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TOP STORY

Circular Design / Variloom Approach

20 March 2026

6 minutes

Variloom Signals Shift from Fabric Manufacturing to Programmable Material Design in Apparel

The convergence of digital systems and textile production reflects a broader shift in how materials are conceptualised, moving from fixed processes towards programmable, adaptable design frameworks.

Textile development is increasingly shaped by digital systems that promise faster iteration, reduced waste, and new material possibilities. Within this shift, Bethany Meuleners, Apparel and Textile Design and Venture Lead at Variloom, discusses how programmable weaving alters development workflows, the limits imposed by existing apparel structures, and the broader implications for how materials are conceived, produced, and integrated into product design.

Subir Ghosh

Interview

Latest: Updates

Consumer Trends / Fashion Cycles

Representative dresses from 1923 to 1987, showing the change in hemlines over time.

From Miniskirts to Midi Lengths Fashion Keeps Returning Every Two Decades Even as Trends Fragment, Study Finds

Staff Writer

19 March 2026

Jute Fibres / Seed Crop

Jute plants cultivated for seed leave behind stems that are generally treated as agricultural waste once the seeds are removed from the plant.

Researchers Develop Machine-Based Method to Recover Textile Fibre from Jute Seed Crop Waste While Preserving Seed Yield

Staff Writer

17 March 2026

Evidence, Assumptions and Uncertainty Shape California’s Textile EPR Debate

Subir Ghosh

19 March 2026

California Act / USAgain View / II Interview

Textile recovery debates increasingly revolve around infrastructure rather than technology, highlighting how logistics, regulation and market access shape the circular economy’s real operating limits.

California’s Textile EPR Ambition Hinges on Infrastructure and Local Regulation

Subir Ghosh

18 March 2026

CIRCULARITY / RECYCLING / SECONDS / WASTE

The distance between a garment's point of sale and its eventual disposal has, until now, been a space entirely free of producer obligation—a gap this legislation formally closes.

California Made Producers Responsible; Now Someone Has to Make It Work

Each year, Californians discard approximately 1.2 million tonnes of textiles, costing local governments an estimated $99 million in landfill fees. A new state law, SB 707, shifts that cost directly to producers through a mandatory extended producer responsibility framework—the first of its kind for apparel in the United States. Research from USAgain and Cascadia Consulting Group examines what it will take to make the system function.

Subir Ghosh 17 March 2026

India's textile recycling opportunity is real, but reaching it requires more than market projections — it demands a fundamental rethinking of how waste moves through an enormous, fragmented industrial system.

India Wants to Lead Circular Fashion but the Infrastructure Isn't Ready

Subir Ghosh

Report

16 March 2026

Recycling at industrial scale carries environmental costs that certification frameworks do not always reach—particularly when residue management remains informal and largely invisible to regulators.

Panipat Recycles the World's Clothes but Not Its Pollution, Contends Ground Report

Richa Bansal

Report

5 March 2026

Wool production across the Nordic countries generates significant raw material every year—yet the systems needed to capture, process and sell that material remain structurally incomplete, leaving substantial economic value unrealised.

4 Countries, A Failing System and 2,400 Wasted Tonnes of Wool; But Nordics Still Import

Subir Ghosh

Analysis

25 February 2026

Global trade in secondhand clothing has expanded sharply over three decades, exposing weaknesses in customs classification and raising new questions about how reuse and waste are distinguished at the border.

Secondhand Clothing Boom Now Faces a Regulatory Reckoning, Sorting Standards Needed

Subir Ghosh

Commentary

16 February 2026

FLASHPOINT: CLIMATE

Decarbonisation / AII Benchmark

Lack of Clear Energy Performance Standards Slows Fashion Decarbonisation, New Industry Benchmark Framework Indicates

Staff Writer

Update

13 March 2026

The Apparel Impact Institute (AII) has launched the Energy and Carbon Benchmark, a new tool designed to measure energy use and emissions across textile manufacturing processes. Developed with industry partners, it establishes process-level metrics to compare facilities, track performance over time, and guide collective decarbonisation efforts across the global fashion supply chain.

China Trends / Growth Story

Urban households generated substantially higher carbon emissions than rural households due to significantly higher clothing consumption levels.

