Ep 140, Fash Rev Special: A Conversation about Trees with Canopy's Nicole Rycrof
CALLING ALL TREE-HUGGERS! Nicole Rycroft founded Canopy Planet at her kitchen table with a small budget and a big idea - to protect the world’s precious forests. Twenty years later, Canopy is one of the leading organisations protecting last frontier forests.
They work globally to protect forest ecosystems, and engage business to ensure supply chains don’t use trees unsustainably. What’s all this got to do with fashion? You’re about to find out.
Do we really use ancient trees to make trivial things? Try pizza boxes and party frocks.
It’s an outrage (and you’ll hear Clare getting mad about that in this chat) but it’s also an opportunity for change, and Canopy is doing something about it. If you want to help them, donate here.
NOTES
By Raymi Levin
CANOPY is a non-profit organization dedicated to protecting the world’s forests. They aim to protect 30-50% of the world’s Ancient and Endangered Forests by 2030.
Ancient and Endangered Forests are defined as intact forest landscape mosaics, naturally rare forest types, forest types that have been made rare due to human activity, and/or other forests that are ecologically critical for the protection of biological diversity. Via Canopy
Canopy is the recent recipient of the Climate Breakthrough Award. Over the next three years, Canopy will be awarded US$3 million to help invest in new strategies to create low-carbon, commercially viable fibre. Read more about Nicole grant plans here. Not bad for an organisation started at someone’s kitchen table with a few hundred bucks in the coffers…
ENCROACHING ON WILD SPACES 75% of new diseases are moving from animals to humans as a result of our disruption to ecosystems. This New York Times Magazine article by Ferris Jabr takes a good look at the history of diseases as a result of a changing ecosystem, and how we can potentially prevent new diseases from emerging. WANT MORE? The Ep Clare mentions with Greenpeace boss David Ritter also mentions this - listen back here.
SURVIVAL: A Pulp Thriller is a video detailing Canopy’s Next Generation Solutions report. To read the full solutions report or a summary of the report, click here.
WHAT ARE NEXT GENERATION SOLUTIONS?
Canopy says: “Currently most paper and viscose products are made by cutting down forests and sending the trees to a pulp mill to strip out the cellulose fibre and remove the lignin, mainly through a chemical process.
“Modern Next Gen technologies are already coming onto market to make paper from agricultural residues like leftover wheat straw, and to make viscose/Lyocell textiles from used cotton fabric or microbial cellulose.
“Next Gen Solutions also encompass smart logistics systems and product redesign, like re-usable shipping boxes and clothing rental services, to enable businesses to use of far less raw resources. By using them alternatives, we don’t waste precious forest habitat, but we do reduce carbon emissions and enable a circular economy.
“Compared to conventional wood pulp, manufacturing with Next Gen alternatives use low carbon feedstocks and require, on average:
90% less water
70% less energy
Far lower and greener chemical inputs
“Switching from conventional wood to Next Gen alternatives dramatically reduces the carbon footprint and biodiversity impact of paper, packaging, and MMCF textiles. It also provides farmers with a new avenue to sell a waste by-product and diverts cotton textiles from municipal garbage heaps. All this while saving forests and avoiding the climate and pollution consequences from landfilling old clothes and burning straw residues.”
FASHION IMPLICATED
SAY WHAT? CLOTHES ARE MADE OF TREES? Yup. 200 million trees are cut down each year to make fashion.
CanopyStyle is Canopy’s fashion industry initiative that is focused on transforming the viscose supply chain. After discovering the link between forest ecosystems and viscose and rayon fabrics, Canopy worked to get more than 330 brands committed to not source from Ancient and Endangered Forests, kickstart commercial production of circular alternatives, and work to conserve forest landscapes around the world. Learn more about CanopyStyle’s mission here.
THREE PRIMARY ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS OF VISCOSE PRODUCTION:
1. Impacts of raw material sourcing on forest ecosystems, frontline communities, and climate.
2. Impact of chemical production, as producing viscose is a very chemically intense process.
3. Very inefficient process: only 22-40% of the tree that is dissolved into pulp actually becomes viscose /rayon.