Sourcing Journal Radio
Sourcing Journal Radio is thought leadership brought to life. Each podcast episode provides apparel industry executives with a platform from which to showcase their personalities and share their perspectives on a range of engaging topics, enabling listeners to consider new points of view and plot their next steps.
Episodes
July 30, 2025 • 10 mins
Is there anything more quintessentially American than blue jeans? Denim is so entrenched in the American psyche that it can be easy to forget that most jeans have been manufactured overseas for decades.
To explore this disconnect—and to dive into the trials and tribulations of bringing domestic denim manufacturing back—Sourcing Journal themed its Summer SJ Denim edition the “Made in America” Issue.
In this episode, Angela Velas...
Mark as Played
July 18, 2025 • 14 mins
As the political and economic landscapes shift amid President Donald Trump’s escalating trade war, the fashion industry—like many others—is bracing for impact by tightening supply chain operations.
To help navigate these disruptions, Computer Generated Solutions (CGS) released the 10th annual edition of its BlueCherry State of Supply Chain and Technology Report.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mark as Played
July 18, 2025 • 16 mins
Just as cotton sustainability starts at the farm, leather sustainability starts at the ranch.
Leather is a natural byproduct of food production, but cattle farming accounts for about 40 percent of all GHG emissions from agri-food systems, not to mention deforestation when not managed correctly. That’s why the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) is teaming up with companies that utilize leather to support the newly launched Deforestation-Fr...
Mark as Played
July 7, 2025 • 17 mins
Material innovation takes two forms. You can develop new alt materials that have less impact on the planet, or you can take existing fossil fuel-based materials and develop circular recycling systems to keep them out of landfills and use them again. Both innovations are exciting and both are hard.
The good news is that VC funding in the green space has bounced back, albeit with a more selective approach that shifts the investing ...
Mark as Played
May 31, 2025 • 13 mins
Shapewear has typically been associated with synthetic fibers, but a recent launch from Spanx is proving natural materials have a place in the category.Based on consumer feedback, Spanx set out to create shaping garments using natural fibers, and it landed on long-staple Supima cotton as the base material. The SpanxShape Invisible Supima Cotton collection combines Supima’s natural inherent benefits with targeted stretch and hold f...
Mark as Played
May 28, 2025 • 13 mins
Big Business is rapidly embracing technology, but at what cost? Can robots and AI can make the fashion industry smarter, faster, better—without sacrificing humanity?
Sourcing Journal's business reporter/tech editor Meghan Hall chats with Lauren Parker, director, Fairchild Studio, about the symbiotic relationship between man and machine.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mark as Played
May 9, 2025 • 11 mins
Diversification has quickly turned from “nice to have” to “need to have” as an escalating trade war between the U.S. and China has made the industry’s number one manufacturing destination a more expensive choice. In a challenging climate, brands are also becoming more risk averse, and a broader sourcing map that goes beyond the “China plus one” strategy helps to hedge against headwinds.
“The importance of diversification—and not j...
Mark as Played
May 1, 2025 • 37 mins
Talk about tariffs has been filling newspapers, websites, airwaves, boardrooms, factory floors and dinner tables for a while, but reality is just starting to sink in now. What are the true costs of tariffs, and who is going to be paying for them?
Ian Fredericks, president and CEO of Hilco Consumer-Retail, chats with Lauren Parker, director, Fairchild Studio, about how tariff worries — real and perceived — are affecting shopping be...
Mark as Played
May 1, 2025 • 17 mins
Geopolitical upheaval. Tariffs and trade wars. Inflation. Sustainability concerns. Changing buying patterns.
As the list of disruptions and demands that the industry must consider when sourcing goods keeps growing, one strategy has become a top priority: diversification. “The retailers and the brands are looking for multiple countries of origin and mitigating their risk by making sure that their productions are spread across diff...
Mark as Played
April 10, 2025 • 21 mins
Upscale legacy brands have a challenge when it comes to technology. How do you blend future-facing digital strategy with the timelessness of luxury? How do you balance exclusivity with digital-first accessibility? And how do you integrate omnichannel innovation into personalization, as well as the in-store experience?
Here, Lauren Parker, director of Fairchild Studio, chats with Yang Lu, the chief information officer at Tapestry, ...
