Fashion. For a future.

Category: fashion

  • New Year health kick? Time to ditch your toxic activewear.

    January – time to get your sweat on. But if it’s a health kick you’re after, you may want to re-examine your wardrobe. A recent study by the University of Birmingham proved for the first time that PFAS – the forever chemicals building up in our environment with links to cancer, hormone disruption and low infant birth weight – can be absorbed from clothing through the skin. On top of that, the new, shorter chain PFAS the chemicals industry is switching to following bans on longer chain fluorocarbons, are more effective at crossing the skin barrier.

    For sportswear, this raises flags. PFAS are present in many of the dyes and invisible finishes we expect of performance materials. Sportswear is often tight, we sweat in it, creating better conditions for osmosis, and the abrasive nature of workouts means the textiles rub against the skin. But when it comes to performance wear, those great synthetic textile revolutions of the 20th century – waterproof Goretex, stretchy Lycra and Spandex, ‘odour, sweat resistant’ nylons – still win out. No one wants a sports bra without support, or a running vest you can’t sweat in. So what are the options?

    There are twin evils when it comes to synthetic materials – the microplastics that these textiles shed, which we know are building up everywhere from the Arctic ice sheet to your mother’s placenta, and the chemical dyes and finishes that are used to increase their performance. “The cheaper the product, the cheaper the chemistry, and that’s where you have concerns about toxicity,” says Matthias Foessel, of Beyond Surface Technologies. Consumers have two options – going natural and regenerative, or sticking around for cleaner, alternative biomaterials.

    Let’s take the latter first – Nanoloom is one of the great hopes to replace the stretch we expect from Lycra and Spandex. Created out of the Nobel prize winning graphene discovery, Nanoloom claims to have a bonding process that allows a high percentage of graphene to be incorporated into yarn. With exceptional moisture wicking, water resistance, durability and stretch, Nanoloom is a non toxic, biodegradable alternative to Elastene. “Stretch and recovery is 100%” says co-founder Victoria Mataczynski, triumphant from a recent trial with Gymshark. The company begins commercial production next year and presents a PFAs free solution to the industry. But competition is tough: “Elastene was innovated in the 70s, so we’re expected to meet a similar standard of production and performance as something that’s been around for decades – and is super cheap.”

    “Some of the new bio-based materials coming to market now are simply better: they outperform legacy (fossil fuel based) materials, they’re cheaper at scale, they’re non toxic, and they’re carbon-negative,” says Nic Gorini, of venture capital firm, Spin Ventures. “Awareness of toxicity of existing materials is going to be a big driver in their uptake in the next decade.”

    Green chemistry pioneers Beyond Surface Technologies have two 100% plant-based water repellency products coming out this year. They also have two 100% biocarbon based moisture wicking finishes already in market: “They are state of the art,” says Foessel, “with performance and durability equal to petroleum finishes,” name checking Patagonia, Lululemon, adidas, PUMA and Fabletics, as brands trialling their cleaner approach.

    While we wait to see if these materials will reach scale, your current best option is to go natural. Don’t be fooled by the ‘benefits’ of recycled polyester – a recent Changing Markets study found recycled polyester sheds more microplastics than virgin. “We are oversold the benefits of specialist performance wear,” says Ed Brial, founder of regenerative cotton solution, Materra, now used by Mango and Ecoalf. “You can go for a run in t-shirt and joggers.” Cotton absorbs water “and can be quite heavy if not woven in the right way, but it doesn’t pick up smells like plastics do, is durable and biodegradable.” Community Clothing’s Patrick Grant agrees: “The men’s 100m record before synthetics stood at 9.95 seconds. Only very few people have run faster. Synthetic sports clothing gives only a slight performance edge.” Grant has developed Community Clothing Organic, a 100% natural, biodegradable sportswear collection, from waistband to stitching thread. Five years of innovation has produced lightweight, fast-drying cotton fabrics, a woven natural rubber and cotton elastic. What’s more it’s affordable – from £30 for a racer back vest.

    Image courtesy of Community Clothing

    Less affordable is merino sportswear, but undoubtedly wool offers incredible benefits in terms of thermo regulation, as well as superior technical advances in weaving, enabling brands like Icebreaker to achieve a 97% merino wool collection. Even more impressive is Mover, a mountaineering company whose range of Ventile cotton and 100% wool outerwear promise superior performance in extreme conditions.

    Brands like Pangaia and BAM offer semi-synthetics in the form of bamboo and corn, which derive their polymers from natural sources, not petrochemicals. Any polymer-based fibre will shed microfibres through wear and washing, but “the important question is what happens to the particles: if a material is biodegradable or compostable, shed fibres can break down under the right environmental conditions,” say Pangaia, whose 365 Seamless Activewear collection is PFAS-free, and certified under OEKO-TEX® STANDARD 100. If you are looking for a good stretch legging and sports bra, they offer better options than anything petrochemical derived, and what’s more are finished with the brand’s trademark natural PPRMINT™ oil for odour resistance. 

    Image courtesy of PANGAIA

    When it comes to footwear, the matrix gets more complicated. Shoes often contain up to 20 component parts, and durability is the priority. No one wants a mushroom leather running shoe that falls apart in a few months. At barefoot health brand Vivobarefoot, durability is the priority. “With all the effort and resources it takes putting shoes together, they need to last a long time,” says Charlotte Pumford, Vivobarefoot’s sustainability lead. Instead, shoes are designed for disassembly and repair.

    That said, the company is constantly trialling new materials, working with NFW’s natural rubber Pliant and leather alternatives Mirum and Hyphalite, as well as algae derived leather alternative, Algenesis. But until those biomaterials compete on durability, recycled polyester wins. “Everything is tested robustly against European and California specific legislation, which is pretty strict,” says Pumford, “although we go beyond just legal limits.” Prioritising foot health and limiting impact is a constant balance: “Our mission is to reconnect people back to nature: we enable feet to biomechanically do what they are meant to do.” Professional athletes, personal trainers and fitness experts agree, and while there are now over 90 barefoot brands following in Vivo’s wake, “using less certified and cheaper materials, we remain stoic in our mission.”

    “People do not react well to wearing shoddy plastic on our bodies. We should be worried and concerned,” says Brial, “for human health, planetary health, and the health of workers.”

    “Polyester took 50 years to get there, with a really big oil lobby behind them and lots of evil marketing to get people to use it,” says Vivo design consultant Aisha Kuijk. “We have to form a rebellion – our own lobby – to push it through. We have something to fight for!”

    Tiffanie is an author, activist and founder of the Rule of Five campaign and the sustainable luxury concept @agora-ibiza. You can read more of her work on Substack at It’s Not Sustainable

  • Landmark rulings in Bangladesh could transform the garment industry.

    Landmark rulings in Bangladesh could transform the garment industry.

