It ain't fashion, if it ain't sustainable

Columbia Sportswear Company

Cotton Crisis / 2023 Rankings

13 June 2023

4 minutes

This is not the first time that Solidaridad and PAN UK have released cotton rankings. Brands and retailers, by virtue of these Rankings, knew where they stood as far as cotton was concerned, and so did the world. They had all the time to make course corrections. What is astounding, therefore, is that in spite of all the resources at their disposal—financial, material and logistical—and all that chest-thumping and deafening rhetoric, brands still cut a sorry figure.

Almost 90% of Top Retailers and Brands Still Unsustainable, Not Transparent on Cotton

Jargon-laden and flowery sustainability reports by a majority of top brands and retailers would come across as a heap of gobbledygook if their actual performance is taken into account. Well, certainly for the cotton sector. As many as 89% are still non-transparent, unsustainable and show little progress towards improving labour conditions, says the 2023 Cotton Ranking just published by Solidaridad Europe and the Pesticide Action Network UK (PAN UK).

Subir Ghosh

Report

Central America / Investments

7 February 2023

3 minutes

Guatemalan fabrics displayed at a market. The new round of investments aim to help address the root causes of migration by creating economic opportunity in Northern Central America, including Guatemala.

US Companies Generate $585 million for Fashion-Textiles Industry in Northern Central America

A total of $585 million have been committed by four US companies to the textiles and fashion industry in Northern Central America as part of the ‘Call to Action’ initiative of the US administration and the Partnership for Central America to combat root causes of migration.