Blue Cast: Bluesign’s Daniel Rufenacht on Fashion’s Legislative ‘Tsunami’

In 2001, long before sustainability had become a must, Swiss brand Switcher released the “cleanest T-shirt in the world” that also boasted a traceable supply chain. Yet clean claims and advertising didn’t move the needle for consumer purchases. In the end, the company silently altered its T-shirt production to match this traceable tee and consumers bought them without knowing the sustainability behind it.

This experience at Switcher more than two decades ago shaped Daniel Rufenacht’s position that the consumer is not the answer to accelerating sustainability. “The change has to come from companies,” he told Lenzing’s Tuncay Kilickan during the latest episode of our Blue Cast podcast. “If the companies take this responsibility to do it, then it will change.”

Read more on Carved in Blue.

This article is one of a series on Rivet from Lenzing’s Carved in Blue denim blog. From conversations with the experts behind the mills that make some of the world’s most-wanted denim to the global brands bringing novel denim made with TENCEL™ Lyocell and Modal to the market, Carved in Blue shares the stories of those whose roots run deep with denim. Visit www.carvedinblue.tencel.com.