    For the fashion industry, out of sight too often means out of mind. This means that certain indiscretions can easily fly under the radar. This is true when it comes to emissions and even more so when it comes to the human element of the global supply chain. 

    A fresh chain of landmark rulings in Bangladesh, however, could soon change all that for the better – and not only in the cradle of the world’s garment manufacturing industry, but globally. 

    With the country supplying $7.4 billion USD of clothing to the United States and €4.3 billion EUR to the European Union each year – their second- and third-largest suppliers, respectively – it is no exaggeration to say that when the pendulum swings in Bangladesh, it also begins to swing worldwide. 

    First, the nation’s new interim government officially dropped a cache of criminal cases numbering almost 50,000 – charges which had been levied against garment workers demonstrating egregiously low wages.

    Now, that pivot has also ushered in a broader swathe of pro-worker legislation. Rulings which, in making it easier for workers to unionise in smaller numbers, could not only test the garment industry’s opacity but also loosen its once-iron grip on the governments and citizens of manufacturing-driven countries worldwide. 

    Yes, in Bangladesh it’s a major victory for all those directly involved – the human impact which would have likely accompanied such a reckless slew of prosecutions cannot be understated.

    But, crucially, it has become the springboard for something much bigger. 

    With the cases now dismissed as the acts of a corrupt government in league with (or in thrall to) its largest source of revenue and members of that government facing indictments,  manufacturers in Bangladesh will likely think twice before pursuing similar anti-collectivist action again. Particularly with pro-union legislation, making it easier for workers to take action following in the wake of those dropped charges. 

    Companies elsewhere may well draw a sharp breath and think to steady their own hands: a win for workers in a nation as instrumental to the industry as Bangladesh should, therefore, mean a win for workers worldwide – a positive change in terms of fairer pay and better conditions. Or, at least, in their ability to demand those things. 

    The world’s eighth-most populous country; not only does Bangladesh’s garment sector account for 60% of the nation’s exports, it also produces nearly 8% of all clothing manufactured worldwide. A figure that puts the developing nation behind only China in those stakes. Those statistics put Bangladesh firmly in a position to set precedent for the entire fashion industry. 

    It’s a tipping point – one you could argue ought never to have been reached in the first place.

    Given that garment workers typically receive less than 1% of the price of each T-shirt they make, €0.18 on a €29 product sold in Europe, the initial protests were no surprise; that the factories themselves only take 4% in the same transaction also means it’s hardly surprising that they would take action against anything – or anyone – impacting their already scant margins. 

    Organisations like the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC), however, alleged foul play: that the filing of mass criminal charges against demonstrators asking for just BDT 23,000 ($196) per month were not based on the nature of those protests, but were made (often without evidence) in order to discourage further collective action en masse and with a heavy hand. 

    Not just in Bangladesh, but as a model for the garment industry as a whole. 

    With the change in governance, however, there is a change in the prevailing winds. Where the previous, scandal-beleaguered Hasina administration had clearly picked the side of manufacturers and of the fashion industry which near-singlehandedly props up the country’s economy, its successor has now ruled in favour of the workers who hold the entire operation together. 

    Speaking to Eco Age, Bogu Gojdź, campaign and outreach co-ordinator for the Clean Clothes Campaign says: “Filing of mass criminal cases is a common repression method aimed to freeze protest and intimidate workers away from any form of organising. This victory means that 48,000 workers and families can breathe a sigh of relief knowing that they won’t be facing prosecution for exercising their legal right to protest.”

    Kalpona Akhter – union leader and executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Workers Solidarity – echoed Gojdź’s sentiment, positioning the legal win as a precedent for reshaping the wider industry: “This is a massive victory for workers in Bangladesh, for trade unions anywhere in the world and for international solidarity. It shows the strength of workers, of organising and of international solidarity work.”

    Gojdź, too, sees the potential for this victory to expand outward and begin a fresh wave of change for workers: “Trade unions and partners in the CCC Network are continuing their collaboration with the interim government.

    “A much-needed labour law reform is currently underway, including provisions on the right to organise and the right to strike, as well as several provisions on an improved wage-setting machinery.

    “Through the enforcement of these reforms, and the implementation of fair pricing and responsible purchasing practices by international brands, we can break the endless cycle of poverty wages, followed by repression and worker unrest and look towards a brighter turn for the fashion industry in Bangladesh.”

    In fact, in the short space of time since Gojdź first made comment to Eco Age, fairer proposals have already come to light: most notably a reported decree to lower the number of required signatories for forming trade unions within Bangladeshi companies – a move which has made significant waves, disquieting garment manufacturers who rely on low wages to keep their profits in line. 

    The pendulum is indeed swaying.

    Karl Smith-Eloise is Features Director for Eco Age. He has worked as the EMEA Editorial Lead for HYPEBEAST and Editorial Director of FUTUREVVORLD, as a contributing editor to Highsnobiety, and for the fashion house FENDI. He now focuses exclusively on Earth-forward and ethical avenues in fashion, footwear and the broader culture.

  • COP30 didn’t deliver on a fossil fuel phase out – Fashion still can 

    COP30 didn’t deliver on a fossil fuel phase out – Fashion still can 

    COP30 was punctuated by a heavy presence from fossil fuel lobbyists, protests led by Indigenous groups and the breakout of a fire, with heavy symbolism of what is to come, if countries and corporates continue to drag their heels on climate action. 

    Although no deal on a plan to phase out fossil fuel made it to the final draft, several themes emerged from Belem that were particularly pertinent for the fashion industry, including the just energy transition, stewarding oceans and biodiversity, as well as accelerating finance and capacity building for decarbonisation and climate adaptation.  

    With industry emissions increasing steadily, what can fashion’s stakeholders take away from COP30?  

    Removing barriers to the energy transition  

    Prior to the convention, the UNFCCC Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action released an open letter, setting out clear priorities for a fossil fuel phase-out. It encouraged governments in key sourcing regions to remove legal and fiscal barriers hindering renewable energy procurement and electrification.  

    However, fashion campaigners Action Speak Louder, Fashion Revolution and Stand.earth wanted the Charter to go further, particularly in spurring targeted policy advocacy in manufacturing hubs and brand investment in decarbonisation and adaptation.  

    Ruth MacGilp, fashion campaign manager for Action Speaks Louder, emphasised the responsibility of the Charter. “It has a significant role to play in convening brands on adaptation because it is essential, but expensive.” 

     Indeed, the costs are high, given that by 2035, developing countries will need somewhere between $310 billion and $365 billion annually for targeted adaptation projects.  

    Scaling financing for decarbonisation 

    COP30 saw the launch of the Global Climate Finance Accountability Framework to enhance transparency and credibility for climate finance. This has the potential to set parameters for good governance for fashion’s financing too.  

