Sustainability
How fashion can do better for people and the planet.
Highlights

Logomania Is Coming for Sustainability

Louis Vuitton, Prada and Valentino have adapted core brand signifiers to project sustainability efforts to consumers. The move blends conspicuous consumption and virtue signalling, but it’s also a sign of real change.

Will a Recession Stunt Sustainable Fashion?

The last major downturn in 2008 was a huge setback for an emerging movement. But this time, shifts in both consumer and business culture mean things are likely to be different.

Case Studies & Reports

Analysis

Widespread Inaction on Sustainability Eclipses Progress at Fashion’s Biggest Companies

Case Study

Case Study: How to Talk to Customers About Fashion’s Dirty Secrets

Case Study

Fashion’s Race for New Materials — Download the Case Study

Latest News & Analysis

The Start-Ups Fashion Is Still Willing to Bet On

A grim economic climate has tempered enthusiasm for risky investments, but fashion companies and executives like H&M, Kering and Stella McCartney still see opportunity in start-ups pursuing sustainability solutions.

The Hunt for an Easy Way to Recycle Old Clothes

Technologies that can recycle old clothes back into new ones have been touted as a holy-grail sustainability solution. As they begin to scale, the industry is facing a tricky new logistics challenge.

Fast Fashion Is Racking Up Air Miles, and Emissions

Celebrities from Kylie Jenner to Taylor Swift are in hot water for their casual use of gas-guzzling private jets. Fashion brands’ flying habits deserve scrutiny too.

Op-Ed | The Radical Act of Curbing Consumption

Disconnecting from fashion’s hype cycle is the most effective way to both curb the industry’s environmental impact and develop a better relationship with our clothes, writes Alec Leach.

How Brands Should Navigate Fashion’s Greenwashing Crackdown

Companies including Boohoo, Asos and H&M are in the crosshairs, as mounting scrutiny of green claims ratchets up the pressure on brands to credibly back up any sustainability messaging.

Optimising Sustainable Cotton Production for Fashion Businesses

The US Cotton Trust Protocol works with cotton growers to produce fibres with a lower environmental and social risk in alignment with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals for members like Levi’s and Gap Inc.

Love Island Still Turns Heads for Fast Fashion

This year the hit reality series was sponsored by resale site eBay, a move celebrated as promoting more responsible consumption. But the show is still a huge marketing opportunity for fast-fashion brands.

Fashion’s Human Rights Record Is Worse Than Ever

A new report exposing abuse of garment workers in factories linked to major brands in Myanmar points to ways mounting political and economic instability are worsening human rights risks in fashion’s supply chain.

Logomania Is Coming for Sustainability

Louis Vuitton, Prada and Valentino have adapted core brand signifiers to project sustainability efforts to consumers. The move blends conspicuous consumption and virtue signalling, but it’s also a sign of real change.

Will a Recession Stunt Sustainable Fashion?

The last major downturn in 2008 was a huge setback for an emerging movement. But this time, shifts in both consumer and business culture mean things are likely to be different.

Fashion’s Sustainability Secrets

The industry’s biggest players still aren’t disclosing basic data about environmental and social impact, putting them in the firing line as regulators look to crack down on greenwashing.

Fashion’s Transparency Efforts Fall Short on Fundamental Data Points

More big brands are making public commitments to curb environmental impact and protect workers, but data on how they’re performing remains scarce, this year’s Fashion Transparency Index finds.

THE NEWS IN BRIEF

Asos, Boohoo Targeted in UK Greenwashing Probe

The Competition and Markets Authority said it opened an investigation into the three fashion brands “to scrutinise their ‘green’ claims,” saying it’s concerned that clothes, footwear and accessories are being marketed as eco-friendly with language that seems too vague and misleading.

Allies Could Follow US Lead on Xinjiang Forced Labour Ban

The United States’ Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) took effect last month to cut US imports of products from Xinjiang, where Washington accuses China of committing genocide against ethnic Uyghurs and other Muslims, and herding them into camps.

New Non-Profit Aims to Preserve American Craft

The organisation will take aim at preserving craft in American fashion by educating consumers about the importance and quality of American artisans, drumming up interest in American brands, backing training and apprenticeship programmes and prompting conversations about craft with its designer network.

Chanel-Backed Biotech Start-Up Raises $120 Million

The company closed a Series C funding round, led by Teachers’ Venture Growth (TVG), the late-stage venture arm of the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan Board, and Senator Investment Group. Several existing investors, including Chanel and Mousse Partners, also participated in the round.