Sustainability Pulse Newsletter

Sustainability Pulse #132

Vera Lovici — Tue, 02 Jun 2026 15:41:40 GMT

Start here: Shein just bought Everlane. The king of disposable ultra-fast fashion has acquired the self-proclaimed gold standard of “radical transparency.” That’s not irony, that’s a confession. It confirms what skeptics have argued for years: in fashion, “sustainability” was never a value. It was a marketing asset, available to whoever could afford it.

The rest of the industry is no less contradictory.

Reformation can’t reconcile its climate pledges with private-equity growth targets. Nike’s recycled World Cup jerseys prove that circular fashion hits a hard ceiling when you’re still fundamentally spinning oil into plastic.

Textiles are now the EU’s fourth-largest source of microplastic pollution; a single gram of synthetic fabric sheds 3.7 million toxic fibers.

But the consumer rebellion is real. Americans are sewing again. Audiences are abandoning TikTok’s algorithm for long-form YouTube. Startups are reinventing raw materials from the molecular level up.

Shein Finally Confirms Everlane Sale

Shein is officially on the path to acquiring Everlane, both companies have just confirmed, after much industry speculation. The ultra-fast fashion giant will buy the majority stake in Everlane from LVMH-backed private equity firm L Catterton for an undisclosed amount, pending regulatory approval.

Reformation Wanted to Become Climate Positive. Did It Work?

When Reformation dreamt up its “climate positive” goal in 2019, the company was in a period of transition. It had recently sold a majority stake to private equity group Permira, and the company’s sustainability team was also grappling with existential dread. Despite publicly positioning itself as a sustainable fashion brand and releasing climate reports every year, two landmark publications from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 2019 threw the company’s entire climate strategy into doubt.

Who is Max Alexander? Meet the 10-year-old designer redefining sustainable fashion

A fourth grader just became the youngest fashion designer to present a collection at Paris Fashion Week - and nearly his entire lineup was built from repurposed materials.

More Sustainable Linen Dresses That Deliver On Style and Comfort

Heatwave? Look no further than linen if you’re seeking an outfit to keep cool in. Linen is not only a lower-impact material, it also makes for excellent summer and holiday clothing. Today, we’re sharing our round-up of the best, more sustainable linen dresses from brands rated highly by Good On You for their impact and transparency.

Bezos Earth Fund Bets $34M on Lab-Grown Cotton, Silk & Fibres to Greenify Fashion Sector

The grants focus on “reinventing the fabrics” our clothes are made of, since the materials and manufacturing behind them are responsible for 80% of the industry’s climate footprint, spanning greenhouse gas emissions, water use and pollution, and landfilled waste. Thats what they say...

Selfridges weighs job cuts as part of head office restructure

A spokesperson for Selfridges told TheIndustry.fashion: “We are proposing changes to some of our head office teams in line with our strategic and financial objectives.”

The Interview: Rise & Fall founders Jed Coleman and Will Coulton on creating a new model for fashion

Jed Coleman and Will Coulton are both New Zealanders and both former lawyers, who were introduced by Coleman’s brother-in-law. When they met, Coleman had long since walked away from his high-flying corporate career and had already made a name from himself in the world of entrepreneurialism, while Coulton was ready to do the same.

eBay names Trosort as Global Winner of Circular Fashion Fund 2026

The company was selected from eight international finalists, all of whom operate in the circular fashion space. As the winner, Trosort will have the opportunity to receive a US $300,000 investment from eBay Ventures.

Shoppers want sustainable retail, and they’re watching closely

New data from SE Advisory Services shows consumers increasingly expect brands to clean up their supply chains.

Sewing Is Making a Comeback — And the Economy Has Something to Do With It

Once associated with home economics classes or passed down through family traditions, sewing is reemerging as both a functional skill and a form of personal expression. More Americans are learning to sew, not just to repair clothing, but to rethink how they shop, what they wear, and how they manage spending. Economic pressure is a clear factor, but it is not the only one.

The Return to Long-Form: Why YouTube Is Winning Back Brands

Since the short-form video boom of the early 2020s, brands and consumers have been stuck in an endless scroll. With fast trends, faster edits, and even faster algorithms, for years, brands chased virality across TikTok and Instagram, while creators were pushed toward increasingly relentless production cycles. Now, the industry is shifting once again.

Read More (Under Paywall)

Fast fashion fuels modern slavery

This story of justifying evil due to soaring profits because of an innocuous innovation is one of shame — one hopes we would learn from it. Yet, slavery is on the rise in the modern world. One of the more egregious examples is the China-based e-commerce and fast fashion brand Shein, which employs the practice. Stunningly, Shein has recently acquired the ethical fashion label Everlane to serve as a $100 million moral fig leaf. The deal isn’t just bad for our wardrobes. It’s bad for our souls.

Textile Recyclers Are Back From the Brink. Now They JustNeed Customers.

Europe’s textile-to-textile recycling sector is rebounding from a crisis and regaining momentum as new regulations drive investment. But to succeed in the long run, it needs more brands to buy in.

Ganni acknowledges progress and outstanding goals in its 2025 responsibility report

One major milestone? Phasing out virgin leather. That move helped Ganni achieve a 24% absolute reduction in carbon emissions, bringing them almost halfway to their 2027 goal of cutting emissions by 50%, using 2021 as their baseline.

Video: Denim professionals discuss industry dynamics and future vision

This piece revisits the FRESH BLOOD series by highlighting a conversation with two young denim professionals, Lucille Ix (22) and Lucas Van de Woestyne (27). Both grew up in the industry, and their families have known each other for generations.

Manomama goes viral with ‘FCKAFD’ jeans

Manomama was founded in 2010 by Sina Trinkwalder, the mother of Magnus Trinkwalder. The idea was to show that textile production is economically viable in Germany. Since then, the company has stood for sustainable fashion, regional manufacturing and social responsibility. It specifically employs people who have difficulty finding opportunities in the regular job market, including refugees who are targeted by right-wing groups. Around 60 employees currently work for Manomama in Augsburg.

Designing a Better Future for the Textile Industry With New EU Regulation

A series of new regulatory moves from the EU is taking effect these days. Multiple directives will go into effect soon or end their implementation period in early 2025, while additional ones are currently being considered. Together, they paint a clear picture for brands and vendors in the textile industry.

Why Gen X may actually be more sustainable than Gen Z

A study by Deloitte found that those born between 1997 and 2012 are more likely to adopt sustainable habits than older demographics, from avoiding traveling by plane to embracing vegan or vegetarian diets and steering clear of fast fashion. Similarly, research from First Insight found that nearly three-quarters of Gen Z consumers are willing to pay more for sustainable products, budget permitting, of course.

Nike’s recycled World Cup uniforms reveal the limits of ‘circular’ fashion

Will chemical recycling revolutionize the fashion industry, or is it just “an excuse to keep producing plastic clothes”?

Anti-Plastic TikToker Discusses the Toxicity of Polyester Fiber Fill Found in Pillows Certified organic materials like cotton and kapok are safer.

Little do many people know, lurking inside their stuffed animals and pillows are dangerous polyester fibers, posing a toxic risk to families everywhere. As TikTok user Beatrice the Anti-Plastic Lady discovered, the ubiquity of polyester fiber fill and its astounding toxicity is something that more people should know.

Textile ETP launches digital transformation roadmap for EU textiles

A strategic roadmap aimed at transforming the European textile and apparel industry through digital technologies was unveiled by the DigitX Innovation Hub, an initiative co-led by Textile ETP, on 26 May 2026.

Nearly 70 fashion and textile orgs ask governments to support resale and repair

While circular business models are better for the environment, voluntary business action won’t be enough to drive the industry in this direction, said nonprofit the Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

Greenwashing and overconsumption: the fashion industry is still a problem

The Nordic Council has unanimously adopted a recommendation to make the fashion industry greener. It calls on the national governments to ensure consumers receive better information; to combat misleading marketing and greenwashing in the fashion industry, and to guarantee good working conditions in the textile industry. The Nordic Youth Council drew up the original proposal, which the Nordic Council Committee for a Sustainable Nordic Region then worked on.

How ‘everyday AI’ encourages overconsumption

As part of our research into big tech, we prompted Microsoft’s prominent chatbot Copilot with the simple term “children’s clothes”. This generated a list of links to online shops and department stores. Our prompt did not say we wanted to buy new children’s clothes.

To understand how the chatbot had turned our prompt into a web search, we asked it to describe its decisions. Copilot provided three phrases, all referring to consumption: children’s clothing stores, best places to buy kids’ clothes, and popular children’s clothing brands.

Beauty & fashion tech tools: AI-driven hyper-personalization and rising data privacy litigation exposure

Taken together, the latest developments reflect an accelerating trend: virtual try-on, skin diagnostics, and data-sharing practices are attracting legal challenges. The highly active plaintiffs’ bar and well-established class action mechanism make data privacy violations a frequent and costly litigation target. Thus, Beauty & Fashion brands must treat U.S. data privacy compliance as a front-line priority.

Fashion designers are experimenting with AI, but not everyone is a fan

Footwear designer Vince Lebon, from Australian label Rollie Nation, says he is “a big fan of AI”.

Lebon, who who used to work for Asics and Nike and has a background in coding, has developed his own AI tool which allows him to upload his own sketches. The technology can then create an entire footwear range.

Milan Fashion Week to Discourage Fur Under New Industry Guidelines

Italy’s fashion chamber stopped short of a formal ban, with a best practices framework asking brands not to show fur beginning in September.

Patagonia sues drag queen Pattie Gonia for trademark infringement

Outdoor clothing company is suing US environmentalist drag performer for $1 plus legal fees, claiming ‘we wish we didn’t have to do this’

7 Things to Know About Microplastics From Textiles

A comprehensive new environmental assessment reveals that textiles are now the fourth-largest source of microplastic pollution across the EU, trailing only paint, tires, and plastic pellets. Driven by the sheer volume of global polyester production, the report notes that a single gram of synthetic fabric can contain up to 3.7 million shedding fibers, creating an unstoppable stream of non-biodegradable pollution during manufacturing, washing, and disposal.

Leave a comment

Vera

I really hope you’re enjoying The Sustainability Pulse, my weekly newsletter looking at sustainability in the fashion industry. If you find the tips and insights useful, please share these articles to help spread the word.

Anyone can subscribe for free here.

Subscribe now

Share Sustainability Pulse Newsletter

Sustainability Pulse #131

Vera Lovici — Mon, 27 Apr 2026 14:16:45 GMT

The fashion industry loves a spiritual moment...as long as it doesn’t cost anything.

This week, Parsons is hosting an exhibition on clothing and ritual, Dallas is turning trash into runway looks, and Indian designers are being praised for letting craft speak for itself. Beautiful. Meanwhile, Shein is quietly offering brands a seat at its supply chain table, AI is eliminating the need for human photographers, and Lululemon, the brand that built an empire selling you wellness, is being investigated for pumping chemicals into the leggings you wear to yoga.

The cognitive dissonance is staggering. We are very good at celebrating sustainability as aesthetics, while the actual machinery runs exactly as it always has.

This week’s pulse is less about trends and more about a question worth sitting with: at what point does talking about change become the thing we do instead of making it?

How can industry leaders translate these conversations into tangible actions that drive real progress?

‘Trashion’ - sustainable fashion - to go on display at Galleria Dallas through partnership with architecture and design firm HKS

Galleria Dallas is committed to maintaining a resourceful, impactful and sustainable footprint in our community. As a part of both its Green Initiative and its Artist Collective program that supports local creatives, Galleria Dallas is again partnering with global design firm HKS to showcase designs from the annual TRASHion Show beginning Monday, May 4.

Quiet Luxury: How Indian Fashion Is Letting The Craft Speak For Itself

Understated yet unforgettable — quiet luxury is shaping Indian fashion with heritage textiles, clean lines and a new-age love for mindful dressing.

What we forget when we call it ‘sustainable fashion’

‘From where I stand, working directly with craftswomen, sustainability is slower, more complex, and far more human than the industry often allows it to be’

Genera Bets A.I. Can Replace The Fashion Photoshoot Industry

Genera’s technology can generate thousands of high-fidelity fashion images daily, challenging the economics of traditional production.

How AI Can Help Planners Avoid the ‘Guessing Game’and Respond to Real-Time Performance

The fashion industry is experiencing pressure on profit margins due to rising production and shipping costs and a promotion-driven retail environment. The risks of mismanaging inventory assortments are increasing, potentially leading to quickly diminishing margins.

Traditionally, fashion season planning has been based on predictions. However, Alain Tessier, director of product management at Aptean, notes that while pre-season planning remains important, companies must be ready to adjust as needed.

Watch the webinar on demand to learn more about:

Watch the webinar here.

Precision And Perfection: Why Luxury Brands Are Integrating AI Fashion Photos Into Their Creative Strategy

Historically, the pre-production phase relied heavily on flat illustrations or simple swatches. This often left room for misinterpretation between the designer and the pattern maker. Now, houses are pivoting toward hyper-realistic visualizations. These digital mockups provide a complete view of the intended garment, allowing teams to spot potential issues with proportion or balance early on.

Could AI Drive Indigenous Knowledge Out of Fashion?

When Aishwarya Lahariya studied fiber chemistry at university, she learned there was a standardized way to process cotton. But when she co-founded artisanal fashion brand Jiwya and started working with artisans across India, the drawbacks of this singular approach, which relies on significant amounts of water and chemical inputs, quickly became apparent.

How physical AI is transforming the fashion industry

While consumer preferences shift in days, traditional production cycles take months from design to store. This mismatch forces brands to over produce because missing a trend costs more than excess inventory in the short term. These unwanted clothes are then discarded from warehouses and often sent to landfills as manufacturers fail to respond fast enough to actual demand.

The Fashion Jobs Where AI Shines, and Where It Struggles

Companies have raced to put large language models to use for jobs from generating images to writing code, but to get the best use of this innovative form of AI, they need to know its limits and how to navigate around them.

The Impact of War on Fashion’s Supply Chain

Textile hubs are already feeling the cascading risks of the conflict in the Middle East.

Read More (Under Paywall)

Exclusive: Shein Wants Brands to Use Its Supply Chain. Should They?

The fast-fashion giant is offering to let smaller labels plug directly into its famed on-demand manufacturing and global logistics network. But is the boost in speed worth the risk of putting operations in a competitor’s hands?

Churchcore has taken over Design Week In Milan, Christian symbols and spiritual aesthetics are shaping design, fashion and pop culture

During the Fuorisalone, it is as if Milan gathers with a large net all the trends that have populated the creative spheres of cinema, art, fashion and music over the last year and redistributes them around the city in the form of events.

What are “forever chemicals”? And what they have to do with Lululemon

A market that, according to Grand View Research estimates, surpassed $440 billion in the United States alone in 2025. Today, however, this momentum could be at risk following new investigations by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has accused one of the sector’s leaders, Lululemon, of containing varying levels of forever chemicals in its products. But what does that actually mean?

Parsons’ New Exhibition Explores Intersection of Clothing, Ritual and Spiritual Practice

Parsons School of Design will explore the intersection of clothing, ritual and spiritual practice in an exhibition that will have its opening reception on Thursday at the Arnold and Sheila Aronson Gallery at 66 Fifth Avenue in New York.

During the evening, visitors will experience three performances: “What does faith mean to you?” — an interactive performance led by Korina Emmerich, founder/designer of Emme Studio, followed by two pieces by the Gospel Chorus as directed by Charlotte Small from the School of Jazz and Contemporary Music in the College of Performing Arts.

I have found joy reusing, recycling, and repairing clothing.

This is the practice of slow fashion: it’s about intentionally reusing, recycling, and repairing clothing. Fast-fashion culture instead prioritizes trends that change quickly and wardrobes that can be turned over every season. This buy/wear/dispose model might have made fashion more accessible beyond the runways of Paris and the shops of Fifth Avenue, but it’s also consuming energy, water, and raw materials at a rapid pace.

Consumer Check-In: What Shoppers Really Think About Sustainability

Are consumers still shopping with sustainability top of mind?

Since the 1970s, consumers have become increasingly aware of fashion’s environmental and social impact, sparking broader conversations around sustainability. From grassroots efforts led by environmental organizations to fashion brands investing in global marketing campaigns and activations to share their sustainable missions, concerns about sustainability have been an undercurrent in fashion for decades.

Armani will now let you take a piece of fashion history home with you

The second iteration of the brand’s historical preservation project reimagines key pieces from the archives from 1979 to 1994

Why Fashion Is Still Stuck on Sustainability Double Standards

As the presence of PFAs in apparel comes into the spotlight, and ‘sustainable’ collaborations driven by overproduction hit the market, fashion’s definition of sustainability looks increasingly hard to defend.

Men and Women’s Fashion Latest News 2026: Trends, Styles, and Industry Shifts

Global Style Evolution: Key Trends Shaping Modern Men’s and Women’s Fashion in 2026

Gen Z and Millennials Are Wellness Junkies, 2016 Nostalgia Seekers and the Main Characters

Afterpay unveils its latest trend report for spring and summer spending this year.

Performance apparel textiles take centre stage in Frankfurt

Techtextil features 1,500 exhibitors from 52 countries and introduces a newly consolidated Textile Chemicals & Dyes segment alongside a Nature Performance-labelled offering from more than 110 exhibitors focused on natural and bio-based fibres and yarns.

The Netherlands Presents Its Leading Circular Textile Innovations To Europe At Techtextil

Europe aims to become fully circular by 2050. The Netherlands is at the forefront of circular textiles and digital innovation.

10 THINGS I’M NOT BUYING IN 2026

After a recent experience forced him to confront the overwhelming amount of stuff he’s accumulated over the last several years, Lucas paused to reflect on the reality that he’s not nearly as immune to the firm grip of consumerism as he once thought. From new bikes to electronic gadgets and more, explore his list of 10 things he’s swearing off in the year ahead here…

We Scoured Lululemon’s ‘We Made Too Much’ Section so You Don’t Have To

Whether you’re shopping for a wardrobe refresh or are looking for deals, Lululemon added lots of new items to its “We Made Too Much” section.

