Sustainability, the idea that we can reduce our ecological footprint while still experiencing robust economic growth, is essentially a concept of the 1980s. But 30 years on, sustainability seems stuck. If we truly believe that the way we live must be within the limits of what the natural world can sustain, then we clearly need to rethink what sustainability really is. This is particularly true for progressive manufacturers and retailers that have made sustainability a core pillar of their business vision. Peter Robinson will discuss his understanding of sustainability, based on his work at Mountain Equipment Co-op in the 2000s, and at the David Suzuki Foundation since 2008. He will outline what he feels are the three essential levels, and then engage the participants in an open conversation about how they can embed a renewed vision for sustainability in their own enterprises. The core of this session is the conversation that will ensue!

Sustainability-focused companies have carved out niches in nearly every industry. To-date (with a few notable exceptions) these companies have focused on creating a market and viable business model that ask consumers to pay a premium for a product or service that is decidedly 'not for everyone', and meant to appeal to those individuals already driven to make sustainable decisions. But can sustainable brands bring products & services to market that are designed to compete and ultimately win over mainstream consumers - in this case, in the world of travel and outdoor gear? In this session, you will explore that idea with Squamish's OnSight Equipment, who have been building such a model in Canada over the last 22 years. As a company that is single-mindedly committed to sustainable principles, yet in reality works within an ecosystem (in terms of competitors, retailers, distributors, and business decision-making) that is decidedly mainstream, achieving such a fine balance is a forever-evolving pursuit.

If a garment has multiple components, all of those components should match under a wide range of store lights, outdoor lighting conditions and home situations. Traditionally, Colour development has focused on making sure the all the components match in store lighting, logic being that is where the decision is made by the consumer to buy, or not buy, a particular jacket or skirt. Some organizations will use two or three illuminants, adding Daylight and Incandescent to their store light to make sure the garment doesn’t flare in other viewing conditions. However, a wrench has been thrown into the process over past few years: LED Lighting. More than a few major retail chain designers have been shocked to find that the fluorescent store lighting they were developing Colour for had been replaced with LED lighting. Great news for store managers, who can save tens of thousands of dollars per year in energy and replacement costs, but it’s bad news for anybody hoping their ski jackets will look good in TL-84 light. Further, there are no recognized LED standards yet, as there are for Daylight, Incandescent and a wide variety of Fluorescent light sources. So, there is nothing to put into a light box or choose in Colour measurement software. We will be discussing the best approach to getting consistent Colour, no matter which light source your products will be exposed to in the wild.

As humans, we have worn clothing for tens of thousands of years. A major reason why we have worn clothing has been to protect ourselves from extreme environments. And as we advanced, our concerns moved from merely “protection” to a more refined sense of “comfort”. Being “comfortable” has been and is important to every single person. In fact, we are all constantly subconsciously and consciously subjectively evaluating the thermal comfort performance of our clothing, using our senses. It can be argued that the thermal comfort of active clothing, is one of the biggest factors driving our buying decisions. However, how do we objectively quantify the thermal comfort performance of clothing?

In this workshop former sales rep, Sarah Murray, will highlight tools and best practices to successfully work with an agent. As well, she will share tips and tricks for wooing Canadian retailers into loving your brand.

A look at bricks and mortar retail and what brands can do to create irreplaceable stores in the "amazon" era.

Glencora will be speaking to compliance, value chains, product design, new business models and next practice orientation as the phases of developing sustainable businesses and products.

A look at system interventions to address textile waste regionally.

A look at ethical and sustainable apparel practices.

This presentation is an introduction to the core fundamentals of strategic product-line planning and a precursor to product development ideation. It describes a highly effective team-based approach to understanding your product’s consumer segments. Successful product-line planning strikes a balance between data-driven opportunities and perceived internal strengths and operational challenges. In this presentation, you’ll find out how you can use both market research and institutional knowledge as the basis for next-steps ideation. The attendee will come away with a good idea of the landscape of tools available to pursue a product’s environmental and market position including both quantitative and qualitative assessments from a variety of consumer and internal perspectives.

Whether doing contract manufacturing based on client requirements, or developing proprietary products that are based consumer research, successful new product development follows a process that has been proven effective across a wide range of industries. Adapting that process to specific manufacturers and choosing the correct tools to use to execute the process can be confusing. This presentation will provide an adaptable framework for organizing, planning, and controlling your product development effort along with a list of recommended, proven tools, methods and approaches that can be used to ensure proper execution of critical elements of the process.

Product Managers (PMs) pilot the future of a company’s product line offerings. Clarifying their roles and carefully integrating them into the operation of an organization dramatically increases their value and effectiveness. This seminar will help clarify your understanding of what Product Managers do and how to best use their talents.

Nashifa Rashid, creator of an innovation called “Haptic Navigational Harness” that uses GPS and vibrations to guide people from location A to B, will take you on a journey of her design process and share with you some of the challenges she faced.

It’s almost a given that the small business owner wears many hats. Sometimes it feels like you’re troubleshooting more than you’re creating. Running a small business comes with its share of challenges. Combined with lack of experience and resources, owners often need to come up with creative ways to solve problems. This session is great for small business owners or those considering starting their own business but not quite sure how to begin.

Join Youngone Corporations Chief Technology Officer, Rick Fowler to talk about how you and your manufacturing partner can get the most done in the shortest amount of time. Bring your questions and share your experiences and let Rick pull back the curtain on what your factories merchandiser would like to tell you but doesn’t always know how. 1. Can a Smaller Tech Pack achieve more? 2. Balancing, Tell vs. Ask in the PD Process 3. If we want a jacket EXACTLY like a sample, what is the easiest way to get it? 1. A 40 page spec? 2. The sample? 4. If you want to build a new product based on a similar style, but it’s not exact to sample what is your best option? 1. A sample and one page BOM and reference point measurements 2. A block pattern, a sketch, BOM, a few reference point measurements 5. How many measurement points are needed to ensure 5 factories will make the same exact fit from the same written spec? 6. How does the designer communicate to the factory and avoid time and money wasting confusion. 1. What do you, the designer know? 2. What does the sewing factory know?

Intentions Lab will present an overview of exciting technologies used today to make clothing interactive. We will discuss best practices of using sensors, micro-controllers, and conductive materials and demonstrate with working examples.