Ecotextile Talks

Author: MCL News and Media

Exclusive Podcasts that tackle the crucial environmental issues impacting today's global textile and clothing supply chains. Put together by the team that launched the pioneering Ecotextile News magazine back in 2007, we take listeners behind the scenes to reveal how we break the news and also provide deep dive Newscasts on sustainability, ethics, policy, retail, pollution and the carbon crisis engulfing our planet.
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Language: en

Genres: Business, Business News, News

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Can Cleaner Chemistry Save Fashion – and Nature?
Episode 15
Monday, 17 November, 2025

Ecotextile Talks, host Philip Berman talks to Frank Michel, CEO of the ZDHC Foundation, about why he thinks cleaner chemistry is becoming a hard ESG requirement rather than a nice-to-have for the global textile value chain. They explore how ZDHC has evolved from its original Manufacturing Restricted Substances List (MRSL) focus into a broader nature-impact lens that links process chemistry to water quality, biodiversity, climate, and investor risk. Frank explains the thinking behind ZDHC's new impact framework, developed with environmental consultancy Quantis, which uses lifecycle assessment (LCA) and facility-level data to model how switching from conventional to ZDHC‑conformant chemicals can cut pollution indicators – with early pilots suggesting local reductions of 80–96% when compliant formulations replace non-compliant ones. They discuss why this work matters for ESG ratings, and why major rating agencies are now asking sharper questions about chemical risk, in an industry some investors increasingly compare to the fossil fuel one, from a risk perspective. https://www.roadmaptozero.com/zdhc-quantis-report-2025 How to subscribe to Ecotextile News https://www.ecotextile.com/membership-account/membership-levels/ Following Ecotextile Talks Ecotextile Talks is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, and wherever you listen to podcasts.