Dr Kannan Muthu
Passionate and detail-oriented textiles & clothing specialist offers around 15 years’ practical experience of working with numerous brands, retailers and manufacturers across the globe on environmental & chemical management, life cycle assessment and product carbon footprint, sustainable materials & products plus advanced research skills and exceptional technical writing abilities. Around 5 years of industrial experience in quality assurance, research & development, consumer testing of textiles as well. In-depth knowledge of sustainability in textiles & clothing supply chain and hands on experience on product (LCA, carbon, water footprints), Sustainable materials (fibers, yarns, fabrics and products), circular economy, biodegradable fibers, micro fibers and manufacturing levels of sustainability assessments. Results-oriented textile technologist & c onsultant experienced in training, capacity building, consulting for both brands and manufacturers across the globe. Top-notch work ethic and analytical skills. Hands on experience with team management, public relations, product safety & compliance, project management, business development and execution of projects in different countries across the globe.
Key Offerings
| Environmental Sustainability & Chemical Management | Higg Index FEM-3.0 -Adoption, Veriiccation | Capacity Building & Consulting |
| Sustainable Materials & Circular Economy; | Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) | Carbon Footprint, Reduction & Off-set, Neutral |
| Strategy, Goal, Road map setting | Auditing, Verification |
Key Achievements
Around 20 years’ experience in textiles & Clothing sector
Experienced in textiles & clothing sustainability since 2008 (over 15 years)
Extensive experience in life cycle assessment, product carbon footprint in textiles & clothing materials (over 15 years)
Experienced in strategising the sustainability road maps, implementation and reporting
Approved trainer, general verifier & chemical specialist verifier for FEM 3.0
Conducted/conducting many training verification’s across the globe for FEM 3.0
Experienced in assessing, training, coaching & consulting many textile factories across the globe with hundreds of factories across the globe on environmental, chemical sustainability, Higg Index, etc
Trained numerous industrial participants (from factory, brand, retailer and independent consultants) across of the globe on Higg Index, environmental management, chemical management, product carbon footprint, life cycle assessment, sustainability in textiles & fashion, etc
Trainer, verifier, reviewer and hands on experience of verification and performance improvement of various factories in Asia and Europe for Higg Index and Detox programmes
Developed environmental and chemical management programme, audit tool, audit package and guidelines for various brands and retailers
Authored/edited around 165+ scientific books on sustainability published by leading scientific publishers such as Springer, Elsevier, Taylor & Francis & also published over 100 research papers.
Completed many life cycle assessment, carbon footprint, environmental assessment projects in Asia and Europe for various product categories.
LCA Expertise
The very first candidate completed doctorate in Eco-Functional Assessment Methodology in Textiles & Clothing Supply Chain and developed umpteen numbers of environmental footprints models based on LCA from fiber to disposal
A well-known and globally recognized expert in LCA in textiles and clothing
Conducted numerous LCA (ISO 14040/14044) and Product Carbon Footprint (ISO 14067) projects for many product categories in textiles and experienced in working with brands, retailers, factories across the globe (Over 15 years)
Reviewed countless reports from industry and academic as a critical review panel expert member and external reviewer, consultant (Over 15 years)
One of the advisors for SAC for the product module of Higg Index
Authored and edited over 100 scientific books including Handbook of Life Cycle Assessment of Textiles and Clothing Supply chain, which is a de-facto guidebook for all LCA practitioners in textiles
Developed many LCA models and calculators
Invited as an industry expert and a LCA expert for reviewing eco-invent databases in alignment with PEF methodology for EU (around 100 datasets for apparel and footwear processes) in 2021-22
Reviewed many reports as a critical reviewer; some examples including Project Draw Down’s reports on recycled textiles, plastics, paper and LCA of conventional, organic and BCI cottons by C & A
Extensive experience on environmental labels (ISO 1402X)
Core Competencies
Thorough understanding of textiles and clothing supply chain & its environmental, chemical and compliance aspects
Product safety & compliance, project & team’s management, business development
Auditing experience in textile mills and laundries for environmental and chemical aspects (Higg Index and ZDHC)
Green Claims – Development, Validation
Knowledge on quality evaluation and inspection of textile products & experience in working with cross functional teams (across the globe) with excellent coordination skills
Life cycle assessment based on ISO 14040 and 14044 and Carbon footprint based on ISO 14067
Training experience on textile testing, carbon footprint, Higg Index, Detox for internal and external clients across the globe
The Textile Institute World Conference
This event is held at exciting and relevant locations around the globe and is in an important meeting point for the textile industry and members worldwide. The social events associated with the conference bring together the global community to enjoy the host country’s culture and hospitality.