    Currently, the industry is falling short on financing decarbonisation projects. Fashion Revolution’s ‘What Fuels Fashion’ report identified that a mere 6% of 200 companies disclosed how much upfront investment support had been provided to suppliers for decarbonisation.  

    Organisations such as the Apparel Impact Institute (Aii) are working to bridge the financing gap. Aii’s climate portfolio director, Pauline Op de Beeck, observed that “At COP30, we saw much wider traction around electrification within the energy transition, along with increased availability of renewable electricity.”  

    Recently, the Aii has launched the Deployment Gap Grant, co-created with Indian suppliers, focused on tackling barriers to implementation and is consulting with stakeholders on the Energy and Carbon Benchmark, intended to strengthen the business case for supplier decarbonisation and align sourcing with an accessible KPI.  

    Op de Beek made it clear that financing the transition is also about supporting optimisation and changing the way factories are heated, be that related to low-temperature dyeing or new processing machinery. “Suppliers are being asked to do a lot. We need to ensure the technical support is there and that brands co-finance it.”  

    Amplifying policy advocacy  

    Reaching fashion’s climate goals depends on system-wide infrastructure that can only be enhanced by policy changes. MacGilp explained: “Policy advocacy, particularly for those with a large export value in a given market, can demonstrate to governments that they want to continue doing business but require the availability of more renewable energy in the grid, better procurement options and better incentives for suppliers.” she commented.  

    MacGilp referenced the successful engagement of brands, including H&M Group, with the Vietnamese government to advance Power Purchase Agreements in the country for it to become a manufacturing hub for heat pump technologies. 

    “COP30 provided an opportunity for momentum for our company.” said Henrik Sundberg, climate impact lead for H&M Group. The Swedish retailer co-hosted an event with WWF Vietnam and IKEA on the role of public–private sector collaboration to implement renewable electrification in Vietnam. 

    Sundberg caveated that “None of this can be achieved by one brand alone. All of these actions will only be successful with the support of national political ambitions and legal frameworks, carried out in close dialogue with policymakers.”  

      

    Putting fashion workers at the centre  

    Incorporating worker voices, often in the most climate-vulnerable countries, became another focal point at COP30. The launch of the Belém Action Mechanism set out a plan for a just transition that does not leave workers or communities behind.  

    “Imposing a top-down energy transition without consulting the people who work in this sector is unjust” said MacGilp adding: They know what works best in their country context. This means co-creating strategies and incorporating feedback on infrastructure, technicalities and working environments.”  

    Methane – Fashion’s emissions blind spot?  

    Methane was high on the agenda as UNEP and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition released a global assessment reviewing nations’ efforts under the Global Methane Pledge to reduce methane by 30% from 2020 levels by 2030. Bloomberg Philanthropies also announced a $100 million investment to accelerate global efforts to cut methane emissions.  

    Methane remains a priority for countries aiming to reach their NDCs, given that it is one of the most potent GHGs, with a global warming potential that is 86 times greater per mass unit than carbon dioxide on a 20-year timescale.  

    At COP30, much of the focus on methane was related to waste, agriculture and food systems, but fashion’s supply chain is yet to be put to scrutiny as a contributor to the world’s rising methane emissions. Few brands publicly disclose a methane-emissions footprint accrued from animal-derived fibres as well as coal, gas or textile waste. According to Collective Fashion Justice, unabated action across the industry could result in an estimated 8.13 million tonnes of methane emitted annually.  

    I asked Emma Håkansson, founding director of Collective Fashion Justice, why this has been so overlooked. She puts it down to a lack of understanding related to how different GHGs function.  

     Håkansson set out what she would like to see from brands to align actions with the Global Methane Pledge. “It is critical that brands start to measure and publish data on their methane emissions in isolation, not just as part of their overall CO2e emissions calculations. 

    “We want to see brands developing and enacting serious methane mitigation strategies based on the methane hotspots in fashion.”  

    A nature-positive pathway  

    Taking place at the mouth of the Amazon rainforest, the nexus of the biodiversity crisis with the climate crisis was another pressing issue. Yet, with the binding roadmap to end deforestation dropped, alongside further delays to the EU Deforestation Regulation, brands must take action into their own hands as links to deforestation in supply chains for leather, cotton and viscose fall increasingly under scrutiny from investigators.  

    Initial progress on disclosure is taking shape. Luxury players Kering and LVMH report to the Taskforce on Nature-related Financial Disclosures (TNFD), identifying dependencies and impacts on nature as well as nature-related risks. Brands are also seeking certified regenerative sourcing approaches for cotton, wool and leather in a bid to bolster biodiversity strategies and minimise the nature-related impacts of raw material production. But despite these efforts, the World Benchmarking Alliance assessed that the industry’s action towards nature-positive transitions, soil health and water quality are still lagging.  

    The roadmap to 2030 

    Progress now depends on action outside of the COP arena. That means closing the financing gap stalling decarbonisation and ensuring money flows to climate-vulnerable manufacturing hubs bearing much of the industry’s risk.  

    Enshrining workers’ rights throughout the transition will be paramount between now and 2030.  

    “Fashion is past its data collection phase.” MacGilp asserted. “We don’t have a perfect roadmap, but suppliers are ready to decarbonise. By 2030, we want the industry to have a real proof of concept for fully renewable, electrified production across multiple geographies. I’m hopeful that brands that are motivated to reach their targets will meet them.” she concluded.   

    Amy Nguyen is a strategist, researcher and writer focusing on sustainability, climate and nature. She works as a consultant for a variety of organisations, ranging from environmental think tanks, NGOs and research advisory firms, as well as early-stage companies in the energy, tech and fashion space.  

    Her writing and research have been featured in the Times and Sunday Times, Bloomberg, Vogue, the Guardian and global news outlets.  

  • Don’t Feed the Black Friday Beast

    Don’t Feed the Black Friday Beast

    On Friday November 29 last year, consumers in the United States spent $11.3 million USD per minute between the hours of 10am and 2pm. With a 5% year-on-year increase, global sales reached $74.4 billion USD. As a category, versus daily average, apparel sales saw a 374% increase. 

    In every sense of the word, the Black Friday binge is unsustainable. But it didn’t happen overnight.

    So, how did we get here? Despite the phrase first being used to describe the US gold market crash of 1869, now more than a century ago, it was most recently hijacked by corporations – companies who, off the back of the United States’ holiday weekend, claimed it as the day they ‘went into the black’ and made a profit.

    Back in 2020, etailer ASOS sold a black dress every single second of Black Friday trading. Five years ago, those numbers seemed astronomical. They still should. But, half a decade down the line, festivities for the Christmas of consumerism have only escalated further. 

    We now have not only Black Friday, but what’s come – somewhat unimaginatively – to be called Black Week: an extension of the sales that span the week before and end, more or less, with Cyber Monday. For consumers, whose wallets are thinner than ever in a dire economic landscape, this feels like a boon: a reward. 

