Weaving a Greener Future, One Smart Stitch at a Time

Source: Canva

Did you know that...

🚫 the fashion industry accounts for 10% of the global carbon emission which is more than international flights and maritime shipping combined? 

🚫 23 billion pairs of shoes are made each year but 22 billion pairs end up in the landfill, which translates to 96% shoes are wasted? 

🚫 $500 billion is wasted each year because of failure of under-wearing and failure to recycle clothes? 

Fashion industry is indeed the most harmful industry and if goes unchecked, its threat against our environment will continue to mushroom.

But did you also know that 🇹🇼 Taiwan's textile & fashion industry is leading the global effort in smart materials and sustainable apparel production and many of these companies are located in New Taipei City?

Just to name a few: 

♻ Computer powerhouse Acer has a lifestyle arm Acer Gadget Inc. that offers products range from computer bags and e-sports-related wearable items to cycling jerseys, luggage, streetwear, and a series of bags made from recycled materials.

♻ DRIVE Catalyst, the venture capitalist arm of Far Eastern Group, has invested millions of dollars into textile-to-textile regeneration technology and that's just one of the many ventures they are involved in in to make the global apparel industry more sustainable.

♻ SAYA Renew Fibers under Nan Ya Plastics in the forefront of reducing global scrap wastage and optimizing management technology to cut down dead stock or overstocked inventory.

♻ Sabrina Fashion Industrial Corp., one of the world's performance wear manfuacturers in the world, has venture capitalist arm that are proactively supporting green-minded innovators to ensure the sustainability of the textile industry. 

In May 2024, I had the honor of participating in #WeaveVenture spearheaded by Anchor Asia (Anchor Taiwan). At the all-day event cosponsored by 新北市政府 New Taipei City Government and hosted by Elisa Chiu, I interacted with the leaders of the aforementioned companies and many more such as qonvolv Ventures, lululemon, Pou Chen Group, GoMore, Yee Chain International Co., Ltd. Cocoon Bravolution Ltd., Fantastic Enterprise Co., Ltd. (FANTERCO) and etc. Even though I am not familiar with the textile industry, I was immensely inspired by their dedication to improve the world, one garment at a time. These innovative thinkers are deeply committed to the cause of green and sustainable fashion. Each speaker highlighted the problem they are seeing, but also shared solutions they are implementing to solve the issues they are tackling. I walked away feeling so grateful and inspired to be a more cautious and conscientious shopper. After all, as the British explorer Robert Swan said, "the greatest threat to our planet is the belief that someone else will save it." 

For more information on #WeaveVenture and how your closet help protecting the planet, please check out Anchor Asia (Taiwan). 

Originally posted on Jenny Hsu's LinkedIn — Follow for more!