The State of Sustainable Apparel: What North America Needs to Know with Christine Goulay | Innovation Forum Partnership

In this episode of the Supply Chain Revolution podcast, produced in partnership with the Innovation Forum, Sheri Hinish sits down with Christine Goulay, founder of Sustainabelle Advisory Services in Paris. Christine brings 20 years of experience at the intersection of sustainability and fashion, including operational roles at Pangaea and the Kering Group (the luxury conglomerate behind Gucci and Balenciaga), advisory work with UNEP and the Textile Exchange, and board positions with traceability and materials startups including Fairly Made. Together, they unpack the honest state of sustainable apparel in 2026. Christine identifies three distinct tiers of brand behavior: the core leaders who are integrating sustainability as a risk reduction and customer engagement strategy, the compliance hedgers who are calculating whether to invest now or pay fines later, and the silent majority waiting to see which way the regulatory wind blows. She explains why regulation was the decisive differentiator in scaling reuse in France, why the same dynamic is now playing out with the California Textile Recovery Act and Digital Product Passport requirements in the EU, and why simply checking the compliance box builds adequate supply chains, not extraordinary ones. Christine introduces a powerful framework: the love language of sustainability. Borrowed from Gary Chapman's 1992 book, the concept is that sustainability leaders must speak the language of their audience, replacing terms like ESG with resilience when talking to procurement, framing impact as risk reduction for CFOs, and embedding sustainability KPIs alongside financial metrics so sourcing teams can make balanced decisions without career risk. She shares how France's EPR eco-modulation bonus returns 70 cents per garment for certified materials versus a five-to-seven cent average EPR cost, and how forward-thinking brands are embedding CO2 emissions data directly into RFPs. Connect with our guest: Christine Goulay, Founder, Sustainabelle Advisory Services LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinegoulay/ Our partner for this episode: Innovation Forum Website: https://innovationforum.co.uk/conferences/sustainable-apparel-and-textiles-conference-usa/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/innovation-forum-uk/posts/?feedView=all Join us at the Sustainable Apparel and Textiles Conference USA New York City | June 3–4, 2026 | 230+ leaders | Chatham House Rules Register: https://innovationforum.co.uk/conferences/sustainable-apparel-and-textiles-conference-usa/ Connect with Sheri Hinish (Supply Chain Queen®): Website: https://www.supplychainqueen.com/ LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sherihinish/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@SupplyChainQueen Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/supplychainqueen/ Listen to Supply Chain Revolution on Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/supply-chain-revolution/id1496639064 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2yfqyaA8FtAcwjUDi2nrhe Key Topics: sustainable apparel 2026, textile regulation, EPR Extended Producer Responsibility, California Textile Recovery Act, Digital Product Passport DPP, circularity textiles, traceability, supply chain transparency, Kering Group, Sustainabelle, Innovation Forum, Sustainable Apparel and Textiles Conference USA, fashion supply chain, supplier de-risking, impact KPIs, love language of sustainability, Fairly Made, eco-modulation, total cost of ownership, procurement sustainability