sustainability / Regulation

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.

BoF senior correspondent Sheena Butler-Young and chief sustainability correspondent Sarah Kent unpack a scandal that has linked brands like Armani and Dior to Italian sweatshops.

As the EU seeks to crack down on a growing glut of clothing waste, the rise of low-value ultra-fast-fashion, along with increased competition and geopolitical disruption, are putting pressure on the economics of collecting, sorting and recycling used textiles.

A new California bill proposes that brands take charge of recycling efforts, allowing consumers to drop off unwanted clothing at designated sites.

The company said both cases had been “resolved swiftly,” with remediation steps including ending underage employees’ contracts, arranging medical checkups, and facilitating repatriation to parents or guardians as necessary.

The troubled sportswear giant is under pressure to address alleged failings in its approach to responsible sourcing as it struggles to execute on a turnaround plan amid an Olympics marketing push.

The CEO of the Science Based Targets Initiative, which players from LVMH to Inditex use to set climate goals, stepped down this week amid a bust up over whether companies should be allowed to use carbon offsets to deliver on environmental commitments.