The Frayed Edge

The Game of ‘Selling’ Sustainability
From H&M’s bid to draw shoppers in with its sustainable positioning, Shein’s new circularity study and a campaign showing athleisure can be made using clean energy, fashion is trying to figure out sustainability’s saleability.

The Impact of War on Fashion’s Supply Chain
Textile hubs are already feeling the cascading risks of the conflict in Iran as Washington ramps up forced labour probes to revive tariffs, while decarbonisation in fashion’s factories might finally have a standard to go off of.

Can Fashion Stop Wasting So Much Water?
Fresh solutions to water scarcity in the supply chain, sourcing shifts and regulatory recalibration are reshaping fashion’s sustainability playbook.

Fashion Searches For a New Climate Solution
Coach-owner Tapestry’s new carbon-removal partnership and brands making fresh commitments to textile-to-textile recycling startups show an industry searching for ways to address its environmental impact.

Shein, Nike and Fashion’s Widening Sustainability Gap
Copenhagen Fashion Week’s 20th edition offered promise in pushing fashion’s sustainability agenda from within, defying the wider industry's pullback from the cause. But with fashion’s decarbonisation trajectory offtrack, Shein’s questionable climate targets, paired with labour abuse in Nike and Prada’s supply chains, there’s still a long way to go.

Fashion’s Sustainability Pressure Test
A new PETA investigation is reigniting animal welfare scrutiny in ‘responsible’ mohair supply chains just as Vinted deepens its US push in New York and evolving research raises new questions about how microplastics behave inside the human body.

Fashion’s Climate Reckoning Is Just Getting Started
From dangerous heat on factory floors to flooding across sourcing hubs, climate risks are catching up with fashion’s supply chains. While new recycling initiatives attempt to scale to address the industry’s waste and emissions problem, easing regulation in Europe raises questions about the path forward heading into 2026.

Are Fashion’s Sustainability Efforts Misplaced?
A disappointing COP30 deal was reached in Brazil, while floods across South and Southeast Asia showed exactly why quicker action is required. Meanwhile the EU watered down sustainability legislation yet again, this time targeting deforestation. In some positive news, bans on fur and misleading ‘green’ ads made headway.

Survival Is Fashion’s Next Big Climate Challenge
With efforts to avert climate crisis just limping along, the industry needs to brace for a harsh new reality.

The Cost of Being Shein
The ultra-fast-fashion giant’s first permanent store opening in Paris has been a source of high drama.

Are All Sustainability Certifications Broken?
The standards big brands rely on to back up their green claims are facing intense and unflattering scrutiny, Trump’s trade war is having far-reaching and destructive impacts on the lives of garment workers and what to watch ahead of the UN’s COP climate summit.

A Playbook for a Luxury Scandal
Big luxury has deployed a tried and tested playbook to defuse the fallout from an ongoing sweatshop scandal, there’s been an unusual level of regulatory drama in Brussels and we’re giving up on the prospect of an Hermès handbag made from mushroom leather.