Web site (launching of the first version) : Design and layout of an interactive website aiming to promote the best sustainable development practices in the Canadian textile industry. This site will be upgradable (in process).
Benchmarking : Perform a multisector study on the best sustainable development business practices in order to import some of these practices for the Canadian textile industry.
Sustainable Development Best Practices Guide for the textile industry: Develop and produce a guide presenting the best practices in sustainable development (in process).
Textile Sustainable Development Conference : Organize and deliver a one-day conference about the benefits of sustainable development in the textile industry (in process).
Study on textile waste : Economic studies across Canada to identify the nature and quantity of all the textile products not being recycled or re-used.
Usage Proposal Report : Put in place an expert committee to develop a report which would propose solutions for the practical use of non-recycled textiles.
Accreditation System : Develop a recognition system for businesses who commonly use sustainable development practices. Develop the measurement tool.
Evaluation Tool for the life cycle of a textile product : Develop a measurement tool to help businesses calculate the return on investment of their product considering its post-utilisation.
Three of these projects are in process and are developed below :
Project Description - Guide
«Sustainable Development Best Practices Guide » Website: « The Sustainable Development Best Practices Guide for the Canadian Textile Industry » will be a bilingual website where textile industries will find all necessary resources to initiate the development of this eco-friendly management concept. Dynamic and proactive, the «Sustainable Development Best Practices Guide » Website will be the main communication vehicle for the Sustainable Development Working Committee and the most important virtual documentation center on this subject in Canada.
Project Description - Conference
Scheduled for April 15th 2008 at La Biosphère (formerly the American Pavilion at Montreal Expo ’67), in Montreal, Canada, the Sustainable Development Conference will be the first in a series of annual events to showcase sustainable development in the Textile Industry. This one-day conference will bring the Textile Industry together around the theme of sustainable development through a series of conferences and discussions from well-known North American experts on this subject.
More than 100 participants from the textile sector as well as many experts from other areas are expected to attend this conference. The Conference’s first mission is to attract laymen and specialists from the Canadian and American Textile Industries who are either already engaged or who wish to know more about the positive benefits of sustainable development on our industry.
This event will take place in Montreal, well-located between Canada and the major eastern American cities (i.e. New York, Boston, Chicago, etc.).
We expect a full day of presentations aimed at demystifying the concept of sustainable development and learn how your businesses can adopt this eco-friendly management concept. Among others, we will attempt to answer questions such as :
• What does sustainable development mean for the textile industry ?
• What are the short, medium and long-term benefits of this concept?
• What are the costs and savings attached to sustainable development?
• What are the key success factors to implementing a viable sustainable mdevelopment program in textile companies ?
The day will close with a plenary discussion where speakers will be invited for a panel discussion and Q&A period.
This conference will attempt to increase the textile businesses’ awareness to the importance and criteria related to sustainable development in the textile industry. This first initiative on the subject must particularly educate, demonstrate, and create interest so that businesses will investigate further in the possibility of adopting sustainable development as an important growth point and a viable company philosophy for their business.