Mark as Played
March 31, 2025 • 21 mins
The political will toward sustainability is constantly shifting, and with the official exit from the Paris Agreement and a ‘drill, baby drill’ fossil fuel mentality, things are moving in another direction. This has created a climate of uncertainty for eco-minded businesses seeking support from government sustainability requirements.
That said, the underlying drivers of a sustainable future—innovation, tapping into cost-efficient re...
Mark as Played
March 18, 2025 • 16 mins
Lately, tariffs have become the most powerful word in the world. They are moving stock markets, upending longstanding international trade agreements, and evoking lots of confusion—and emotion—across industries. Sourcing Journal recently released its annual State of the Industry Sourcing Report, and one thing is clear: tariff turmoil has gripped the fashion sector.
In this episode, Lauren Parker, director of Fairchild Studio, chats...
Mark as Played
March 17, 2025 • 15 mins
Roughly half the world’s zippers and fasteners come from YKK, totaling an astounding 10 billion zippers in 2024 alone. And at such scale, these little parts have big impacts. That’s why YKK has doubled down on sustainability, from recycled materials and zipper slides that can carry data-carrying digital product passports (DPPs) to new material innovations that allow for circularity.
In this episode, Lauren Parker, director, SJ and...
Mark as Played
March 6, 2025 • 11 mins
In the mere year and a half since it launched, Reju has already made substantial progress on its path toward scaling recycled polyester production. Last October, the textile-to-textile regeneration firm opened its first operational plant that will start deliveries this year, and it is not stopping there.
With textile industry experts at the helm—including former Under Armour chief executive Patrik Frisk as CEO—and IBM-developed te...
Mark as Played
February 19, 2025 • 19 mins
Change, obstacles and opportunity sum up the state of supply chains in 2025. And while logistics are tumultuous under the best of circumstances—let alone during fiery geopolitics and a new president determined to remake the trade landscape—there's plenty of optimism and energy on many fronts.
Sourcing Journal just released its 2025 Logistics Report, which brings you the latest logistics news, from automation to mergers and acquis...
Mark as Played
January 10, 2025 • 16 mins
Listen to this podcast to discover what the fashion industry is up against in 2025 and how companies can effectively navigate an unpredictable supply chain landscape.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mark as Played
December 19, 2024 • 11 mins
How effectively can you verify your sustainability claims and results? This question is becoming more imperative as the industry is now being held to higher standards to report and communicate their environmental impact.
To meet these demands, companies need data. In 2020, the U.S. Cotton TrustProtocol was developed to collect and share farm-level data on six key metrics, providing participating brands and retailers with more insi...
Mark as Played
December 17, 2024 • 10 mins
As a new administration takes office in the United States, the retail industry is watching what will happen with trade. While tariffs could hike the import price of finished goods, they would also have an impact on the cotton market.
Any trade conflicts with China could disrupt a key export destination for U.S.-grown cotton if China pushes back with its own tariffs, as it did in 2018. “China just didn't take our increases…sitting ...
Mark as Played
December 9, 2024 • 15 mins
Sourcing Journal turned 15 this year, so there was a lot to celebrate at its annual Fall Summit held in New York this November. The event tackled trade issues and industry turmoil, not to mention Trump's proposed tariffs, which were particularly top of mind as the event occurred just days after the election.
In this episode, Lauren Parker, Director of SJ and Fairchild Studios chats with Peter Sadera, Sourcing Journal's editor in ch...
Mark as Played
November 20, 2024 • 13 mins
ESPR is one of the most comprehensive sustainability regulations so far in the world. Min Zhu of testing, inspection and certification company SGS chats with Lauren Parker of SJ and Fairchild Studios to offer insights.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices
Mark as Played
Popular Podcasts
If you've ever wanted to know about champagne, satanism, the Stonewall Uprising, chaos theory, LSD, El Nino, true crime and Rosa Parks, then look no further. Josh and Chuck have you covered.
The official podcast of comedian Joe Rogan.
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Special Summer Offer: Exclusively on Apple Podcasts, try our Dateline Premium subscription completely free for one month! With Dateline Premium, you get every episode ad-free plus exclusive bonus content.
Listen to 'The Bobby Bones Show' by downloading the daily full replay.
The latest news in 4 minutes updated every hour, every day.