The AAFA (American Apparel & Footwear Association) event in Ho Chi Minh City, held on December 11, 2024, was a comprehensive conference focused on compliance and regulatory challenges in the apparel and footwear industry.

Climate change is considered the number one threat for the future of our planet. To take concrete steps in the direction of mitigating climate change, we need sound standards and methodologies to quantify the impacts of our actions. There are a number of different standards to quantify the carbon footprint of products, each best suited for specific applications and target audiences despite efforts to harmonize them. In this article, we take you through the most important standards and methodologies and give you some step-by-step guidance for choosing the right one for your application.

Since 1950, the world has produced 8 billion tons of plastic, and recycled only 9% of it. About 12% has been incinerated, while the rest — around 79% — has accumulated in landfills, dumps or the natural environment. As it stands, just 2% of the world’s plastic packaging comes from recycled sources. Statistics like these are shocking, but they don’t mean we’ve reached the point of no return.