Apparel

Egypt's textile industry is rapidly emerging as a global manufacturing hub, driven by competitive labour costs, strategic location, and massive Chinese investment. With exports surging 18% to $2.84 billion in 2024 and government modernisation plans targeting $12 billion by 2031, Egypt is positioning itself as a key alternative to traditional textile centres.

Fashion's global supply chains face unprecedented scrutiny as business conduct risks expose brands to regulatory penalties, reputational damage, and financial losses. From forced labour controversies to environmental violations, the industry's complex sourcing networks are increasingly under fire from regulators, investors, and consumers demanding greater transparency and accountability.

A new investigation has uncovered the hidden realities of Pakistan’s garment industry, exposing wage theft, forced overtime, and widespread informality across eight factories supplying European brands. Based on 126 worker interviews, the report challenges the effectiveness of social audits and highlights systemic exploitation in one of South Asia’s largest textile and apparel export hubs.

The fashion industry now has a powerful tool to map its complex sustainability challenges. The Fashion Impact Toolkit, developed by Global Fashion Agenda and Deloitte, catalogues around 3,000 impacts across the textile value chain. Designed for strategic planning and accountability, it equips companies to track, assess, and address environmental and social harms from fibre to end-of-life.

The retail industry is confronting a £64.5 billion waste crisis caused by rampant overproduction, with billions of garments and products never reaching consumers. A new report highlights the scale of the problem and explores the business case for degrowth, circular models, and sustainable production strategies as viable paths to reduce waste and protect long-term profitability.

The European Commission has enforced the much-awaited Product Environmental Footprint Category Rules (PEFCR) for apparel and footwear thus giving this industry segment a standard methodology to calculate product environmental footprints, with specific category requirements.

Untouched World, a Kiwi lifestyle brand, has won the ‘Fashion Business of the Year’ award from Positive Luxury, home of the Butterfly Mark, and a certification recognising luxury brands demonstrating real change and positive impact on planet and society.

ITF Intertex Portugal, the country’s leading textiles-apparel event, gets under way about two weeks from now. The country’s textiles industry is much like its football ecosystem—not very big in size, but a force to reckon with, and just as vibrant. Managing Director Serhan Pul tells us what makes Portugal’s textiles-apparel industry tick and how it is adapting to the changing times.

In a move to solidify its position as a key player in the global textile and apparel market, Egypt has launched a comprehensive plan to address the existing challenges by establishing two integrated textile cities designed to encompass the entire textile production process, from spinning and weaving to dyeing and garment manufacturing.

A major player in the Enabling Systemic Circularity in Fashion project of the Forum for the Future was leading apparel manufacturer, Crystal International Group. A spokesperson of the group talks about how brands and retailers can collaborate with their manufacturing partners in making the concept of circular fashion work in reality.