Marks & Clerk launches fashion sustainability podcast

By

Nigel TAYLOR

Published
May 21, 2021

It’s a subject that continues to grow in importance, especially for the fashion industry: sustainability. That’s why intellectual property firm Marks & Clerk and Future Fashion Factory have partnered to produce a specialist podcast series focusing on that subject.

Available now, the new five-part audio series, entitled ‘Fashion and Sustainability: The future of the fashion and textile industries’, explores a range of “hot topics” including garment recycling and end-of-life processing, virtual sampling, data-driven design and supply chain sustainability.
 
The series also delves into the intellectual property issues associated with sustainability and efficiency practices within fashion, trade marks, copyright, design rights, confidential information, trade secrets, labelling and advertising standards.

Marks & Clerk spokesman ​Rayyan Mughal said: “Companies are increasingly moving towards more sustainable practices, in part driven by consumer demand as people give more consideration to their impact on the planet.  [Our collaboration] with Future Fashion Factory brings together expert voices in fashion, sustainability and intellectual property, providing a space for insightful conversation and inspiration”. 
 
Professor Stephen Russell, director of the Future Fashion Factory, added: “Digital innovation, advances in new technology and alternative business models aimed at improving sustainability in fashion can have interesting intellectual property implications for designers and brands”.
 
This new podcast series will address those issues head on in an informal style that will be digestible and informative for a novice, while also being entertaining and insightful for experts.
 
Each episode will feature a roster of expert contributors including; Dr Mark Sumner, lecturer in Fashion, Retail and Sustainability at the University of Leeds; Lucy Blackley, founder and CEO at Bombyx PLM; Cherie Yang, founder of Visualist; Mike King, CEO at Numerion Software; Alan Wheeler, director at the Textile Recycling Association.