Nike Inc

The global sportswear market is entering a slower, more demanding phase. HSBC's decision to cut Nike from Buy to Hold, slashing its price target from US$90 to US$48, has focused investor attention on a sector where modest growth, rising tariff costs and intensifying competition are making inherited scale a less reliable advantage than it once was.

The Nike case should not be treated as an isolated scandal but as a structural failing that demands structural reform. Without enforceable standards, empowered worker representation, and legal accountability, the cycle of exploitation will persist—repackaged each time with a new corporate excuse.

Major fashion brands are using greater amounts of polluting synthetic textiles, a survey of 50 global firms— representing $1 trillion in market value and spanning fast fashion, sports, luxury and supermarket own-brands — reveals greater dependence on synthetic fibres that are driving fast fashion, and use of fossil fuel industry tactics, says a report by the Changing Markets Foundation.

Fashion has some bad news for the planet. Most brands are actively “greenwashing” their emissions with none of the companies assessed reporting transparently on the terms, value invested or availability to suppliers, says a new Stand.earth report.

The Paris Agreement goal of limiting climate change to 1.5°C could well remain a mirage, says the 2024 Corporate Climate Responsibility Monitor (CCRM) which evaluated 51 of the world’s largest companies, including 5 in the fashion sector.

Renewable electricity strategies of some major brands fall woefully short and standard-setters provide limited incentives and sometimes even barriers to increase ambition, says a study by the NewClimate Institute.

The Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) has launched a Manufacturer Climate Action Program (MCAP) to help the textile industry reduce GHG emissions by 2030.

Aerogami by Nike is the all-new performance-apparel technology that increases breathability when athletes need it most.

A thorough examination of the fashion industry’s climate targets has revealed that brands are not as ambitious as their barrage of press releases and net-zero marketing campaigns would lead us to believe. The 'Synthetics Anonymous 2.0: Fashion’s persistent plastic problem' report from Changing Markets Foundation, published today, has uncovered this and more.