, where questions or issues can be posed for public discussion or directly to TE staff. This service will both flag existing and emerging issues that might slow or halt progress in discreet areas of sustainable textile development and production and allow TE to highlight those issues for discussion and resolution.
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Training and Education. Textile Exchange continues to focus on training and education initiatives. This is paramount to the success of a very fragmented textile industry. For the last 10 years, we have provided over 400 training sessions globally, from in the field training for farmers to brand seminars in Europe. To help continue this mission, we need funds to help educate the supply chain on existing environmental and social requirements; share best practices on growing organic cotton with farmers on the ground globally; and strengthen industry integrity through trainings on verification methods.
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Farm Engagement Initiatives. The need to expand farmers’ access to viable markets and build local business and technical competencies has become more important as the field of sustainable textiles has expanded. Individual farmer’s inability to secure non-genetically modified cotton seed has highlighted the need to develop a global Seed Intelligence Bank, which will act as a hub of information and a network nucleus for organic and non-GM seed resources. Additionally, it is critical for farmers to have access to suitable and affordable finance in order to buy seeds and inputs, and prepare the land. A unified approach with well chosen, socially oriented financial services could revolutionize this sector and ensure healthy, sustainable returns for agricultural workers. Just to startup the Seed Intelligence Bank an estimated $100K is needed. We are looking into developing trial partnerships, administrative responsibilities, as well as financial services so this could be piloted in thre e countries.
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Industry Integrity Initiatives. Integrity is non-negotiable when it comes to sustainable materials and products. Companies need to know that their financial and human resource investments have reached their intended parties; consumers need to know that the products they purchase and brands they support are actually doing the right thing; and legislators want to eliminate the threat of fraud. The two most important initiatives to bolster industry and product integrity are:
- A Centralized Database. This will capture data on the flow of goods which would increase the efficiency and effectiveness of current standards, introduce much needed transparency, and collect vital industry data. Work needed here includes development of information architecture, technical design, testing, and refinement.
- Consumer Communication. Textile Exchange would like to develop key communication resources that would allow clear consistent messages about the benefits of organic cotton and sustainable materials including in-store displays, brochures, and website pages, that will educate the consumer about product claims and further highlight which labels, marks, and processes can be trusted.
Thank you for supporting Textile Exchange and for helping us to continue to make the world a better place! Just a reminder that Textile Exchange is a US-based nonprofit and is classified as a 501(c)(3) organization by the Internal Revenue Service, so any gift is tax-deductible. Matching gifts are accepted as well. Please contact either myself or Heather Hocker with any questions.
My very best regards,
LaRhea Pepper, Managing Director
We inspire and equip people to accelerate sustainable practices in the textile value chain. We focus on minimizing the harmful impacts and maximizing the positive effects of the global textile industry.