The heightened scrutiny our industry is now facing about sustainability is not going to diminish over the coming years, but rather it will likely become even more stringent.

As an industry, the global textile and apparel industry has historically faced little regulatory scrutiny. Ten years ago, the devastating collapse of the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh focused the industry in the public eye on worker health and safety, primarily. In the recent five to seven years, the global attention on climate change has focused eyes on our industry, reputed to be the second most-polluting industry on the planet. This scrutiny is not going away.

One thing the imprinted sportswear industry itself needs to give careful thought to is how the end of life of the products we sell will be managed. Brands and retailers are actively working with recycling models and take-back programs to try to manage the end of their products’ lives, but our industry has a built-in disconnect between the issuer of the promotional product or fast fashion garment and the eventual end-user of that item. Building circularity into our industry will require some creative thinking and collaboration with other segments of the industry.

Sustainable solutions include:

• More environmentally friendly materials (input materials such as inks, solvents, etc.)
• More sustainable substrates (sustainable fiber apparel, recycled or recyclable packaging, etc.)
• Innovative practices (that reduce environmental impacts by creating less waste, using less energy and resources, etc.)
• Adoption of new technologies that consume less energy (infrared dryers, etc.)
• Changes to business practices that positively impact outcomes (such as virtual sampling instead of physical sampling, direct-to-screen software, direct-to-garment printing, etc.)