January 2012

Materials Traceability: What We Can Learn From Tomatoes and Peppers

In the spring of 2008, almost three years ago, 1,300 people across the country ate salsa and became sick from salmonella poisoning... From this lesson, the FDA learned the value of traceability... So what are the lessons for us in the apparel industry? Traceability isn’t going away. As consumers become accustomed to knowing more about what they’re buying, they’ll start asking questions...

5 Ambitions for Organic Cotton in 2012

By: Liesl Truscott - Farm Engagement Director, Textile Exchange

What do we want to be able to look back on this time next year and feel a sense of satisfaction... of purpose... of really making a difference?  We saw 2010 begin to send ripples of uncertainty down many people’s spine... Come 2011, some might say our bubble had burst.. What now for 2012? ...Read More...

Integrity and Courage – two sides of the same coin

By Liesl Truscott, Director Farm Engagement, Textile Exchange

It’s a sad situation when ‘doing the right thing’places an organization at risk. Yet, we saw just recently how true this can be when the company Victoria’s Secret, and the NGOs Fairtrade International and Helvetas, were accused by Bloomberg Press of not ‘getting it right’ in Burkina Faso.