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Emily Chow is an��IPilogue��Writer and a 1L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.���� �� ����

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2022 is primed to be an important year for humanity’s actions against global warming. COP26 (Conference of Parties) . It generated momentum that must continue to meet the goal of the by 2050: to reduce the Earth’s temperature by 1.5°C. 196 Parties adopted this internationally binding treaty. With the additional challenges brought forth by COVID-19, (net)zero-carbon solutions urgently need to be implemented across all levels and structures. The from this collective responsibility to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It has the capacity to usher in radical, life-saving changes. One way is through the

According to the World Economic Forum, eight industries generate : agriculture, construction, fashion, fast-moving consumer goods (“FMCGs”), electronics, automotive, professional services, and freight. This article discusses the role of fashion in climate change, and more importantly, highlights some textile innovations and organizations demonstrating the core values of circular economies.

Circular Economies: An Overview

A “circular” economy is more than a corporate citizenship buzzword or a . The three key pillars, or goals, supporting circular economic systems are: to. True circular production generates products and materials that can be reused, repaired, or remanufactured, thereby eliminating the concept of “waste” generated through consumer capitalism. These systems emulate what is inherent within nature’s ecological systems, such as and or cycles.

The Case for Fashion

Fashion, and by extension any forms of creative self-expression, potentiate important sociopolitical spaces for and individuals. Fashion can be , and . It can be responsive to or representative of . Fashion coalesces and will continue to so long as culture exists. It is also plain fun to feel good in what you’re wearing and for your clothing to represent you.

The fashion industry has roots across including (pun intended), retail, , , . Remedying the supply chain can , which struggle to fund expensive decarbonization efforts given their low profits relative to high emissions. Consumer-facing industries like fashion generate higher profits per ton of emissions, and thus can pass along decarbonisation costs in .

Along with the benefits of a circular economic system come concerns of and the privilege inherent in purchasing an expensive item upfront. Not to mention, the capacity to make climate-informed decisions further depends on sizing and access inclusivity for all ���ǻ徱���— of the fashion industry. However, many and have demonstrated the power in , , to one of slow fashion. , much of which is spurred by and a culture of consumption (think of TikTok or , hauls, ‘shop with me’ videos, negative associations of wearing something twice, etc.).

While the solution isn’t perfect, as an individual starting point, we can begin to unpack the small ways we as individuals can reassess our spending habits. Some mindfulness questions we can make a habit of asking ourselves are: What about [item] do I like or dislike (e.g., price, fit, colour, material)? Do I have anything similar? Can I get this second-hand? Will this material/style last several seasons? Do I see myself wearing this a few years from now?

Ultimately, structural change from the top-down must also occur to remedy our current climate. Yet investments made towards technological innovation and zero-emissions solutions have already proven to be profitable, sustainable, and . Furthermore, the collective push towards , , business certifications (such as , ), and is extremely promising.

Fashion’s Patented Innovations

I am really looking forward to seeing how the above movements evolve and respond to the coming year ahead. I am also excited about the increased adoption of patented materials and products! The production of synthetic textiles, garment-making, and the supply chain generates . Introducing nature-based solutions in agriculture and textile processing will be key to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

, , , and are a few companies building towards a circular economy in an exciting way.

Mycoworks is a San Francisco-based company with a for Fine Mycelium that has developed a called REISHI: a made-to-order, vegan, and biodegradable yet durable leather. Last year, they made headlines with their , whose classic “Victoria” style was remade with Fine Mycelium and named .

AlgiKnit makes patent-pending kelp-based yarns and textiles in New 91��ɫ. Their closed-loop product life cycle allows them to break down end products to be remade into new ones. This seaweed-based yarn allows manufacturers to excise highly toxic chemicals from the treatment process, protecting workers from dangerous and . AlgiKnit produced a , and one can only imagine the streetwear implications this new material could have. Furthermore, the company announced the opening of an , where they will work with global brands to adopt new biotechnological textile innovations.

Lenzing’s TENCEL Lyocell and Modal fibres are fibres originating from responsibly managed forests in Austria. They use a non-woven spinning process that recycles the water and solvents at a rate of more than 99%. These fibres have been certified biodegradable and compostable

ALT TEX, a homegrown Toronto start-up, is a former client of the IP Innovation Clinic at Osgoode Hall Law School. Founders Myra Arshad and Avneet Ghotra have developed a novel bio-polymer technology that re-engineers sugars extracted from food waste into a fibre substitute to , which is made of plastic. ALT TEX’s closed-loop, biodegradable, and carbon neutral textile is a game-changer with the potential to replace polyester entirely, which makes up over 60% of textile manufacturing.

Further Engagement:

Aja Barber’s Consumed, a book on the textile industry’s racist, colonial, and exploitative history, and how to empower yourself by unlearning the mentality of mass consumerism:

Intersectional Environmentalist, a climate justice community centering BIPOC and historically excluded voices:

Social/climate activists Stevie (aka ), Summer Dean ()

Second-hand, Consignment and Thrift stores (to name a few!): , , Facebook Marketplace,

Fashion Impact Fund, supporting women entrepreneurs and the fulfillment of UN’s Sustainable Development Goals:

Ecologi, a climate-positive investment subscription where you can support environmental projects as a business or individual supporter:

The post Biotech of the Future: Fashion’s Role in Climate Change appeared first on IPOsgoode.

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Shawn Dhue is an IPilogue Writer and a 2L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.

