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

PT Kahatex

Dirty Cotton / Brazil Scandal

11 April 2024

5 minutes

The climate impact has been enormous: clearing Cerrado vegetation for agricultural production generates as much carbon per year as the annual emissions of 50 million cars.

H&M and Zara Linked to Deforestation, Rights Abuses and Land-Grab; Asian Suppliers Sourcing Dirty Cotton from Brazil with Better Cotton Label

UK nonprofit Earthsight’s investigations reveal nearly a million tonnes of tainted cotton from some of the most notorious estates in Brazil to clothing manufacturers in Asia, and being supplied to fast fashion behemoths H&M and Zara.

By

Subir Ghosh

Report

Young India Fashion Survey 2025

Textile Recycling Expo

ITF Intertex Portugal 2025

Most Popular

Tariffs and Seconds / SMART View Interview

If unfair trade barriers persist, there's the risk of seeing mountains of usable clothing pile up in the US, while markets abroad fill the gap with cheap, low-quality fast fashion that often results in more waste, not less. Keeping the second-hand clothing trade flowing freely is in everyone’s best interest: economically, socially, and environmentally. This is a moment to build smarter, fairer, and more circular global systems, not to shut them down.

Trade Barriers on Second-Hand Clothing Disrupt a Globally Significant Reverse Supply Chain

Subir Ghosh

24 April 2025

Tariff Impact / Luxury Fashion Commentary

For decades, luxury brands have relied on well-established international supply chains and global consumer bases, allowing them to maintain the coveted image of timelessness and prosperity.

The Price of Prestige: How Trump’s Tariff War Is Rattling the Luxury Fashion World

Richa Bansal

22 April 2025