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

Sarah Needham

Materials Benchmark / 2026 Numbers

23 September 2026

4 minutes

Global appetite for fibre keeps expanding to new highs, a reminder of how much raw material the wider system now pulls through every year across all end uses.

Global Fibre Production Reaches a Record 139 Million Tonnes in 2025, Up 7 Million Tonnes in 12 Months

Sourcing of cotton, polyester, nylon, viscose and wool through verified sustainability programmes climbed from 68% to 72% among the brands and retailers reporting to Textile Exchange's Materials Benchmark across 2025, against 20% of global production. Even so, 79% of the raw materials these brands used carried an unknown country of origin.

Staff Writer

Brand & Retailers / Higg Update

3 March 2023

4 minutes

Brands and retailers can use the Higg BRM to understand their performance in these areas: Environment: climate, water, waste, biodiversity and chemicals; Social: workers, employees, consumers and communities; Governance: structure and management, ethics and behaviour.

SAC, Higg Reorganise Module for Brands and Retailers; Add Biodiversity as Impact Area

The updated Higg Brand & Retail Module is now available for brands and retailers to measure and report on their ESG impacts to understand their progress and identify areas for improvement with clarity and transparency.

Staff Writer