NFC Conference 2023
Actively participate and connect with others at the in-person main conference Natural Fibre Connect 2023 hosted in Biella, Italy – the centre for manufacturing precious animal fibres. Visit various mills, listen to live speakers and participate in workshops and panel discussions while also enjoying the beautiful surroundings, food, and drink of Northern Italy.
In-person as well as online Zoom event.
If you are planning to attend in-person, please be sure to book your travel and accomodation ahead of time. More information can be found here.
Cost in-person: 500 US$ + 22% VAT
Cost virtual: 50 US$ + 22% VAT
Hourly Schedule
28 September 2023
- 07:30 - 08:30
- Bus pick-up from Hotels
- 08:30 - 09:30
- Registration
- 09:00 - 09:30
- Welcome & Opening
- In this opening session, we will set the stage for the conference by providing an overview of the conference themes and objectives. We will introduce our esteemed speakers and provide an overview of their presentations, which will showcase the latest research and innovations in the field of animal fibres.
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Speakers:
Juan Pepper, Marco Coetzee, Una Jones, Willy Gallia
- 09:30 - 10:30
- Global Frameworks
- In this session, we get an overview of how the global frameworks of international bodies such as the United Nations are shaping the industry. Learn how a common vision and goals on topics such as climate change or biodiversity loss are setting the context, rules, and guidelines for the animal fibre supply chain.
- 10:30 - 11:00
- Coffee Break
- 11:00 - 12:00
- Brands Ambition panel
- Following the global frameworks session, we will hear from brands about how they adapt their business strategy to the global frameworks. Brands will share what their long-term vision is on pressing environmental and social topics, how they work towards their set goals and where they are on this journey.
- 12:00 - 12:30
- Deplastification
- In this session, we will speak about the ‘plastic elephant in the room’: The massive growth in synthetics, which has enabled the actual growth model of fast and now ultra-fast fashion. When policymakers, brands, industry organizations and conferences discuss solutions to climate change, no-one dares to state the obvious: We need to deplastify fashion and degrow the entire sector in the process.
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Speakers:
Tone Skårdal Tobiasson
- 12:30 - 13:30
- Lunch
- 13:30 - 14:30
- Regenerative Agriculture and Carbon Accounting Panel - Ambition vs. Reality
- This session follows up from 2022 as Regenerative Agriculture continues to be of high interest to the fashion textile supply chain. How do growers, herders and their supply chain partners work with the land to reverse desertification and ensure a sustainable livelihood for all?
- 14:30 - 15:30
- Rangeland Stewardship Council
- 15:30 - 16:00
- Coffee Break
- 16:00 - 17:00
- Standards Meetings RWS | RMS | RAS
- 16:00 - 17:00
- Standard Meeting SFA
- 16:00 - 17:00
- Standard Meeting ZDHC
- 17:00 - 17:30
- Inspiring Grower Stories
- Find inspiration in the stories growers and herders have to share. Hear a recap of the in-person grower and herder meetings that have taken place before the NFC conference. Find out about the main challenges growers and herders are facing, how they view market trends and what innovations are taking place at grower level.
- 17:30 - 18:00
- Closing of day 1
- 18:00 - 18:30
- Bus back to hotels
- 19:30 - 20:00
- Bus pick-up from hotels
- 20:00 - 22:30
- Dinner at Croce Bianca
- 22:30 - 23:00
- Buses back to hotels
29 September 2023
- 08:00 - 09:00
- Bus pick-up from Hotels
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Speakers:
Juan Pepper, Marco Coetzee, Una Jones, Willy Gallia
- 09:00 - 09:30
- Opening Day 2
- 09:30 - 10:30
- Innovation & Technology
- Traceability and transparency are key opportunities for creating trust in the sustainable and ethical production of precious animal fibres. How can innovation and technology help with the challenges that arise with the new ambitions and expectations of the markets?
- 10:30 - 11:00
- Coffee Break
- 11:00 - 12:00
- Green Finance
- 12:00 - 13:00
- TBC
- 12:00 - 13:00
- Slow Fibre Launch
- 12:00 - 13:00
- The Social Image of Wool & Cashmere
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Speakers:
Silvia Gambi
- 13:00 - 13:30
- Closing of Day 2
- 13:30 - 14:00
- Lunch
- 14:00 - 15:00
- LCA Update with Textile Exchange
- Members Only
- 14:00 - 17:00
- Animal Fibres Roundtable
- Textile Exchange
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Speakers:
Anna Heaton
Speakers
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Anna HeatonTextile Exchange | Fiber and Materials Strategy Lead: Animal Materials
Anna Heaton has worked internationally on animal welfare and sustainable livestock management for over 15 years and is now the Fiber and Materials Strategy Lead for Animal Materials at Textile Exchange.
Before joining Textile Exchange Anna developed and helped implement numerous standards across a wide range of animal species for both the food and fashion sectors. Anna has also previously collaborated with Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network on standards for wildlife friendly farming and tourism. In the UK Anna has a history of working directly with farmers and farmer groups on organic and regenerative land management.
Anna’s role at Textile Exchange brings this experience together through work on the delivery of Textile Exchange’s Climate+ strategy throughout the animal materials sector.
