Ben Mead of OEKO-TEX® on the what brands should be doing to mitigate toxic chemicals across fashion's supply chains amidst shifting tariffs & global policy change

About this episode

Kestrel Jenkins interviews Ben Mead about the impact of toxic chemicals and changing regulations on fashion supply chains.

In Episode 331, Kestrel welcomes Ben Mead, the Managing Director of Hohenstein Institute America, to the show. In Ben's role, he serves as the company's liaison with government agencies, industry collaborations and trade associations, and he also oversees OEKO-TEX® responsibilities for the U.S. "You can't make any real good decision around chemistry or you know how a product is made, if you don't know who's making it and what's going into it." -Ben MAY THEME — HOW TOXIC CHEMICALS FROM OUR CLOTHES MOVE AROUND THE WORLD It is a tumultuous time when it comes to policy, and policy that is specifically impacting global supply chains. Not only immediately, when we think about tariffs and the unclear, yet very real, impacts they will have on fashion businesses, but also legislation across the world that has either passed or is on the table, and requires fashion companies to be more tuned in to the actual impacts of their supply chains. These bills have without a doubt brought fear and stress to many fashion brands, because if they haven't been mapping their supply chains previously, it's going to prove very difficult for them to comply with some of these new requirements. What should…

People in this episode

Host: Kestrel Jenkins

Guest: Ben Mead

Topics covered

• toxic chemicals
• fashion supply chains
• global policy change
• tariffs
• sustainability

Keywords

• toxic chemicals
• fashion
• supply chains
• OEKO-TEX
• global policy
• tariffs
• sustainability

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: OEKO-TEX®, Hohenstein Institute America

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