Claire Bergkamp
Chief Executive, Textile Exchange
The Textile Exchange executive has led the organisation to pioneer efforts to develop a better understanding and improve the environmental footprint of raw materials.
Claire Bergkamp is the chief executive of Textile Exchange, a global non-profit that champions climate action within fashion’s material supply chain. Under her leadership, the organisation has pioneered efforts to develop a better understanding and improve the environmental footprint of raw materials.
Growing up in Montana, Bergkamp absorbed the values of conservation from an early age. But it was her experience in the fashion industry, particularly during her time in LA working on TV and film sets that truly opened her eyes to the scale of consumption and waste in the sector. This realisation led her to pursue further studies in sustainability and upcycling at the London College of Fashion . Bergkamp went on to work at Stella McCartney , crafting a sustainability strategy for the brand that solidified her reputation as a trailblazer in the space.
Bergkamp joined Textile Exchange in 2020 and became CEO at the start of 2023. The organisation supports a community of over 800 brands, manufacturers, farmers and retailers, including industry giants like Adidas, Acne Studios and Alexander McQueen . Its goal is to reduce emissions from raw material production by 45 percent by 2030.
"The biggest thing for me with our industry is this ever elusive idea of redefining value,” she told The Business of Fashion in 2022. “We need to think beyond just value for shareholders."
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The Steps Fashion Must Take to Hit Its Sustainability Goals
A year of climate disasters, greenwashing scams and labour scandals highlights that business as usual just won’t cut it.
The Steps Fashion Must Take to Hit Its Sustainability Goals
A year of climate disasters, greenwashing scams and labour scandals highlights that business as usual just won’t cut it.
The Year Ahead: Paving the Way for Closed-Loop Recycling
The scaling of closed-loop recycling could help reduce fashion’s environmental impact at the materials level. The technologies to make this happen are maturing, creating an opportunity for companies to embed them in a product’s design phase while adopting processes to enable scaling.
The Year Ahead: Paving the Way for Closed-Loop Recycling
The scaling of closed-loop recycling could help reduce fashion’s environmental impact at the materials level. The technologies to make this happen are maturing, creating an opportunity for companies to embed them in a product’s design phase while adopting processes to enable scaling.
What COP26 Means for Fashion
Achieving the ambitions laid out at the UN climate summit that ended this week will require a wholesale transformation of the way the fashion industry operates. Are business leaders ready?
What COP26 Means for Fashion
Achieving the ambitions laid out at the UN climate summit that ended this week will require a wholesale transformation of the way the fashion industry operates. Are business leaders ready?
What Fashion Needs to Know About COP26
The UN Climate Change Conference kicked off Sunday. With two weeks of crucial negotiations about to take place, here’s where the fashion industry should take note.
What Fashion Needs to Know About COP26
The UN Climate Change Conference kicked off Sunday. With two weeks of crucial negotiations about to take place, here’s where the fashion industry should take note.
Power Moves | Lululemon Bolsters Executive Team, VF Names Global D&I VP
The Canadian sportswear company promotes Celeste Burgoyne to president of the Americas and global guest innovation teams, while Lauren Guthrie will helm diversity and inclusion initiatives at VF Corp.
Power Moves | Lululemon Bolsters Executive Team, VF Names Global D&I VP
The Canadian sportswear company promotes Celeste Burgoyne to president of the Americas and global guest innovation teams, while Lauren Guthrie will helm diversity and inclusion initiatives at VF Corp.
10 Tips to Starting a Career in Sustainability
Stella McCartney’s worldwide sustainability and innovation director, Claire Bergkamp, shares her insight on how best to start a career in fashion's growing sustainability sector.
10 Tips to Starting a Career in Sustainability
Stella McCartney’s worldwide sustainability and innovation director, Claire Bergkamp, shares her insight on how best to start a career in fashion's growing sustainability sector.
Exactly How Bad Is Fashion for the Planet? We Still Don’t Know For Sure
Fashion brands know they need to reduce their environmental footprint. But misinformation and a lack of solid data to measure progress are hampering the industry’s effort to clean up its act.
Exactly How Bad Is Fashion for the Planet? We Still Don’t Know For Sure
Fashion brands know they need to reduce their environmental footprint. But misinformation and a lack of solid data to measure progress are hampering the industry’s effort to clean up its act.
What is The BoF 500?
The people shaping the global fashion industry, curated by the editors of The Business of Fashion, based on nominations and on-the-ground intelligence from around the world.
