SwedTALK: The future of innovative materials

SwedTALK was held on May 26th

Watch the SwedTALK for free on Youtube!

We are living in a challenging world and the fashion industry needs to take its responsibility. The demand for alternative, sustainable fabrics in the fashion industry is growing quickly. During this SwedTALK several leading experts on sustainable fabrics will discuss the present and the future. What can we expect? And which are the big threats? Here are some of the questions to be discussed:

What are the trends within innovative sustainable materials?
From textile to techstyle. Or should we talk about compostable clothes?
From a Sustainable industry to a Sustainable society. What is the role and the responsibility of the fashion industry?
How will the biological revolution transform value chains, change society and potentially mitigate pressure on the environment?
How do we create cleaner and more efficient processes in the supply chain?
How to adapt and thrive in times of crisis?
Can the current crisis due to corona virus lead to a more sharing and open business environment with regards to sustainable materials and components supply?
How can we become better at sharing ideas, research and innovations?

Who should see this?

Fashion industry professionals
People interested in hearing the latest news on sustainable fashion

Please note that this SwedTALK is produced for industry professionals – so it might be quite technical.

Photo credit: Re:newcell

Moderator

Rebecka Lundin, Global Sourcing Manager / Multi Entrepreneur

Rebecka Lundin is an industry expert with over 20 years of experience in the Fashion Industry, working in Design, Product Development, Sourcing and Technical specification across the Globe.

Rebecka’s career has involved working for major Retail operation, Brands, Suppliers and Factories, and currently, she is working as a Global Sourcing Manager, based in Hong Kong.

Originally from Sweden, she has lived in places such as London, India, Mainland China and Hong Kong.

In her spare time, Rebecka is also a successful Entrepreneur, running a few companies such as Chinese Whisper and Swedish’s Handmade Bodycare.

Speakers / Panelists

Peter Bäckström, Global Change Award, H&M Foundation

Peter Bäckström is the Innovation Lead for H&M Foundation and responsible for the Global Change Award – the world’s leading innovation challenge for solutions within sustainable fashion.

Åsa Östlund, Former Program Director for the Research Program Mistra Future Fashion, RI.SE

Åsa Östlund contributes to the circular material transition, mainly through cooperate projects with industry in sustainable fashion and textile recycling, but also as the Focus Area Leader within Material Ecosystem at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden.

She has acted as project manager in textile fiber and recycling projects, as Dep. Program Director for Mistra Future Fashion (2011-2019) and as Action Chair for the COST Action FP1205 “Innovative applications of regenerated wood cellulose fibers (2013-2017). Åsa has a PhD (2009, Chalmers University of technology) in NMR methods for polysaccharides.

Edwin Keh, CEO, HK RITA

Edwin is the CEO of the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textile and Apparel (HKRITA). He is also on Faculty at the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania and at the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology. He teaches supply chain operations.

Until April 2010 Edwin was the SVP COO of Walmart Global Procurement. Prior to Walmart Edwin managed a consulting group that worked on supply chain, manufacturing, and product design for NGOs, charities, as well as commercial clients.Edwin managed sourcing at Payless Shoes, Donna Karan International, Country Road Australia, Abercrombie & Fitch and Structure stores. Prior to graduate school he worked for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees.

Jenny Fredricsdotter, Circular Business Manager, Re:newcell

Jenny Fredricsdotter has over twenty years of experience from the fashion industry working with buying, production and sourcing for companies like H&M and Gina Tricot, in Europe and Asia. Jenny studied Textile Economics at the Textile Collegue of Fashion in Borås, Sweden and has taken several courses on fashion sustainability, circular economy and mindful consumption.

Jenny has been working with sustainability related questions for more than 10 years and joined re:newcell in 2017, working towards closing the loop in fashion industry

Walden Lam, Chief Hustler & Co-Founder, Unspun

Walden is a cofounder and the chief hustler at unspun, an on-demand fashion technology start-up. He grew up in Hong Kong and has operating, investment and strategy experience in e-commerce, retail & fashion with lululemon, IDEO, GGV capital, Goldman Sachs, OC&C Strategy Consultants. he has an MBA from Stanford.