    But Black Friday isn’t an act of generosity for loyalty to your favourite brand over the past year.

    “Black Friday is just one way for brands to artificially stimulate demand for excess inventory that, in many cases, already exists,” says Elizabeth Pulos, Program Director, M.S. in Business for Social Impact & Sustainability at IE New York College and former Director of Global Sustainability at Nike-owned footwear brand Converse.

    Pulos continues: “Most retailers overproduce by 10-40% as a matter of course, and with tariffs hitting earlier this year, they stockpiled even more inventory than usual to avoid the additional costs. Demand planning is notoriously difficult, so most companies simply use previous years’ sales to project forward, adding that additional 10-40% in as an inventory buffer.”

    Black Friday, then, is built into the system: to move the kind of units that are sold, more products are manufactured than otherwise would be. And herein lies the problem: especially where apparel, footwear and accessories are concerned, extra volume doesn’t often add up to high-quality merchandise.

    The frantic, first-come-first-served nature of Black Friday, too – where the illusion of scarcity drives sales even higher – pushes consumers to make choices they’d otherwise likely spend more time on and ultimately decide against. 

    It’s no wonder that 80% of Black Friday purchases make their way to landfill after only minimal use, generating an extra 1.5 million tonnes of waste in the UK alone. 

    And then, of course, there’s the question of logistics: those products that “fly off the shelves” neither get there by magic nor appear on consumer doorsteps by some act of sorcery. Last year, 1.2 million tonnes CO2 were released from transport during Black Friday week in Europe. In the UK, deliveries from Black Friday sales created 435 London to New York flight’s worth of CO2 emissions. 

    It doesn’t have to be this way, though: supply and demand relies heavily on the latter for justification. Consumers may feel powerless, held to ransom by corporations who know budgets are stretched to the point of breaking and peddle false economy as an answer, but that isn’t entirely true. 

    The success of Black Friday is taken by the fast-consumption industries as an endorsement – licence to not only keep doing what they’re doing, but to keep escalating. But consumers aren’t voting with their wallets in favour of that system, they’re voting by default; for lack of choice, for lack of an alternative. 

    Times are hard. Deals are good. What choice is there? 

    The Black Friday model relies on participation; margins rely on volume – withdraw that, and the whole house of cards comes tumbling down. 

    “Consumers absolutely have the ability to slow over-consumption, and brands will listen,” Pulos agrees. “Prioritising quality over quantity, seeking out natural materials and handcrafted products, buying second hand, developing their own person style. While brands won’t immediately register the shift, they will eventually see the results and shift their production behaviour.”

    It’s understandable that rallying against something like Black Friday, which is really just an extension of a system entirely unfit for purpose, might feel futile. But it isn’t – and we shouldn’t let ourselves be browbeaten into believing things can’t change for the better. 

    Consumers aren’t to blame for the environmental havoc that Black Friday wreaks on our planet any more than they’re to blame for the astronomical emissions pumped out by corporations all year round just because someone accidentally left a light on or the fridge door open.

    The blame lies, as it should, with the companies who pollute and profit from practices they know to be harmful to the Earth. 

    Black Friday, though, presents a rare opportunity: a chance to stand up and stand against spiralling rates of consumption, of profligacy and of waste. A chance to opt out – to shop from local, independent, sustainable and ethical businesses who prioritise better ways of working. A chance to show brands who work with rather than against the planet that what they do matters. 

    Black Friday has become a beast. By that logic, it may seem best to simply give it what it wants and watch it slink away until next year. But feeding the beast only brings it back – earlier, more ravenous, more demanding than ever.

    Do not capitulate. Hold out. Let the monster starve.

    Karl Smith-Eloise is Features Director for Eco Age. He has worked as the EMEA Editorial Lead for HYPEBEAST and Editorial Director of FUTUREVVORLD, as a contributing editor to Highsnobiety, and for the fashion house FENDI. He now focuses exclusively on Earth-forward and ethical avenues in fashion, footwear and the broader culture.

  • The Age of Accountability

    The Age of Accountability

    Conscious Consumers Are Rewriting Fashion’s Rules 

    Compelling new research from Eco Age reveals a seismic shift in consumer behaviour that should send tremors through every boardroom in the fashion industry.  

    For years, the fashion industry operated on a convenient fiction: that sustainability was a nice-to-have, a marketing tool to be deployed when convenient.  

    Brands churned out glossy campaigns featuring recycled polyester collections whilst quietly expanding fast fashion empires built on exploitation and waste. Greenwashing wasn’t just tolerated – it was standard practice. 

    That era is over. 

    An overwhelming 90% of respondents say they would boycott a company associated with unfair treatment of workers or environmentally damaging practices. Even more telling, 81% now actively research a brand’s behaviour before making a purchase – a dramatic increase from a decade ago.  

    These aren’t casual shoppers swayed by the latest trend. These are conscious consumers demanding proof, not promises. 

    John Higginson, CEO of Eco Age said: “The data confirms what we are seeing across the industry: people want facts, not fluff.”  

     “The era of performative sustainability is finished. Consumers see through vague promises and glossy campaigns. They want credible data, and proof that change is real.”  

    The Eco Age poll results tell a story of fundamental change. When asked what matters most when buying fashion, 28% of our readers cited ethical production—more than double the 13% who prioritised cost.  

    In an industry that has long assumed price trumps principles, this represents a profound recalibration of values. Consumers are willing to sacrifice cash for answers, and they’re doing their homework with the diligence of investigative journalists. 

    This isn’t performative virtue signalling. It’s a reflection of lived reality.  

    Marwa Zamaray, Partner and Executive Director at Eco Age, said, “This isn’t a conversation about values anymore. It’s operational. If a brand cannot explain how its products are made, from start to finish, it will not retain the trust of its customers.”  

     People have watched the climate crisis intensify. They’ve seen the documentaries exposing sweatshop conditions. They’ve read the reports on textile waste choking landfills and microplastics polluting oceans. They know that fashion is one of the world’s most polluting industries, and they’re no longer willing to look the other way whilst brands peddle fairy tales about “conscious collections” that represent a fraction of a per cent of their output. 

    The rise of circular fashion underscores this transformation. Over half of respondents (54%) say they now buy second-hand or repaired clothing far more often than they did ten years ago.  

    Durability has become the new luxury, with the same percentage valuing garments that last over those that follow fleeting trends. The cult of newness that fuelled fast fashion’s explosive growth is giving way to a more mature relationship with clothing, one that values longevity, craftsmanship, and responsible production. 

    Crucially, regulators are finally catching up with consumer sentiment. The recent fines imposed on Shein by France and Italy for greenwashing, misleading discounts, and data privacy violations signal that the cost of deception is rising sharply.  

