MEDIA STATEMENT: Canopy Statement on Recent Sateri/APRIL/RGE Announcements Oct 10/19

Canopy is pleased to acknowledge indicators of some early stage progress in addressing controversial fibre production and fibre sourcing by the Royal Golden Eagle corporate family, including viscose producer Sateri and pulp producer Asia Pacific Resources International Limited null"https://canopyplanet.org/canopy-and-zdhc-partner-to-safeguard-forests-water-human-health-biodiversity-and-climate-in-fashion-sector-work/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">partnering with others in the space.

In parallel to cleaner processing, we will continue to encourage RGE/APRIL to prioritize funding specific to alternative fibre development. Next Steps on Next Generation for RGE:

• First and foremost, Canopy is seeking a statement of intent from APRIL that Next Generation fibres will offset fibre that is currently putting a strain on our world’s Ancient and Endangered Forests, including peatlands, vs. innovative fibre leading solely to additional production of greater volumes of viscose as an add-on product while risk remains in the majority of the company’s supply chain.
• We encourage RGE companies to include targets for commercial-scale production, timelines for products, and fibre blend details (eg: specific objectives on percentage of recycled cotton or alternative fibre). One doesn’t always meet a set target, but specifying objectives provides a clear sense to customers of commitment and intent.

Moving forward Brands are articulating a clear preference for purchasing man-made cellulosic fibres with a minimum 50% of Next Generation fibre sources as of 2020. With two of the world’s top five viscose producers already to market with commercial viscose lines that contain 20 – 30% recycled viscose, we expect to see significant, continued advancements in Next Generation Solutions in the coming 12 months.

Safeguarding Ancient and Endangered Forests is at the foundation of the CanopyStyle initiative and the collective efforts of 200+ brands and viscose producers representing 74% of the entire global supply of viscose. Together we will continue to monitor progress and shift the viscose supply chain towards greater sustainability.

Canopy welcomes the steps taken by Sateri, APRIL and RGE while acknowledging much work remains. We look forward to continued work with the RGE group to advance significant progress and change on the ground in the coming months and years. For more information, please contact:
Laura Repas, Canopy +1 416 729-7484