Audience:
Open industry. All apparel and footwear industry professionals, regardless of AAFA membership, are encouraged to participate.
Description:
As sustainability expectations across the apparel and footwear industry continue to evolve, companies across the entire supply chain are engaging with certifications beyond traditional textile standards to address social risk, environmental impact, and agricultural practices. This webinar, hosted by Control Union, will provide a practical overview of key certification trends across three critical pillars, Social, Environmental, and Agriculture, highlighting how these standards are being used throughout the supply chain to support regulatory compliance, strengthen traceability and transparency, manage risk, and advance credible sustainability claims. The session will emphasize the critical role of robust certification and verification in building trust, ensuring accountability, and demonstrating measurable sustainability performance across all tiers of the supply chain.
Attendees of this webinar will learn:
- How certification is evolving as regulatory pressure, rising market expectations, and growing supply chain complexity push sustainability beyond traditional textile standards
- About key certification tools and programs, including Higg and SLCP for social compliance, circularity-focused environmental certifications, and agricultural chain-of-custody schemes.
- How certification and verification deliver assurance, helping organizations manage risk, strengthen data integrity, and confidently support credible sustainability claims
Speakers:
Callie Pople
Business Developer, Textiles - North America
Control Union - North America
Callie Pople is the Business Developer for Textiles at Control Union North America, where she partners with brands and manufacturers to navigate textile certifications and strengthen transparency across global supply chains. She supports clients in substantiating environmental and social claims, integrating responsible sourcing practices, and translating evolving standards into actionable strategies. Her work reflects a dedication to not just meeting standards, but driving measurable environmental progress, helping companies reduce impact, protect natural resources, and contribute to a more responsible and resilient textile industry.
Lonneke de Kort
Business Unit Manager - Textiles, Recycling and Materials
Control Union - The Netherlands
Lonneke de Kort brings over 25 years of experience in the textile industry and more than 15 years in sustainability and certification. At Control Union Certifications, she works on the strategic evolution of certification in a rapidly changing regulatory landscape, with a strong focus on textiles and materials. Her expertise lies in translating regulatory and market developments into future-ready certification frameworks that leverage data, digitalization and global consistency. Through ongoing dialogue with brands, standard owners and regulators, she contributes to shaping certification as a trusted backbone for transparent, responsible and circular textile supply chains.
AAFA Host:
Audrey Clark
Trade and Transportation Specialist
AAFA
Audrey Clark is responsible for supporting the association’s trade policy efforts and leading the Transportation Team as the committee liaison. Prior to joining AAFA in November 2023, Audrey worked as Export Program Coordinator at the Distilled Spirits Council of the U.S. (DISCUS) where she managed eight international export promotion campaigns and supported four DISCUS committees. She previously worked at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) where she was awarded the Pearce Prize Achievement Award and served as Program Coordinator for Streaming & Broadcasting. She has earned both her bachelor’s and master's degrees in International Affairs from Georgia Tech.
Unable to join on March 30?
Register for the webinar to receive an email containing the direct links to access the recording and the PDF version of the presentation. The email will be sent 1-3 business days after the webinar.
CONTACT | QUESTIONS
Stephanie Paendong