    But it’s not just fast fashion giants in the crosshairs. Luxury houses once assumed to be above reproach are facing unprecedented scrutiny. A Valentino unit was placed under court administration for failing to prevent subcontractor exploitation. Dior and Armani have faced similar oversight. Even Loro Piana’s supply chain has been questioned. The message is clear: no brand is too prestigious to escape accountability for conditions in its production networks. 

    “These fines mark the start of a new enforcement era,” said Higginson. “For years, Eco Age has argued that sustainability must be proven, not proclaimed. Regulators are now echoing that call. Fast fashion can no longer treat greenwashing as the cost of doing business.”  

    The technology to deliver genuine transparency already exists. DNA markers can trace fibres from farm to finished product. Digital platforms provide fibre-to-retail transparency across complex supply chains. The tools are available. What’s required now is the will to use them and the courage to be honest about what they reveal. 

    Only 4% of consumers in our research said they would continue shopping with a brand involved in a scandal.  

    That’s not a warning, it’s a death sentence for any company that fails to take this shift seriously. In an age where information travels instantly and reputations can be destroyed within minutes, credibility has become the most valuable currency in fashion. 

    The conscious consumer isn’t a niche demographic or a passing trend. It’s the new mainstream. And the brands that thrive in this landscape won’t be those with the slickest sustainability reports or the most carefully curated Instagram feeds. They’ll be the ones that can demonstrate, with rigorous evidence, that their commitments are real. 

    The age of accountability has arrived.  

    By Sarah Getty, Editorial Director of Eco Age 

  • The Value-Action Gap: Why consumers aren’t buying into sustainable fashion

    The Value-Action Gap: Why consumers aren’t buying into sustainable fashion

    Despite innovations, legislation, and initiatives, the fashion industry’s sustainability crisis isn’t improving. The reason? A stark disconnect between what consumers say they want and what they actually do.

    In a recent presentation at Lisbon’s Textile Exchange conference, Kantar’s Jonathan Hall addressed this critical gap. “Our latest Kantar data shows that 85% of people globally want to make better choices,” Hall tells Eco Age. “Only 29% say they are actively changing their behaviours.”

    The numbers are staggering. Between 2000 and 2015, fashion industry production doubled. Waste now stands at 92 million tonnes annually, projected to reach 148 million tonnes by 2030. Of today’s 92 million tonnes, only 20% is recycled – the rest goes to landfill, producing methane and poisoning earth and water with toxic chemicals.

    This dramatic gap isn’t simply about consumer hypocrisy. “Now, some will say people are over-claiming and others will talk about virtue signalling – and sure, there’s some of that,” Hall says.

    “But businesses have to recognise that people feel very concrete barriers to living the lives and making the purchases they want: typically, these are to do with quality, performance, design style, affordability, accessibility and convenience. Too often people feel they would have to compromise in order to choose a sustainable option.”

    Consumers don’t believe sustainable clothing delivers on quality or that brands follow through on promises. They want to buy sustainably – they just don’t trust it’s worth the investment.

    What’s strange isn’t the consumer position but the fashion industry’s lack of response. Sustainability isn’t just an ethical imperative – it’s an untapped economic opportunity.

    “Taking a step back: on the one hand, the Value-Action Gap reflects the significant economic opportunity in helping people transform their consumption. On the other hand, it can feel intractable. But for brands that do act and communicate, sustainability can drive preference and brand growth,” Hall explains.

    However, authenticity matters. “It needs to be relevant, connected to core category purchase drivers and authentic to the brand to deliver added value,” Hall notes. Greenwashing is a turnoff for consumers seeking genuine change.

    The data supports this approach. “Evidence from Kantar’s Brand Sustainability report shows brands that drive positive perceptions on sustainability build brand equity, predisposing more people to their brand,” says Hall. “And shorter term, NYU Stern data shows evidence that products marketed as sustainable continue to grow faster than products not marketed as sustainable: they grew 2.3X faster and achieved a five-year compound annual growth of 12.4% vs 5.4% for their conventional counterparts.”

    The foundation of consumer concern remains ideological rather than financial. “Although there has been a slight softening in concern for the environment as other concerns have increased, 67% of people still believe environmentalism is extremely important – because of the increasing frequency, intensity – and critically, proximity – of climate change impacts.

    Two thirds of people now feel personally impacted by environmental issues from heatwaves and droughts to wildfires, floods and storms,” Hall says.

    Sustainability is no longer abstract – it’s a lived reality. “Issues of climate, social impact and health & wellbeing are no longer distant or abstract concepts – it’s more personal,” Hall agrees. “The lived experience of poverty, inequality, pollution, extreme weather, and health, combined with growing expectations for brands to demonstrate how their actions directly improve individual and community wellbeing.”

    Younger generations are leading the charge. “Kantar data shows that almost three-quarters of people around the world believe businesses have a responsibility to make society fairer, while two-thirds say it’s the responsibility of corporations to solve climate and environmental issues,” explains Hall.

    The generational divide is striking. “While over half of people globally agree with the statement, ‘I consider myself an environmentalist,’ the figure rises to 57% among Gen Z and 64% among Millennials.” Hall adds: “The spike is significantly higher among younger Millennials, they are the trailblazers, pulling Gen Z along behind them.”

    For these consumers, sustainability is identity. “For Gen Z and Millennial consumers, sustainability is a core part of their identity. Over half of both cohorts agree that ‘buying sustainable products or choosing environmental and socially conscious services shows others who I am and what I believe in.’

    But social and environmental issues also shape who they are as employees. They look at a company’s sustainability strategy when considering where to work and want to work for organisations whose values align with their own.”

    The fashion industry’s need for change isn’t news. What’s different now is that the power to make change happen is in the hands of those most driven to see it through. The question is whether the industry will seize the economic opportunity and meet the demand – or continue to let the value-action gap widen

    Karl Smith-Eloise is Features Director for Eco Age. He has worked as the EMEA Editorial Lead for HYPEBEAST and Editorial Director of FUTUREVVORLD, as a contributing editor to Highsnobiety, and for the fashion house FENDI. He now focuses exclusively on Earth-forward and ethical avenues in fashion, footwear and the broader culture.

  • From Farm to Fashion Without Taking Food Off Plates

    From Farm to Fashion Without Taking Food Off Plates

    When it comes to the mammoth task of making fashion sustainable, focus tends to fall on what’s new and what’s next. Newness, after all, is what brings in investment and what grabs attention.

    However, the future of fashion may not come to us from the lab at all. It may be happening somewhere much less obvious: on the farm. 

    From apples and bananas to hemp and wetland plants – farmed crops have become the forefront of positive change in the fashion industry.

    With a new cohort of next-generation material outfits looking directly to nature for their inspiration and their innovation, Eco Age spoke with leading voices in the space to find out why.

