sustainability / Materials
Sustainability: The Case for Collective Action
A fragmented fashion industry needs to cooperate in order to avoid falling further behind on decarbonisation efforts, according to the BoF-McKinsey State of Fashion 2025.
Fashion’s Plastic Addiction in Four Charts
Cheap and versatile polyester has underpinned both the fashion industry’s growth and its worsening environmental footprint. Efforts to switch to recycled fibre are stalled, new data show.
The Supima Design Competition Showcases Fashion’s Next Generation at New York Fashion Week
Through partnerships with leading fashion schools across the US and a robust and growing network of alumni, the Supima Design Competition is setting up emerging design talent for success.
Why H&M and Inditex Are Betting on Lab-Grown Cotton
The fashion giants have invested in Galy, a Boston-based start-up that aims to drastically reduce cotton’s environmental impact.
Shein: Fashion’s Biggest Polluter in Four Charts
The ultra-fast-fashion giant’s planet-warming emissions have nearly tripled in the last three years as its growth far outpaced other major fashion companies. In Shein's latest sustainability report, CEO Sky Xu says tackling emissions is “particularly critical."
Unpacking Fashion’s Future of Sustainability
The textile and leather certification company allows fashion brands to signpost how they comply with environmental requirements through its modular certification system. Here, interim CEO Dr. Stefan Droste discusses the role transparency and certification play in fashion today and how businesses can stay ahead of regulatory change.
Op-Ed | Fashion’s Fur Debate Has Never Been a Clean Fight
Last week, Marc Jacobs officially declared his brand fur-free following ‘bullying’ by aggressive activists. But on the other side of the equation, quiet pressure from his brand’s parent company LVMH is largely responsible for keeping fur in fashion, argues the Humane Society’s PJ Smith.
What’s Behind the Slow Fashion Recession
The closure of Mara Hoffman and other brands that built ethical consumption into their business models is raising questions about whether there’s room in the market for brands that put sustainability first.
Op-Ed | Circular Fashion Needs Government Incentives
Textile-to-textile recycling technologies could be a climate game changer for fashion’s environmental footprint. But like renewable energy, they need state support for market efforts to scale, argues Nicole Rycroft.
Fashion’s Supply Chain Is Still Full of Banned Chinese Cotton
A study published this week found traces of cotton from Xinjiang in nearly a fifth of the products it examined, highlighting the challenges brands face in policing their supply chains even as requirements to do so spread to raw materials from diamonds to leather and palm oil.
Banned Chinese Cotton Found in 19% of Products, Study Shows
Traces of cotton from Xinjiang were found in nearly a fifth of samples from American and global retailers, highlighting the challenges of complying with a US law aimed at blocking imports that could be linked to forced labour in China.
Why Fashion Should Have a Plastic Tax
The fashion industry continues to advance voluntary and unlikely solutions to its plastic problem. Only higher prices will flip the script, writes Kenneth P. Pucker.