SEATTLE - Most large retailers in the US and Canada are failing to protect customers from toxic chemicals and harmful plastics found in their products and packaging, according to a new report. The report, by the Toxic-Free Future NGO, includes a…
BRUSSELS - Members of AIM-Progress, which is made up of members from the major fast-moving consumer goods sector, and the Consumer Goods Forum Human Rights Coalition, have partnered with the Fair Labor Association (FLA) and the Proforest non-profit…
PARIS - Textile recycling company Reju and French collector Nouvelles Fibres Textiles (NFT), which specialises in the recovery of end-of-life textiles, are to collaborate on building a circular ecosystem for textiles in France. NFT will supply…
The fashion resale market faces a paradox. Whilst consumer interest in secondhand clothing continues to grow, profitability remains elusive for many platforms - with ThredUp announcing a drop in revenues and profits in its third quarter of 2024.…
DUBLIN - Discount fashion retailer Primark claims its decarbonisation programme is beginning to decouple from growth after revealing an 11.6% reduction in carbon emissions across its value chain since last year while sales rose by 6%. Primark's…
A new report by Acatech, the German Academy of Science and Engineering, highlights the transformative potential of digital technologies in creating a sustainable, circular economy for the textile industry. Entitled Digital Enablers of the Circular…
SPONSORED CONTENT – The LYCRA Company’s latest Sustainability Update The LYCRA Company has published its third annual Sustainability Update and its abridged Global Sustainability Scorecard for fiscal year 2023. These documents detail the company’s…
ELKTON – Outerwear brand Gore-Tex is expanding its Outerwear On Demand snowsports apparel rental programme to new locations across the US and Canada. It is adding 15 new locations through partners, including Alterra Mountain Company, Powdr Corp and…
PARIS - French lab-grown leather startup Faircraft has raised $15.8 million in a fundraising round to scale its patented tissue engineering technology. The round was backed by international investment funds, including Kindred Ventures (USA), Cap…
MELBOURNE - Researchers in Australia say most leading cities around the world are failing to deal with unwanted clothing with most textile waste going to landfill or being exported overseas. The study, by the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology…
LONDON - Fashion rental marketplace Hurr and delivery service Deliveroo have teamed up for a “first-of-its-kind” partnership which promises to bring rental designer dresses directly to customers’ doors in just 20 minutes. Customers in central London…
EDINBURGH – Researchers at Heriot-Watt University claim to have developed a world-first visual grading system for combatting microplastic pollution from clothing. The four-year project was led by textile experts aiming to make fashion labels and…
DHAKA - A new report from the Swedwatch NGO highlights the impacts of low wages on Bangladesh's garment workers who are said to be dependant on overtime or falling into debt to make ends meet. Swedwatch, a Swedish non-profit focused on business…
LONDON – Proposals to set up a comprehensive roadmap to transition the US polyester textile and PET packaging industries from a linear single-use model towards circular, low-waste and low-emission systems by 2040, have been outlined in a new report…
LUDWIGSHAFEN - Textile chemical giant BASF has partnered with Hong Kong-based footwear brand Mount to Coast on the production of its first running shoe midsole based on a biopolymer made from renewable feedstock. The CircleCell midsole, which is…
HANOI - Swedish retailer H&M has become the first major global fashion brand to sign an agreement under a Vietnamese government scheme to encourage its suppliers in the country to switch to renewable energy sources, such as solar panels. H&M has…
LONDON - A new report on the quality of secondhand clothing exported to Uganda and Tanzania from the 'Global North' indicates that only 1.1 to 1.3% is waste while another 2.9 to 3.2% has value only as rags. The study by the Sustainable Manufacturing…
AMSTERDAM - Cascale, formerly the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, will highlight challenges faced by the apparel sector in complying with new sustainability legislation at a ‘Brand & Retail Forum’ in Brussels next month. Entitled ‘Policy dialogue in…
LEICESTER - More than 1,200 garment workers in Leicester have been illegally underpaid over the last five years, according to newly disclosed figures. The figures, which cover the financial years from 2019-20 to 2023-24 and were revealed by HM…
AMSTERDAM - Multi-stakeholder initiative, the Fair Wear Foundation has announced a strategic partnership with the European Outdoor Group (EOG) aimed at enhancing worker rights in the outdoor apparel sector. Under the terms of the partnership, the…
