TexWorld Panel Debates the Future of Sustainable Textiles

On Wednesday, January 23, 2019, The Conscious Closet author Elizabeth L. Cline joined a rousing panel on sustainable textile innovation at TexworldUSA, the United States’s largest trade show for textile industry professionals. The panel was organized and moderated by Lauren Fay of The New Fashion Initiative. Other panelists included Joshua Katcher, vegan menswear designer of Brave Gentleman; Pearl Gillespie-Malikul from waterproofing innovation startup, Dropel, and Giulio Bonazzi, Chairman and CEO of Aquafil, makers of recycled nylon product, EcoNYL. The panel shared to a large audience their expertise on a wide range of topics, from the future of carbon-neutral sheep farming, the growing recycled nylon market, the evolution of animal-free leather alternatives, innovations in nontoxic waterproofing finishes, and the importance of consumer use-phase in developing circular economy strategies. Panelists from L to R: Lauren Fay; Giulio Bonazzi; Pearl Malikul; Elizabeth L. Cline; and Joshua Katcher.