Chanel’s Latest Legal Battleground: Upcycling
As they move to protect their intellectual property, big brands are coming into conflict with a growing class of up-and-coming designers working with refashioned designer gear.
Sustainability
How fashion can do better for people and the planet.
Highlights
Why Luxury Brands Can’t Shake the Controversy Around Exotic Skins
Companies like Hermès, Kering and LVMH say they have spent millions to ensure they are sourcing crocodile and snakeskin leathers responsibly. But critics say incidents like the recent smuggling conviction of designer Nancy Gonzalez show loopholes persist despite tightening controls.
Are H&M and Zara Harming Forests in Brazil?
Cotton linked to environmental and human rights abuses in Brazil is leaking into the supply chains of major fashion brands, a new investigation has found, prompting Zara-owner Inditex to send a scathing rebuke to the industry’s biggest sustainable cotton certifier.
Latest News & Analysis
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.
Patagonia Aims to Make Endlessly Recyclable Wetsuits
The outerwear company is set to start selling wetsuits made in part by harvesting materials from old ones.
Why Luxury Brands Can’t Shake the Controversy Around Exotic Skins
Companies like Hermès, Kering and LVMH say they have spent millions to ensure they are sourcing crocodile and snakeskin leathers responsibly. But critics say incidents like the recent smuggling conviction of designer Nancy Gonzalez show loopholes persist despite tightening controls.
Why Luxury Brands Can’t Shake the Controversy Around Exotic Skins
Companies like Hermès, Kering and LVMH say they have spent millions to ensure they are sourcing crocodile and snakeskin leathers responsibly. But critics say incidents like the recent smuggling conviction of designer Nancy Gonzalez show loopholes persist despite tightening controls.
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Explainer: What the EU’s Big Week of Regulation Means for Fashion
Europe’s Parliament has signed off rules that will make brands more accountable for what happens in their supply chains, ban products made with forced labour and set new environmental standards for the design and disposal of products.
Explainer: What the EU’s Big Week of Regulation Means for Fashion
Europe’s Parliament has signed off rules that will make brands more accountable for what happens in their supply chains, ban products made with forced labour and set new environmental standards for the design and disposal of products.
Better Cotton to Expand Due Diligence After Brazil Deforestation Investigation
Fashion’s biggest sustainable cotton certifier said it found no evidence of non-compliance at farms covered by its standard, but acknowledged weaknesses in its monitoring approach.
Chanel’s Latest Legal Battleground: Upcycling
As they move to protect their intellectual property, big brands are coming into conflict with a growing class of up-and-coming designers working with refashioned designer gear.
Fashion’s Virgin Plastic Problem
The industry needs to ditch its reliance on fossil-fuel-based materials like polyester in order to meet climate targets, according to a new report from Textile Exchange.
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Are H&M and Zara Harming Forests in Brazil?
Cotton linked to environmental and human rights abuses in Brazil is leaking into the supply chains of major fashion brands, a new investigation has found, prompting Zara-owner Inditex to send a scathing rebuke to the industry’s biggest sustainable cotton certifier.
Are H&M and Zara Harming Forests in Brazil?
Cotton linked to environmental and human rights abuses in Brazil is leaking into the supply chains of major fashion brands, a new investigation has found, prompting Zara-owner Inditex to send a scathing rebuke to the industry’s biggest sustainable cotton certifier.
Is April Still the Greenwashiest Month?
Over the last few years, the run-up to Earth Day has become a marketing frenzy. But a crackdown on greenwashing may be changing the way brands approach their communications strategies.
Brands Struggle to Get Sustainability Marketing Right
This week, Sephora announced plans to double down on ‘green’ and ‘clean’ product labels, leaning into an increasingly risky marketing tactic even as a greenwashing crackdown has prompted other brands to pull back.
What Would Happen if Fashion Were Taxed Like Cigarettes?
France is pressing ahead with a ‘game-changing’ bill that would impose a ‘sin tax’-style penalty on fast-fashion products as high as €10 per item by 2030.
THE NEWS IN BRIEF
Canada’s Competition Bureau Opens Greenwashing Investigation of Lululemon
A complaint by climate-advocacy group Stand.earth prompted the inquiry.
Cascale Appoints New CEO
Former Under Armour COO Colin Browne has been appointed to lead the industry organisation formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition.
EU Parliament Approves New Business Supply Chain Audit Law
EU lawmakers backed the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive by 374 votes to 235 against, with 19 abstentions.
EU Parliament Approves Ban of Products Made With Forced Labour
The European Parliament approved rules on Tuesday to ban in the EU the sale, import and export of goods made using forced labour.
Designer Nancy Gonzalez Sentenced to 18 Months in Exotic Skin Smuggling Case
The Colombian designer, whose bags have been worn by celebrities and featured on shows like Sex and the City, previously pled guilty to illegally importing millions of dollars of crocodile and snakeskin handbags into the US.
The Wealthy Are Less Willing to Spend on Sustainable Products
Millennial and Gen-Z respondents were among the most likely to pay a premium for environmental-friendly practices.
Zara Owner Inditex Demands Clarity From Cotton Certifier Accused of Standard Breaches
NGO Earthsight informed the retailer that producers with Better Cotton certifications were involved in land grabbing, illegal deforestation and violent acts against local communities.
Multiple Bidders Emerge to Buy Bankrupt Recycler Renewcell
A deadline to submit initial offers passed on Thursday, with a final deal expected to close mid-April.