GENEVA - The International Labor Organization (ILO) is to begin action against the Myanmar government amid concerns that has failed to adhere to any of its previous recommendations aimed at reducing the risks faced by the country’s workers,…
BRUSSELS - The European Union's Forced Labour Regulation (FLR), which bans products made anywhere in the world with forced labour from the single market, has cleared its final legislative hurdle. Following approval by the European Council yesterday,…
BRUSSELS - The Solidaridad sustainable supply chain initiative is urging the European Council to save the proposed European Union Deforestation Law (EUDL) after the European Parliament voted to water down the legislation. EUDR had already been…
AMSTERDAM – The Fashion for Good initiative and its retail partners have come together to launch the ‘Feedstock Assessment for Biosynthetic Innovation’, a new programme aimed at accelerating the industry’s shift towards alternatives to fossil…
LONDON – The UK Fashion & Textile Association (UKFT) has announced a six-year extension to the Climate Change Levy (CCL) rebate scheme for the textile industry. The extended scheme, which will run from 1 January 2026 to March 2033, has been slightly…
JYVÄSKYLÄ - Finnish textile fibre innovator Spinnova has announced a delay in the new production plant it is developing in partnership with Brazilian cellulosic pulp giant Suzano. The two companies signed a letter of intent (LOI) to build the…
LONDON – UK secondhand wholesale start-up Fleek has secured $20.4 million in a new funding round. The online platform raised $5.6 million from a seed round led by Andreessen Horowitz (a16z) and $14.8 million from a Series A round led by HV Capital,…
STUTTGART - Global Standard, the non-profit that manages the Global Organic Textile Standard (GOTS), in partnership with The Hague-based UpRights Foundation, has launched the GOTS Due Diligence Handbook for Auditors. The publication of the handbook…
SOUTH ASIA - A new report from the Asia Floor Wage Alliance (AFWA) highlights the gap between the wages paid to garment workers and how much it costs to meet their basic living needs. AFWA's 'Path to a Living Wage' report calls for a living wage in…
TOKYO - Japanese textile manufacturer Toray Industries has struck a deal with Thai petrochemicals manufacturer PTT Global Chemical (GC) to explore mass production technology for adipic acid, a key ingredient in the production of nylon 6,6, from…
BRUSSELS – Three more organisations have added their voices to warnings that the European used textile industry is in danger of collapse unless action is taken to save it. The RREUSE network of social enterprises involved in reuse, repair and…
LONDON - More than 400 companies are now preparing to share their supply chain data and accelerate their transparency across global textile and garment supply chains with Open Supply Hub (OS Hub), following a series of partnerships with…
ZHENGZHOU / ADELAIDE - A team of international researchers have developed a cooling fabric which they hope will help wearers cope better with rising temperatures and reduce energy use through air conditioning. Researchers from China's Zhengzhou…
BRUSSELS - The European Commission (EC) and the Consumer Protection Cooperation (CPC) Network have issued a warning to Shein rival Temu, citing several breaches of EU consumer law, following calls for stricter regulations on online marketplaces last…
SPONSORED CONTENT – As sustainability challenges increase globally, textile and leather companies are looking for ways to reduce their environmental impact and produce responsibly. The international OEKO-TEX® association supports the industry with…
SEATTLE - Online retail giant Amazon has introduced a new feature aimed at taking on low-cost retailers such as Shein and Temu. Known as Amazon Haul, the service will provide customers in the US with access to range of products, all capped at $20 or…
BRUSSELS – European cities are acting to address the impacts of fast fashion at local level in the absence of strong guidance from governments, according to a new report. Entitled 'Cities and consumption: Local solutions to curb textile waste and…
ITHACA - A research team at Cornell University in the US claims to have developed a sustainable way to remove dye and oil from waterways using discarded silk yarn. The studies, which have involved work on silk at the fabric, yarn, and fibre stages,…
LONDON - New methodologies for issuing forest-based carbon credits, which were withdrawn following concerns about potential loopholes, have been approved by the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM). ICVCM, which aims to ensure…
LJUBLJANA – Smartex and Lithos Carbon, both of which work with the fashion and textile industry to improve environmental stewardship, have been named as recipients of the ‘Compute for Climate Fellowship’, the global programme that offers funding to…
