Media Contact:
Kayla Anderson, Marketing Manager
The Phylmar Group, Inc., kanderson@phylmar.com
Longtime AFIRM Group Member from Gap takes on new role with Phylmar
Los Angeles, CA, USA (December 6, 2016): The Phylmar Group, Inc. and the Apparel & Footwear International RSL Management Group (AFIRM) are pleased to announce Nathaniel Sponsler as its new director. Sponsler is taking over the position from Elizabeth Treanor, who will be focusing her time primarily on assisting environmental, health and safety members in the Phylmar Regulatory Roundtable (PRR) and Biopharma groups.
Formed in 2004, the AFIRM group was created to bring together experts in the apparel and footwear industry and work together to reduce the use and impact of harmful substances in the apparel and footwear supply chain. Sponsler became a member of AFIRM shortly after joining Gap in 2007. The first AFIRM meeting he attended was hosted by Gap at its San Francisco headquarters in the spring of 2008.
“Over the last nine years in my role of overseeing the Gap Inc. RSL program, it became plainly clear to me that the level of complexity involved in chemicals management requires a more unified, collaborative approach within the apparel and footwear industry,” says Sponsler.
“In AFIRM I found like-minded professionals at other major brands, and we are now driving alignment across industry more quickly than at any time in the past — in particular because of the AFIRM RSL first published in 2015. I wanted to take this role in order to build on the momentum we’ve created and be better positioned to spearhead the group’s efforts going forward.
I would like to bring AFIRM to the next level of maturity and sophistication for the benefit of consumers, brands, regulators, and most importantly the global supply chain, where numerous conflicting chemical requirements — both regulated and imposed by brands themselves — have generated significant confusion and barriers to compliance. I view this as a fantastic opportunity and am very excited about it,” he added.
Sponsler said that his goals as AFIRM Director are to continue to evolve the group into a trusted authority and credible adviser on product chemical regulatory policy within the apparel and footwear industry.
“This includes strengthening and continuous improvement of the AFIRM RSL [Restricted Substance List] as well increasing adoption of the list across the industry. Not only will this simplify and promote chemicals management for the supply chain, it will demonstrate maturity in our industry and help prevent the proliferation of patchwork chemical regulation that frustrates industry and generates confusion among consumers,” Sponsler says.
“I’d like to give special thanks to the outgoing AFIRM Director, Elizabeth Treanor, for her tireless commitment to AFIRM over the past twelve and half a years. The group has accomplished so much under her leadership and would not be where it is today without her. I have very large shoes to fill!”
Currently, the AFIRM Group has members representing 22 of the world’s largest brands in the apparel and footwear industry. For more information specifically about the AFIRM Group, please visit www.afirm-group.com.
For any questions regarding this release, contact Kayla Anderson at kanderson@phylmar.com. To inquire about joining the AFIRM Group, please contact Nate Sponsler at nsponsler@phylmar.com.
About The Phylmar Group, Inc.
The Phylmar Group is an organization that partners with best-in-class companies on their most challenging environmental, health, safety, and social responsibility issues by anticipating clients’ needs from strategy to implementation. Its expert client advisors deliver innovative, responsible, efficient solutions addressing client needs and creating added value. For more information about being a part of this business consortia, visit www.phylmar.com or call 1 (310) 474-3937.
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