Fabric

The Focus Topic Panel

PERFORMANCE DAYS, Munich

Expert Talks Stage @ Hall C4

Wednesday 05th March 2025

11:40 - 12:40 CET

Get the inside scoop at PERFORMANCE DAYS! An incisive keynote from Charles Ross kicks off the debate, challenging perspectives on certification. Then a powerful panel - three top experts with a wealth of experience - dives deep into what really matters. Don't miss it!

About the orators

Julie Gretton

Sustainability at W. L. Gore

Julie leads Supply Chain Sustainability for Gore Fabrics.  Responsible for shaping and implementing sustainability strategy across Gore’s own manufacturing plants and with upstream suppliers.  Julie actively works across the whole value chain, collaborating with brand partners and upstream suppliers to drive progress in topics such as carbon reduction, environmental management and human rights due diligence.  Julie has worked in the Outdoor Sports industry for over 25 years, with leadership roles in materials development and innovation.  She is trained as a textile engineer and holds a PhD in this field from the University of Leeds.

Mr René Bethmann

VAUDE Sport GmbH & Co. KG

Senior Innovation Manager Materials and Manufacturing & Consultant VAUDE Academy for sustainable business

  • Over 17 years of experience in the sportswear industry, working for leading brands across Europe
  • Brought several new technologies into the sportswear world by connecting supply-chain stakeholders, including the upstream chemical industry, to drive responsible product creation
  • Long experience in several renewable carbon technologies such as biomass and recycled derived materials
  • Development of the industry-leading eco-design tool “Green Shape” at VAUDE, including the entire product´s lifecycle
  • Speaker at several global conferences and consulted several industries in the field of sustainable material choices
  • I aim to steer the textile industry away from relying on fossil fuels and instead promote a shift toward a sustainable and circular economy

Everyone can make a difference. 

LinkedIn Handle:

https://www.linkedin.com/in/renebethmann/

Mr Stewart Sheppard

S2 consulting

Stewart leverages sustainability expertise & industry experience to help SME’s around the industry's two most critical areas: reporting & disclosure, and impact reduction. Enabling organisations to move from data capture and measurement to performance improvement by translating LCA results and data into concrete environmental impact reduction policies and programmes and developing new products/innovations. Stewart brings an extensive background developing and implementing sustainability
programmes, quantifying Greenhouse Gas emissions within the apparel & footwear industry at Higg, now known as Worldly, while working for WL Gore on sustainable products & innovation, as an independent consultant working on sustainability topics in ski resorts, and as an LCA practitioner for outdoor sports brands. Stewart is a current board member for Protect Our Winters France (https://protectourwinters.fr/), and an advisor for Fairbrics, a start-up developing carbon positive synthetic fibres from CO2 (https://fairbrics.co/); a regular contributor to Ski Magazine and Backcountry magazine France. He recently started a new print project/magazine called “Les Passeurs” (http:/ www.lespasseurslemag.com) dedicated to creating/imagining a new narrative for Mountain towns & ski resorts. In his spare time, Stewart is a level II PSIA certified ski instructor and enjoys freeride skiing, open water swimming and surfing. He is also the father of an 9-year-old boy & and a 7-yearold little girl.

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Exhibitor List March 2025