By Frank Michel, CEO, ZDHC Foundation
After celebrating at ZDHC’s Impact Day our 10-year anniversary with so many of you — our community, partners and friends — I’ve found myself reflecting on both the joy and the weight of this moment. It was a privilege to pause and acknowledge how far we’ve come together. But if this milestone reminded me of anything, it’s that the real work lays ahead of us — and it’s more urgent and complex than ever.
It isn’t about turning a page into something new. It’s about digging deeper into what’s already underway, while staying laser-focused on our mission. Though numerous projects require attention, certain ones need our concentrated effort— they go beyond the impact of our programmes, they influence industry perception, scrutiny, and trust.
One of the most significant shifts happening in our field is the recognition that sustainable chemical management and environmental protection aren’t separate conversations, hey’re inseparable. That’s why ZDHC’s Nature Strategy is not just another strategic layer; it’s a necessary evolution of our work. It challenges us to connect the dots: from chemical safety to ecosystem health, from compliance to regenerative impact.
It’s about seeing the full picture — not just of what we remove from supply chains, but of what we restore and protect. The question of biodiversity, circularity and nature-positive value chains isn’t a distant one. It’s already at our doorstep.
Our recent research collaboration with Quantis sharpened this perspective. Their study helped us examine the environmental risk landscape from a system-level view, showing where chemical pollution intersects with nature loss and how better metrics and methodologies can illuminate invisible risks — particularly in Tier 2 and Tier 3 supply chains.
Click the image to read the report!
What emerged, both from the study and our Impact Day conversations is a recurring insight that’s now impossible to ignore: Data alone does not equal progress.
Yes, we’ve made enormous strides — from wastewater testing and MRSL tracking to verified chemical inventories and the scaling of ZDHC platforms. But what the study underlined is the gap between data and action. This “data-to-action” disconnect — where information exists but does not yet lead to meaningful change — is now one of our field’s central challenges.
This disconnect runs as a red thread through our entire programme:
• how suppliers interpret and act on test results
• how brands translate reporting into sourcing decisions
• how policymakers and investors engage with complex, technical realities
This is why our efforts increasingly reach across sectors — engaging not just within the textile and footwear industry, but in alignment with adjacent sectors and global frameworks. Bridging these conversations is no longer optional; it’s essential.
To fully meet this moment, we also need to expand our ZDHC community. For too long, our story has lived primarily among product compliance professionals and sustainability experts. And while this core will always remain at the heart of what we do, the challenges we now face require us to speak to new audiences — and in new ways.
We need to engage financial experts, data leaders and executive management teams across our network. We need to explain what ZDHC stands for — not just the tools, but the values behind them. Not just what we track, but why it matters. Our mission extends far beyond phasing out hazardous chemicals, though that golden thread remains central to our focus and always close to our heart.
This broader engagement isn’t just a communications task. It’s a strategic step toward systemic change. Because we cannot shift an industry without shifting the narrative, and we cannot do that alone.
This is why our engagement with ESG analysts and investors is more than a side project — it’s a strategic priority. Because here too, the question isn’t whether there’s enough data. The question is whether the data we’re collecting is understood, trusted and used to answer the bigger question: “Is the fashion industry safe to invest in?”
This question goes straight to the heart of our mission and it forces us to step into a new kind of leadership. Not just technical leadership, but strategic alignment. We have a responsibility to help capital markets and policy-makers understand that robust chemical management isn’t a niche issue. It’s a proxy for risk and resilience.
That means making sure that the data generated through ZDHC’s work — from effluent indicators to verified chemistry and supplier practices — can be seen, value, and acted upon across the broader ESG ecosystem.
What gives me hope and keeps me grounded is knowing that none of this rests on one organisation alone. We’re part of a growing movement of peers, experts and practitioners who are committed to making change real. Not perfectly. Not always easily. But persistently, and together.
So here’s my invitation and my call to action to everyone in the ZDHC community:
Share the story. Talk about the work we do. Bring our message to your colleagues, your data teams, your finance departments, your executive boardrooms. Speak to your suppliers, your peers, your friends. Because this is how we’ve built strength in the past — through trust, dialogue and shared responsibility. And this is how we will shape the future.
Let’s continue to walk this path together — with courage, with curiosity and with sleeves rolled up.
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