Textile Exchange

There are only a few days left to enter to win this incredible field trip to Australia's cotton farms!

We are pleased to announce our partnership with Textiles Recycling Expo USA. Join us on April 29–30 in Charlotte, North Carolina, for an exhibition and conference bringing together leading voices in textile recycling to advance innovation and collaboration across the industry. With expert panels discussing emerging technologies, circular business models, and the shifting policy landscape, the expo offers attendees the opportunity to explore and develop practical solutions for a more sustainable future. 📅 April 29-30, 2026  📍 Charlotte Convention Center, North Carolina  🎟️ Free registration Secure your place: https://lnkd.in/dEWFu-Cb Register to be an exhibitor: https://lnkd.in/ek6bsewP

🎬 Out now! Our latest film, "From Store to Shore," is now available to stream: https://lnkd.in/d5Namvgq Behind every garment at Accra's bustling Kantamanto Market, there’s a story.   Produced in collaboration with The Or Foundation, "From Shore to Store" brings these narratives to life—spotlighting the women whose skill, care, and creativity holds this vast and fragile ecosystem together. From stall owners like Stella Oppong Agyare, whose job now means navigating the decreasing quality the garments that arrive in the bales she buys, to upcyclers like Khadijah Abdallah, whose days are dedicated to transforming the unsalvageable into something new, their work keeps thousands of garments in circulation each day. At the heart of it all is the Kantamanto Women’s Association, a collective formed with support from The Or Foundation to uplift and advocate for the women who hold this system together. But their voices reveal a trade pushed to its limits: low-quality imports, mounting waste, and little recognition from the global fashion industry for the fundamental work they do. Watch the full film and learn more about this story at: https://lnkd.in/d5Namvgq 📷: Tonia-Marie Parker and Faiza Salman

Everything we depend on starts with soil. 🌱 This #WorldSoilDay, we are highlighting the universal principles of regeneration that are mostly formed around soil. These principles apply everywhere, but meaningful regenerative outcomes depend on local context such as landscape, culture, climate, and available resources. By investing in practices that protect soil structure, encourage biodiversity, and strengthen ecosystem resilience, our industry can support the long-term viability of the raw materials we rely on. Healthy soil means a healthier planet. Let’s protect the living world beneath our feet. ➡️ Swipe to learn about the five principles of regeneration. 📷: Priyadarshini Ravichandran, Teresa Freitas, Carl Van der Linde

We are excited to share that we are joining forces with Cotton Australia to offer a complimentary spot for one Textile Exchange follower to join their renowned Camp Cotton Tour and Australian Cotton Forum, from April 27 to May 1, 2026. The trip begins with two days in Sydney for the Australian Cotton Forum, followed by a three-day adventure that takes you behind the scenes to see how cotton is produced on the ground. You’ll meet their farmers, researchers, and agronomists, witness leading farming technology in action, and gain first-hand insight into the programs, partnerships, and practices behind Australian cotton. To get a feel for what Camp Cotton is all about, check out the wrap-up video from the 2024 tour: https://lnkd.in/dfGZfmZd 🌱 What’s included:  • Participation in Camp Cotton (April 29-May 1) and the Australian Cotton Forum (April 27-28)  • Economy airfare from anywhere in the world  • Accommodation and meals 🎁 How to enter:  • Follow Textile Exchange and Cotton Australia on LinkedIn  • Like and comment on this post, telling us why you’d love to attend Camp Cotton! Entrants from around the world are welcome. All entries must be submitted by December 12 at 11:59pm CEST. Five entries will be selected at random, and from that group, one final participant will be chosen. The selected participant will be contacted via LinkedIn the week of December 15. Winner is responsible for arranging their Australian visa and travel insurance. Please note that the prize is non-transferable, and in the event the winner is unable to attend, the runner-up will be offered the prize. All trip participants agree to be included in photography and film during the experience. 

Who bears the burden of fashion’s overproduction problem? Our upcoming film, "From Store to Shore," traces the journey of excess clothing from the Global North to the shores of Accra, Ghana. Produced in collaboration with The Or Foundation, it takes viewers to Kantamanto Market, one of the world’s largest secondhand markets. Sustained by an estimated 30,000 people, including porters, retailers, traders, menders, creatives, and upcyclers, this circular system is at once ingenious and increasingly fragile. Today, the global fashion, textile, and apparel industry produces an ever-increasing number of garments each year and clothing is considered inherently disposable, without a thought to where it ends up. The sheer volume of items arrives in Kantamanto faster than the community can absorb it, overwhelming both them and the infrastructure they have built. "From Store to Shore" follows the stories of three women on the frontlines, whose daily work reflects this reality: Stella Oppong Agyare, a stall owner navigating the declining value of secondhand clothing; Fideis Issah, part of the Tide Turners team clearing textile waste from Accra’s beaches; and Khadijah Abdallah, an upcycler transforming garments that would otherwise be discarded.  At the heart of the film is the Kantamanto Women’s Association, a collective formed with support from The Or Foundation to uplift and advocate for the women who hold this system together. Their voices reveal a trade pushed to its limits: low-quality imports, mounting waste, and little recognition from the global fashion industry for the fundamental work they do. Watch the trailer and witness a remarkable circular economy now under strain, and the urgent need for the global fashion industry to take responsibility for its waste. 🎬 Stay tuned for the release of the full film on 8 December. 🎥: Tonia-Marie Parker and Faiza Salman