(no wonder, specially after their toxicity was made public)

Sweden’s Clothing Swap Events Promote Sustainable Fashion and Reduce Waste

Sweden’s clothing swap events are gaining popularity as a sustainable fashion alternative, promoting environmental awareness while allowing participants to exchange preowned garments.

“Public intervention is necessary to promote more sustainable fashion,” says Gilles Lipovetsky

“Today, no structure of consumer capitalism escapes the logic of fashion. Fashion is everywhere; not in oil or in the data sector, obviously, but in everything to do with how individuals seek approval.”

Vera

Leave a comment

Anyone can subscribe for free here.

Sustainability Pulse #130

Vera Lovici — Wed, 25 Mar 2026 16:12:35 GMT

Fashion is having a reckoning, and it's happening on runways made of recycled fabric, in regulatory chambers in Brussels, and in the algorithms shaping how we shop.

This past week, the industry has been contending with a generation that wants sustainability and a sale, materials science that turns coconut shells into sportswear, and legislation that will soon make it illegal to trash unsold inventory.

The conversation has moved well past labels and logos. What we wear is becoming a data point, a policy issue, and a values statement all at once, and the pace of that shift is anything but slow.

Slow Fashion Show recycles on the runway

The Museum of Anthropology was lit up and alive on March 12 with bold colours, textiles and the ambient sounds of runway music and oohs and ahhs from the crowd for the second annual Slow Fashion Show, hosted by the Slow Fashion: Circular Textiles, Sustainable Fibre Research Cluster.

Recycled Fashion is Booming, but Cotton Still Rules the Closet

Demand for recycled clothing rises, but cotton remains dominant as brands rethink sustainability.

Fashion’s favorite concept is “no longer sitting in the margins,” according to A.M. Custom Clothing.

Fashion’s Water Problem Is Being ‘Displaced,’ New Report Finds

The article from Sourcing Journal discusses a new report highlighting how the fashion industry’s water footprint is often overlooked or “displaced” in favor of other sustainability goals like carbon reduction.

Key points from the report include:

Displacement of Issues: While brands have made significant commitments to reducing carbon emissions, the heavy water consumption and pollution associated with textile production (dyeing, finishing, and fiber cultivation) are not receiving the same level of urgency or investment.
The “Thirst” of Fashion: It details the immense volume of water required for cotton farming and the chemical pollution caused by untreated wastewater from factories, which often impacts communities in the Global South.

Report: How Gen Z’s $1.3 Trillion Spending Power Will Reshape Beauty, Fashion, And Fitness By 2030

Gen Z is set to become a dominant consumer force by 2030, with a massive spending power. Their purchase decisions are likely to be driven by affordability factor, self-expression, digital convenience and unique experiences over mere products, leading to the growth of various lifestyle sectors

Outlast cooling tech gets a natural fiber upgrade

Designed to reduce sweating, fresh2Skin combines instant freshness with lasting comfort. While the textiledelivers an immediate cooling sensation upon skin contact, integrated microcapsules containing natural wax help absorb excess body heat and release it again when temperatures drop to support a more balanced microclimate.

How Venture Capital Is Rewiring Fashion From The Fiber Up

A growing cohort of specialist investment firms, impact funds, and mainstream VCs are pouring capital into a new generation of brands and materials companies united by a common thesis: that fashion’s next competitive frontier is not merely style or price, but purity. According to Global Growth Insights, the global sustainable fashion market was valued at $9.22 billion in 2024 and is projected to nearly triple to $22.77 billion by 2034, expanding at a compound annual growth rate of 9.46%.

‘Silky’ doesn’t mean it’s made from silk – how confusing textile language can harm the environment

In functional terms, there is some truth here. Smooth, “silky” fabrics like satin exhibit properties that are beneficial for skin and hair.

But “silky” isn’t a fibre at all.

BEYOND THE THREAD: HOW WE POWER THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING

Eco-savvy consumers today are looking beyond fabric labels to discover the story behind the clothes they purchase, and more importantly, how they were made.

Sustainable Knit Innovation: Regen-tech Fashion Showcases Tencel Wool Development At Intertextile Shanghai

During the exhibition’s Functional Lab – Product Presentation program, Regen-tech Fashion delivered a focused session titled “From Natural Origins To Sustainable Fashion: Exploring The Comfort Aesthetics Of Tencel Wool.” The presentation examined how material innovation is influencing the next generation of wool-blend textiles, specifically focusing on the technical synergy between TENCEL™ fibers and merino wool.

Trashie Acquires Savvy Search AI to Deliver a Smarter, More Personalized Decluttering, Donation and Shopping Experience

This exciting step will make the Trashie experience even more personalized and user friendly, whether you’re deciding what to donate, searching for rewards, or looking for smarter ways to shop.

Why slow fashion is the smarter choice for your closet

This is where the idea of slow fashion enters the conversation. Unlike fast fashion, which focuses on rapid production and quick turnover of trends, slow fashion encourages a more thoughtful approach to clothing. It values quality over quantity, longevity over novelty, and design that can survive more than one fashion season.

New EU rules to stop the destruction of unsold clothes and shoes

Starting July 19, 2026, large enterprises in the EU will be legally prohibited from destroying unsold apparel, accessories, and footwear. This landmark measure under the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) forces brands to pivot toward donation, resale, or recycling. Medium-sized companies have until 2030 to comply, but the “disclosure obligation”—reporting exactly how much stock is discarded—begins for many this year

What France’s PFAS Rules Mean for Clothing Worldwide

For consumers who have become accustomed to the soft sheen of weather-proof jackets or the stain resistance of performance sneakers, the shift will be noticeable but not overt. New products with PFAS above defined residual thresholds — chemicals once ubiquitous in water- and stain-resistant finishes — will be prohibited from manufacture, import, export, and sale beginning this year.

The Rise of “Functional” Bio-Fibers: Coconut and Graphene

026 is seeing the commercial scaling of “treasure-from-trash” fibers. Coconut Carbon Fiber, made by heating coconut shells to 1200°C to create activated carbon, is being blended with recycled polyester to create odor-absorbing, moisture-wicking sportswear. Simultaneously, Biomass Graphene is being integrated into luxury textiles to provide permanent anti-static and thermal-regulation properties without synthetic coatings

“Smart Cooling” Fabrics Move Beyond Mesh

New thermo-regulatory technologies like Polygiene StayCool are launching this season. Unlike traditional mesh ventilation, this is an additive integrated into the fabric’s polymer matrix that activates on contact with sweat, physically cooling the fabric by 2°C to 3°C (4.3°F to 5.4°F). This reduces the “laundry load” by allowing more wear between washes.

“Functional AI” and the Digital Product Passport (DPP)

AI in 2026 has moved from “creative gimmick” to the “operational backbone.” Brands are now using Digital Twins, virtual replicas of garments, to link design directly to production-ready 3D patterns. This is a preparation for the upcoming Digital Product Passport, which will soon require every garment to carry a digital record of its material origins and lifecycle to prove compliance with EU standards.

Agentic Shopping: AI as the New Sales Channel

A major trend for 2026 is “Agentic Shopping,” where consumer-facing AI agents (like ChatGPT or Gemini) act as autonomous personal shoppers. Brands are now structuring their product data specifically for these LLMs so the AI can”read” and recommend inventory directly within a conversation, enabling zero-click transactions

Gen Z’s “Checked-Out” Pragmatism

New reports suggest a shift in Gen Z behavior: they are becoming “value-bifurcated.” While sustainability remains a priority, “affordability” has become the non-negotiable driver due to economic pressures. In 2026, 79% of Gen Z consumers wait for sales before purchasing, and there is a noted “nostalgia” for traditional aesthetics (like the ‘tradwife’ or ‘office sirens’ trends) as a reaction to digital fatigue and job market uncertainty.

The “Econogy” Mindset

The term “Econogy” (Economy + Ecology) is defining the 2026 market. Consumers no longer view sustainability as a premium “extra” but as a baseline for economic value. This is driving the Second-Hand market to grow at 3x the rate of the new apparel market, as shoppers look for durability and resale value in every purchase.

Leave a comment

Vera

Thanks for reading Sustainability Pulse Newsletter! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Sustainability Pulse #129

Vera Lovici — Mon, 02 Mar 2026 18:11:01 GMT

Welcome to this week's edition of Sustainability Pulse. As we move into March, one pattern is becoming impossible to dismiss: the industry is shifting, slowly but measurably, from performative sustainability toward intentional investment. Labor probes and social washing continue to make headlines, but the more telling story is in the data. Consumers are trading trend-chasing for longevity, reflected in a striking 158% surge in "deinfluencing" and a growing embrace of the pared-back, wear-it-every-day wardrobe.

Meanwhile, AI-driven retail experiences and the resurgence of ancient materials — hemp, upcycled textiles, reclaimed craft, are no longer occupying separate conversations. Technology and tradition are converging. And as the cracks in the traditional warehouse model widen, digital provenance and circularity are stepping in not as aspirational concepts, but as operational realities.

The shift is underway. The question is who's building for it.

Subscribe now

Visa and Global Fashion Agenda Back Emerging Designers with Circular Fashion Programme

Visa and Global Fashion Agenda Launch “Recycle the Runway” for Emerging Designers Copenhagen’s sustainable fashion influence continues to grow with a new initiative aimed at empowering the next wave of circular entrepreneurs. The program provides financial backing and mentorship for designers reimagining fashion through regenerative systems, with 15 winners selected to showcase at the Global Fashion Summit.

The Big Fashion Industry Trends for 2026

The Rise of “Deinfluencing” and the “Daily Uniform” Mindset Consumer behavior in 2026 is shifting away from dopamine-driven microtrends toward “intentional investment.” Data shows a 158% spike in mentions of “deinfluencing,” as shoppers prioritize versatile basics and “outfit formulas” over the endless cycle of newness popularized by fast fashion.

2026 US Fashion Outlook: Value and Quality Overpower Trendiness

A new report by FASHION by Informa reveals that 66% of US consumers now rank “value for money” as their top priority, while “trendiness” has plummeted to just 10%. As prices rise due to new tariffs, shoppers are trading impulse buys for high-quality, durable “hero pieces” that justify their cost.

A New Formula for Luxury Marketing

“What becomes a legend most?” Remember the famous ad line when fur was in fashion, and that fame-saturated double-page photo shoot vision appeared in every fashion magazine. But that was back when there were real fashion magazines, not today’s celebrity showcases masquerading as style books.

Why there’s a “huge vibe divergence” between tech and finance on AI

Tech evangelists are hailing a Claude-fueled seismic shift in computer-based work. Investors are, by and large, selling AI stocks.

Starting from scratch, textile hemp follows in linen’s footsteps

For the first time, ALCE has decided to spotlight this fibre. France is the leading European producer with 23,000 hectares, but only 1,650 are dedicated to textiles. The rest is used for paper, oil, and building insulation. This is a drop in the ocean compared to linen’s 176,000 hectares, 90 percent of which are used by the textile industry.

At Milan Fashion Week, industry’s darker side goes unmentioned

But despite that display of handcraft, there has been little mention at Milan Fashion Week of some of the industry’s forgotten workers -- whom prosecutors found were working in sweatshop conditions at subcontractors for many Italian luxury brands, including Tod’s.

‘World’s first’: Topshop and THG Studios host AI-driven shoppable catwalk

Topshop ventured into new realms this week, hosting an AI-driven shoppable catwalk via ‘Front Row AI’, an event app built by THG Ingenuity. Certified as a “world’s first”, the event transitioned the catwalk into a shoppable ecosystem, allowing users to interact with the show, try-on virtual outfits and purchase looks directly from the runway.

Marks & Spencer launches cotton programme in bid to strengthen biodiverse farming practices

The initiative intends to broaden access to clean energy and strengthen biodiverse farming practices within Indian cotton-growing communities.

Rachel Arthur on why production volumes & incentives must change to reach sustainability goals

In this edition of the series on Changemakers in Fashion, sustainability consultant Rachel Arthur explores how rethinking incentives and production volume models can accelerate systemic change.

“Social Washing” Exposed: Nike and Puma Named in Ethical Claim Report

A joint report released on February 24, 2026, by the Consumers’ Association and the Clean Clothes Campaign accuses major athletic brands of “social washing.” While marketing fair wages and empowerment, the report alleges these brands rely on external commercial audits—which they pay for themselves—to mask dangerous chemical exposure and systemic overwork in Indian tanneries.

Reviving tradition, redefining fashion: how sustainable label Mebae gives new life to old kimonos

Melbourne-based Mayu Sato runs a sustainable fashion brand Mebae with her two sisters, Kana in Osaka, and Ai in Toronto. The sisters unite across three continents to helm a sustainable fashion label, that brings new life into old kimonos

Copenhagen wants to cement itself as a sustainable fashion mecca

Copenhagen Fashion Week has struggled with keeping talent, but the Scandinavian city is increasingly becoming a stronghold of fashion.

How I started in fashion: Stylist, editor and co-founder of Secondhand September Bay Garnett

Bay Garnett is a sustainable fashion pioneer. Two decades before the pre-loved fashion movement took hold, Garnett was using pieces she’d thrifted to dress some of the world’s most stylish women (including herself) and to mix with designer items to create shoots for British and Italian Vogue.

Where to Find More Sustainable Clothes for Tall People

There are a few things you can do to make your search for tall clothes easier, and first things first, you’ll need a tape measure. Read on for online and in-person shopping advice.

Jigsaw to expand store portfolio after Christmas sales jump 26%

Jigsaw is set to expand its bricks-and-mortar footprint after delivering a strong Christmas trading period and completing a strategic turnaround that has returned the British brand to growth.

Sustainable fashion firm Eileen Fisher enters into retail technology partnership with Aptos

It says that it is replacing its legacy PoS system with a cloud-based, mobile first solution that will provide more personal, informed and frictionless interactions.

‘Not blind optimism’: why Coach’s designer is not giving up on sustainable fashion

Stuart Vevers wants the luxury brand to keep championing upcycled materials and reduce landfill waste

Footasylum CEO David Pujolar exits as retailer enters ‘next phase’

The sportswear retailer confirmed that, having closed its fiscal year at the end of January 2026, it is preparing to implement further measures aimed at enhancing growth and profitability. Pujolar, who has led the business since 2024, is leaving with immediate effect.

ORA INDUSTRIES LEADS THE WAY IN SUSTAINABLE FASHION WITH EXCEPTIONAL PREMIUM VINTAGE SELECTION IN LOS ANGELES

As a proud member of the California Green Business Network, the company is committed to reducing its carbon footprint and combating pollution by extending the life of existing clothing.

Can Fashion Fix Its Elastane Problem? A New Project Thinks So

Elastane sits in roughly 80% of our wardrobes. It’s typically blended at 1–5% in cotton or wool, and up to 20% in polyester or polyamide, delivering the stretch and comfort most of us now expect as standard. The downside?

No Warehouses, No Waste: DailyThreadCo. Proves Sustainable Fashion Can Be Stylish and Personal

The traditional fashion retail model is fundamentally broken. Brands produce massive quantities of clothing months in advance, hoping to accurately predict what consumers will want. When these predictions miss the mark, the result is warehouses stuffed with unwanted merchandise that eventually ends up discounted, donated, or destroyed.

UGA’s Fair Fashion promotes community, slow fashion and sustainability on campus

Ruby Gagnon, a senior double major in marketing and international business, is co-president of Fair Fashion with Hester. Both have been affiliates of Fair Fashion since they were freshmen, and students of any major are welcome to join the club.

A beginner’s guide to upcycling clothes, according to a Sewing Bee winner

Annie Phillips shares tips to prolong the life of your wardrobe and elevate your style

The rise and fall of Lucy and Yak: how the millennial favourite fell foul of the internet

Once beloved by sustainability-conscious, creative women, the brand has been accused of cutting corners, skimping on quality and turning its back on inclusive sizing. Helen Coffey reports on the Yaklash.

Fashion’s AI Adoption Drives Progress in the New Year

AI has been integrated into the many processes that are integral to operating a fashion business, and 2026 is the year the industry will leverage these tools to grow now and secure their place in the future.

AI “Slop” vs. Quality: The Consumer Trust Gap

A March 2026 report reveals a growing divide in how shoppers view AI. While 30% of consumers demand clear disclosure for AI-generated marketing, the majority say they judge a brand on the quality of the content rather than the tools used to make it. However, the rise of “AI slop”—low-quality, mass-produced digital content—is emerging as a major threat to brand prestige in the luxury sector.

Copyright Chaos: Artists vs. The “Scraping” Giants

The legal battle over AI training data is intensifying. A new class-action lawsuit against Snap Inc. and updated filings against NVIDIA allege that millions of copyrighted works and”pirated books” were used to train fashion-centric AI models. This is sparking a massive debate in the industry about”digital provenance” and whether AI-generated designs can—or should—be protected by copyright law.

Vera

Leave a comment

Thanks for reading Sustainability Pulse Newsletter! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Reclaiming Fashion’s Future from Its Shadow Past

Vera Lovici — Thu, 12 Feb 2026 17:55:41 GMT

The fashion landscape can feel like a beautiful, chaotic surface. We track the rise of Quiet Luxury or the return of Y2K aesthetics as if they’re organic weather patterns — just the industry doing what it does. But some of us have been watching something else entirely.

I started connecting the dots on fashion’s accountability problem back in 2022, when I published reporting on the links between luxury conglomerates, the art world, and the exploitation of women and children. It wasn’t a popular thing to say at the time. Now, with the Epstein files being unsealed and the industry’s shadow history finally entering mainstream conversation, I want to revisit what this

all means, not just as a scandal, but as a turning point.

Because here’s what I know after years of covering this industry as a publisher and media professional: the way power was structured at the top of fashion wasn’t an accident. It was a system. And systems, when exposed, can be rebuilt.