    QWSTION’s Bananatex material is created from elements of the plant that would otherwise go to waste

    “The future of biomaterials will likely be a mix of solutions: those rooted in what nature offers, and others grown in labs—nature-imitating innovations designed to scale,” says QWSTION and Bananatex founder Hannes Schoenegger. 

    ​​A leader in next-gen materials, Schoenegger’s operation is exactly what it sounds like: the creator of a textile made from banana, designed to replace harmful materials in fashion – particularly the ever-ubiquitous and hugely destructive polyester, which makes up 52% of all fibres used to make clothes. 

    Having worked with the likes of Balenciaga, Stella McCartney and H&M, the Switzerland-based innovator has made huge strides in bringing alternative materials to the mainstream. And, while it’s impossible to discount the years of research, development and engineering that have gone into creating Bananatex, every piece of the material begins its life on the farm.

    “We use the side stems of a banana species called musa textilis, which thrives in agroforestry systems and in some cases, even grows wild.”

    Schoenegger adds, “We believe the only way forward is through truly holistic, 360-degree solutions that take all relevant factors into account: from how the fibres grow, to harvesting, processing, and the impact on water, energy, and CO₂ — as well as the social impact on every person involved throughout the supply chain.”

    It’s a point of view which, in many ways, runs contrary to the worst excesses of not only the fashion industry but also the next-gen materials space: the impulse to silo, to hoard knowledge and to focus on intellectual property above community.

    Benefitting local farmers in the Philippines, whose waste – having previously been a valueless product – becomes part of the Bananatex supply chain, the finished material is a product of give and take with nature and with the company’s partners on the ground. 

    And, crucially, they’re far from alone in this way of thinking. 

    Harvesting regenerative wetland typha for Ponda’s BioPuff material

    “A fundamental advantage of a grown versus created material is the opportunity for grown materials to be renewable and regenerative,” explains Julian Ellis-Brown, Co-founder and CEO of Ponda, whose BioPuff insulation material contributes not only to the broad mission of reducing petroplastic fibres in fashion but also the regenerating the UK’s wetlands.

    “Created materials require feedstocks,” he adds, “which might even be damaging in their creation, whereas taking a product back to its origins (the earth) enables us to make an impact where it’s needed.” 

    “BioPuff is made from Typha, a semi-aqueous plant that is harvested annually. Typha needs to be grown in a wetland environment, which means it creates a demand for rewetting land. This has numerous benefits as wetlands are a cornerstone to regenerating our planet; they are the world’s best land-based carbon store, a key biodiversity ecosystem, and help build resilience against the effects of climate change.”

    This focus on working in tandem with nature, rather than against it, sets Schoenegger and Ellis-Brown apart from many of their peers and against the status quo of a global fashion industry that produced 75 million tonnes of polyester in 2023 and which accounts for 10% of all carbon emissions. 

    Yet, this way of thinking has historically come under fire by people who have chronically misunderstood the process. 

    Apple waste from the brewing industry forms the base of Beyond Leather’s next-generation Leap material

    When a 2022 report revealed that – in converting wheat to biofuel – Europe burns the equivalent of 15 million loaves of bread every single day, people were understandably outraged. In a world where over 2 billion people experience food insecurity, the idea that fuel was being prioritised over food struck a raw nerve – even if it didn’t quite account for wider context. 

    When it comes to farmed fashion materials, however, this accusation applies even less. 

    “The future of biomaterials is waste,” says Sarah Angold, founder and CEO of acacia29, a UK-based innovator working with banana fibre from farms in India. “We should be using land to grow food to meet the needs of a growing population and using the byproducts from food systems to make textiles for clothes.

    “We buy waste from low-income farmers, raising 200,000 out of poverty by 2030.”

    Mikael Eydt, Co-Founder and CEO of Beyond Leather – a next-gen innovator from Denmark whose signature Leap material is crafted from brewing industry waste adds: “We’re not taking apples off anyone’s plate. We use the pulp left behind after juice and cider production, the part that would otherwise be discarded.”

    “We are not competing with food production. It shows that sustainability doesn’t have to be a trade-off.”

    Eydt has strong thoughts on the reality of waste: “It shouldn’t exist in the first place,” he declares, “It’s a design flaw. But we can fix that flaw by turning it into a high value material.”

    Angold agrees: “By calling it waste, we give ourselves permission to waste it. Waste is simply an unused resource, and that’s what we should call it. It’s a systems failure” 

    Still, some innovators are taking an even harder line on their natural approach. 

    “I am a complete believer in the power of hemp to transform ecosystems, rebuild healthy soils, and restore biodiversity,” said Vanessa Barker. Founder and CEO of Papillon Bleu.

    Barker’s company focuses on the fast-growing and super-low intervention plant as a potential solution to plastic-based fibres and even to cotton, which can require significant water to grow at scale. 

    In creating fewer steps between plant and product, Barker is working toward reducing not only the fashion industry’s impact but also its opacity. “The advantage of growing a material versus creating one is that it gives us proof of provenance – the ability to trace the entire journey of a fabric back to seed.”

    When all is said and done, however, change remains in the hands of the people who – in their eyes – stand to gain the least from any dramatic shift. The fashion industry’s reliance on polyester and other plastic-based materials is deeply ingrained in its business model. 

    Perhaps, though, convincing them might be easier with the proof already in hand. Change isn’t some far-off possibility; it’s being cultivated and farmed even as we speak. 

  • The Regeneration of Recycling

    The Regeneration of Recycling

    Recycling doesn’t work. It’s doomed to fail. Fashion’s future is in what’s new, not used.  

    If you make a habit of keeping up with the fashion industry, you might have heard any of these declarations. With the closure of multiple textile-to-textile recycling outfits in the last year, you might even have been tempted to take these statements at face value – a bitter pill to swallow.  

    These attitudes however could soon be eradicated. With the EU ratifying Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) legislation across the block, a wave of pro-recycling messaging could soon be emanating from sources previously unthinkable. From corners of the fashion industry where “responsibility” has long been a term uttered only in hushed and scornful tones.  

    But these statements aren’t neutral. They’re the party line of an industry which trades on the currency of newness and profits from quantity above all else, deliberately sidelining anything that contradicts those core tenets of mindless textile capitalism.  

    A recent study by the Technical University of Denmark, surveying over 4,000 garments – concluded that recycling is set-up to fail from the earliest point. Mainstream garment design is actively working against circularity in not only the way that products are marketed, but also – crucially – in the way that those products are made.  

    According to the study, while 20% of textiles appear recyclable at first glance – a figure already well below par if we are to make any kind of meaningful progress – that meagre number suddenly falls to an even less impressive 11% with further analysis.  

    Among other things, elements known as “disruptors” were identified as a key issue: much like the glue in footwear – which makes disassembly significantly more difficult and stymies the recycling process – things like zippers linings and trims, which are seen as essential parts of everyday garments, cannot be recycled mechanically.  