STOCKHOLM - Former H&M CEO Helena Helmersson has been appointed the new chairman of textile recycler Circulose, formerly Renewcell, while McKinsey & Co partner Jonatan Janmark has been named the new CEO. Swedish private equity firm Altor took over…
HERZOGENAURACH – Sportswear giant Puma has unveiled its new ‘Vision 2030’ sustainability goals, which include a new raft of greenhouse gas reduction targets. Puma’s most recent sustainability report, published earlier this year, showed that Puma…
BARCELONA - Spanish fashion giant Mango has committed to only source certified wool free from live lamb cutting, also known as mulesing, by 2030. The pledge follows the signing of the ‘brand letter of intent’ from animal welfare organisation, Four…
YANGON - The IndustriALL globaI union has filed complaints against three leading brands – Next, New Yorker and LPP – over their continued sourcing from Myanmar despite "overwhelming evidence of continuous violations of workers’ rights" since the…
CHICAGO – International law firm Baker McKenzie and sustainability consultants Positive Luxury have published an updated guide for luxury brands on meeting the requirements of new and upcoming environmental and human rights legislation. It…
OSLO - A consortium made up of academic researchers, industry and authorities from across Northern Europe, has come together to jointly develop algae-based products that could have potential applications in the textile sector while also helping…
BERKELEY - The Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN) non-profit has confirmed that the first cohort of its YESS (Yarn Ethically and Sustainably Sourced) members have begun to implement due diligence in their supply chains. Targeting the elimination of…
AMSTERDAM - Cascale, formerly the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, and its technology partner Worldly, have published a new guide to help fashion companies comply with California's new climate laws. The Climate Corporate Data Accountability Act (SB…
ZURICH - Swiss textile testing and certification institute Testex has launched a new microplastics label aimed at helping retailers, brands and manufacturers reduce microplastic emissions from textiles. Confirming it has also joined the Microfibre…
LONDON – Sportswear brand Puma and retail giant Decathlon are amongst just 11 global companies that have been included in the Laureus ‘Sport for Good’ index. Launched in 2021, the Laureus Sport for Good Index acknowledges brands that are making…
BRUSSELS - The Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), which works for better pay and conditions for the world's garment workers, has linked up with eight other NGOs to publish a new guide to the European Union's (EU) Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence…
TOKYO – Apparel fastening solutions manufacturer, YKK Corporation has published its latest sustainability report in which it outlines its most recent progress toward climate neutrality and environmental stewardship. The ‘This is YKK 2024’ report…
HONG KONG – Artificial intelligence, automation and sustainability are all at the top of the list of major trends and issues impacting sourcing professionals at many of the world's leading fashion retailers and brands, a new report suggests.…
CALIFORNIA - Active Apparel Group (AAG) has been awarded B Corp status in recognition of its ongoing efforts in social and environmental sustainability, transparency, and ethical business practices. To receive certification, companies are required…
CASABLANCA - The Euratex textile industry trade body has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Moroccan Association of Textile and Clothing Industries (AMITH) which includes aligning on sustainability and circularity. The MoU, signed…
PEORIA – Next generation materials manufacturer, Natural Fiber Welding has reportedly furloughed a number of its workers amid delays to customer contracting and a subsequent shortfall in funding. The start-up, which last year was nominated as a…
BRUSSELS – ReHubs, the Euratex-founded project aimed at upscaling textile waste recycling, has signed up as a strategic partner with AMI, organiser of next year’s Textiles Recycling Expo. The event, which will provide a platform for industry leaders…
GLOBAL - Cascale, Textile Exchange, the Social & Labor Convergence Program (SLCP) and Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals (ZDHC) are failing to engage fashion suppliers in their efforts to reduce the industry's impacts, according to a new report.…
UTRECHT - The fashion system needs a new approach that emphasises collaboration between buyers and suppliers, which a new report terms “shared risk”. This involves buyers and suppliers sharing production risks and rewards by using data science for…
SPONSORED CONTENT – The LYCRA Company’s latest Sustainability Update The LYCRA Company has published its third annual Sustainability Update and its abridged Global Sustainability Scorecard for fiscal year 2023. These documents detail the company’s…