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Dario CasaliniSlow Fiber | President of Slow Fiber networkFormer Professor of Public law, CEO of maglificio Po and textile enterpreneur with knitwear brands Oscalito and Natyoural, Founder of Slow Fiber, Author of “Vestire buono, pulito e giusto”, Slow Food editore, 2021
Dario will speak about ‘Slow Fiber: good, healthy, clean, fair and durable textiles’
Slow Fiber was born from the meeting between Slow Food and some companies in the textile chain who want to represent Good industrial models that offer Beautiful, Healthy, Clean, Fair and Durable products, respecting the dignity of Human Beings and Nature to spread a new ethic and culture of dressing and furnishing. -
Eleni ThrasyvoulouTextile Exchange | Impact Data Senior ManagerEleni is an Impact Data Senior Manager at Textile Exchange and sits within the Climate+ Impact team. Eleni joined Textile Exchange at the start of 2022 to lead the Impact Data function and build out Textile Exchange’s impact data strategy. Her work focuses on impact modeling, supporting the industry with filling impact data gaps – through Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) projects, and developing an approach to modeling impacts beyond those typically captured in LCA studies – Textile Exchange’s ‘LCA+’ approach.
Prior to joining Textile Exchange, Eleni was a Programme Manager within Burberry’s Corporate Responsibility team. Before this, Eleni was a consultant in PwC’s Sustainability and Climate Change team for six years and specialized in impact measurement and valuation. -
Juan PepperMichell | Commercial Manager
Juan is a member of the board of directors of La Joya Mining SAC, President of the International Alpaca Association AIA, member of the board of the Alpaca Civil Association of Peru ASCALPE, and Commercial Director of Michell & Cia SA, the main alpaca textile conglomerate worldwide.
Specialized in international business and developing new markets in Asia, North America, Europe and the Middle East, and more than 30 years management Experience of high-performance teams for these markets.
Juan holds an MBA in International Business from the University of Philadelphia in the United States and is a graduate in Business Administration from Santa Maria Catholic University, Arequipa – Peru. -
Marco CoetzeeMohair South Africa
Marco qualified at a Chartered accountant in 2013. He worked for an audit company between 2011 and 2014, worked as a financial manager in the red meat industry for two years and then started his journey at Mohair SA on the 1st of April 2016, appointed as the financial manager. Only five years later, Marco progressed to lead the company forward as the general manager.
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Monica EbertAustralian Wool Innovation Limited | Business Development Manager Americas, Sports & PerformanceMonica Ebert is a business development manager for The Woolmark Company focusing on the sports and performance category. Having done extensive work throughout the global wool industry, Monica has previously worked in South Africa and New Zealand working alongside wool growers. As an avid runner and a wool enthusiast Monica’s current role is an ideal match for her passions helping brands realize the power of Merino wool in performance applications while achieving positive environmental outcomes.
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Philippa Groganeco-age | Sustainability Consultant: Fashion, Textiles & PolicyDuring my degree in Textile Design and Business Studies at Brighton Uni, a slight curveball led me to a series of block printing internships in Jaipur, India where I became obsessed with the environmental and social impacts of the fashion and textile sectors.
I’ve always loved drawing and design, but found equal enjoyment in complaining about the shocking state of the industry and trying to find solutions through a mix of traditional and more modern techniques. After finishing my 1st MDES degree, I did a MA degree and split time between various textile experiments in the UK and travelling around India, Sri Lanka, and Nepal, visiting factories and producers, from tiny, rural natural dyers and hand weavers to huge industrial manufacturers making garments for all our favourite (not!) fast fashion brands.
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Tone Skårdal TobiassonUnion of Concerned Researchers in Fashion | Board Member
Tone Skårdal Tobiasson, journalist and author, went from managing editor of fashion magazines to become a founder of NICE (Nordic Initiative Clean & Ethical) Fashion. Currently, she is responsible for dissemination in the following projects: Amazing Grazing, WOOLUME, LASTING, CHANGE and Wasted Textiles. She has written and co-authored several books, the latest is Local, Slow and Sustainable Fashion: Wool as a Fabric for Change. She is a contributor to several publications and is a Board member of the Union of Concerned Researchers in Fashion.
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Una JonesSustainable Fibre Alliance | CEO & Founder
Born in Mongolia, and now living in the UK, Una worked as a market analyst in a diverse set of industries before founding the Sustainable Fibre Alliance in 2015. Her motivation for starting the SFA was to stop the destruction of her homeland and improve the livelihoods of Mongolian herders, ensuring that herding remains a viable option for future generations. Una’s passion is identifying opportunities to enhance and widen the SFA’s positive impact across cashmere-producing regions and along the extended cashmere supply chain.
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Veronica Bates KassatlyIndependent AnalystVeronica Bates Kassatly is an independent analyst of sustainability claims in the global apparel sector. A former World Bank analyst and well-renowned for her wide-ranging and no-nonsense research, she is a leading voice in the ever-evolving field of fashion sustainability. Co-authored works with the Geneva Center for Business and Human Rights include: ‘The Great Greenwashing Machine’ Parts 1&2; ‘The Rise of Lifecycle Analysis and the Fall of Sustainability’; and most recently ‘Amplifying Misinformation – The Case of Sustainability Indices in Fashion’.
Location
Website
https://www.cittastudi.org/Città Studi Biella is a versatile building complex of 110 000 square meters and is one of the most important cultural centers in Italy. Thanks to the architectural design and functionality influenced by Gae Aulenti, the internationally renowned architect who designed the complex in the foothills of Biella, Città Studi has long been considered a landmark for conventions as well as education and research. In fact, Città Studi’s “gem” is the conference center and all of the events organized.
Location 2
- Biella, Italy
COST
- Virtual ticket: US$ 50 + 22% VAT
- In-person ticket: US$ 500 + 22% VAT
- 20% early-bird discount available for bookings before 30 June 2023
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