sustainability / Materials
Stella McCartney Pioneers Plant-Based Fashion Feathers
The label, which turns 25 next year, has never used leather, fur or skins.
Fashion Needs a New Sustainability Playbook
Efforts to establish a cleaner, kinder fashion sector are struggling, but it’s not clear what the answers are.
Lab-Grown Gems Are Robbing Botswana of Its Diamond Riches
Botswana, once a thriving nation due to its diamond wealth, now faces a severe economic crisis as the diamond market collapses, leading to widespread social and financial challenges.
At Modern Meadow, Biofabricating a Sustainable Leather Alternative
With sustainability regulations tightening and deadlines for manufacturing reforms approaching, bio-design firm Modern Meadow is optimising for the shift towards responsible sourcing. BoF sits down with its chief executive officer, David Williamson, to discuss how the company’s biofabrication technologies can supplement the leather industry.
Fashion’s Recycling Start-Ups Inch Closer to Commercialisation
Over the last month, a flurry of companies with backers from H&M to Inditex have advanced plans to build their first industrial-scale textile-to-textile recycling plants, advancing a technology that is often held up as a holy-grail-like solution to many of fashion’s environmental ills.
The Brewing Controversy Over the Cotton in Your T-Shirt
Zara owner Inditex, the world’s largest fast fashion company, is ditching the industry’s biggest sustainable cotton scheme amid a deforestation scandal and a wider push to prioritise organic fibres.
Is ‘Clean’ Fashion About to Have a Moment?
With clean beauty now mainstream, an emerging wave of brands are promoting skin-kind clothing made from natural fibres and without the use of harsh chemicals, seeking to tap into consumer interest in products that promise health and wellness benefits.
Big Brands Banned Fur. Why Is It Back on the Runway?
The luxury sector is turning to a roster of faux alternatives to tap into a resurgence in consumer appetite for fluffy fashions.
Textile-to-Textile Recycler Circ Raises $25 Million
The company has gained new backing from Taranis, an investment firm owned by oil company Perenco, and additional funds from investors including Zara-owner Inditex as it looks to bring its recycling capabilities to commercial scale.
Can Brands Still Make the Case for Sustainable Fashion?
In a climate where consumers are wary of greenwashing and a backlash against “woke capitalism” takes shape, brands peddling sustainability messaging have to treat the topic with a degree of irreverence and put the product first.
‘Ethical’ Cotton Is Being Picked by Child Labourers in India, Watchdog Finds
A new report has linked businesses supplying companies including Zara-owner Inditex, H&M Group, Gap Inc. and Amazon to incidents of forced labour and debt bondage on Indian cotton farms.
The Best of BoF 2024: Fashion’s Sustainability Pullback
This year offered up a jarring reality check for players seeking to improve the industry’s environmental and social impact, with brands deprioritising sustainability efforts even as the risks of inaction have become more apparent.