    The romantic image of garment recycling is something akin to metamorphosis; one thing simply becomes another through force of will. That’s nice, but it’s not true.  

    In reality, recycling requires that a garment be taken apart, reduced to sections and then to increasingly smaller pieces, broken down eventually to fibres. The simpler the garment, the easier the process.  

    Aptly named, these disruptive elements have to be removed by hand, holding back the advancement of the automated process and limiting widespread adoption.  

    And then, of course, there’s the DNA of the garments themselves – their material makeup. And more often than not, in 2025, that comes with a foundation of fossil-derived polyester.  

    A problem in itself given the carbon footprint of producing plastic-based materials and their widely-known toxic effects on both people and planet, it’s also, somewhat counterintuitively, a major issue that these garments are really 100% pure polyester.  

    In fact, the TUD study counted a staggering 618 fibre blends in only one season of clothing – a number that mechanical recycling systems simply aren’t equipped to deal with.  

    “As a plastic-free shoe designer, this study hits home,” Will Verona, founder of anti-plastic footwear outfit Purified, told Eco Age.  

    A leading voice in end-of-life solutions across the industry, Verona concludes: “Fashion (and footwear) is built for landfill—complex blends, plastic parts, glued construction. Recycling? Nearly impossible. Circularity starts at design. We must ditch synthetics, simplify materials, and design for disassembly.  

    “Sustainability isn’t a trend—it’s a responsibility. The end of a product’s life should never be the end of its story.” 

    The most staggering statistic, though, is that – with all of the above taken into account – when it comes to high quality fibre-to-fibre recycling, the kind needed to produce durable, second-life garments, only 1.8% of the fibres being pumped out into the world are good enough to withstand the treatment process and make their way back into circulation.  

    “What the fashion industry gets wrong about circularity is the constant search for a silver bullet – that one piece of the puzzle that will make everything fall in line,” offers Andres D’Alessandro, founder of circular clothing brand and closed loop systems facilitator Circlo. “But,” he continues, armed with the benefit of having previously worked at one of the world’s biggest and best-known brands, “The sheer magnitude of the problem demands system-level solutions. We produce around 160 billion garments a year, and even if everything went circular tomorrow, we’d still be facing the last 50 years of clothing already in circulation.”

    “Materials, construction, innovation, consumer engagement, and even recycling and disposal all matter – individually and as part of the whole. Circularity only works when we apply changes across the entire value chain. Most important of all, circularity has to be rewarding for both companies and consumers. As long as it means smaller margins for business and “sacrifices” for consumers, the linear model will continue to dominate.”

    Thanks to the EPR legislation now taking effect in the EU, which puts onus on brands to deal with the garments they produce right through to end of life – the days of mindless mass production may finally be numbered.  

    EPR shifts the cost of collecting, sorting and recycling clothing waste onto the brands, placing that burden on the shoulders of those responsible with the ultimate goal of forcing change.  

    Applying not only to EU-based brands, but to any brand that sells into the EU market through e-commerce, EPR – which is part of the wider Waste Framework Directive – also tackles online fast fashion retailers who have for too long considered themselves the Teflon Dons of the industry.  

    That this legislation is even required, though, is a scandal. With 92 million tons of textiles making their way to landfill every single year worldwide and 12.6 million in the EU alone, should it really be necessary to force the hands of those responsibly by legal means?  

    Legislation is a means to an end and EPR is a major leap forward. But real change will only happen when brands and producers accept not just the fines that come with noncompliance but that the whole system is flawed, environmentally disastrous. 

    It’s a big ask for an industry, valued at $1.84 trillion USD, which makes up around 1.63% of the world’s GDP. But a shift from request to requirement may well stop the fashion world from sitting on its hands.  

    The question remains, though, whether producers manufacturing on the scale that really matters will be genuinely affected by fines, no matter how large, or if it will simply hit smaller brands who – despite making far less of an impact – cannot afford to take the punishment.  

  • MFW’s Return Sets a Progressive Tone

    MFW’s Return Sets a Progressive Tone

    With a ten-year hiatus now firmly in the rear view, the conclusion of Manchester Fashion Week’s self-assured revival marks the beginning of a whole new chapter, showcasing an impactful, sustainability-driven ethos that has eluded major fashion weeks like London and New York.  

    Although, of course, it isn’t really elusive if you aren’t even looking for it.  

    With its focus on sustainability – present in both the engaging panel talks and the main event runway – and a renewed commitment to the grass roots, MFW’s return was a wake-up call: there is so much to see when you look North.  

    Rightly, then, the tone was set on day one by a panel which proclaimed Manchester to be a “catalyst city” – not ephemeral, as the status quo London set might suggest, but critical in establishing a future for fashion and the fashion industry globally.  

    Here, Eco Age CEO John Higginson made a statement that would resonate across the week: “Manchester is a city of makers and innovators. This week is about doing the work in public. We are connecting heritage, skills and innovation to build models that last. 

    “Runways matter, but measurable impact matters more. If we leave this week with clearer commitments on local production, circularity and fair work, then we have done our job.” 

    “The re-emergence of Manchester is really important for the UK’s fashion industry because we need to showcase sustainable alternatives – different ways, not just of making fashion but consuming fashion.” – Carry Somers, Founder of Fashion Revolution

    Focusing on Manchester’s more egalitarian approach, the event’s Executive Producer, Gemma Gratton, aptly adds: “Manchester leads when it is practical, honest and bold. We built this programme around learning as much as showing. Education, workshops and open debate sit alongside the runway because that is how real change lands.” 

    ADORAFLORA by Drew Kent at Manchester Fashion Week 2025, Photographed by Ines Bahr.

    Where the panel’s optimistic, open dialogue laid the groundwork, Liverpool-born designer Drew Kent built on that foundation with ADORAFLORA: a layering- and modularity-driven statement on what Kent calls “eco-fabulous queer maximalism.” 

    Speaking to Eco Age, Kent notes the fashion industry’s historic imbalance, touching on a key theme of MFW: “A lot of the time people here are from working class backgrounds, like myself, and I feel like you can tell that throughout the collections. Sometimes, with massive amounts of funding, you don’t get the same vibe showing through.” 

    And perhaps nowhere, across three triumphant days dedicated to a city’s enduring spirit and evolving approach, was this democratic ethos clearer than when volunteer Pip was handed a garment and an invitation to walk by Safia Minney MBE in a clear subversion of fashion’s archaic power structures.  

    “Safia is an incredible innovator and voice for female artisans in fashion supply chains across the world. To work alongside her styling each of the pieces was such an honour,” offered Pip. Both elated by the experience and emboldened by her part in the presentation, she adds:  “Manchester is rooted in craftsmanship and diversity. The rebirth of MFW signifies Manchester’s allegiance to sustainable fashion and the opportunities for innovation that’s brewing in the city.” 