Let’s be direct about what we’re talking about. For decades, a specific group of men held the keys to this industry. They didn’t just own brands, they manufactured aspiration itself. And when the people manufacturing aspiration are entangled in compromised, predatory power structures, the “trends” they produce aren’t just clothes. They’re the output of a specific worldview, handed down to consumers who never got to vote on it.

Victoria’s Secret is the clearest example most people will recognize. Under Les Wexner, whose name appears extensively in the Epstein documents, the brand didn’t just sell lingerie. It sold a rigid, hyper-sexualized blueprint of femininity to an entire generation of women and girls. That wasn’t market forces at work. That was top-down cultural imposition, and it worked because no one was asking who was at the top.

The question worth asking now isn’t just “how did this happen?” It’s “what did we absorb without realizing it?”

The Great Pivot

Here’s what I actually find exciting about this moment, and I mean that sincerely: the chaos you’re seeing in fashion right now isn’t a crisis. It’s a cleanse.

The fall of the Old Guard has cracked open space for something genuinely different. The shifts we’re seeing, inclusive sizing becoming a baseline expectation, consumers demanding supply chain transparency, the circular economy moving from niche to necessary, these aren’t trends in the traditional sense. They’re a direct rejection of the gatekeepers who told us what to want and why.

We are moving, slowly and imperfectly, from being told what is beautiful by men in boardrooms, to defining our own values through what we choose to wear and support. That shift is real. I’ve watched it happen. And it matters enormously.

The most meaningful development in fashion in 2026 isn’t a color or a silhouette. It’s accountability, and the designers and brands who understand it are now a competitive advantage.

The leaders worth watching are those who treat fashion as a system of care rather than a system of control. They’re investing in toxin-free fibers, ethical supply chains, and longevity over volume. They’re building businesses where the integrity of the people behind the product is as important as the product itself. That’s not idealism, that’s where consumer trust is going.

Understanding the shadow past of this industry isn’t about cancellation. It’s about knowing what you’re pushing back against, and why the alternatives you’re choosing actually matter.

The threads are getting cleaner. Not just in how they’re dyed, but in the hands that brought them to life. And for those of us who’ve been watching this industry for a long time, that is genuinely worth celebrating.

Leave a comment

Vera

I really hope you’re enjoying The Sustainability Pulse, covers the business of fashion through an ethical lens. If this resonated, share it with someone who needs to hear it.

Thanks for reading Sustainability Pulse Newsletter! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Sustainability Pulse #128

Vera Lovici — Thu, 29 Jan 2026 17:46:54 GMT

Here’s the uncomfortable truth no one wants to admit: we’re living in the golden age of sustainability theater. Gen Z and Millennials are out here preaching circular fashion like it’s the new religion, but when push comes to shove, when it’s time to actually pay for durability or swap that dopamine hit of a new purchase for a pre-loved piece, suddenly everyone’s got amnesia.

This week’s roundup cuts through the noise with research that finally names the beast: it’s not ignorance holding us back, it’s our stubborn unwillingness to change our habits, even when we know better. But before you spiral into eco-guilt, there’s actually a twist: luxury resale is booming (hello, €60 billion by 2030), secondhand is becoming a flex, and even old-school giants like Kering are (slowly) getting their act together.

The catch? A Yale study just dropped a bomb, suggesting resale might actually be expanding fashion’s carbon footprint by feeding our addiction to more, more, more.

So buckle up, this week we’re diving into the messy, contradictory, occasionally hopeful reality of what happens when sustainability grows up and realizes it’s been lying to itself.

Exploring factors shaping consumer behaviour towards circular fashion: a focus on Generations Y and Z

This study tackles one of sustainable fashion’s biggest puzzles: why younger consumers say they care about circular fashion, but don’t always act on it. Focusing on Millennials and Gen Z across developed and developing countries, the researchers reveal that awareness alone isn’t enough, what really drives circular behavior is a willingness to change habits, paired with perceptions of quality and durability.

Even more intriguing, environmental concern doesn’t automatically make people willing to pay more, exposing a critical tension brands must navigate. If you want to understand where the attitude–behavior gap truly comes from, and what might finally close it, this research is worth a deeper read.

How luxury resale is reshaping sustainable fashion

While fashion remains one of the world’s most polluting industries, a growing cohort of consumers is driving a measurable shift toward circular luxury. Globally, the second-hand market is expanding three times faster than new retail, and South Africa is mirroring this trend, according to Luxity’s eighth annual State of the Luxury Market in Africa report.

New report: Policymakers are blocking fashion’s climate action

The 2025 Progress Report from the Scandinavian Textile Initiative for Climate Action examines climate performance across 53 apparel and textile companies. According to the report, 35 signatories have reduced their absolute emissions since their base year, and 26 companies are currently on track to meet their Scope 3 targets.

I walk 10,000 steps a day in the rain. These are my ultimate weatherproof outfits

Tested on muddy paths and wind-lashed beaches, these are the clothes I rely on for winter walks without sacrificing style

Authentic Brands Group acquires majority stake in Guess

Guess co-founders Maurice and Paul Marciano, along with Nicolai Marciano and Guess CEO Carlos Alberini – collectively the “rolling shareholders” – now own 49% of all Guess intellectual property (IP).

Kering and Pandora Make the Cut: Only Fashion Players in World’s Top 100 Sustainable Groups

In the 2025 edition of Corporate Knights’ ‘Global 100’, Kering and Pandora stand as the sole fashion representatives, highlighting the industry’s struggle to make a significant impact on the sustainability front.

Sustainable fashion isn’t dead — it’s finally growing up

There is hope through new rules of engagement, rooted in government action, industry leadership, and a shift towards intentional shopping.

Isle of Man designer showcases sustainable fashion on global stage

‘I would say that the Art Foundation course at UCM was the most pivotal period of my life in terms of my career’

How second-hand shopping became fashion’s biggest flex — 5 tips to sustainably boost your wardrobe this year

Your New Year’s Resolution is cooler than you might think, as wearing preloved is now a ‘badge of honour’

Hanoi students win Startup Arena 2025 with sustainable fashion innovation

Students from Chu Van An High School for the Gifted clinched first prize at the nationwide Startup Arena 2025 competition on January 18, winning top honors with a sustainable fashion project aimed at Generation Z.

The lure of natural dyes in sustainable fashion

Derived from plants, fruits, and other natural materials, many of which can be easily found in local markets or even at home, natural dyes do not involve the use of petrochemicals in their processes and produce far less harmful waste.

Swap your swag: how LA clothing swaps help people find cute clothes and community

Clothing swaps are becoming more popular for people seeking sustainability and ways to express their gender identity.

Sustainable fashion and the advantages over fast fashion

In the book called Sustainable Wardrobe: Learn to buy consciously and intelligently, the Spanish communicator and fashion expert, Laura Opazo, seeks to make it clear that clothing is capable of transmitting a message that changes over time.

Breaking: The CMA Just Made Greenwashing Everyone’s Legal Problem

Green claims, lab-made silk, and more.

Sustainable Fashion Market - Global Industry Size, Share, Trends, Opportunity, and Forecast, 2021-2031

Opportunities in the global sustainable fashion market include a shift to eco-friendly materials and digital resale platforms. Growth is driven by strict regulations on emissions and waste, consumer demand for ethical sourcing, and investments in recycling infrastructure as brands aim to adopt circular-economy practices.

VIATT 2026 Announces Inaugural Lifestyle Trend Forum: Unified Vision For S/S 2027 Across Fashion, Home, And Tech

The Vietnam International Trade Fair for Apparel, Textiles and Textile Technologies (VIATT) is set to host its first Trend Forum, offering a forward-looking, industry-wide perspective for Spring / Summer 2027. Will provide comprehensive insights across the interconnected realms of Apparel Fabrics & Fashion, Home & Contract Textiles, and Technical Textiles & Technologies.

Luxury Resale Market Overview

• Luxury Resale market size has reached to $37.95 billion in 2025

• Expected to grow to $60.11 billion in 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 9.6%

• Growth Driver: E-commerce Expansion Driving Growth in the Luxury Resale Market

• Market Trend: Innovative Use of AI in Luxury Resale Apps

• Europe was the largest region in 2025.

Second thoughts on secondhand? Why the resale market is expanding fashion’s carbon footprint

A new Yale study finds that frequent shoppers of secondhand clothing tend to buy more new clothes as well, undermining environmental benefits and reinforcing a cycle of overconsumption.

AI’s Maturation Point and Cute Tech: 2026 Fashion-Tech Predictions

Last year, AI investment reached unprecedented highs. Nvidia became the world’s first $5 trillion company, the biggest AI players like Meta and Google raised their AI spend from previous forecasts, and OpenAI placed itself at the center of a web of multi-million-dollar deals focused on accelerating AI development.

Nike lays off 775 workers as it boosts use of automation

Nike Inc. is laying off about 775 workers at distribution centers as the sportswear company integrates automation into its operations, according to a person familiar with the matter.

Brunello Cucinelli dives deeper into AI with new human-inspired platform

Brunello Cucinelli is the latest label to embrace AI having this week presented its new e-commerce platform, “a project that provides visitors with a digital experience underpinned by AI”.

How ‘Unplugging’ Became Luxury’s Most Valuable Currency

Back in July, content creator Catherine Goetze — better known as AskCatGPT — posted a TikTok video announcing: “I’m committed to bringing down my screen time this year, but I know I need to be reachable in case of emergency.” In it, she showcased retro landline telephones she’d connected to her smartphone via Bluetooth, letting her answer important calls while avoiding the inevitable pull of her iPhone screen and its endless scroll.

Leave a comment

Vera

Sustainability Pulse #127

Vera Lovici — Tue, 13 Jan 2026 15:57:08 GMT

I’ve been sitting with this week’s newsletter longer than usual, trying to make sense of what feels like two contradictory realities happening at once.

On one hand, 2025 has been rough. Luxury brands linked to sweatshops, companies quietly dropping their sustainability messaging, and the persistent gap between what we know is right and what actually makes money. It’s easy to feel like we’re moving backwards.

But then I look at the other stories crossing my desk: researchers growing mushrooms on textile waste to create insulation, FIT launching a course on adaptive fashion design, and brands rallying behind circular materials. Small signals, maybe, but they’re there.

What strikes me most is that sustainability in fashion has never been about a smooth upward trajectory. It’s messier than that, full of false starts, economic realities, and genuine innovation happening in pockets while the mainstream hesitates or retreats. The work is in paying attention to both, in understanding why the monetization gap exists while also tracking who’s finding ways through it.

This week’s collection reflects that complexity. It’s not all progress, and it’s not all doom. It’s just where we are.

Luxury Scandals and the Retreat of ‘Sustainable Fashion’

Between top luxury players being linked to sweatshops and brands walking away from overt sustainability messaging, fashion seemed to backslide on both the social and environmental fronts in 2025.

INSIGHTS

Sustainable fashion faces a monetisation gap.
While ethical awareness is rising, high costs, price sensitive consumers and limited scale continue to constrain revenues.
Brands that rely solely on sustainability struggle to convert intent into sales, highlighting the need for sharper pricing, stronger design appeal and clearer market specific communication.

Fashion Institute of Technology Launches New Course on Adaptive Fashion Design

The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) has opened enrollment for a groundbreaking new certificate course titled Adaptive Fashion Design / Inclusive Innovation, set to begin on February 10, 2026. Led by adaptive fashion expert and FIT alumna Alina Kuderska, the program aims to equip designers, students, and entrepreneurs with the skills to create inclusive clothing that prioritizes functionality, empathy, and style for people with disabilities, chronic conditions, or mobility challenges.

How best to recycle Europe’s fast fashion waste? Grow mushrooms on it, say researchers

The researchers calculated how close each use would be to an ideal solution, using four criteria – environmental, economic, technical, social – and rated each option. They found fungal-based insulation material had the greatest future development potential. This can be achieved by growing Pleurotus pulmonarius, a type of oyster mushroom, on a mixture of agro-industrial waste and recycled ground textiles.

What if beauty didn’t poison anyone? UT lab is rethinking fashion

The fourth floor of the Texas Science and Natural History Museum is designed for reverence — fossils, minerals, evidence of deep time. The building trains you to think in epochs and extinction events, not hemlines or handwork. It is not designed for fashion.

Vestiaire Collective Makes Shopping Vintage Easier Than Ever

Since 2009, Vestiaire Collective has remained focused on pre-loved fashion, redefining our relationship with what—and who—we’re wearing.

Resale, Repairs & the Future: A Product’s Second Life May Matter Most

Luxury brands have long relied on marketing that positions their products as made to last and even to be passed down. But the reality is that most companies are lagging when it comes to offering the services that would allow such longevity to actually materialize.

IS THE ‘CLEAN FASHION’ MOVEMENT ENOUGH TO MAKE SHOPPERS CARE ABOUT SUSTAINABILITY AGAIN?

The emerging social media trend is raising awareness of clothing’s impact on human health. Can it cut through the fast fashion noise?

3D Fashion Deep Dive 07: Rethinking Virtual Try-On

Why Real-Time Fashion Is Bigger Than the Fitting Room

Tod’s founder warns ‘Made in Italy’ reputation at risk from supply chain probes

“Made in Italy” is the term used in the country as shorthand for Italian exports and quality goods.

Prosecutors allege Tod’s “culpably failed” to adequately oversee its suppliers, including two contracted directly, in order to pursue higher profits. The company - which is not under investigation - said that it complies with the law.

Is the future of beauty skincare you can wear? Sylva’sTallulah Harlech thinks so

The stylist’s label, Sylva, comprises a tightly edited collection of pieces designed to complement the skin’s microbiome, made possible by rigorous technical innovation – something she thinks will be the future of both fashion and beauty

Unmissable fashion exhibitions to add to your calendar in 2026

From a trip back to the 1990s at Tate Britain to retrospectives on Schiaparelli, Madame Grès and Vivienne Westwood, 2026 looks set to continue the renaissance of the fashion exhibition

Sustainable digital fashion in a metaverse ecosystem

The digital revolution is reshaping consumer behavior and attracting significant enterprise capital toward platforms supported by emerging technologies Casestudy

DressX is the largest digital fashion platform, offering 3D digital clothing, AR-filtered outfits, and NFT products that focus on sustainability and affordability. This study examines the link between digital fashion and sustainability in the metaverse using a game theory model to analyze brand and platform interactions.

Read Study

The business case for sustainability: engaging with consumers to drive conscious consumerism

Building robust transparency through audits, certification, and data collection comes with its own costs, and more visibility can expose higher true costs such as traceable materials and living wages. In the short term, that can compress gross margins.

Gen Z proves most resilient as US apparel spending dips in 2025

Younger shoppers in the US have emerged as a resilient force in the apparel, accessories and footwear market, according to Consumer Edge’s 2026 Apparel, Accessories and Footwear Outlook Report.

Fashion for the future

Matilda Billinge muses on how 20th century futurism actually relates to where fashion is headed

Fashion giant Zara quietly closes 60 stores in latest blow to brick-and-mortar retail

Despite a banner sales year, Zara is quietly shutting stores at a rapid rate.

Fast Fashion Overconsumption Statistics

Fast fashion fuels waste, pollution, water depletion, and worker exploitation.

On Indian cotton plantations are still cases of child labour A new investigation accuses a company working with Inditex, Amazon, the H&M group and Gap Inc.

Transparentem found that some fields were cultivated with illegal synthetic pesticides both locally and internationally.

Why Thrifting Is Trendy but Still Not Accessible to Everyone

The surge in thrifting’s popularity is closely linked to the increasing awareness of the environmental consequences of fast fashion. Purchasing pre-owned garments is viewed as a means to minimize waste, save money, and differentiate oneself from mass-produced styles. For many young urban shoppers, thrifting also embodies a narrative — discovering distinctive items and transforming them into personal fashion statements.

Fashion brands rally behind Circulose’s next chapter

Swedish textile recycling company Circulose has entered into a series of partnerships with international fashion brands as part of its commitment to restoring its market presence.

US hemp fibre exporter Heartland taps into India’s supply chain

Detroit-based material science company Heartland has unveiled a new textile business unit in India to increase the adoption of hemp fabric within the wider supply chain.

As natural resources dwindle, luxury fashion must pursue sustainability says Square Management study

Long defined by rarity, artisanal excellence, and desirability, the luxury sector now faces an unprecedented equation: how can it continue to create value without further increasing pressure on natural and social resources? This is the question addressed by the report “Business models for sustainable luxury,” published by the consultancy Square Management, which offers an in-depth analysis of the transformation of luxury business models through the lens of planetary boundaries.

Leave a comment

Vera

Thanks for reading Sustainability Pulse Newsletter! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Blue Silence, or Learning to Listen Again

Vera Lovici — Fri, 02 Jan 2026 13:08:27 GMT

There are periods in life when silence feels unbearable.

And then there are moments when silence becomes the only place where truth still lives.

The first week of January always brings me there.

After years of writing about sustainability, systems, materials, impact, and responsibility, I’ve learned that the most difficult form of sustainability is not environmental, it’s internal. Sustaining one’s attention. One’s tenderness. One’s ability to remain present without numbing or distraction.

It was from this place that I returned to Oana Știrbu’s Blue Silence.

Not as a curator.

Not as a critic.

But as a human being who understands what it means to carry invisible wounds.

The First Encounter

I met Oana’s work before I met Oana herself.

I was hosting an event for Parlor Social Club and See Mee community in an intimate gallery near Bryant Park, where conversation moves in careful circles around artwork that demands attention.

Her series, Layers of Healing, was on the walls, abstract, storyboard-like paintings tracking transformation across canvases. Shapes and colors evolving, mirroring what she describes as “slow transformation, cyclical renewal, and emotional reconnection with the natural world.”

But it was something else that stopped me.

We met for coffee after the event.

Oana is not just a visual artist. She’s writing a book. She’s developed Harmony Keeper®, a visual psychoeducation method that turns emotional awareness and conflict resolution into what she calls “a creative, engaging experience.” When words fail, her method suggests, images speak.

