We had employee members from Barclays Bank return on the 2nd October for our insightful factory tour and seminar. This time they brought with them delegates from some extremely large global investment companies.
Their priorities were to understand sustainable and ethical investment within the textile sector. Director Caroline Ash led the group and covered how garments are costed, how supply chain issues and inflation are impacting the manufacturing process & who bears the cost.
Both Caroline and FEL CEO, Jenny Holloway, explained how the brand/buyer to producer/factory relationships works. Why re-shoring is occurring & how can a UK factory be competitive. Could EPR mandatory disclosure requirements and KPI’s for fashion brands have an impact on suppliers? We also discussed limitations for more sustainable fabrics and how much of a factor price and margins play.
Caroline finished off with a tour of the garment factory & showcased FEL’s technology in action including Kornit Digital printing and Style3D, and talked about how we can achieve waste reduction through technology.
This was a highly interactive session and an extremely successful seminar.
Feedback from the group included:
“I found out about the difficulties of making in the UK and glimpsed into relationships between buyers and factories.”
“I found out about the ways the fashion industry can shift to becoming more sustainable. I learnt about the issues the industry is currently facing and the costing / buying process. Thank-you for sharing your knowledge.”
“Incredibly transparent and open-minded. Industry perspectives and anecdotes were very valuable.”
“I learnt a huge amount of context on the fashion industry and the issues. Great chance to look round the factory at the machines.”
“I learnt so much! Sustainability, technology, automation, costing and complexity. Thank-you.”
“I found out about garment costing and production and the realities of sustainability. Thank-you, it was wonderful!”