AMSTERDAM - Cascale, formerly the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, has launched the latest version of its Higg Facility Environmental Module (Higg FEM) together with its technology partner Worldly. The updated Higg FEM tool aims to provide more…
GUATEMALA CITY - Worker rights campaigners have criticised Chinese-owned ultra fast fashion giant Shein for failing to protect workers at a former garment factory in Guatemala which supplied a brand it part owns. The US-based Worker Rights…
TOKYO – Japanese fibre manufacturer Teijin Frontier has confirmed the global roll-out of its Biofront polylactic acid (PLA) resin which, with applications in the textiles and nonwovens sectors, is said to biodegrade at a faster rate compared to…
MADRID - Textile recycler Re&Up has set up a subsidiary in Spain as it looks to expand its operations to Europe as part of its ambitious bid to scale its global capacity to more than a million tonnes annually. Re&Up, which is based in the…
LUDWIGSHAFEN - BASF has had several of its textile sector, chemical intermediates verified by climate change NGO and product carbon footprint verifier, the Carbon Trust. The Carbon Trust, which advises businesses and governments on sustainable…
WASHINGTON DC - The American Circular Textiles (ACT) says a second Trump presidency should not dismay those working to accelerate the transition to circularity and that it can work with his administration. "A Trump presidency will reshape America.…
LENZING - Cellulosic fibre specialist Lenzing has posted a wider loss for the first three quarters of 2024, with lower fibre prices and higher raw material costs off-setting an increase in sales volumes. Reporting a net loss of €111.1 million, down…
SAFENWIL - Tell-Tex, one of Switzerland's largest used clothing collectors, is partnering with recycling specialist Re-Matters to construct a new processing facility. The plant, which is scheduled to be online by 2026, is expected to have the…
BUSAN - The heads of Decathlon, IKEA and textile recycling specialists Tomra and Terracycle, are among a group of 22 prominent CEOs whose companies have signed an open letter to heads of state ahead of the final round of negotiations in Busan,…
AMSTERDAM - The Fashion for Good initiative has launched a free online tool mapping global textile waste hotspots which aims to provide regional data on waste volume, composition and type available worldwide. The 'World of Waste' tool was created…
SHANGHAI – The Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) has unveiled the latest edition of its GFA Monitor report, which aims to guide industry leaders towards a net positive fashion sector, at its Global Fashion Summit in China. The GFA Monitor 2024 is produced…
LONDON - Labour MPs have urged the UK government to introduce legislation equivalent to the US Uyghur Forced Labour Prevention Act (UFLPA) to prevent goods made with forced labour in the Xinjiang region of China from entering the country. Blair…
AMSTERDAM - India’s textile and apparel industry requires around $6.5 billion in fresh funding if it is to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 45% by 2030, according to a new report from the Apparel Impact Institute. The report, ‘Landscape and…
NEW MEXICO – Textile finishing specialist Green Theme Technologies (GTT) has secured a $6 million tranche of fresh funding, which it’ll use to scale-up its waterless, textile treatment technology. Branded as Empel, the company’s line of fabric…
OAKLAND - ThredUp, one of the fashion industry’s largest online resale platforms, has announced a drop in revenues, profits, user numbers and orders in its third quarter results for 2024. ThredUp's third quarter revenue of $73 million represented an…
HAMBURG – The Aid by Trade Foundation (AbTF), which oversees Cotton made in Africa (CmiA) and the Good Cashmere Standard (GCS), has joined the Make the Label Count initiative to challenge the European Union's (EU) proposed Product Environmental…
PLYMOUTH - Bio-based fibres such as viscose could pose a greater threat to the environment than conventional plastics such as polyester, new research suggests. The research from a team at the University of Plymouth in the UK also warns that…
LONDON - Animal welfare campaigners have accused the Australian wool industry of breaking a promise to end mulesing and has urged politicians to step in to ban the controversial process by the end of the decade. The report - jointly produced by Four…
BRUSSELS - Technical textile manufacturer Sioen has teamed up with Belgian textile waste specialist Resortecs to develop workwear that is specially designed for disassembly and recycling at the end of its lifecycle. Under the agreement, Sioen will…
AMSTERDAM - The ZDHC Foundation has published guidelines to address the use and discharge of chemicals in wood-based dissolved pulp manufacturing. The ZDHC Dissolved Pulp Guidelines V1.0 addresses expectations for chemical recovery and discharged…