But what struck me most was not the methodology itself, it was her. Her entire presence fascinated me. The way she spoke about collaboration with materials, about letting processes unfold, about respecting what others had deemed worthless. I knew: if the person is this interesting, the process must be too.

She told me about Blue Silence, her crystallization work. About copper sulfate solutions and the precise conditions required for crystals to form. About leather and lace and coffee grounds, materials that carry memory, that have touched bodies, that bear the imprint of use.

I asked if I could interview her properly. She said yes.

What followed was a conversation that deepened everything I’d sensed in that first encounter.

Matter That Knows How to Heal

I have always been fascinated by processes that unfold without force, perhaps because my own nervous system learned early on what happens when control becomes survival.

When I asked Oana to take me through the crystallization process, she said something that stayed with me:

“Yes, they really do have a will of their own. A will to live, like every element in nature, like all of us. A quiet impulse, a desire to grow.”

Oana’s work does not impose form on matter. It collaborates with it.

The crystals in Blue Silence grow through a copper-based solution, slowly, unpredictably, under precise conditions. Temperature, water purity, saturation, time. Nothing can be rushed. Nothing guaranteed.

“The substance metamorphoses from a fluid or chaotic state into a solid, organized structure, just like healing requires a transition from emotional chaos to a more stable, integrated state,” she explained. “I never know how a piece will turn out: how big or small the crystals will grow, how many, or what final shape our collaborative creation will take.”

Watching this process, I couldn’t help but think about emotional healing. How it also requires safety, containment, patience. How no amount of willpower can replace the right conditions.

In a culture obsessed with immediacy, her work insists on duration. On trust. On letting go of the outcome.

That, in itself, feels like an act of resistance.

What moved me even more was her attention to the process itself. She told me she never washes the copper sulfate solution into nature, never disposes of residue carelessly. “For me, responsibility matters in artistic expression just as in verbal expression,” she said.

The material itself fascinates her because of its duality: “Copper sulfate inspired me because of its dichotomous nature: in small, controlled amounts it nourishes the soil and helps plants grow strong, but in excess it becomes harmful, even deadly. This tension between nourishment and toxicity mirrors the fragile balance present in both nature and the human psyche.”

What We Call Waste

For a long time, I believed sustainability was primarily about reduction, less harm, less damage, less consumption. Over the years, I’ve come to understand it differently.

It is also about relationship.

Oana works with materials that most of us would discard without a second thought: recycled leather scraps, lace, coffee grounds, remnants of use. Objects that have already lived one life and been deemed insufficient for another.

When I asked her how she chooses these materials, she said:

“I see potential in every piece of material we label as ‘trash’, I see in it the smile of a new creation, a new life, needing only a small impulse to emerge. I am honored to give it that impulse, to combine it with other materials, and to bring something new into being.”

What struck me is not the reuse itself, but the respect embedded in it.

These materials are not neutral. They carry memory. Touch. Wear. They have been close to bodies, to gestures, to time. To erase them is to deny that history.

“The ‘trash’ objects around us carry the imprint of their original usefulness and deserve to be respected and honored,” Oana told me. “In them, you can almost sense the story of their short lives, the situations in which they were used, the ways they touched the people around them.”

In her work, “waste” is not redeemed- it is acknowledged. And in that acknowledgment, transformed.

There is something deeply human in that.

She told me about a dream she holds, perhaps naively, she said, but with genuine longing: “I secretly dream of a day when I can incorporate into my daily creations the majority of the waste I produce in one day: packaging, paper from deliveries, so that after a day of creation, I have nothing left to throw away.”

At some point, Oana clarified something that stayed with me: when she speaks about harm, she does not mean self-destruction in the dramatic sense. She means inner wounding. The subtle, normalized ways we abandon ourselves.

The voice we use internally.

The way we dismiss our needs.

The pressure we normalize.

I asked her what led her to see that inner and outer forms of harm are connected. Her answer was direct:

“The voice with which we speak to others is the tone of our inner voice. This inner voice also shapes the attitude we have toward ourselves and toward others. So, if we harm nature or those around us, it usually presupposes an existing condition of ‘I am harming myself’, perhaps through overly harsh self-criticism, self-sabotage, or unawareness of our own needs.”

I’ve spent years observing how this internal climate inevitably shapes our external actions. How disregard for the self quietly becomes disregard for others, and eventually, for the environment.

From this perspective, environmental destruction is not just a failure of policy or awareness. It is a reflection of disconnection.

“From my perspective, the healing of nature will always begin with inner healing,” Oana said. “When we respect ourselves, we will respect nature. When we are in touch with our bodies and open to meet our feelings and needs, we can also become aware of what plants and trees need.”

We cannot treat nature with care if we have never practiced care internally.

Healing, then, does not begin outside. It begins with attention.

Skin, Memory, Transformation

Leather is one of the most uncomfortable materials in sustainability discourse. It carries ethical, emotional, and bodily weight.

Oana does not avoid that discomfort.

When I asked her about using leather in Blue Silence, she was honest about her position:

“As long as we continue to eat animal meat, I consider using leather as a way to honor the animal sacrificed for our survival. It feels more inhumane to throw it away. I have used recycled leather, scraps leftover from clothing production because I see beauty in every small triangle deemed ‘waste.’”

By working with recycled leather, she reframes it not as consumption, but as residue, something that already exists, already bears the cost of a life taken. Discarding it would be another erasure.

“Being such an intimate material, it helped me in the Blue Silence concept to express how past harmful events affect us, how they stay embedded in the body, in our own skin, and how we can use them to grow, evolve and become gems, beautiful as we are.”

Encased in crystal, the leather becomes something else: a visible scar that no longer hides. A wound that has been metabolized into form.

“This metamorphosis represents the passage from past to present, from degradation to regeneration,” she told me. “The crystals that cover it act as a form of healing, a surprisingly beautiful ‘scarring.’”

It reminded me of something we rarely say out loud: healing does not remove the scar. It changes our relationship to it.

The Color Blue

Blue has followed me throughout my own life as a color of refuge. Calm, yes, but also grief, depth, transcendence. A space where thought slows down enough for feeling to emerge.

In Blue Silence, blue is not decorative. It is atmospheric. It creates stillness, something we are increasingly untrained to tolerate.

When I asked Oana what blue symbolizes for her, she said:

“It signifies calm and peace, transcendence beyond ourselves, beyond the human, rebirth, and what we need most in these times we are living through globally: stillness. A state from which you can hear more than your own thoughts and concerns, where you can feel fully present, connect deeply with yourself, and also reach a connection with the world around you.”

Stillness asks us to feel before we think.

And feeling is risky.

She shared a memory with me - seeing Yves Klein’s blue painting IKB 79 at the Tate Museum in London. The painting had an imprint in the center, like a kiss. “You could see the imprint of a nose and lips,” she said. “That one imprint unfolded an entire idyllic film in my mind.”

This is what blue does. It opens space for what cannot be said directly.

One of the most moving elements of Oana’s practice is her time-based installation using living plants that move from vitality to decay to crystallization. The audience witnesses the entire cycle.

Not through documentation.

Through presence.

When I asked why she wanted people to witness this transformation in real time, she explained:

“First, so that they can see how a dead plant comes back to life. To witness live the process of rebirth. Many times it is hard for us to imagine mentally how we can recover, how we can grow again, how we can enjoy a fresh new stage in our lives. Perhaps this tangible visualization can remind us and restore hope.”

Healing is rarely linear. It moves in waves. Advances, retreats, pauses. The straight line is a human invention, nature works differently.

“I don’t believe healing is ever linear, it is cyclical, natural, sinusoidal, undulating,” Oana said. “The straight line is invented, created by humans.”

By insisting on duration, the work asks us to return. To see how we have changed between visits.

In that sense, the artwork becomes a mirror.

Sustainability Beyond Materials

Over time, I’ve come to believe that sustainability is not only about what we consume, but what we can hold.

Art that supports reflection, emotional literacy, and inner regulation is not secondary to sustainability. It is foundational.

When I asked Oana how she defines sustainability in the context of art that deals with emotion and memory, she said:

“I believe that art can support and nourish emotions, collective memory, and the connections between people and the world. Art sustains community, communication, and long-term emotional well-being. It is about creating an artistic practice that does not deplete internal or external resources but instead cultivates reflection, empathy, and deep understanding.”

She told me about countries where doctors prescribe museum visits as part of treatment. Studies show reduced cortisol, improved emotional resilience, cognitive benefits. The Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam is participating in research exploring how visiting museums can alleviate symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

This doesn’t surprise me.

A regulated inner world produces regulated actions.

Before Thought

When I asked Oana what she hopes someone feels when encountering her work for the first time, she didn’t offer an instruction.

“Maybe I would like them to feel themselves. Or not, if the moment isn’t right. Whatever they feel is perfectly okay for them in that moment and, of course, for me as well.”

That answer stayed with me.

We are so accustomed to being told what to think, what to take away, what to optimize. Blue Silence refuses that.

It offers a pause.

And perhaps that is the most sustainable offering of all.

January, Again

At the beginning of a year, we are encouraged to plan, define, and accelerate.

This work suggests something else.

Listen.

Stay.

Let what needs to grow, grow.

Caring for the self and caring for the planet are not separate gestures. They are the same movement, directed inward and outward at once.

And both begin in silence.

Leave a comment

Vera

Share Sustainability Pulse Newsletter

Sustainability Pulse #126

Vera Lovici — Tue, 23 Dec 2025 17:32:36 GMT

Here we are, at the edge of another year.

December always brings a particular quiet to sustainability reporting. Not because the issues have slowed, but because they’ve accumulated. By now, the patterns are clearer. The contradictions are too complex to ignore. The language is more familiar and, at times, more hollow.

This final edition of Sustainability Pulse gathers stories that feel emblematic of 2025. Resale promises relief while quietly fuelling overconsumption. Luxury proclaiming craftsmanship, while production trails lead to exploitation closer to home than many would like to admit. “Green” materials shedding microplastics into water systems already under strain.

And yet, alongside the disillusionment, there are signals worth paying attention to. Natural fibres are returning to the centre of the conversation(🥰). New approaches to leather, insulation, and textile-to-textile recycling that move beyond marketing into infrastructure.

I don’t see this list as a verdict on sustainable fashion, but as a map of where the tension sits right now: between intention and impact, innovation and extraction, ownership and responsibility. Between the clothes we buy quickly and the ones that stay. As always, my aim isn’t to overwhelm, but to curate.

Thank you for reading Sustainability Pulse this year. For your attention, your messages, your quiet presence on the other side of the screen.

Resale’s Hidden Carbon Cost:

A new Yale study finds that frequent shoppers of secondhand clothing tend to buy more new clothes as well, undermining environmental benefits and reinforcing a cycle of overconsumption.

‘Serious exploitation’: the Prada bags from Chinese sweatshops in Italy

Police discovered the luxury items during a raid. Investigators have also quizzed Versace, Yves Saint Laurent, and Givenchy over links to Chinese-run manufacturers

From Nike to H&M: How the fashion industry’s ‘big green plan’ is worsening microplastic pollution

An investigation into recycled polyester found microplastic pollution is being worsened by ‘green’ materials.

Fast fashion: EU laws for sustainable textile consumption

With fast fashion, the volume of clothes produced and discarded has skyrocketed. Find out more about the environmental impact and what the EU is doing about it.

Dutch Qorium lands €22M to reinvent real leather with cell-based tech

With the new funding, Qorium will expand its Maastricht facility, install larger bioreactor systems, and scale up production to serve commercial luxury, automotive, and goods clients.

The Frayed Edge: Are Fashion’s Sustainability Efforts Misplaced?

A disappointing COP30 deal was reached in Brazil, while floods across South and Southeast Asia showed exactly whyquicker action is required. Meanwhile the EU watered down sustainability legislation yet again, this time targeting deforestation. In some positive news, bans on fur and misleading ‘green’ ads made headway.

Patagonia’s CEO on Selling ‘the Unsexiest Thing in the World’

As the Californian outerwear brand publishes its first ever sustainability progress report, its 50-year effort to model and promote a more climate-friendly form of capitalism is under threat.

Prada to launch $930 ‘Made in India’ Kolhapuri sandals after backlash

The Italian luxury brand will make 2,000 pairs of sandals in India’s Maharashtra and Karnataka states, under a deal with two state-backed entities, Reuters news agency reports.

From wetlands to wardrobes – British FashionTech startup Ponda raises over €2 million for sustainable fashion innovation

Ponda, the Bristol-based biomaterials company pioneering regenerative-material supply chains, today announced the close of a €2.09 million Seed funding round to commercialise its flagship insulation, BioPuff.

Top Reasons For Brands To Commit To Natural Fibers

The Landmark Project’s Matt Moreau, partner and creative director, explained in an interview with the Lifestyle Monitor™ why the brand is so mindful regarding its fiber choices and production.

Europe Investigates Whether Fashion Brands Live Up to Green Promises | Promises Under Scrutiny | DW

Watch Video

Sustainable Fashion: A Surface Trend or a Genuine Transformation?

Sustainable fashion has transitioned from a niche concept to a widely discussed topic, yet the question lingers: is it merely a trend or a true change in how the world approaches clothing consumption?

PETA Coined a Term for Plant Fibres That Aren’t Wool. Yes, ‘Plant Wool’.

Do we need a new term to differentiate plant fibres that can be wool alternatives? As PETA wraps up its first-ever Plant Wool Month, we invited a campaigner there to make the case for the new label, which brands may use to highlight alternatives that aren’t synthetic.

The art of sustainable fashion: 10 ways to build an eco-friendly wardrobe without sacrificing style

Sustainable fashion isn’t about sacrifice, it’s about small intentional shifts that shape a wardrobe you truly love.

Shop Like a Billionaire? No Thanks. Here Are 30 Alternatives to Temu

Why ‘We Avoid’ Temu

Despite launching in 2022, Temu has quickly dominated the ultra fast fashion industry and brought serious competition to long-established multi-category retailers like Amazon. In fact, retail analyst Neil Saunders described Temu as “Amazon on steroids,” to the BBC in 2023, and it has around 13 million monthly users in the UK alone.

The clothes that stay

On keeping, revisiting, and collecting as part of fashion’s sustainability infrastructure

The ASA has ruled that ads from three major fashion brands did not comply with the CAP Code for containing misleading environmental claims. All three brands used the word “sustainable” to promote their products. Such broad claims must be qualified and/or substantiated, even if an ad is subject to character limits.
The ASA refers to guidance by the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) on environmental claims in the fashion retail sector, demonstrating its role as a compliance partner of the CMA.
The ads were discovered by the ASA’s Active Ad Monitoring system which uses AI to proactively survey ads in specific sectors.

I tried to save the world by recycling jumpers – now I’mmaking my own instead

After discovering the dark secrets behind high-street knits, Deborah Bee set her mind on creating truly sustainable and ethical cashmere

Is the future of sustainable fashion in textile-to-textile recycling?

The fashion industry is sitting on a goldmine it used to throw away. Every year, more than 92 million tonnes of textile waste are generated, and less than 1% is recycled back into new clothing. Yet, in mid-2025, a quiet revolution is underway. The innovation that is turning yesterday’s dresses, jeans, and t-shirts into tomorrow’s brand new collections. This isn’t just a sustainability story; it’s a multi-billion-dollar business transformation where textile-to-textile recycling is emerging as the industry’s next growth engine.

Interview with Javier Goyeneche (Ecoalf)

“A small company can save millions of liters of water by choosing a different way to produce”

Ecoalf was founded by putting recycling at the center of its strategy; what led you to start down that path?

Prescriptions for future of fast fashion

Apart from revamping its flagship SM MOA store and getting a Gen-Z brand ambassador, Andrea Brillantes, as firstFilipino endorser, international brand Guess is hoping to hook a younger generation of customers and start pulling away from being their moms’ and aunties’ brand by speaking the language of the Gen-Zs: sustainability.

Gen Z want to eco-shop, but lure of fast fashion, budget constraints can get in way

Gen Z consumers want to shop sustainably. They really, really want to shop sustainably. But a new survey shows 59% in the UK admitting admit their generation “talks more about sustainability than they practice”.

NIFAFest Highlights Need For Formal Institutions & Support For Sustainable Fashion Industry

The 3-day maiden festival, organised by Lowo Africa Art Republic supported by Nike Arts Gallery, Abuja, saw 20 local fashion brands display creative pieces comprising richly motif-ed ‘Adire’, ‘Tie-Dye’, ‘Ankara’, and upcycled textiles, as well as accessories like leather and fabric handbags, shoes, earrings, and bracelets.

The Fashion Brand Tabitha Brown Wears Is Built on Sustainability And Culture—Meet Coradorables

Founded by Cora Spearman-Chang, the WeLoveUs.Shop partner is an example of what can happen when fashion is intertwined with core values and craftsmanship.

From signals to actions: Understanding sustainable fashion consumption through a multisource signalling mechanism—evidence from China

The rapid growth of the fashion industry has caused significant resource consumption and environmental pressure, leading to a global demand for sustainable transformation. Balancing ecological impact reduction with innovation and competitiveness is a key challenge for both the industry and academia. This study explores how information from various sources affects consumer behavior regarding sustainable fashion consumption.

Everbloom AI Revolution: Transforming Chicken Feathers into Luxurious Cashmere with Sustainable Fashion Breakthrough

Imagine a world where your favorite cashmere sweater comes not from stressed goats, but from discarded chicken feathers. This isn’t science fiction—it’s the revolutionary reality being created by Everbloom, a startup using artificial intelligence to transform textile waste into premium fibers. In an industry where sustainability often comes with premium prices, Everbloom’s breakthrough promises to disrupt fashion with affordable, eco-friendly materials that could change how we think about luxury textiles forever.

The Best and Worst Rated Fashion Brands of 2025

Good On You rated more than 1,500 fashion brands in a tough year for more sustainable fashion. But it’s not all doom and gloom: there are some small brands doing the work to show what it means to function more responsibly in 2025. Read on to meet them, plus our round-up of the year in fashion news, and the brands to avoid.

What Defined Sustainable Fashion in 2025?

