The Business of Fashion
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
Apple said Tuesday that it would no longer use leather in any new products, including watch straps — part of efforts to reduce its environmental footprint.
The news was announced alongside the launch of Apple’s newest watch series, which includes models that are carbon neutral for the first time, the company said.
The tech giant said it worked with Nike and Hermès, brands it’s partnered with to sell watch bands, to develop more environmentally friendly options. But Hermès said leather watch straps will still form part of the Apple Watch Hermès collection and be available for sale exclusively in its stores.
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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.
More than a year after the ultra-fast-fashion company said it would tackle issues of unlawful overtime, 75-hour weeks remain common in its supply chain, Swiss watchdog Public Eye found.
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.
Overconsumption and fast fashion have become easy targets for brands flexing their climate-friendly attributes. Consumers may agree with the message — but take issue with a self-righteous tone.