Fibre2Fashion | Face2Face interview with Stephane Barrau

"Future testing needs to focus on waste, wastewater management"

Eurofins Scientific is an international group of laboratories headquartered in Luxembourg, providing testing and support services to the pharmaceutical, food, environmental, agroscience and consumer products industries, among others. The Group is one of the international leaders in the provision of testing services with a network of more than 800 laboratories across 47 countries. Through research and development, in-licensing and acquisitions, the Group draws on the latest developments in every industry it serves, while helping corporations to deliver safe and compliant products through responsible and sustainable sourcing practices. Vice president of Global Consumer Product Testing of Eurofins Group Stephane Barrau discusses the testing landscape for the apparel and textile niches.

Q. What do you think is the biggest challenge facing apparel brands and retailers in today's market?

A. The biggest challenge facing brands and retailers now is threefold: they need to stand out in a competitive marketplace characterised by rapidly advancing technology (automation, e-commerce, branding), ensure they are compliant with the regulatory framework, and, at the same time, focus on meeting the industry's sustainability objectives, which were officially launched at the G7 Summit in France in August.