At the halfway point of the so-called “decade of action”, there was a lot riding on 2025. But who could have predicted the course of events that came to define the year in sustainable fashion? From regulatory U-turns to unprecedented tariffs, uncertainty was almost certainly the theme of the year.

Leave a comment

Vera

How my nephew in Romania reveals a global shift

Vera Lovici — Thu, 11 Dec 2025 16:29:19 GMT

My nephew is seventeen and lives in Slatina (where I was raised as well), a small Romanian city where difference is still noticed and sometimes punished. In places like this, clothing is rarely just clothing. It is a social signal. It is a quiet risk. It is a way of stepping slightly outside the ordinary without being pushed back inside through mockery.

He buys almost everything second-hand. For him, this is not a political choice or an environmental gesture. It is simply the option that makes the most sense. He wants clothes that last. He wants pieces that feel personal. He wants quality without a price that breaks a teenager’s budget. In his world, the most logical place to find all of that is Vinted.

His habits reveal something larger than his own taste. They show how the next generation is rebuilding fashion from the bottom up. They show how culture forms now, not through glossy campaigns, but through small decisions in small cities, instantly connected to the rest of the world through the phone in someone’s hand.

The internet has made the world smaller. A teenager in Slatina can scroll the same looks, the same brands, the same inspirations as someone in New York or Copenhagen. Yet his interpretation is shaped by his environment. Every outfit is a negotiation between the global and the local.

A few days ago he sent me a grey Carhartt hoodie from Vinted. Nothing dramatic. A classic, well-made piece.

“What do you think of this hoodie.”

There was a softness in the question. A teenager asking for a second opinion from someone he trusts. A small exchange that carried within it a much bigger story about durability, identity, pressure, and courage.

I asked him what made him give up on fast fashion. His answer was so simple and accurate that it could have been taken from a sustainability report.

“Yes, I had a few experiences that disappointed me. I repeated the same piece many times and could see how the quality decreased with every wear. The clothes became uncomfortable, the color faded and the texture disappeared.”

Fast fashion garments lose shape and integrity quickly. Studies from the European Environment Agency show that the average fast fashion item is worn seven to ten times before being discarded. The logic of the system relies on early failure. The business model rewards it.

He did not know the statistics, but he already understood the truth. He saw it in the mirror and felt it on his skin. His lived experience matched global research. When truth is felt physically, data becomes confirmation rather than persuasion.

What does quality means when you are seventeen

I asked him what the word ‘quality’ means to him. His answer was precise and intuitive.

“A good material, a good design, and something a bit unusual. Something you do not see on every person on the street.”

This definition goes beyond durability. It speaks to individuality. For his generation, quality is partly about longevity and partly about identity. A good garment is one that lasts and one that says something honest about the person wearing it.

In a world shaped by social media, where viral trends repeat at the speed of the algorithm, standing out is an act of self-preservation. Wearing something unusual becomes a way of reclaiming control over your appearance.

He also said something essential.

“It is a better choice to buy something from a second-hand shop that looks good, especially if your budget is not very big. You need to be responsible with money.”

Global studies show that Gen Z is more financially cautious than Millennials were at the same age. Economic instability, rising prices, and the visibility of global inequality through social media have made them pragmatic. This pragmatism leads them to second-hand platforms not because these platforms are sustainable, but because they provide value.

Sustainability often enters through the back door. It arises from wanting clothes that do not fall apart. It arises because resale platforms make better-quality goods accessible at lower cost. It arrives because a seventeen year old has learned to do the kind of cost per wear calculations that entire marketing teams once hoped consumers would never consider.

Vinted as the new mall

“In Slatina, eighty percent of my friends use Vinted. One of them influenced me to download it. My friends do not care where the clothing is from. They care how it looks on you.”

This shift is not unique to Romania. Vinted now has more than 100 million users across Europe. ThredUp predicts that the global resale market will double in size by 2027, outpacing the growth of the traditional retail sector by a large margin.

Resale is no longer a niche. It is the main stage for the next generation. The mall moved online and then it moved into second-hand platforms. The new status symbol is finding a great item at a great price. Value has become a form of cultural intelligence.

Then he told me something that reveals the human side of fashion. Data cannot capture this, but every teenager understands it.

“Many people in Slatina are not used to something unusual. If you wear wider clothes or darker outfits or have longer hair, you can get a bit of bullying.”

It is easy to talk about individuality from the safety of a big city. It is harder to practice it in a place where difference is still policed by peers. Fashion becomes courage. Clothing becomes resistance.

He continued:

“It always comes from people who dress the same. Sometimes people call them trendhoppers. The same shiny jacket. The same skinny jeans. In my opinion, everyone should dress how they want without judging.”

This is the core of the entire story. A seventeen year old boy, influenced by global culture through the internet, negotiating local norms, insisting on authenticity and expressing a moral worldview that is more advanced than the one held by many adults.

His favorite find is a pair of True Religion jeans. Good quality. Strong stitching. A shape he likes and repeats often. He wears what feels true to him, not what appears in a trend cycle.

His story is small and local, yet it reflects something global. The next generation does not need long sustainability campaigns. They already know how to navigate the world in a more conscious way. They choose second-hand because it aligns with their budgets, values, desire for individuality, and experience with quality.

The internet has made the world feel smaller, but in doing so, it has made young people more aware. A boy in Slatina scrolls through the same images as someone in Tokyo or Montreal, yet he interprets them through his own context. Culture is global and expression is local. That combination creates originality.

Sometimes change begins quietly. It begins with a message from a teenage nephew in a small Romanian city asking if a grey Carhartt hoodie is worth buying. It begins with a pair of jeans that hold their shape after every wash. It begins when young people demand more from their clothes than the industry expected.

Fashion is shifting. Not because brands are ready, but because teenagers already live differently.

And maybe that is where the future of sustainability truly starts.

Leave a comment

Vera

My writing is supported entirely by paid subscriptions - there are no ads, paid placements, or sponsored content here. It’s all powered by you, the reader.

Sustainability Pulse #125

Vera Lovici — Mon, 01 Dec 2025 14:39:57 GMT

As 2025 draws to a close, the industry stands at a turning point: emissions are creeping up again, ultra-fast fashion is under heavier scrutiny than ever, and yet real innovation is accelerating faster than expected. From rival sneaker giants finally joining forces on recycling to groundbreaking EU rules that will soon score every garment’s actual environmental cost, collaboration and accountability are no longer nice-to-haves; they’re non-negotiable.

In this edition, we read about modular clothing that reassembles itself. These fading-proof dyes could slash water use by half, the quiet rise of authentic indie labels like Rita Row, and why leading CEOs are being told that individual brand pledges are not enough; we need collective systems change to hit net-zero.

The signals are clear: the brands (and consumers) who move from greenwashing to genuine impact in the next 12 months will shape the future of fashion.

Let’s dive in.

Subscribe now

The answer to sneaker recycling? Getting rival brands to collaborate

A group of sustainability experts from brands like Brooks and New Balance are collaborating to build the shoe recyclingtechnology of the future.

Evri delivers millions more parcels this year as second-handeconomy booms

The company, which was at the bottom of Ofcom’s latest customer satisfaction survey, said it was “delivering more parcels than ever”.

Our Pacific neighbours are drowning in fast fashion. And we’re the ones to blame

Most of us don’t spare a thought for where our clothes go once we donate or bin them.

But a new short documentary, Good Neighbours, urges us to consider the impact of Australia’s fast fashion habit on our Pacific neighbours.

The Interview: Elizabeth Scarlett founder on 10 years of growth, strategic collaborations, and purpose-driven business

From garden centres to gift shops and department stores, Elizabeth Scarlett has become renowned for its embroidered bags and accessories for travel, beauty, and everything in between. And it’s not just a pretty brand - through meaningful charity partnerships, it’s a giving one, too.

Chat 10 with Elena Lisman | Starting a Luxury Plant-Based Handbag Brand

Sustainability Chats with Friends interviewd Elena and dived into the reality of creating a sustainably-minded luxury fashion brand, so you will hear perspectives on:

✦ Sourcing innovative materials, finding high-quality manufacturing partners, and overcoming production challenges

✦ Building a loyal customer base through social media

✦ The real challenges of running a startup

If you’re curious about plant-based products, artisanal supply chains, and social media conversion, you’ll enjoy this one.

Watch now

The answer to sneaker recycling? Getting rival brands to collaborate

A group of sustainability experts from brands like Brooks and New Balance are collaborating to build the shoe recyclingtechnology of the future.

TheIndustry.fashion Scale-up Sessions: Finance and funding to power growth

Finance and logistics are key growth pillars of any business large or small. Whether you’re expanding your operations domestically or internationally, exploring new sectors, or branching into new channels, mastering these disciplines is essential for success.

New software designs eco-friendly clothing that can reassemble into new items

To reduce waste, the Refashion program helps users create outlines for adaptable clothing, such as pants that can be reconfigured into a dress. Each component of these pieces can be replaced, rearranged, or restyled.

Everlane maps the life of its new EverPuff jacket beyond the first owner

Everlane’s EverPuff jacket, priced at USD 298, emphasizes a sustainable lifecycle that includes purchase, potential repair, resale through the Re:Everlane platform, and recycling when the jacket can no longer be worn. Made from certified recycled materials, including its down insulation and water-resistant shell, the jacket is constructed from mono-materials for easy disassembly. A repair warranty highlights the idea that ownership involves maintenance rather than disposal.

Hip handbag maker Coach ‘linked to Brazilian deforestation’

The brand is alleged to have sourced leather from a tannery linked to deforestation in the part of the country hosting Cop30

‘Fashion has the power to create jobs, preserve culture and transform lives’: isLagos the world’s most exciting fashion week?

Since its inception 15 years ago, the Nigerian event has established itself on the international fashion calendar. Platforming sustainability and social issues, and showcasing local talent, it’s doing things a little differently

The global secondhand apparel market is expected to reach$367 billion by 2029.

This year’s Resale Report reveals that as consumers are increasingly thinking secondhand first, the retail industry is adopting powerful new pathways for resale. From the integration of social commerce and innovative AI applications to the establishment of trade organizations and interfacing with government and policymakers – it’s clear why resale is seeing accelerated growth.

– James Reinhart, ThredUp CEO

TRAILBLAZER PROGRAMME

The PDS Limited and PDS Ventures Trailblazer Award in partnership with Global Fashion Agenda is back! The award offers investment and recognition to a startup whose solution tackles one or more of the three following areas: Working with Nature, Closed-loop Pathways, Tech-enabled Transformation.

Individuals and companies are encouraged to apply.

Applications are open until 5 December 2025

Apply now

Eileen Fisher’s Business Case for Sustainability

The certified B Corporation has an almost cult-like following among its very eco-minded consumers, and sustainability factors prominently in sourcing, manufacturing, worker treatment, consumer marketing and more.

Recover unveils premium low-impact fabrics to boost sustainable fashion

Spanish materials science company Recover aims to make “premium, low-impact fabrics” accessible to brands of all sizes with the launch of its new product line, Recover Fabrics.

How 55 Leading Fashion CEOs are Accelerating Sustainability

Leaders from the likes of CHANEL, Kering, Moncler Group and Prada Group have launched an accelerator initiative to improve supplier sustainability

Ultra-Fast Fashion Blamed For Industry’s First Rise In Carbon Emissions In Four Years

The Apparel Impact Institute’s latest Roadmap to Net Zero report shows that fashion’s carbon emissions rose 7.5% in 2023, the first-time emissions have risen since it started collating the data in 2019. It has linked the rise to increased use of virgin polyester and production of clothing.

Solving Fashion’s Fade Problem

Color fade is a hidden sustainability crisis. When garments lose their vibrancy after just a few wears or washes, consumers discard them prematurely. This undermines the fashion industry’s sustainability goals and negates brand investments in sustainable materials and production.

Brand Radar: Rita Row: Sustainable Spanish Style Goes Global

The label was established by designers Imma Serra and Xènia Semis in mid-2013. What began as a small independent studio in Girona has grown steadily into an international brand.

10 sustainable fashion trends to watch in 2025

Here’s how experts at fashion brands and advocacy groups expect tariffs, policies and material innovations will shape the industry in the year ahead.

Leave a comment

Vera

Anyone can subscribe for free here.

Sustainability Pulse #124

Vera Lovici — Tue, 11 Nov 2025 17:06:45 GMT

November once meant abundance, new coats, early sales, gifts wrapped before the tree. This year, abundance feels like excess. Earth Overshoot Day hit July 24; we’ve been borrowing from the future ever since. For Estonia, the debt started in March, the spring had barely begun.

So let November be about using better, not having more.

Wear what you own.

Mend what’s frayed.

Reimagine what’s forgotten.

Around the world, yeast ferments into leather, Lagos rebuilds local supply chains, and “clean” chemistry rewrites the fibers in our clothes. Innovation matters, but the real revolution is quieter: people choosing enough.

This month, we explore mindful consumption - from the politics of clean fashion to the poetry of slowness...

Text within this block will maintain its original spacing when published

Sustainability isn’t a sacrifice. It’s remembering what’s worth keeping.

IN NOVEMBER, WE FOCUS ON MINDFUL CONSUMPTION

In November, we invite people to reflect on mindful consumption and reuse. This year, Earth Overshoot Day fell on July 24. It marks the date when we’ve used up all the planet’s renewable resources for the year, and each year this date comes earlier. For Estonia, that day was already in early March this year. This means we used up our fair share in just about two months, and for the rest of the year we’re living at the expense of the future. So what will be left to live on in the future?

Brewing waste: The solution to sustainable fashion?

Biodegradable fibers spun from yeast protein avoid the resource use and pollution of cotton, wool, and polyester

Can Inside Out Redefine ROI for Sustainable Fashion Businesses?

Co-signed by entrepreneur Erik Stangvik and former Deloitte partner Blair Knippel, Inside Out was positioned as a“wayfinding collective” designed to deliver “revolutionary solutions to the world’s most urgent challenges”, with Amis Cameron acting as founder and CEO. Its mission spreads across six key verticals: science research technology, fashion textiles and home, food, education, media, and wellness.

Is Fashion Ever Really ‘Clean’?

A steadily growing cohort of ‘clean’ fashion brands is challenging the chemistry of our clothing.

Read More (Under Paywall)

Could West Africa Be Fashion’s Next Manufacturing Hub?

After a decade building her eponymous brand in New York, designer Tia Adeola is now relocating her entire supply chain to Nigeria. Her Fall/Winter 2025 collection, titled From Lagos with love, will highlight local artisans and Nigerian craft, including cowrie shell beadwork and screen printed Ankara on satin. Adeola is also working with local creative talent, from models and photographers to hair and makeup teams.

Kalpona Akter: Why are garment workers still denied dignified jobs?

Former child labourer Akter has dedicated her life to helping Bangladeshi garment workers use their voices for change. This is her blueprint for a better industry.

Rethinking consumption: the rise of eco-conscious consumers

The fashion industry is experiencing a significant transformation, with sustainability taking center stage. This shift is primarily fueled by eco-conscious consumers who demand greater transparency and ethical practices from brands. The influence of social media has enabled individuals to express their preferences, prompting companies to adopt more responsible production methods.

Our obsession with efficiency is costing us our humanity

Thanks to technology, our lives have never been more convenient. But is it worth the price we are paying? Here, a writer makes the case for taking the scenic route.

Inside Out acquires conscious clothing brand The Simple Folk

Global holding company Inside Out LLC has acquired environmentally-friendly US brand The Simple Folk, described as”a significant step forward towards its mission to redefine how business interacts with both people and planet”.

Sheep Inc. unveils first-ever store on London’s Newburgh Street

Sustainable knitwear brand Sheep Inc. has opened its first-ever store at 5 Newburgh Street in London, adjacent to Carnaby Street.

This Luxury Fashion Brand Is Setting the Gold Standard for Sustainability

Sustainability has had a pretty rough go of it these last few years. Despite major strides in the right direction, the push for a greener future has been dealt several devastating blows from a fraught supply chain, economic headwinds and political setbacks.

Experimental evidence on consumers’ willingness to pay in the sustainable fashion industry

This paper provides experimental evidence on consumer purchase intention and willingness to pay (WTP) in the context of sustainable consumption. Grounded in the theory of planned behavior, the literature on the intention–behavior gap, and Lancaster’s model of product attributes

Astral Signature Revolutionizes Sustainable Fashion with Mindfulness-Inspired Designs for Global Conscious Community

Astral Signature is a pioneering brand in conscious fashion, launched in 2025, offering mindfulness-inspired apparel to intentional consumers in the U.S., Mexico, and Canada. Its rapid growth across platforms like astralsignature.com, Amazon, Etsy, TikTok Shop, and Shopify highlights the demand for purpose-driven fashion. By combining sustainable print-on-demand technology with designs based on astrology and mindful living, Astral Signature fosters emotional connections, turning customers into community members.

TECHNOLOGY AND HIS ROLE IN DRIVING SUSTAINABILITY IN THE FASHION INDUSTRY IN 2023

One of the key ways that technology is driving sustainability in the fashion industry is through the use of innovative materials.

Miami Fashion Week Brought Sustainable Fashion Tech To The World Stage

This year’s October event fused fully virtual fashion shows produced via AI and immersive animation, offering designers global digital reach and audiences worldwide the opportunity to engage remotely.

‘Fashion is Political’ at Sustainable Fashion Week

A panel was held at the Illinois Environmental Council on September 30 to discuss environmental issues in fashion.

“For a large part of the fashion industry, it’s embarrassing how much waste there is, how horrible it is for the planet,” Norton said. “People just kind of want to pretend it’s not happening and keep going.”

Did You Know? Your Leggings Might Outlive You - Meet the Activewear Brands Vowing to Protect the Planet

“Almost every pair of leggings ever made is still out there, slowly fragmenting into microfibres that drift through air, water and our own bodies.”