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As I searched for a topic for this blog post, I encountered a common theme: the Canadian technology sector is constantly asking for more action from the Canadian government aimed at fostering innovation in the community. Whether creating laws to help govern start-ups, eliminating laws to encourage innovation, or collaborating with other countries to combine resources, the sector alleges the Canadian government is missing vital opportunities to benefit Canadians.����

One of my most recent blog covered the intellectual property, technology, and energy platform points from the Liberal Party and Green Party. Many share the view that both of these parties, and in fact every party, lacked points in these areas. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and his government have been in the news for making announcements to help the “energy revolution” but failing to implement effective measures.

I have outlined below a few sectors which need innovation to expand. I hope to leave readers informed enough to form their own opinions on what government action is necessary and to pique their interest in what happens next and what other sectors need fixing.

Climate Change

The importance of climate change has become clear over the last decade and the issue played a major role in the most recent Federal election. Trying to cut down fossil fuel use and carbon dioxide emissions, the Canadian innovation and technology sectors look to innovators to patent new, less wasteful creations.

In December 2020, the Government of Canada released a new climate plan: “.”. The plan states that Canada will exceed its 2030 Paris Agreement emissions reductions goals and lay a foundation for net-zero emissions by 2050. However, , an independent scientific analysis that tracks governments’ climate action plans, has deemed Canada’s plans to be “.”

To effectively combat climate change, Canada must invest more into innovation and intellectual property to create new jobs and effective methods of reducing emissions. Investment is necessary to become a leader of the “.” Put simply by : “.

The Pharmaceutical Sector

Another major global crisis, the COVID-19 pandemic, has illustrated Canada’s strengths and weaknesses in the pharmaceutical industry. According to the : “.” In their , Canada earned a grading level of D in patents. This grade is reflected by Canada’s lack of investment into COVID-19 vaccine research. Prime Minister Trudeau even the lack of effort and vowed to make change.

In a recent article, and offer a solution to this issue for when the next global pandemic arrives: “.” Edwards and Morgan view the current Canadian policies as playing well politically but failing to drive innovative intellectual property in the pharmaceutical sector.

Research & Development (R&D)

Joel Bilt points out that Canada is the only G7 country “.” This decline is one of the instances where the community is asking the government to eliminate laws to allow the innovation sector to grow. Bilt writes: “.” Currently, most Canadian innovators are looking internationally to patent ideas, and . Positively, ideas are growing and more Canadian inventors need patents. However, a growing number of these inventors are not using the domestic patent system.

It is no secret that Canada’s R&D has experienced a in the last few decades. The question is what the country can do now, and in the future, to help the domestic R&D sector grow and expand. Whether by creating accessible paths to more patents, increasing education and funding, or an alternative route, it is up to the Government of Canada to act.

The post Current or Ongoing? An Interesting Trend in Intellectual Property News appeared first on IPOsgoode.

Photo Credit: Adib Hussain on Unsplash (edited by Ashley Moniz)

Photo Credit: Adib Hussain on .

Ali Mesbahian is an IPilogue Writer and a 2L JD Candidate at Osgoode Hall Law School.

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The ever-growing reliance on artificial intelligence (AI) in our everyday life and industry is an undisputable condition of our time. Whether we speak of gaming, speech and facial recognition, smartphones, medical research, agriculture, trading and investment, cybersecurity, or resource extraction (and of course, much more)—few, if any, sectors fall outside the purview of AI. As with any emerging technology, as to whether AI is a “net good” are abundant. This brief article focuses on this issue with respect to AI’s environmental impact.

For starters, it is important to acknowledge AI’s potential in combatting climate change. Among other things, lead to better climate predictions, create virtual simulations that demonstrate what a given area would look like after the impacts of climate change, and help track the source of carbon emissions for regulation purposes.

On the other hand, AI requires infrastructure that consumes a great deal of energy. study conducted at the University of Massachusetts Amherst shed light on the enormous scale of this consumption: the energy required to train a single natural language processing (NLP) model leaves a carbon footprint of roughly 300,000 kg— (for a fascinating map on the human and environmental costs of AI, see ). Of more concern, “.” But what contributes to this increasing energy-intensive dynamic? Consider the following two points .

First, some researchers and academics have raised concerns about the AI community’s hyper-focus on their models’ accuracy and which come at the expense of cost and energy-efficiency considerations. Accordingly, calls are being made to research “ ��that not only incorporates the energy consumption levels of a given AI model in its evaluative criteria, but also factors in the renewability of energy-sources and the extent to which a given model’s research results can be reproduced for future research.

Second, a 2020 , illustrates the close connection between tech and fossil-fuel industries. For instance, while Microsoft has vowed to become “carbon negative” by 2030 in order to counteract its contribution to environmental damage, it also offers AI capabilities to oil and gas companies such as ExxonMobil “in all phases of oil production.” Microsoft is not alone in signing these kinds of lucrative contracts; it’s joined by companies such as Amazon and Google. This casts huge doubt on the achievability and commitment of tech firms’ own climate goals. As was the case when , it is important for both civil society and insiders in the tech industry to pressure corporate executives to stop assisting the extractive activities of the fossil fuel industry and be more aggressive in reducing their own carbon footprints.

It is important to mention that the success of initiatives aiming to reduce the negative impacts of AI depend on the , both domestically and internationally. In this regard, I end with a hopeful starting point: Germany’s supreme constitutional court’s historic ruling in April 2021 that rendered the government’s climate goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 as . The Court found that the government’s policy simply does not go far enough in protecting future generations from the catastrophes of climate change. As a result, the German government is in the process of bringing forward a —which undoubtedly bears regulatory implications for the tech industry.

To learn more about the relationship between artificial intelligence and the environment, check out next week’s , hosted by IP Osgoode and featuring a panel of leaders in the fields of AI and sustainability.

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