    Elsewhere, Manchester-rooted Janey Cribbin’s latest collection, MANCUNIA UGLY, repurposed upcycled automotive interiors into genderless apparel artefacts. Her work here reflected earnestly on Manchester’s history of DIY car culture and its unapologetic maximalism without ever diverting into nostalgia, putting the future at the fore with a focus on material circularity.  

    V.A.LE AW25 Haute Couture at Manchester Fashion Week, Photographed by Ines Bahr

    Salford-based label V.A.LE, created by designer Viet Anh Le, notably delivered another presentation which deftly and articulately connected haute couture with deadstock materials, proving that luxury and waste are not a necessary or inevitable partnership.  

    In presentations by the likes of Ślipa and À Couvert, much weight was given to the craft of handmade fashion – both as a tribute to the city’s enduring legacy on that front and to mindfully-made garments’ place in a more sustainable fashion ecosystem.  

    On this theme, Fashion Revolution founder Carry Somers offers Eco Age some further insight: “The re-emergence of Manchester is really important for the UK’s fashion industry because we need to showcase sustainable alternatives – different ways, not just of making fashion but consuming fashion.” 

    MFW also pulled from Liverpool and North Wales, with deadstock outerwear outfit BEPO and slow-made label MAKE IT WET each proving that London is far from the be-all and certainly not the end-all where fashion’s most forward-facing work is concerned.  

    Bepo AW25, created by Ben and Natalia Taylor, photographed bt Ines Bahr at Manchester Fashion Week 2025

    Working on this same understanding of a need to break accepted norms, “Fashion’s Unfinished Empire” – a workshop led by Safia Minney MBE and (un)sustainability consultant Lavinia Muth – focused on dismantling the colonial legacy and mindset ingrained in the industry’s supply chains.  

    Later, an event hosted by the Future Fashion Fair – led by Carry Somers, with Safia Minney of Fashion Declares and Eco Age’s own Paul Foulkes-Arellano – opened up a dialogue with the public in a crucial element of engagement, far from the usual exclusionary nature of the world’s various fashion weeks. 

    “Manchester will always do things differently. When you’re on the outside of what people consider the epicentre, you develop your own way of doing things.” – Meme Gold, artist and designer

    In speaking with attendees of all kinds, one thing becomes clear: not only was MFW’s return not a blip, it was also not to be deemed a renaissance for the city.  

    Instead, as designer and artist Meme Gold notes, the event highlighted people that have too-long been given too little of the spotlight: “Manchester will always do things differently. When you’re on the outside of what people consider the epicentre, you develop your own way of doing things. We keep it moving without everyone else’s cogs and wheels. That’s just the fabric of the city, that’s what we do.” 

    MFW paints its home city as a genuine leader, rather than an outlier. Not an anomaly or an oddity, but an aspiration.  

    Karl Smith-Eloise is Features Director for Eco Age. He has worked as the EMEA Editorial Lead for HYPEBEAST and Editorial Director of FUTUREVVORLD, as a contributing editor to Highsnobiety, and for the fashion house FENDI. He now focuses exclusively on Earth-forward and ethical avenues in fashion, footwear and the broader culture.

  • Women pay the price for garment industry tariffs

    Women pay the price for garment industry tariffs

    Earlier this week, a 50% tariff on Indian exports to the United States came into force. Structured to hit 66% of goods arriving into the US from the subcontinent, the Trump administration’s economic powerplay ramped up the existing 25% levy, hitting goods valued at roughly $86.5 billion USD. 

    Given India’s position as a textile manufacturing hub, massively reliant on exports, the move is certain to disrupt an already unstable garment industry, sending shockwaves well beyond the country and its main commercial enterprise.  

    Ajay Srivastava, founder of the New Delhi-based think tank Global Trade Research Initiative and a former Indian trade official, notes: “The new tariff regime is a strategic shock that threatens to wipe out India’s long-established presence in the US, causing unemployment in export-driven hubs and weakening its role in the industrial value chain.” 

    The tariff increase leaves Indian-based businesses with two choices: relocate or shut down entirely, continuing as things are is no longer a viable option. What, then, does this mean for a globally-recognised garment manufacturing capital?  

    While businesses are naturally the first to come to mind, with tariffs positioned as a matter of geopolitical business or economic politics, it’s more important now than ever to remember that the effects extend beyond the markets and into the lives of the people who keep those markets moving.

    Much has also been made about European postal networks suspending the delivery of parcels to the US. A blow indeed to small-scale sellers and producers across the world, it’s also fair to say that the removal of the $800 de minimis may have interesting consequences for the fast fashion industry. 

    However, just under 8,000km away from India, in the South African country of Lesotho, a clear picture of the human toll is already forming. 

    Like India, Lesotho relies heavily on exports to the United States – particularly on textiles, including production for major brands such as Levi’s and Calvin Klein – reportedly adding up to $237 million USD in 2024. Reuters suggests that this number is more than a tenth of the country’s GDP, which in 2023 was $916 USD per capita according to the World Bank, making Lesotho one of the world’s poorest countries and therefore most vulnerable.   

    Known as Africa’s capital of denim, Maseru now bears the scars of an all-out economic war: where, only earlier this year, factories had once employed local women en masse and provided stability to an entire community. 

    With tariffs of 50% we now see those same women stranded at the gates of darkened factories, their Chinese and Taiwanese owners thousands of miles away and unforthcoming in terms of an explanation. 

    Regardless, the truth – that they are the collateral damage of an attempt to bring the manufacturing of ubiquitous “American” brands back to the United States – seems less than satisfactory when both livelihoods and lives are now in jeopardy.  

    Previously, a monthly wage of roughly 3,000 rand ($168 USD) paid to a single worker had not only supported that employee but had sent that same worker’s 12-year-old daughter to school while also paying for vital medication for an elderly relative.  

    This, of course, is just one of thousands of similar stories from garment workers in Lesotho who deserve better than to be fodder in Trump’s war on offshore manufacturing.  

    And, of course, the African country is far from the only casualty: Bangladesh, which exports close to $9 billion USD of apparel to the states each year, and Haiti, which sends 99% of its exported apparel to the US, have both been hit hard.  

    In almost all cases, it is female factory workers who are bearing the brunt of this damage. 

    The total wipeout of a once-thriving industry in Lesotho, then, should stand as a stark warning and portend for what is likely to happen elsewhere as a result of Trump’s swinging tariffs.  

    Indian prime minister Narendra Modi this week relayed a message of necessary self-sufficiency to his country in the face of a catastrophic collapse in exports, but it’s hard to see how even the most successful project on that front could prop up an industry the scale of India’s garment network. A network, much like in Lesotho, held up almost entirely by the labour of women.  

    If manufacturing is sent into freefall across the less economically developed world, it’s vulnerable people – women above all – who will go tumbling with it, rather than those at the top. There must be a plan to stop this – or at least to break the fall.