Preparations, for this year’s edition of Planet Textiles, to be held at Vancouver’s Sheraton Hotel on May 22nd, is taking shape as additional speakers have been confirmed. The growing issue of textile micro-fibre pollution will be a key issue of the event, as well as sessions on finance, deforestation and chemical management which will form a significant part of the agenda.
The annual event on sustainability is jointly co-hosted by MCL News & Media and the Sustainable Apparel Coalition as part of a series of environmental meetings in Vancouver where around 400 delegates are expected to attend. The agenda will have a variety of industry leaders and environment experts to enable participants gain a fuller understanding of issues, including; micro-fibre pollution in aquatic environments, solutions and the latest research to the problem, deforestation and the man-made cellulosic industry, chemical management in relation to wastewater as an effluent and how to finance innovation and change in our industry.
Environmental publications have increasingly been probing issues surrounding micro-fibre pollution and the role of the textile industry in this process. Correspondingly, Peter S Ross, VP-Research at the Ocean Wise Conservation Association will deliver a presentation of his latest findings on this issue. Ross is an Adjunct Professor at the University of Victoria, and served as a Research Scientist with the Canadian government between 1996 and 2013. He is a leading authority on ocean pollution, having published over 150 scientific articles and book chapters, with a focus on the source, transport, fate and effects of priority pollutants.
In 2014, he launched the Ocean Pollution Research Program at Ocean Wise and leads a major solution-oriented micro plastic pollution research programme. His team is currently working with major outdoor retailers and MetroVancouver waste water treatment operators to evaluate the possible role of textiles and other domestic sources to micro plastics in coastal environments.