BRUSSELS - The Textiles Coalition group of environmental and worker rights campaigners have laid out the policy priorities they hope to see from the European Union (EU) to reduce the industry's impacts on sustainability. The coalition says that…
SINGAPORE - Paradise Textiles, the material science hub of the Alpine Group, has partnered with Kintra Fibers to create the first garment made using the latter’s bio-based polyester. The launch follows a successful pilot project in 2023, during…
WASHINGTON DC - The Hong Kong-based Esquel Group, one of the world's biggest textile and apparel manufacturers, has been restricted from exporting to the US under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA). The US Department of Homeland Security…
MENTOR - Materials science and digital identification specialist Avery Dennison has launched a new supply chain platform aimed at helping brands and manufacturers drive transparency in their day to day operations. Branded as Optica the new system…
ANTWERP – Belgian researchers funded by the European Union have developed a new online tool designed to calculate the environmental and social costs associated with garments throughout their lifecycle. SCIRT partners (System Circularity & Innovative…
YANGON - The IndustriALL global trade union has warned of the continuing risks facing garment workers in Myanmar. Citing a tracker developed by the Business & Human Rights Resource Centre, which monitors abuse in Myanmar’s garment industry,…
AMSTERDAM / NORTHAMPTON – Trade bodies Leather Working Group (LWG) and Leather Naturally have announced that the Higg Materials Sustainability Index (Higg MSI) has adopted a joint data submission from their respective Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)…
LEICESTER – A group of trade unions, industry campaigners and community groups have called on UK fashion retailers and brands to support garment production in Leicester, one of the UK’s key manufacturing hubs. Writing an open letter, organisations…
PASADENA - Textile Exchange has announced the winners of its 2024 Climate and Nature Impact Awards at the industry body's annual conference in Pasadena. The Ryan Young Climate Leader award, in memory of Textile Exchange’s late COO who spearheaded…
PASADENA - US-based textile-to-textile recycling specialist Circ, Dutch sustainability Fashion for Good and environmental nonprofit Canopy have teamed up for a new project to provide smaller brands with next gen materials at competitive prices.…
SPONSORED CONTENT – It was 10th June last year, at ITMA 2023 , when ERCA TCS, Patagonia® and YKK announced their team up and push toward circularity with the chem-tech innovation REVECOL®. Dialogue between the partners has been intense - and we will…
AMSTERDAM – Cascale, formerly the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, has introduced a new member engagement and governance model which it says will elevate supplier and manufacturer input into its decision-making.It says the new model aims to promote…
BRUSSELS – The European Economic and Social Committee (EESC) has urged the European Union (EU) to step up its focus on the recycling and recovery of raw materials, which could be crucial to protect the crisis-hit textile recycling industry. It says…
PARIS - Textile recycling company Reju, which uses technology developed by IBM to recycle post-consumer textiles into virgin quality polyester, is teaming up with non-profit retailer Goodwill to help advance textile recycling in North America. The…
MILAN – European Union (EU) funded initiatives continue to advance the development of sustainable circular textile supply chains in Europe, but face challenges related to performance, end-of-life processing, pricing, market differentiation, and…
MUMBAI - The CottonConnect social enterprise has partnered with the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (TEXPROCIL) on a formal partnership to promote ‘Kasturi Cotton’, India’s branded cotton. The memorandum of understanding (MoU) includes a…
ZURICH / DÜSSELDORF – DNA specialist Haelixa has signed a three year partnership with German fashion retailer C&A to trace its organic cotton from farm to finished product. Haelixa's technology embeds unique DNA markers at fibre level to establish…
PASADENA - The Textile Exchange industry body has unveiled its new unified Materials Matter Standard, replacing its separate material-specific certificates, at its annual conference here in Pasadena. Covering over 85,000 certified sites in 110…
CEDAR CREEK – Polyester textile-to-textile recycling start-up Syre, which was formed through a partnership with investors Vargas and H&M, has teamed up with polymer specialist Selenis to establish a recycling plant in Cedar Creek, North Carolina,…
PARIS - Global luxury group Kering, owner of Gucci, Yves Saint Laurent and Alexander McQueen, has adopted the first-ever science-based targets for both freshwater and land. Kering is one of just three companies, and the only one in the fashion…