This #GivingTuesday, join us in weaving a more sustainable textile future. The fibers we choose shape our planet’s future, and today, your support can help accelerate the transformation our industry urgently needs. At Textile Exchange, our mission is to transform how we produce, choose, and reuse materials to benefit the people and places at the source. We're driving a 45% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions from fiber and raw material production by 2030. But we can't do it alone. Your contribution today helps us:  ➡️ Support farmers transitioning to regenerative practices  ➡️ Strengthen toolkits and standards that scale sustainable materials  ➡️ Expand global Tier 4 data and research to unlock barriers to adopting preferred production systems Every donation matters, whether $10, $100, or more. Together, we can accelerate change at the speed and scale the climate needs. Donate now ➝ https://lnkd.in/dTeAkxNw #GivingTuesday #ClimateAction #TextileExchange 📷: Alejandra Orosco, Tristan McKenzie, Carl Van der Linde, Priyadarshini Ravichandran

Textile Exchange’s evolved membership structure is an opportunity to set a clear direction of travel for the entire industry.     Our members are fundamental to achieving the progress we want to see. Now, with our redefined membership structure, we’re empowering our community to go further, together. This new chapter of Textile Exchange membership:  ➡️ Creates a single cohesive framework for organizations to take clear, confident steps to respond collectively to the climate and nature crisis.    ➡️ Offers two distinct but connected cohorts, Action and Community, each with clear pathways that cater to the distinct needs and goals of the industry—from brands, retailers, and producers to academics and service providers.  ➡️ Maintains the ethos of community and collaboration that have always been at the heart of our membership.    🎥 Watch the video to hear Sarah Needham, Senior Director of Engagement and Partnerships, share how our evolved membership turns ambition into tangible progress and shapes a future grounded in collective action. More details on our updated structure and onboarding process will be released in early 2026. Existing members can find out more, including details of a webinar discussing the structure on December 4, on The Hub. If you are not a current member, visit TextileExchange.org. 🎥: Sirence Studios

🔔 Introducing our redefined membership We’re excited to share that Textile Exchange is evolving its membership to unlock the next stage of collective action for climate and nature.     This important shift will see a more action-oriented and impact-driven structure, designed to meet organizations where they are on their sustainability journey and provide them with clear pathways that support them to respond to the climate and nature crisis—while staying rooted in the strong community that has always defined us. For more than two decades, we’ve supported a global network of 700 organizations across the fashion, textile, and apparel industry. Together, we’ve advanced purposefully produced materials and strengthened the shared understanding needed to drive progress. But as the urgency of the climate and nature crisis grows, so does the need for greater alignment, clearer pathways, and more coordinated action. ➡️ What’s changing—and why it matters  Our redefined membership structure brings different Textile Exchange initiatives into a single, cohesive framework that offers clearer pathways, targeted guidance, and a more consistent approach to measuring progress. This announcement is the first step in a phased transition period, focused on supporting organizations to move into this new structure progressively and with the support of Textile Exchange. Organizations will be able to join one of two distinct but connected cohorts: 🤝The Community Cohort  Intended for organizations that do not produce or procure raw materials, such as academics, non-profits, solution providers, consultancies, and supply chain partners in Tiers 1–3. It provides a flexible, self-guided experience focused on peer learning, knowledge exchange, events, and access to expert-developed tools and resources. This cohort most closely matches our current offering. ✍The Action Cohort  Purpose-built for brands, retailers, suppliers, and Tier 4 material producers that are directly involved in sourcing or producing materials. It is structured to help its members achieve concrete, measurable progress for climate, nature, people, and animals.    🌱 What’s next  We’re excited to welcome both new and existing members to join us in this next chapter. Existing members will have time and support to move into the new structure, with the transition happening in phases. We will be there every step of the way to help ensure you’re on the path that best suits your organizational needs while contributing to meaningful industry-wide change. More details on our updated structure and onboarding process will be released in early 2026. Existing members can find out more, including details of a webinar discussing the structure on December 4, on The Hub. If you are not a current member, visit TextileExchange.org.

🔔 Understanding the environmental risks linked to leather production is becoming easier with new, location-specific insights. Textile Exchange’s Materials Impact Explorer tool has now been updated to include leather as an additional material category. The update includes risk ratings and recommendations tailored to the raw material country of origin for the production of cattle for bovine leather. This pioneering risk assessment tool is designed to help brands and retailers understand the potential risks relating to the raw materials they source and how they can mitigate them. It can also be used to support risk assessment for several reporting and disclosure frameworks. Powered by partnership, the Materials Impact Explorer combines Google Cloud’s technical capabilities with WWF’s conservation expertise to provide context-based recommendations to the fashion, textile, and apparel industry. 🔗 Explore the latest update to the tool at https://lnkd.in/diz9V6wj