sustainability / Materials

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.

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.

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.

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.

The fashion giants have invested in Galy, a Boston-based start-up that aims to drastically reduce cotton’s environmental impact.

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."

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.

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.