Our Journey in Sustainability: Progressive Good

Happy Earth Day! I’m Joe Lybik and I’m fortunate to be the Sustainability Fellow at ISAIC, thanks to Venture for America and the Samvid Ventures Social Impact Fellowship.

ISAIC was built to break the industry mold and what better way to do that than by focusing on the social and environmental issues that have long been ignored by the fashion and apparel sector. The sustainability plights of our industry have been extensively documented, but to provide some context:

  • Globally, wages in the clothing industry are 35% lower than the manufacturing industry average wage (ILO).

  • The industry emits more greenhouse gasses per year than Germany, France, and the UK combined (Fashion on Climate).

  • The industry is the second largest user of freshwater and accounts for ~20% of industrial wastewater worldwide (UN, Ellen MacArthur Foundation).

  • Roughly one garbage truck of textiles is landfilled every second around the world (Fossil Fashion)

It’s easy to get lost in these statistics and question what one organization can do to address the industry’s expansive and systemic problems. At ISAIC, we utilize two philosophies to guide our thinking. The first is that People Power ISAIC. We believe that an organization cannot claim to be sustainable if they are still relying on a workforce whose lives are unsustainable. While so many aspects of the above issues can feel out of our control, taking care of our people does not. Providing bright, inviting working conditions, living wages and benefits and paid training opportunities for advancing career paths are just some of what ISAIC does and can do to put our people first.

The second philosophy that guides us is the concept of Progressive Good™. We understand that perfection in sustainability, while something to strive for, is impossible to achieve. We do not claim to have solved all social and environmental problems, but we recognize that there are always progressive actionable steps that can be taken towards improvement. Whether it is piloting production of reusable instead of disposable PPE, thinking responsibly about packaging reuse and recyclability, or implementing automation and technology around waste minimization, our small strides can lead to a collective impact.

In the past half-year, my role has been to imbue these philosophies into a roadmap for sustainability at ISAIC. Focusing on both daily changes and long-term goals, my tasks have centered around the creation of systems to measure and evaluate our social and environmental impacts. While thoughtfully engaging with established practices and the constant innovation in our sector, I get to help guide ISAIC towards its progressive improvement.

I look forward to sharing our progress, lessons learned and hopefully some actionable steps you can take in your own business or personal life.

Joe Lybik is a native Midwesterner, a passionate Detroit Tigers fan, and recent graduate from Yale University where he studied Environmental Engineering. Connect with him on LinkedIn

 
Lybik.jpg

Explore Posts

SustainabilityGuest UserISAIC - Industrial Sewing and Innovation CenterUpdates, earth day, sustainable fashion, progressive good