<title-serif>Sustainability must be at the forefront<title-serif><title-sans> of fashion<title-sans>

Google recently unveiled the Global Fibre Impact Explorer (GFIE), a cloud-based tool allowing anyone in the trade to get a clearer picture of where their fabrics are coming from. Brands, designers and factory owners can assess environmental risk across air pollution, biodiversity, climate, emissions, forestry and water use.

Google has worked with WWF to gather data from all over the world, and tech agency Beyond has translated this into a very smart tool which, it is hoped, will inform future sourcing behaviour across the industry.

During a pilot, GFIE helped to show designer Stella McCartney how to improve cotton sourcing in Turkey, not by abandoning the region, but by investing in local regenerative farming. Throughout 2022, the Textile Exchange non-profit will be inviting brands to try out GFIE.