Your next pair of yoga pants or running shoes may be made using corn from Iowa farms

In the town of Eddyville, home to just under 1,000 people, a large corn processing plant dominates the skyline. Iowa corn, transported there from nearly all 99 counties, is turned into products like ethanol, high fructose corn syrup and corn gluten, and now, some of its refined product is piped just across the road to a one-of-a-kind facility that is helping turn Iowa corn into clothes.

Greenwashing in the fashion industry: red flags & examples

But awareness is rising and folk are seeking better things to wear. The global sustainable fashion market was valued at $8.1 billion in 2024 and is expected to more than quadruple in value by 2033. This surging growth is driven by demand, as 79% of people think that buying sustainable fashion is important, and clothes-hunters are willing to spend an average of 9.7% more on sustainably produced or sourced goods.

A New Era of Sustainable Fashion Efforts Is Changing the Landscape of Conscious Shopping

Brands like Madewell, Rothy’s, and more are building repair, recycling, and resale into their DNA.

The Frayed Edge: Are All Sustainability Certifications Broken?

The standards big brands rely on to back up their green claims are facing intense and unflattering scrutiny, Trump’s trade war is having far-reaching and destructive impacts on the lives of garment workers and what to watch ahead of the UN’sCOP climate summit.

The Frayed Edge: The Cost of Being Shein

The ultra-fast-fashion giant’s first permanent store opening in Paris has been a source of high drama.

Sustainable Fashion Guide: How to Build a Green Wardrobe in 2025

Rural Frazee entrepreneur transforms a love of secondhand clothes into an eco-conscious business

Emily Sonnenberg, now 20, started her mostly online thrift business at 15, rehoming vintage clothes and promoting sustainable fashion and conscious consumption throughout the lakes country.

How to Talk About Sustainability Across the Political Divide

Earlier this year, two months into the second Trump administration, federal agencies in the US circulated an internal list of nearly 200 words that would be limited or avoided in the government’s clampdown on so-called “woke initiatives”,according to documents seen by The New York Times.

Read More (Under Paywall)

Leave a comment

Vera

Subscribe now

Thanks for reading Sustainability Pulse Newsletter! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Sustainability Pulse #123

Vera Lovici — Mon, 03 Nov 2025 14:56:33 GMT

Mariah Carey may have declared the holidays officially open, but perhaps the phrase “It’s time” lands differently this year.

In fashion, we’re watching an industry in flux, one hand holding sparkle, the other soil.

Regenerative design, circular production, and reimagined craftsmanship are beginning to replace the seasonal churn with something slower, more rooted.

From Lisbon’s Textile Exchange talks to Manchester’s sustainable comeback, these stories suggest a subtle cultural turn: a move from performative to restorative.

Optimism, here, isn’t naive, it’s creative, practical, and quietly revolutionary.

Regenerative Design Is The Next Step In Sustainable Fashion

Regenerative design in fashion means building clothing systems that restore, rather than deplete, natural resources. It goes beyond “less harm” toward positive return designing products that enrich soil health, reduce pollution, and sustain the communities that produce them. In practice, it means using natural fibers that can return to the earth, transparent supply chains that support biodiversity, and production methods that give back more than they take.

Arnault tightens his LVMH control with $1.6-B buying spree

Over eight months beginning in February, the 76-year-old quietly bought about ₹1.4 billion ($1.6 billion) worth of LVMH shares, according to Paris stock exchange filings. The purchases, made through holding companies, came amid a slide in LVMH’s share price following weaker earnings and a broader luxury sector decline.

Irish Designer Mihai Mar Shares His Fashion Loves

Fresh from Dublin Independent Fashion Week, the founder of Mar Knitwear Mihai Mar discusses the future of Irish fashion and what his perfect Dublin day is …

Rino Mastrotto Announces a Strategic Collaboration With ISTITUTO MARANGONI Paris

The contribution goes beyond the material: Rino Mastrotto Group will bring its expertise to the students through hands-on workshops, specialized product lessons, and a dedicated sustainability masterclass.

Barbican opens first major fashion exhibition in nearly a decade

London’s Barbican has opened its first large-scale fashion exhibition in eight years, inspired by the “rebellious, playful and regenerative potentials of dirt and decay,” as it looks to reaffirm its commitment to fashion within its visual art programming, building on the success of exhibitions such as ‘The House of Viktor & Rolf’ in 2008 and Jean Paul Gaultier in 2014.

Is Craftsmanship Dying? Two Experts Weigh In

As mass production and fast fashion grow, work and economic opportunities for artisans are increasingly under threat. But people are working to improve the situation, and we convened two of them to help us better understand the landscape for makers.

Rent the Runway Announces Closing of Recapitalization Transactions

Rent the Runway, Inc., a pioneer in apparel rental that created one of the world’s leading fashion subscription platforms, today announced the closing of its previously announced recapitalization transactions, a strategic step to enhance the Company’s financial position and flexibility by meaningfully reducing outstanding debt, extending the maturity of its remaining debt balance, and providing additional capital to support the Company’s growth initiatives.

Is the Fashion Industry in a ‘Sustainability Retreat’ Or Not?

‘Shop Sustainable’: Sustainable Fashion Club encourages students ‘make a better impact’

EU Will Delay Anti-Deforestation Law by Another Year, Commissioner Says

The landmark policy aims to ban imports of products like leather and palm oil that could be linked to deforestation.

What Fuels Fashion? 2025

The second edition of What Fuels Fashion? ranks 200 of the world’s largest fashion brands on disclosure of their climate and energy-related policies, practices and impacts in their own operations & supply chains.

Brands are scored on how transparent they are across five critical areas:

Accountability
Decarbonisation
Energy Procurement
Financing Decarbonisation
Just Transition & Advocacy

Nike Pledged to Shrink Its Carbon Footprint. It Just Slashed the Staff Charged With Making That Happen.

Since December, Nike has lost about 30% of employees who worked primarily on sustainability initiatives, due to layoffs, voluntary departures or transfers to other duties. Already, the company was missing its targets for reducing emissions

Adidas Replaces Annual Impact Report with Low-Key Data Sheets, Signaling Shift in Green Messaging

For a deeper dive, see their latest Annual Report.

The French Textile Eco-Score: October 2025 - Key Updates and What Fashion Brands Need to Know

The French Eco-Score entry into force begins on October 1st, 2025.

Recover™ Secures Multi-Year Recycled Cotton Agreement with H&M

Recover™ has signed a multi-year agreement with H&M to support the integration of its recycled cotton fiber, RCotton, for use in H&M’s products.

Manchester Fashion Week Relaunches After Decade-Long Hiatus with Sustainability Focus

Textile Exchange Conference in Lisbon on Supply Chain Sustainability

The Textile Exchange Conference gathered over 1,600 attendees and featured 70 speakers across various sectors.

Key Takeaways:

Production Focus: Shifting from preferred materials to production systems promotes circular practices.

Impact Data Importance:Accessible, high-quality data is essential for measurable change.

Collaboration: Shared investment and communication within the supply chain drive progress.

Economic and Environmental Alignment: Growth should prioritize higher-value products and circular models over volume.

Standards for Accountability: Relevant standards and outcome measurement are crucial for continuous improvement.

Trends and Innovation at Kingpins Amsterdam 2025

Explore the highlights of Kingpins Amsterdam 2025, where heritage craftsmanship fused with groundbreaking innovation in denim. From 3D archives to sustainability spotlights and standout street style, discover how the event shaped the future of fashion.

Mytheresa extends resale partnership with Vestiaire Collective

Mytheresa is further expanding its collaboration with Vestiaire Collective, launched in 2021. The Munich-based luxury platform and the French luxury second-hand marketplace will also offer a menswear resale service in future.

How an Oregon ranch wife became a global force in sustainable fashion

HOOD RIVER — This land is a miracle — an eternal source of life that binds us together. For Jeanne Carver, Pacific Northwest ranch wife turned sustainable, all-American retail titan, its health is at the heart of everything she practices. “The land must win,” Carver said, attributing the guiding philosophy to her late husband, Dan. “It’s our responsibility to do everything we can while we’re still here.”

Circ and H&M Group forge path for sustainable fashion with recycled fibres

Textile-to-textile recycler Circ has entered into a partnership with H&M Group, marking the first instance where the Swedish fashion brand will incorporate regenerated fibres from polycotton waste into its product line.

Technology’s impact on sustainable fashion leads discussions at ICFS 2025

Industry leaders and scholars gathered at Wuhan Textile University (WTU) in China on 27 October to examine the influence of emerging technology on sustainable design, production, and education in the fashion industry during the third International Conference on Fashion and Sustainability (ICFS 2025).

A NEW SUSTAINABLE FASHION INITIATIVE IS SET TO ARRIVE IN DOHA IN NOVEMBER

Bringing eco-conscious creativity to life through immersive exhibitions, masterclasses, and industry-led talks.

Founder Personally Affected by Scleroderma Creates Sustainable Fashion Brand Merging Style with Medical Advocacy

The scleroderma community, often overlooked by mainstream charities, finds support in Lifestyleimageshop.com. With around 300,000 Americans affected by this chronic condition, the need for research funding and public awareness is vital. Lifestyleimageshop.com turns fashion consumption into activism, enabling customers to contribute to medical research through their everyday purchases.

Nike steps into ‘mind science’ with body-aware sneaker design

Nike is expanding into “mind science” with new footwear it says is designed to deepen bodily awareness, a move regenerative footwear brand Vivobarefoot challenges, arguing the human foot is already “nature’s original smart technology.”

Mariah Carey Says “It’s Time” in Sephora’s Heartwarming Holiday Push

On social networks, reactions have been mixed. While the campaign aims to kick off the festive season with Carey’s signature charm, many viewers found it tone-deaf amid rising prices and economic strain. Critics called out the ad’s use of AI imagery and its disconnect from workers’ realities, seeing it as an out-of-touch celebration of consumerism at a time when affordability and authenticity feel more urgent than sparkle.

Leave a comment

Vera

Subscribe now

Thanks for reading Sustainability Pulse Newsletter! This post is public so feel free to share it.

The third kind of leather

Vera Lovici — Tue, 28 Oct 2025 16:19:27 GMT

I met Katherine Brakora, Business Development, Product Management at Hydefy, one morning at Devoción near Flatiron, where she unfolded square samples of their latest material across the table. The light caught a surface that looked, felt, and even sounded like hide: soft, tensile, faintly matte.

But this wasn’t leather. It was grown through fermentation, a biomaterial built from a Yellowstone-discovered microbe that Hydefy claims forms the base of a new leather category.

“Our goal isn’t to replace leather,” Katherine said, “but to expand what’s possible.”

Hydefy sits conceptually between nature and science, between the animal and the algorithm. Traditional leather comes from hide; “pleather” from petroleum. This belongs to a third lineage: life engineered from biology.

In a landscape flooded with sustainable claims, I arrived ready to play devil’s advocate. The past decade has spun a carousel of miracle materials: Piñatex from pineapple leaves, Desserto from cactus, AppleSkin from fruit waste, Mylo from mushroom mycelium, and orange-peel fabrics hailed by luxury houses like Hermès and Salvatore Ferragamo. All promised to end reliance on animals and oil. Few withstood scrutiny.

Take Ami Amalia, a Romanian knitwear brand I admire. Founder Amalia Saftoiu recently exposed a yarn touted as “made from orange peel.” Her tests mainly revealed cellulose with trace citrus, coated in synthetics, and hard to maintain. “The feel on the skin is artificial,” she wrote, “and I can’t ask customers to pay for a yarn I don’t believe in.”

It’s rare, refreshing honesty-the transparency sustainability marketing often dodges.

So when Hydefy shared their data sheet, I scrutinized it. In-house and third-party lab tests show a material that matches or beats leather across key metrics:

- Flex resistance: 200,000 cycles (vs. leather’s 100,000)
- Tear strength: 60N (vs. 50N)
- Tensile strength: 10–12 N/mm² (comparable to leather)
- Abrasion resistance: GSR 3.5 at 25,000 cycles @ 12 kPa
- Light fastness: > BWS 5 (vs. 4)

The material is 86% renewable carbon (verified by certified carbon dating) and built in three layers: an optional textile backing, a microbial base blended with nature-derived polymers, and a topcoat for durability.

Pressed on whether the coating includes polyurethane or acrylic binders, the synthetics lurking in most “eco-leathers”- Hydefy described it as a nature-derived polymer blend. Not full chemical disclosure, but more promising than typical PU finishes.

They’re at pilot scale, partnering with select brands (including Stella McCartney for a debut luxury handbag in Spring 2025) for capsule launches before scaling to millions of square feet. The vision: a post-industrially recyclable material, with plans for post-consumer recovery loops.

Technically, Hydefy stands among the few biomaterials that shine in the lab. But sustainability demands more: durability paired with transparency, performance backed by end-of-life accountability. “Biobased” and “vegan” no longer suffice. Measurable honesty does- and it’s the metric that could redefine the industry.

To see how Hydefy stacks up, consider this quick comparison of key alternatives. While many rely on plant waste and coatings that dilute their eco-claims, Hydefy’s microbial fermentation yields superior durability and lower emissions without fossil fuels:

Sources for comparisons include lab benchmarks from IDTechEx reports and brand disclosures.

I left the café thinking less about leather and more about language, how easily it stretches into the softest surface. Amid orange-peel T-shirts and cactus handbags, Hydefy might be onto something real.

The true revolution? Not in what we grow, but in what we’re willing to admit.

What unvarnished truths will your next material choice reveal?

Leave a comment

Vera

My writing is supported entirely by paid subscriptions- there are no ads, paid placements, or sponsored content here. It’s all powered by you, the reader.

Thanks for reading Sustainability Pulse Newsletter! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Subscribe now

A Patagonia-Inspired Morning in Soho

Vera Lovici — Thu, 23 Oct 2025 18:02:04 GMT

If you’re in New York this week, here’s something worth waking up early for.

Breakfast Club: Business Unusual Leadership is a gathering inspired by Yvon Chouinard, the founder of Patagonia — the man who taught us that business can serve both people and the planet. The event dives into his book Let My People Go Surfing, exploring purpose-driven leadership in a changing world.

🗓 Friday, October 31st, 9:00–10:30 AM

📍 Patagonia Soho, 61–63 Crosby Street

☕️ Coffee by Counter Culture (bring your own mug!)

Hosted by Pauline Leung, a mindfulness and leadership coach with nearly two decades of experience, it’s a beautiful space for reflection, connection, and inspiration.

👉 RSVP here

A little reminder that business - and life- can always be done differently.

—

Vera

Sustainability Pulse

Sustainability Pulse #122

Vera Lovici — Mon, 20 Oct 2025 15:01:40 GMT

Lately, it feels like sustainable fashion is having one of those “two steps forward, one step back” moments.

Between Shein’s supposed reform, France’s new environmental labelling, and students figuring out how to dress consciously on a budget, there’s progress - just not the neat kind.

I’ve pulled together the stories that caught my eye this week: from Kenyan designers turning waste into beauty to the quiet strength of wool growers in Australia.

The bigger picture? We’re still somewhere between real change and excellent PR, but at least the conversation’s alive.

Sustainable fashion on a student budget

After a summer of experimenting, Zainab Miah takes you through her findings of how to make personal fashion sustainable

SUSTAINABLE FASHION AND EUROPEAN LEGISLATION: AN EXHIBITION AT THE HEART OF TEXTILE ISSUES

At a time when the European Parliament is examining the issue of textile waste recycling, and in parallel with Paris Fashion Week, Europa Expérience Paris is offering a temporary exhibition dedicated to sustainability issues in the textile industry. Visit Europa Expérience from October 1 to 31 at 28 place de la Madeleine.

Shein begins governance overhaul as fines mount

Fast-fashion giant Shein is facing a pivotal moment in its meteoric rise, as mounting regulatory fines across Europe force the company to tighten its internal controls and rethink how it operates on a global scale.

TOMS taps former Crocs digital commerce lead as new CEO

Los Angeles-based footwear brand TOMS has appointed Jessica Alsing as its new Chief Executive Officer, effective from 8 October.

Consumer insights: How early Christmas shoppers ‘save £120 on average’

Christmas shoppers who start early typically believe they save £120 by making their purchases before mid-December, a new survey indicates.

Source Fashion to spotlight sustainable fashion with Redress catwalk partnership

Source Fashion has announced it is partnering with Redress as the headline catwalk partner for its return to Olympia London from 13-15 January 2026, putting the focus firmly on pioneering designers reshaping fashion through sustainable design.

NSW has a new fashion sector strategy – but a sustainable industry needs a federally legislated response

The New South Wales government recently announced the launch of the NSW Fashion Sector Strategy, 2025–28. The strategy, developed in partnership with the Australian Fashion Council, TAFE NSW, University of Technology Sydney and the Powerhouse Museum, promises to “accelerate NSW’s position as a global leader in high-quality, innovative and inclusive fashion”.

Fashion is missing its clearest decarbonisation win

A new report from Fashion Revolution argues that brands are failing to adopt crucial clean heat technologies that could slash emissions and protect workers.

France officializes textile environmental labelling

France has officially launched textile environmental labelling, a significant economic challenge for the sector.

Fashionphile expands to the UK with acquisition of Luxe Collective

Luxury re-commerce brand Fashionphile has entered the UK market through the acquisition of the intellectual property, customer database, and social media channels of Luxe Collective, a former UK-based luxury resale marketplace

From waste to runway: Kenyan designers transform used clothes into art

In a dusty alley in the heart of Kenya’s largest open-air market, fashion models strut down a makeshift runway in bold, upcycled outfits made from waste collected at dumpsites and market cast-offs- proof that even trash can dazzle.

Indian textile exporters turn to Europe, offer discounts to offset US tariffs

Indian textile exporters are seeking new buyers in Europe and offering discounts to existing US customers to cushion the blow from steep US tariffs of as much as 50%, industry executives said. President Donald Trump doubled tariffs in August on Indian imports, placing them among the highest for any trading partner, and affecting goods and produce ranging from garments and jewellery to shrimp.