Household Demand and Exports Drove Most of China’s Textile Emissions Growth, New Sector Analysis Finds

Staff Writer

Update

3 March 2026

China’s textile and apparel industry emissions were driven largely by household consumption and exports between 2000 and 2018, according to new modelling research. The study found that integrating renewable energy adoption with expanded clothing recycling could curb long-term emissions growth across interconnected supply chains while supporting continued industrial development.

COLUMNS

Suketu Shah

Beyond the Blue Thread: India’s Expanding Footprint in the Global Denim Economy

Subir Ghosh

Fashion Industry's Climate Reporting Has Outrun Its Actual Emissions Progress

Vasan Suri

IILF 2026 Exposes Gap Between Boardroom Sustainability and Tannery Floor Reality

KD Sharma

From Fibre Innovation to System Readiness: What It Really Takes to Scale Sustainable Materials

EXCLUSIVES

Consumer complaints in Denmark prompted scrutiny of how fashion companies frame sustainability in marketing and public communication.

First Person: How a Danish Researcher Forced Fashion to Confront Its Greenwashing Compulsion

Subir Ghosh

Interview

6 November 2025

The 3rd Saudi Fashiontex Expo in Jeddah reflected the Kingdom’s growing ambitions to position itself as a serious regional hub for fashion, textiles, and creative innovation.

Saudi Arabia’s Growing Fashion Ecosystem Anchors a Sustainable Industry Future

Subir Ghosh

Interview

17 October 2025

The 2025 Cotton Rankings highlight the widening gap between sustainability claims and real sourcing practices, with only 17 brands sourcing more than half of their cotton from certified suppliers.

Cotton Supply Chain Faces Crisis as Farmers Get Marginalised and Certification Loses Impact

Subir Ghosh

Interview

23 September 2025

Introducing new high-value crops brings strong agronomic and environmental benefits for farmers, creating opportunities that extend across marginalised communes and less-resourced agricultural communities.

Europe’s Bioeconomy at a Crossroads as Valbiom Pushes for Scalable Hemp and Bio-Based Materials

Subir Ghosh

Interview

17 September 2025

FOCUS: COTTON

Microscopic analysis of mulberry silk fibres indicates that their distinctive performance characteristics stem from a unique natural architecture combining triangular cross-sections and smooth protein surfaces.

Mulberry Silk’s Triangular Fibre Structure Produces Its Signature Soft Lustre and Optical Glow, Scientific Report Shows

A scientific report has examined the microscopic structure and physicochemical properties of mulberry silk, explaining why the fibre displays distinctive lustre, smoothness and skin compatibility. Using microscopy and biomedical research, the analysis describes how silk’s natural microstructure influences optical reflection, friction behaviour, moisture absorption and potential applications in textiles, beauty and biomedical materials.

Staff Writer 13 March 2026

The study used purified cotton pulp produced from recycled textile waste and compared it with conventional virgin wood pulp used in industrial viscose production.

Recycled Cotton Waste Could Replace Wood Pulp in Viscose Production, Study Examines Feasibility of Fibre-to-Fibre Route

Staff Writer

11 March 2026

The Sediment Record That Challenges a Century of Green Assumptions on Natural Fibres

Special Correspondent

Report

9 March 2026

The updated GOTS framework will be implemented through a defined transition period before becoming mandatory for certified entities.

GOTS Version 8.0 Introduces Stronger Due Diligence, Governance and Chemical Controls Across Organic Textile Supply Chains

Staff Writer

9 March 2026

The gap between what a garment label declares and what its fibres can confirm has widened for years, outpacing the regulatory frameworks designed to close it.

End of Green Claims in Sight: Fashion Has Been Telling Stories That Science Can Now Fact-Check

Subir Ghosh

Feature

3 March 2026

SPOTLIGHT ARTICLES: MOST READ

1. The debate over defining textile waste has become central to discussions on global circularity, with stakeholders warning of serious repercussions for developing economies.

How UNEP’s Used Textile Guidelines Risk Destroying What They Claim to Save

Subir Ghosh

Analysis

10 November 2025

Kenya’s mitumba markets form a vital reuse network where millions depend on the trade of secondhand clothing, turning global textile surplus into livelihoods and affordable apparel.

