Unraveling Textile Waste: Hidden Costs and Solutions
Date & Time:
Sat, Jan 25, 2025, 1:00 pm
Venue: American Swedish Institute
Cost: Free with registration
This session will explore the hidden costs of textile production and disposal. We'll discuss the environmental and health impacts of chemicals and plastics in clothing, innovative local and national recycling initiatives, and the necessary waste management systems. Hear from experts, including a brand with an approach that centers worker's rights and dignity in reimagining textiles, a researcher developing a machine that could make materials more reusable, and an international journalist about the benefits of second hand markets, on how we can address the textile waste crisis.
About the Speakers
Adam Minter is a columnist with Bloomberg Opinion. From 2002 to 2014, he was based in Shanghai, where he covered the trans-Pacific trade in recycling; he continued that coverage from Kuala Lumpur, where was based from 2014 until Covid. His first book, "Junkyard Planet: Travels in the Billion Dollar Trash Trade," is an insider's look at the world of globalized recycling. His most recent book, "Secondhand: Travels in the New Global Garage Sale" is a deep dive into the secondhand economy that thrives around the world.
Abigail Clarke-Sather is an Associate Professor at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD) in the Mechanical & Industrial Engineering department. She started Waypoint Forward LLC with her graduated master’s student Paulo Alves in 2024 to disseminate technologies aiding transitions to textile circular economies. The Fiber Shredder mechanical textile recycling technology they co-created is patent pending. Dr. Clarke-Sather holds a B.A. in Physics from Earlham College, and a Graduate Sustainability Certificate, M.S., and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Michigan Technological University.
She was a post-doctoral scholar and Visiting Young Scientist at the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Lanzhou working on steps rural households could take to reduce the carbon intensity from energy use. Dr. Clarke-Sather worked as a project manager at the International Center for Appropriate & Sustainable Technology collaborating on projects with utilities, government officials, non-profits, farmers, and students.
Dr. Clarke-Sather welcomes partnerships on textile recycling through Waypoint Forward and collaborations on real-world sustainability applications through her research lab, the Applied Sustainable Product Innovation and Resilient Engineering (ASPIRE) Lab.
Annie Agle is the Vice President of Sustainability and Impact for Cotopaxi, a Public Benefit Corporation founded to create Gear for Good®️, sustainably designed gear that fuels both outdoor experiences and global change. She is responsible for steering the brand’s actions around climate, giving, corporate social responsibility, and human rights. She works to democratically implement sustainable business strategies to drive the brand’s positive social and environmental returns. Annie also oversees Cotopaxi’s reporting and certifications, including the company’s annual GRI report, B Corporation assessment, GHG measurements, and SBT reductions.
Annie has over a decade of experience impacting business strategy and leadership, working with numerous companies as an ESG consultant at Hanuman Capital and Development3. She believes that humility, collaboration, and transparency are the foundational principles of effective and holistic sustainability and works passionately to leverage her experience and network to serve the needs of wider society.
Annie is a graduate of Barnard College at Columbia University and completed her Master’s of Science in Sustainability at the University of Cambridge in England. Annie is proudly autistic and in her spare time, she loves dungeons and dragons, playing outside, ballet, and her family.
Moderator Reza Cristián (She/Her) is the founder and editor-in-chief of SUSTAIN the mag, an online media platform where eco-conscious warriors cultivate a healthy, planet-friendly lifestyle. At SUSTAIN, it's our focus to create a diverse and inclusive space for people who are making a change for the planet and the people. SUSTAIN has hosted multiple virtual and IRL community-driven events such as her Sustainable Bus Tours, as well as holding space in the “Slow Media” movement. She currently resides between Minneapolis, where she loves to hike, bike around, and enjoy lots of coffee.