Portuguese textile exports prove resilient in the face of US-imposed tariffs

Portuguese textile exports are withstanding the impact of the tariffs imposed by the United States, demonstrating the ability to remain focused on the most important markets and that they are “falling only marginally”, Ricardo Silva, CEO of Tintex Textiles and the new president of the Textile and Clothing Association of Portugal (ATP), told Jornal Económico.

Tod’s founder warns ‘Made in Italy’ reputation at risk from supply chain probes

Diego Della Valle, founder and chairman of the Italian luxury group Tod’s, said on Friday that investigations into Italy’s fashion supply chain risk damaging the country’s global reputation for top brands and quality products. Italian prosecutors are seeking to place the shoemaker under judicial administration over alleged labour abuses among its suppliers.

B-logic: five companies explore the future of sustainable denim

Circulose, iTextiles, Labor Made, Neela, and The Lycra Company will unveil a centenary-inspired denim collection reinterpreted through the lens of sustainable fashion at the Kingpins trade show in Amsterdam on October 15 and 16.

ChatGPT’s Instant Checkout: a new era for AI-powered shopping?

By launching its integrated Instant Checkout payment tool in the United States, ChatGPT (OpenAI) now allows users to purchase products directly within its platform. The move marks a significant milestone in how generative AI can reshape online shopping and challenge traditional search-engine-driven commerce models.

Is the Fashion Industry in a ‘Sustainability Retreat’ Or Not?

Cascale’s annual meeting began last month in Hong Kong with an energetic drum performance, but it also revealed significant disagreements reflecting tensions in the global apparel industry.

“I know morale is low,” said Isabelle Kumar, the former Euronews evening news anchor and emcee for the two-day conference. “It seems that our hard-earned progress is unraveling as a new political reality takes hold. Many of you may feel disempowered, demoralized, or even desperate.”

What sustainable fashion can learn from Dr Jane Goodall

Dr Jane Goodall dedicated her life to studying chimpanzees in the wild. A week before she passed away, the zoologist and primatologist spoke to Vogue Business about legacy and the message she wants to be remembered for.

Kalpona Akter: Why are garment workers still denied dignified jobs?

Former child labourer Akter has dedicated her life to helping Bangladeshi garment workers use their voices for change. This is her blueprint for a better industry.

eBay launches exclusive auction of pre-loved designer looks from SS26 runways

Designers such as Erdem, Moschino and Eckhaus Latta partnered with eBay for their SS26 runway shows to showcase pre-loved items from eBay and from their own archives.

In My View by Eric Musgrave: Laying down the law

You have to admire the optimism of the young. I recently enjoyed a Zoom call with a friend’s 17-year-old daughter who had to write an essay about sustainability in fashion. Young Lottie was of the opinion that everything was going in the right direction because she and her friends (all privately-educated, I should add) hardly bought any new clothes, preferring to shop for “vintage” and “pre-loved” on Vinted and the like.

Rowntree reiterates wool is hot as sustainable fashion

Television personality, wool ambassador and honourary Hilltops local, Catriona Rowntree urged wool growers to not lose faith under the weight of drought and low prices as the Merino wool was not “hot” as sustainable fashion.

Six forward-thinking US brands are reshaping fashion through innovation, ethics, and sustainability.
From seaweed-based fabrics to advanced textile recycling, they prove that fashion can be circular, responsible, and stylish.
Each initiative highlights how mindful design and material innovation can reduce waste while inspiring consumers to make planet-positive choices.

Leave a comment

Vera

Thanks for reading Sustainability Pulse Newsletter! This post is public so feel free to share it.

The collection that united the fashion world - in disbelief

Vera Lovici — Wed, 08 Oct 2025 20:18:23 GMT

If fashion is meant to make us feel, this one made us want to look away.

When Duran Lantink announced ahead of his debut for Jean Paul Gaultier that he was “not entering the archive,” it sounded like a bold manifesto.

A break from nostalgia. A step toward the new.

But when the collection appeared on the runway, digitally printed bodysuits depicting naked torsos, complete with body hair, nipples, and exaggerated genitals, it didn’t feel like a rebellion.

It felt like a rejection.

One male model wore a black belt over a skin-toned bodysuit that mimicked pubic hair. Another female model’s skirt lifted like a lampshade to reveal an anatomical print beneath.

Online, the reaction was instantaneous and strikingly unified.

“Feels like the designer dislikes women,” wrote one user on Instagram.

“How do you take a brand about making women beautiful, and turn it into this?”

For once, the internet seemed to agree: no one liked it.

Jean Paul Gaultier built his empire on contradiction, but always with love. His work celebrated the seductiveness of women, the playfulness of identity, and the freedom of self-expression.

Even when he blurred gender lines or challenged ideals, he never humiliated the body. He exalted it.

This collection did the opposite.

Women are shamed daily for the most natural thing in the world, body hair. We’re told to wax, shave, laser, exfoliate, repeat, because smoothness equals femininity, apparently. And now, after decades of that conditioning, a luxury fashion house decides to “liberate” us by printing exaggerated, hyper-realistic body hair on sheer bodysuits? It’s almost comedic in its tone-deafness. You couldn’t script a better satire of how fashion can miss the point entirely.

There’s a fine line between challenging convention and making clothes that feel degrading to wear, and you can tell when a man drew that line.

As one viral TikTok comment put it,

“Who approved this? It’s insane.”

Provocation has always been part of Gaultier’s DNA, but it was never empty. His most daring designs, the cone bras, corsetry, sailor stripes, carried impeccable structure and meaning. They provoked through precision.

Duran Lantink’s debut, titled Junior, seemed to chase shock over substance. The construction was uneven, the message unclear.

Even Vogue Business called it “a dose of poison against nostalgia.”

And The Business of Fashion noted the tension between “rebellion and coherence.”

The show looked like a performance piece that confused discomfort for depth.

What would Gaultier think?

It’s hard not to imagine Jean Paul himself watching this from the sidelines.

The man who made women feel powerful, whose shows celebrated drag, diversity, and age long before the industry caught up.

Above all, Gaultier made women beautiful.

He celebrated seduction as art.

This new chapter felt like the opposite, a parody of provocation, not its evolution.

It’s almost comically bad, not because it shocks, but because it mistakes exposure for empowerment.

The fashion world rarely agrees on anything. But this time, it did.

Designers, editors, and fans across platforms voiced the same sentiment:

This wasn’t just controversial; it was careless.

“Please respect the body, respect the clothes, respect the fashion.”

“WTF are you doing to legends?” wrote one commenter.

I’ll always respect risk.

Fashion should evolve. But provocation without empathy, without craftsmanship or purpose, isn’t evolution.

It’s noise.

Until the next season, may the archive rest, and rise again with grace. ✂️

Leave a comment

Vera

Sustainability Pulse #121

Vera Lovici — Wed, 01 Oct 2025 14:16:47 GMT

Every week, fashion provides us with evidence that the old adage of “make more, sell more” is losing its momentum.

From Peru’s rising wave of sustainable designers to Taiwan’s banana-fibre textiles and London streets turned into runways for greener futures, the movement is louder and more inventive than ever.

Of course, not all experiments land - sometimes “sustainable” solutions backfire, and resale platforms risk becoming just another shopping fix. But that’s the messy reality of transformation: progress is never a straight line. What matters is that creativity, science, and culture are converging in ways we couldn’t have imagined even a decade ago, such as growing clothes in gardens, turning CO₂ into bras, and integrating repair into fashion’s DNA.

This is a pivotal moment: the cracks in the old system are undeniable, but so are the sparks of possibility.

If fashion can lean into innovation without losing its soul, it may finally prove that beauty and responsibility can share the same runway.

Meet some of the names behind the new wave of sustainable Peruvian fashion

Machu Picchu as a symbol of ancestral heritage, a cuisine recognised among the best in the world, and the natural richness of the Amazon and the Andes have projected Peru onto the world stage. Now, the country seeks to position itself in a new arena: sustainable fashion.

How mending clothes became cool (again)

Using colourful stitches and contrasting threads, ‘visible mending’ is a creative and liberating approach to repairing that’s easy to DIY

Electrolux x Whitehouse Institute Team Up to Power Sustainable Fashion’s Next Wave

Electrolux has partnered with Whitehouse Institute of Design, Australia, to integrate fabric care education into fashion curriculum, addressing the industry’s waste crisis by teaching designers to create garments built for longevity.

Kering Deputy CEO tipped to replace Gucci boss of less than a year

The move, reported first by WWD, would see Kering Deputy Chief Executive Bellettini replace Stefano Cantino, who is expected to leave the role after less than a year, a sign of just how urgent Gucci’s turnaround has become.

Call to put town and city centres ‘at the heart of economic decision making’

A trade association has called for the next Scottish government to put town and city centres and retail destinations at the “heart of economic decision making”.

When ‘sustainable’ fashion backfires on the environment

In fashion, this means going well beyond traditional repair habits and embracing secondhand shopping. It entails innovations such as clothing rental platforms, fibre-to-fibre recycling, and AI tools that cut waste in supply chains and sort textiles for recycling.

This sounds like a win-win: less waste, fewer raw materials used, and a smaller environmental footprint. However, in fact, these innovations could ultimately make things worse.

U.N. Fashion and Lifestyle Network Talks Global Circularity

The fashion industry produces 92 million tons of textile waste annually.

British Council Hosts Sustainable Fashion and Textile Symposium to Address Climate Challenges through Creativity and Collaboration

The British Council brought together designers, makers, policymakers, and sustainability experts for the Sustainable Fashion and Textile Symposium held from 19–21 September at Alhamra Arts Centre, Lahore.

Fullstride Ventures introduces the carboncup™, a sustainable foam bra cup that delivers the same comfort, breathability, and durability as those made from conventional materials
The high-performance foam is produced using Borealis’ polymer, which is derived from Infinium’s eNaphtha—a low-carbon feedstock made using captured carbon dioxide (CO₂) that would otherwise be released into the atmosphere
The innovation represents a significant step forward for circularity in intimate apparel

The Sustainable Fashion Revolution: Materials Science and Ethical Consumerism Drive a $22.8 Billion Investment Opportunity by 2034

At the heart of this transformation lies a reimagining of fabric itself. Organic cotton and hemp, long staples of eco-conscious brands, now account for a significant share of the market.. However, the next frontier lies in bio-based and biodegradable materials.

Hong Kong PolyU project to advance sustainable fashion

Project aims to create an AI-based model for sustainable fashion that can be replicated across the industry

Taiwan turns banana plant waste into sustainable textiles

Entrepreneurs in Taiwan believe they’ve found the secret to sustainable fashion - an all-natural textile produced from bananas.

Watch Video

Depop made sustainable shopping consumerist

The resale app reveals the tensions between trends and conscious consumption.

Inside a Garden Where Clothes Are Grown, Not Made

MetroTV, Fast fashion meets sustainable innovation at Kew Gardens! Step inside the breathtaking Temperate House and explore the Material World festival , a powerful and hopeful exhibition that rethinks how we create, wear, and discardclothing. From textiles dyed with natural plants to outfits made from pineapple, seaweed, and even mushrooms, designers are pushing the boundaries of what’s possible in sustainable fashion. Discover how art, nature, and style come together in stunning installations like Global Threads by Lottie Delemain and a monumental textile sculpture by artist-environmentalist Nnenna Okore.

Watch Video

I’m All For Second Hand September and Pre-Loved - But Is Fast Fashion Hijacking the Moment and Movement?

The Green Gap, our sustainability column from Lucy Siegle, is back - this month, reflecting on the magic of genuine pre-loved clothing.

Continuiti x CHRIS NICK: A Collaboration In Sustainable Fashion And Luxury

Now, a year since opening its doors to the public, Continuiti shows that clothing rentals aren’t just practical and eco-friendly—they’re effortlessly stylish.

Camden High Street turns sustainable fashion runway

With the street free of traffic, the event showcased how pedestrianisation can support local culture, bring communities together, and contribute to a cleaner, greener Camden.

Founder of iconic buy-sell-trade store, Buffalo Exchange, dies at age 83

Buffalo Exchange, the iconic, original buy-sell-trade store that got its start in 1974 in Tucson, Arizona, announced yesterday on its social media accounts that the company’s visionary founder, Kerstin Block, has died. They wrote that Block “leaves behind an incredible legacy of sustainable style, individuality, and empowerment that continues to guide Buffalo Exchange today.”

Does this new label mark the rise of slow, conscious fashion?

For decades, Safia Minney’s brand People Tree was at the forefront of sustainable fashion. Now, after stepping down as CEO in 2015, she’s founded a new brand, Indilisi, to try and fight an industry that is causing 92 million tonnes of waste.She tells Caroline Garland more

How an engineering student turned red Solo cups into stylish sweaters: ‘A lot of trial and error’

Lauren Choi wanted to give plastic a second life. Her experiment turned into The New Norm, a sustainable textile startup

Why I’ve given up on fashion and why we need to build a new earth-centric culture

and why we need to build a new earth-centric culture, by Zoe Gilbertson

Why throw away clothes? You could go to a repair cafe to get them fixed instead

New research from The National Lottery Community Fund reveals a third of people in the UK have binned brand newclothes in the last year, adding 1.4 billion items to a growing mountain of clothes waste. Environment Lead John Rose says community action can play a part in tackling our throwaway culture

The Frayed Edge: Nike’s Sustainability Reset

The sportswear giant has toned down communications around its sustainability efforts, replacing its glossy annual impact report with hard-to-find data sheets. Meanwhile, Rolex is cosying up to Trump and the EU’s push to clean up fashion waste is getting real.

What we learnt at Vogue Business Fashion Futures 2025

The event, held at the Bowery Hotel in New York City, brought together industry leaders to discuss the intersection of technology and sustainability, and how it’s reshaping business.

Fashion’s Progress on Disclosing Emissions Is Stalling

Advocacy group Fashion Revolution’s second “What Fuels Fashion?” report highlighted the industry’s continued failure to disclose climate efforts, especially its blindspot in monitoring the risks of fossil-fuel based heat stress.

Debunking fashion’s sustainability myths

by Adrian Wilson

Inflated statistics capture attention but also distort the conversation and risk undermining serious solutions, says analyst Lutz Walter.

Key new leaders at The Lycra Company

The Lycra Company has announced two strategic leadership moves to accelerate innovation and growth.

First automated sorting line in China

Developed and manufactured by Databeyond Technology, the line integrates AI and hyperspectral imaging technologies to deliver the automated, high-precision sorting of discarded garments. The installation marks the entry of China’s textile recycling sector into the era of AI-driven sorting.

Brands must address a dependence on toxic fuels, says new report

Fashion Revolution has released the second edition of What Fuels Fashion? – an energy and decarbonisation report assessing 200 of the world’s largest fashion brands. With an estimated combined annual turnover of more than $2.7 trillion, these billion-dollar brands are among the most powerful players shaping the future of fashion’s climate.

Leave a comment

Vera

Subscribe now

Thanks for reading Sustainability Pulse Newsletter! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Sustainability Pulse #120

Vera Lovici — Fri, 19 Sep 2025 12:02:51 GMT

Every week, fashion gives us contradictions. On one hand, antimicrobial fabrics promise fewer washes, firehoses are reborn as handbags, and secondhand malls are reshaping retail. On the other hand, mountains of plastic fast fashion are burying Africa, global plastic treaty talks are collapsing, and fibre production is breaking records.

Innovation surges forward , but so does destruction.

The truth is, sustainability in fashion is never a neat success story.

For every award celebrating artisans and eco-designers, there’s a reminder that “sustainable” can backfire, or that circularity still struggles to scale. The tension is real: style and impact, ambition and accountability, business-as-usual and the desperate need for change.

This issue is a mirror of the industry itself: dazzling ideas, sobering failures, and a few radical visions worth holding onto. The question isn’t whether fashion will change. It’s how fast, how deep, and at whose expense.

Let’s get into it.

Challenging The Fashion Industry On Sustainability

Imagine lowering your water and energy use just by wearing your clothes more often. That’s the vision behind Ultifresh, a Singapore-based company using advanced antimicrobial technology to reduce the need for frequent washing. The result? Cleaner clothes, fewer washes, and a major step toward sustainable living.

Bespoke Menswear and Sustainable Tailoring With Matt Jefferson

How can bespoke tailoring balance sustainability and artistry in modern menswear?

When ‘sustainable’ fashion backfires on the environment

The circular economy – the idea of “reduce, reuse and recycle” – has long been promoted as one solution to the environmental crisis. Instead of the old “take, make, use, throw away” model, it aims to keep materials in play for as long as possible.

Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards 2025 opens nominations

Nominations for the Twyg Sustainable Fashion Awards 2025 are officially open for nominations until 3 October 2025. This year sees the introduction of the first Pan-African award category: the Merchants on Long Pan-African Artisanal Fashion Award. The awards recognise designers working at the intersection of style, sustainability, and social impact.

Kresse Wesling’s radical brand turns discarded fire hoses into sustainable fashion

Elvis & Kresse have redefined sustainable luxury, turning 315 tonnes of landfill-bound waste into handbags and belts – and it all started in Hong Kong

A Strand of Consciousness on a Piece of Clothing

The love for the Earth movement and awareness of the environmental crisis are creating a wave of sustainable fashion.

AI won’t stop the next supply chain disruption, but it can help companies plan

With the right data and tools, fashion and apparel brands can successfully mitigate pandemics, tariffs and what comes next, writes Paul F. Magel, president of Computer Generated Solutions.

Outsiders are taking over fashion companies. Are they here to stay?

Fashion companies are looking beyond their ranks to find leaders who are well versed in technology and supply chain issues.

Castore acquires Belstaff to accelerate international growth

British premium sportswear brand Castore has acquired 100% of Belstaff, the heritage fashion label, in a deal that brings together two homegrown names to accelerate international growth.

From Next to N Brown to CircKit: What brands are doing to achieve meaningful, sustainable, transformation throughout the value chain

We know what fashion’s future should look like: Sustainable, scalable, and profitable. We know that change is needed, and we know what needs to be done, but how? The practical HOW, is still proving to be a challenge. How do we make our industry more sustainable, while remaining profitable?

