Cascale

Producer responsibility schemes for textiles and apparel are expanding across major markets, bringing new obligations for product-level data, traceability, and interoperability. A policy deep dive from Cascale and Worldly maps the regulatory landscape across Europe, Asia, and the Americas, outlining practical implications for brands and manufacturers as compliance complexity continues to grow.

Cascale’s State of the Industry Report 2026 assessed decarbonisation progress in the apparel, footwear and textiles industry using verified Higg FEM data from 2023 and 2024. The analysis showed emissions continued to rise, driven by energy use in manufacturing, with coal dependency, limited electrification and minimal renewable adoption constraining progress towards climate targets across major producing countries.

The 2025 Better Buying Purchasing Practices Index, the first since Cascale acquired Better Buying, reveals both caution and progress. Despite tariff shocks and geopolitical volatility, long-term subscribers outperformed industry benchmarks. The report underlines that responsible purchasing practices build supplier resilience and that planning and forecasting remain critical weak spots needing renewed buyer attention.

Cascale has unveiled version 3.11 of its Higg MS), introducing fresh cotton datasets and new home furnishing material categories. The update advances data accuracy, improves comparability and supports evidence-driven choices across the consumer goods sector.

A coalition including Better Cotton, Cotton Incorporated, Cotton Australia, and the U.S. Cotton Trust Protocol has issued new guidance on responsible life-cycle assessment use. The publication From Data to Impact: How to Get Cotton LCAs Right calls for LCAs to be applied alongside verified field data to deliver credible, transparent, and farmer-informed sustainability progress.

China’s textiles and apparel sector stands at a crossroads of sustainability, competitiveness, and workforce responsibility. With decarbonisation targets, rising labour costs, and export diversification, the industry faces profound transformation. Policies under the 14th Five-Year Plan and “dual carbon” strategy will determine how the sector adapts to shifting global sourcing and compliance landscapes.

Cascale and Worldly have developed a standardised methodology for apparel and footwear companies using the Higg MSI to calculate FLAG emissions. The method separates FLAG from aggregated GHG data, integrates land use change figures, and applies base and conservative assumptions. It delivers consistent baselines, enabling compliance with Science-Based Targets initiative requirements and alignment with forthcoming GHG Protocol FLAG reporting guidance.