About
Sustainability is a big issue for the textiles industry. Clothing production consumes vast quantities of natural non-renewable resources, including water and energy. In addition, the industry is a significant emitter of global greenhouse gas emissions.
Coats is the world’s largest manufacturer and supplier of industrial thread and plays a big part in that industry. Our yarns and threads are essential to many of the world’s clothes. Our global footprint is unrivaled, and we are connected to every link in the supply chain, from raw materials suppliers to brands. For more than 250 years we have been pioneers, setting the standard for quality and performance.
Our prominence brings with it responsibility. We want – and feel a duty – to lead the textiles industry on to a new path of sustainability. In this talk, you will hear about the journey that Coats started in 2018 to address emissions reduction and circularity: we set a series of goals and defined water, energy, effluent and emissions, and social and living sustainably as priority areas. We will give examples of how design and user research help invent soluble threads, light-emitting fabrics, biodegradable polyester yarns, bio-based nylon products and more.