UNEP’s Textile Waste Guidelines Draw Scrutiny from Kenya’s Secondhand Clothing Sector

Subir Ghosh

Interview

11 November 2025

The Addis Ababa chapter of ASFW brings together exhibitors from over seventy countries, reinforcing its position as Africa’s largest sourcing platform.

ASFW Shows How Africa Is Moving From Sourcing Margins to Global Manufacturing Mainstream

Subir Ghosh

Interview

28 October 2025

Ethiopia’s textile workforce is expanding, supported by new training programmes designed to enhance productivity and quality standards across factories.

Building Skills, Compliance, and Confidence in Ethiopia’s Growing Textile Industry

Subir Ghosh

Interview

29 October 2025

SPOTLIGHT EDITIONS: SELECT 4

New Trade Disorder 7 Apr 2025

Welcome to a New World Trade Order. US President Donald Trump has walked his talk — the promise made during his election campaigns. Trade pundits failed to read the obvious, failed to prepare for what should have been expected and the reeling from the ‘shock and awe’ is as chaotic as it was during Covid. From a baseline 10% to a steep hike going up to as much as 49% (Cambodia and Lesotho), the tiz in the supply chains will continue to roil as the textile-fashion-footwear industry recalibrates to the new ch

Trump Tariffs and the Global Textiles & Fashion Industry

Cotton for Good 2024 7 Oct 2024

One Crop, One Fibre, Many Stories

The Blue Streak 25 Nov 2024

Designing Denim the Fashionable and Sustainable Way

Recycling Crisis 2 Jun 2025

The Recycling Crisis: Industry Barriers and Solutions

Highlights: Sea Change

Plastic pollution kills over 1 million marine animals every year. The Seaqual transformation process reduces:37% CO2 emissions, 34% water consumption, and 40% energy use even as it empowers communities with better incomes and safer working conditions.

Why Collecting Ocean Waste Required Building Factories, Not Just Funding Beach Cleanups

Special Correspondent

Feature

24 November 2025

A shift towards on-demand production and transparency is challenging wasteful practices, placing accountability at the centre of textile creation and redefining how brands approach sustainability.

Byborre’s Radical Textile Model Merges Craft, Digital Innovation and Accountability

Subir Ghosh

Interview

6 October 2025

Beyond product creation, Makers Unite runs programmes that support newcomers in education, entrepreneurship and employment, helping them take the next step in their professional journeys.

How Storytelling and Repurposing Can Drive Systemic Change in Global Fashion

Subir Ghosh

Interview

2 September 2025

This visualises the process flow: Starting with textile waste, CircularFabrics recovers nylon in the form of powder from the textile matrix. The powder is then transformed into pellets which can be used to spin yarns, for example. .

How CircularFabrics is Redefining Nylon Recycling Through Low-Impact Chemistry

Subir Ghosh

Interview

30 June 2025

"Quote Unquote"

Julie Cerenzia

Director

Cascadia Consulting Group

The overall systems change will be shaped by many complex, inter-related systems dynamics. Municipal regulatory variability was a very salient risk factor for California textile collectors. It is also relatively straightforward to address, particularly if recognized early by municipal policymakers, and the availability of model ordinances helps make this a good area for communities to take early action.

MORE: Evidence, Assumptions and Uncertainty Shape California’s Textile EPR Debate

"Quote Unquote"

Manmohan Singh

Chief Marketing Officer

Birla Cellulose

By creating a consistent, uniform blend at the fibre stage rather than the fabric stage. This engineering ensures smooth processing and retains the softness, strength, and premium hand-feel of traditional MMCFs, even with up to 50% recycled content.

MORE: A New 'Circular' Fibre Launch Redraws How Fashion Handles Its Material Waste

FOCUS: LEATHER

The fair's expansion into newly constructed exhibition halls at Chennai Trade Centre failed to address fundamental organisational issues, with similar product categories scattered across disparate locations forcing extended navigation.

IILF 2026 Exposes Gap Between Boardroom Sustainability and Tannery Floor Reality

Chennai's IILF 2026 exposed contradictions shaping India's leather industry: innovative chemical systems alongside organisational failures, Trump tariffs suppressing demand yet prices holding firm, and sustainability frameworks that never reach tannery workers. The 'Leather Carnival' demonstrated both the sector's professionalisation and its struggle to reconcile traditional identity with market realities.

Vasan Suri 11 February 2026