Vinted launches ‘RE/Style’ TV show celebrating second-hand fashion with Emma Willis

Second-hand fashion marketplace Vinted is launching a new TV series on Prime Video called ‘RE/Style’, hosted by presenter and former model Emma Willis.

How Sweden’s ‘secondhand only’ shopping mall is changing retail

As a fashion sustainability researcher, finding the ReTuna shopping mall in Eskilstuna was a delightful surprise. Stepping into this Swedish shopping centre felt refreshingly different – it is the first in the world to sell only secondhand and repurposed items.

Sustainable fashion: It's not just a technical challenge—it’s a human one, too

Attending the C2 Conference in Montreal earlier this year was a powerful reminder that the future of business lies at the crossroads of creativity, sustainability, technology and systems thinking. The focus of the event, in part, was to spark innovative conversations ranging from human-centered leadership and transformative technology—like artificial intelligence—to the role of art and design in reshaping the future of business.

What Happens Next? Your T-Shirt’s Journey Through Repair, Resale, and Recycling

When your favourite piece of clothing shows wear, it doesn't have to end up in the trash: repair, resale, and recycling offer circular alternatives to fashion's wasteful linear model. The future of fashion circularity depends on building better systems that make these sustainable pathways as convenient and accessible as throwing clothes away.

EU finally adopts EPR: Industry reacts

Extended producer responsibility, one of the European Union’s most hotly anticipated — and fiercely debated — sustainable fashion regulations, is ready to be enforced.

Why fashion needs to think about methane

While fashion has been laser-focused on carbon emissions, another greenhouse gas has been steadily rising.

Eight leading organizations focused on climate and nature impact launch the Climate and Nature Studio at Climate Week NY

Featuring talks, panels, and round table discussions on everything from preferred material production systems to decarbonization, the studio will run from Wednesday September 24 to Thursday September 25.

5 Breakthroughs Turning Fashion’s Footprint into Innovation Fuel

In this Innovation Watch, we spotlight five technologies helping fashion brands to future proof both supply chains and the industry at large.

How to give your pre-loved clothes a new life

Keep fashion in motion because nothing in your wardrobe should go to waste.

Kew Gardens launches Material World festival exploring sustainable fashion

This autumn, Kew Gardens is turning the spotlight on the fashion industry with a new festival that champions sustainability through plants, fungi and design.

Eco-Friendly Packaging and Vegan Materials Put NoStrain at the Forefront of Sustainable Fashion

NoStrain has emerged as a brand that facilitates the same change, providing feet with eco-friendly, stylish footwear. The firm has prioritized sustainability in its choice of materials and processes in all its products, targeting both men and women who prize comfort and conscience equally.

A Sustainable Fashion Guide for the “Frugal Chic” Person

Because there's nothing more chic than being sustainable.

Cost per Wear: An idea that makes you a smarter shopper forever

Open your wardrobe. Push past the shirts, the polos, the piles of clothes stacked too close together.

Ethical Fashion in Latin America: Technology and Culture to Transform the Textile Industry and Make it Greener

The platform Fundamentally, dedicated to bringing together ethical and circular brands, is now driving a project that promises to change the way environmental impact is measured and communicated in the region.

Hands On With the Most High-Tech Meta Ray-Ban Glasses Yet

The breakout eyewear’s next release comes with an internal display digitally overlaid on the wearer’s field of view that lets users read texts, watch video and get turn-by-turn navigation.

Read More (Under Paywall)

Fashion tech pioneer Federico Marchetti on building YOOX and shaping a sustainable future

The founder of YOOX NET-A-PORTER shares insights from his new memoir, his work with fashion icons, and his mission to blend luxury, technology, and sustainability.

Taiwanese Fashion Design Shines with 3D Immersive Showcase at London Fashion Week

Developed with Portal:M, a fashion-tech startup supported by the Taiwan Creative Content Agency (TAICCA) and the world’s leading garment manufacturer Makalot, highlights Taiwan’s growing influence in merging cultural creativity with technology.

Introducing Devavonne: The Fashion-Tech Brand Using AI to Personalize Style

With a focus on personalization, Devavonne empowers individuals to define and express their signature style with confidence and ease.

How fashion tech could be the coolest weapon against climate change

From laboratory innovation to wardrobe staple, smart cooling garments are reshaping how fashion confronts the climate crisis.

The clothes that never die: How fast fashion is burying Africa in plastic

Kenya imported more than 900 million items of used clothing in 2021, according to the Changing Markets Foundation. More than half were unsellable; more than a third contained synthetic fibers such as polyester and nylon, which do not biodegrade. Instead, they fragment into microplastics, laced with toxins from PFAS to phthalates, which seep into soil, water and air. These fibers can lodge in the stomachs of animals, carrying chemicals linked to cancer.

The Global Plastics Treaty talks failed, again: Industry reacts

There was a lot riding on last week’s plastics negotiations in Geneva, Switzerland, but talks fell at the final hurdle.

Material production reaches record heights — and emissions grow

Textile Exchange’s annual Materials Market report reveals ballooning global fibre production and no end in sight for the growth of fossil fuel-based synthetics.

Leave a comment

While we're at it, let's make sure these are hitting your primary inbox.

Gmail users: Move this email to your Primary Tab (drag-and-drop on Desktop, three dots on Mobile) and add me, sustainabilityp@substack.com, to your contacts.

Apple mail users: Tap on the email address at the top of this message and select "Add to VIPs."

Using Outlook, Yahoo, Hotmail, or something else? Find instructions here.

Taking a few minutes to do this will ensure you always take advantage of greatness.

P.S. Is there something on your mind… a burning question about fashion, sustainability, happiness, mindset, or consumer behavior? Reply to this email; I might answer you in an upcoming newsletter.

Vera

I really hope you're enjoying The Sustainability Pulse, my weekly newsletter looking at sustainability in the fashion industry. If you find the tips and insights useful, please share these articles to help spread the word.

My writing is supported entirely by paid subscriptions - there are no ads, paid placements, or sponsored content here.

It's all powered by you, the reader.

What the data keeps whispering...

Vera Lovici — Sun, 07 Sep 2025 13:30:52 GMT

I spend a lot of time reading headlines, industry briefings, research papers, and policy updates. Hundreds each month. Taken alone, they feel small. But stacked together, they start to hum with the same refrain.

The numbers don’t shout.

They whisper.

And what they whisper about fashion isn’t subtle at all: the system is moving faster, producing more, and wearing out sooner.

Thanks for reading Sustainability Pulse Newsletter! This post is public so feel free to share it.

The whispers of scale

“Global clothing production has doubled since 2000 while the average consumer buys 60% more clothes and keeps them half as long,” McKinsey & Company reported in its 2016 State of Fashion briefing. “It’s not a moral problem,” one McKinsey analyst told me recently. “It’s a throughput problem. More in, faster out.”

UNEP data puts a sharper edge on it: 60% of clothing today is made from synthetic fibres, essentially plastic. As Elisa Tonda, head of UNEP’s Consumption and Production Unit, warned in a 2021 press statement: “With every wash, these materials shed microfibres that escape treatment plants and end up in our rivers, lakes and oceans.”

The European Environment Agency estimates the toll: 200,000 to 500,000 tonnes of textile microplastics enter oceans each year.

Meanwhile, volume keeps climbing. According to Textile Exchange’s Preferred Fiber & Materials Market Report 2024, global fiber production hit 124 million tonnes in 2023. Polyester alone makes up more than half. “Volume is the headline,” one Textile Exchange researcher told me, “but synthetics are the subhead.”

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation translates this into a picture: “Every second, a truckload of textiles is landfilled or burned.” Less than 1% of material is recycled into new clothes.

The oxymoron we can’t shake

Earlier this summer, Down to Earth published a line that has hovered over my notes ever since: “Sustainable fashion is an oxymoron.”

The point wasn’t that better practices don’t matter. It was that scale that showed improvement. Even responsible production, multiplied by billions of garments, cannot yield sustainability.

As the EU Environment Commissioner put it, “We have to react” to the fashion industry’s outsized pressure on natural resources, truly a systems-level issue

When I track what I actually wear, not what I admire, the pattern is clear: linen wide-legs, a black silk slip, soft tees, my Romanian ie that makes any day ceremonial. These are my workhorses. The rest are decoys.

Economists call this “utilization.” I call it impact-per-wear: the footprint of a garment spread across the number of good days it delivers.

McKinsey makes the same point in a different language: “Shortening wear-life is the problem engine. If we lengthen it, we change the math.”

Why “better materials” won’t save us

Brands have raced to adopt recycled polyester, often from bottles. But as Vogue Business has reported, bottle-to-shirt recycling breaks a closed loop and still sheds microfibres.

“The uncomfortable throughline is overproduction,” said one researcher at the Ellen MacArthur Foundation when we spoke. “Recycling and design matter, but without volume reduction, they’re a band-aid.”

Even the Foundation’s own roadmaps concede this: design for recycling is necessary, but insufficient.

Beyond carbon and waste, there’s psychology. “The more we chase status and image through material goods, the less content we tend to be,” said Tim Kasser, psychologist and co-author of decades of materialism research, in a Journal of Personality and Social Psychology meta-analysis.

That resonates with my mornings. When my closet is small but right, I decide less and do more.

The numbers don’t tell us to abandon beauty. They tell us to abandon duplicates of the same story.

Here’s what I hear them whispering:

Buy less, on purpose. If you can’t picture 30 wears, don’t bring it home.
Prefer fibres that behave in life. Wash lightly, shed less.
Mend first. Spare buttons in a jar, a darning mushroom on the shelf, a tailor you know by name.
Rotate by season, not trend. Clothes that migrate across contexts earn their keep.
Exit with dignity. Resell, swap, recycle, rag. Landfill last.

As the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR) now makes clear, durability, repairability, and recyclability are no longer optional; they’re required for textiles entering the EU market. By 2030, all textile products must be durable, repairable, and recyclable.

Global Secondhand Apparel Market Growth: Market Size (Billion USD) by Year

Social media’s echo

The data tells one story, but social media amplifies it. TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube don’t just reflect trends; they accelerate them.

According to The State News, TikTok paired with fast e-commerce “caused trend cycles to speed up… things can quickly lose their sparkle once enough people have gotten ahold of it.”

We’re no longer on a bi-annual schedule. Research shows fast fashion now runs 52 trend cycles per year, a new style every week.

TikTok is the chief conductor. Micro-trends, think jelly-donut blush or “mob wife aesthetic”, flare into virality and vanish just as fast. Aquent reports that these trends, amplified through TikTok’s algorithm and dupe culture, have “created even shorter trend cycles” and driven overconsumption. 70% of ‘dupe’ shoppers are on TikTok. According to one fashion commentator, what used to take years now rises and falls in weeks or days.

This relentless churn breeds fatigue. As observed by Vault, “trends rise and deplete in the blink of an eye,” undermining personal style and authenticity. Even Vogue Business notes: as micro-trend fatigue grows, brands will need to shift toward cultural “vibes” that feel authentic rather than formulaic.

Universities have become fast-fashion catwalks. The Guardian reports that TikTok aesthetics like #RushTok drive back-to-school collections by Shein, Skims, and Asos—marketing built on campus virality.

Even sustainability-minded Gen Z shows the tension: NY Post found that despite pledges to buy sustainable, members of Gen Z still heavily shop fast-fashion due to social trends, social media influence, and budget constraints, highlighting the gap between ideals and impulse.

People behind the pieces

Fashion’s whispers aren’t just about fibers or waste, they’re about livelihoods. Around 430 million people, roughly 12% of the global workforce, depend on fashion for income. In India, textiles employ more than 35 million people, making it the country’s second-largest source of jobs after agriculture. In Bangladesh, the story is deeply gendered: 2.7 million women, more than half of the garment workforce, stitch together not just clothes but economic survival for their families. Even in the United States, fashion still supports nearly 1.9 million jobs, most in retail.

When we talk about slowing production and extending the life of garments, these are the lives in the balance. The numbers whisper not just about consumption, but about the people who cut, sew, dye, and finish our clothes.

Put the signals together: waste, carbon, microplastics, endless trend churn, millions of jobs, and the pattern is obvious: fashion runs too fast, too big, too disposable.

The data doesn’t point to slogans or silver bullets. It points to one thing: fewer pieces, worn longer.

Any vision of “sustainable fashion” that ignores them isn’t sustainable at all.

Leave a comment

Vera

Thanks for reading Sustainability Pulse Newsletter! This post is public so feel free to share it.

Sustainability Pulse Newsletter

Sustainability Pulse #132

Shein Finally Confirms Everlane Sale

Reformation Wanted to Become Climate Positive. Did It Work?

Who is Max Alexander? Meet the 10-year-old designer redefining sustainable fashion

More Sustainable Linen Dresses That Deliver On Style and Comfort

Bezos Earth Fund Bets $34M on Lab-Grown Cotton, Silk & Fibres to Greenify Fashion Sector

Selfridges weighs job cuts as part of head office restructure

The Interview: Rise & Fall founders Jed Coleman and Will Coulton on creating a new model for fashion

eBay names Trosort as Global Winner of Circular Fashion Fund 2026

Shoppers want sustainable retail, and they’re watching closely

Sewing Is Making a Comeback — And the Economy Has Something to Do With It

The Return to Long-Form: Why YouTube Is Winning Back Brands

Fast fashion fuels modern slavery

Textile Recyclers Are Back From the Brink. Now They JustNeed Customers.

Ganni acknowledges progress and outstanding goals in its 2025 responsibility report

Video: Denim professionals discuss industry dynamics and future vision

Manomama goes viral with ‘FCKAFD’ jeans

Designing a Better Future for the Textile Industry With New EU Regulation

Why Gen X may actually be more sustainable than Gen Z

Nike’s recycled World Cup uniforms reveal the limits of ‘circular’ fashion

Anti-Plastic TikToker Discusses the Toxicity of Polyester Fiber Fill Found in Pillows Certified organic materials like cotton and kapok are safer.

Textile ETP launches digital transformation roadmap for EU textiles

Nearly 70 fashion and textile orgs ask governments to support resale and repair

Greenwashing and overconsumption: the fashion industry is still a problem

How ‘everyday AI’ encourages overconsumption

Beauty & fashion tech tools: AI-driven hyper-personalization and rising data privacy litigation exposure

Fashion designers are experimenting with AI, but not everyone is a fan

Milan Fashion Week to Discourage Fur Under New Industry Guidelines

Patagonia sues drag queen Pattie Gonia for trademark infringement

7 Things to Know About Microplastics From Textiles

Anyone can subscribe for free here.

Sustainability Pulse #131

‘Trashion’ - sustainable fashion - to go on display at Galleria Dallas through partnership with architecture and design firm HKS

Quiet Luxury: How Indian Fashion Is Letting The Craft Speak For Itself

What we forget when we call it ‘sustainable fashion’

Genera Bets A.I. Can Replace The Fashion Photoshoot Industry

How AI Can Help Planners Avoid the ‘Guessing Game’and Respond to Real-Time Performance

Precision And Perfection: Why Luxury Brands Are Integrating AI Fashion Photos Into Their Creative Strategy

Could AI Drive Indigenous Knowledge Out of Fashion?

How physical AI is transforming the fashion industry

The Fashion Jobs Where AI Shines, and Where It Struggles

The Impact of War on Fashion’s Supply Chain

Exclusive: Shein Wants Brands to Use Its Supply Chain. Should They?

Churchcore has taken over Design Week In Milan, Christian symbols and spiritual aesthetics are shaping design, fashion and pop culture

What are “forever chemicals”? And what they have to do with Lululemon

Parsons’ New Exhibition Explores Intersection of Clothing, Ritual and Spiritual Practice

The spirituality of slow fashion

I have found joy reusing, recycling, and repairing clothing.

Consumer Check-In: What Shoppers Really Think About Sustainability

Armani will now let you take a piece of fashion history home with you

Why Fashion Is Still Stuck on Sustainability Double Standards

Men and Women’s Fashion Latest News 2026: Trends, Styles, and Industry Shifts

Gen Z and Millennials Are Wellness Junkies, 2016 Nostalgia Seekers and the Main Characters

Performance apparel textiles take centre stage in Frankfurt

The Netherlands Presents Its Leading Circular Textile Innovations To Europe At Techtextil

10 THINGS I’M NOT BUYING IN 2026

We Scoured Lululemon’s ‘We Made Too Much’ Section so You Don’t Have To

Sweden’s Clothing Swap Events Promote Sustainable Fashion and Reduce Waste

“Public intervention is necessary to promote more sustainable fashion,” says Gilles Lipovetsky

Sustainability Pulse #130

Slow Fashion Show recycles on the runway

Recycled Fashion is Booming, but Cotton Still Rules the Closet

Fashion’s Water Problem Is Being ‘Displaced,’ New Report Finds

Report: How Gen Z’s $1.3 Trillion Spending Power Will Reshape Beauty, Fashion, And Fitness By 2030

Outlast cooling tech gets a natural fiber upgrade

How Venture Capital Is Rewiring Fashion From The Fiber Up

‘Silky’ doesn’t mean it’s made from silk – how confusing textile language can harm the environment

BEYOND THE THREAD: HOW WE POWER THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE MANUFACTURING

Sustainable Knit Innovation: Regen-tech Fashion Showcases Tencel Wool Development At Intertextile Shanghai

Trashie Acquires Savvy Search AI to Deliver a Smarter, More Personalized Decluttering, Donation and Shopping Experience

Why slow fashion is the smarter choice for your closet

New EU rules to stop the destruction of unsold clothes and shoes

What France’s PFAS Rules Mean for Clothing Worldwide

The Rise of “Functional” Bio-Fibers: Coconut and Graphene

“Smart Cooling” Fabrics Move Beyond Mesh

“Functional AI” and the Digital Product Passport (DPP)

Agentic Shopping: AI as the New Sales Channel

Gen Z’s “Checked-Out” Pragmatism

The “Econogy” Mindset