Supply Chains

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.

A new 2025 analysis of fashion industry climate strategies has found that leading brands like Adidas, H&M Group, and Shein continue to fall short of meaningful action. The report by NewClimate Institute  cited weak electrification plans, overreliance on fossil gas and biomass, and a refusal to move away from the fast fashion model.

Supply chains today face unprecedented risks—from cyberattacks and geopolitical tensions to supplier insolvency and logistics disruptions. Insights from the Supply Chain Risk and Resilience Summit reveal why businesses must embrace proactive planning, invest in risk assessments, and prioritise supplier collaboration to navigate the shifting dynamics of global trade and resilience.

At EU Green Week 2025, leaders reaffirmed that circular economy is not just green policy—it’s Europe’s competitive strategy. From the upcoming Circular Economy Act to fast fashion regulations, the EU aims to reduce resource dependency, boost innovation, and scale circular systems. Now, the focus shifts from ambition to implementation.

By integrating physical tracers with blockchain-backed data, Aware offers brands and producers verifiable proof of origin, enabling compliance, circularity, and transparency—particularly crucial as regulatory frameworks like the UPV Textiles Act take hold globally. Koen Warmerdam, Co-founder and Brand Director of Aware, shares insights into how the company is transforming textile sustainability using a phygital traceability system.

The Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles (SMART) Association works towards strengthening economic opportunities by promoting the interdependence of the for-profit textile recycling industry segments and provides a common forum for networking, education and advocacy. SMART President Brian London dwells at length on the second-hand clothing waste and global trade.

In today's world people move from one outrage to the next with as much ease as they swipe left over to the next reel. Last year’s Brazil cotton controversy has resurfaced not only because it has been a year to the revelation, but also because Better Cotton is itself pursuing the thread. And, the loopholes in Better Cotton's damage control exercise that was pointed out by Earthsight remain yawning.

The world’s leading sustainability initiative for cotton, Better Cotton, has strategically transitioned to become a certification scheme, underscoring its commitment to maintain highest standards of sustainability and transparency in the cotton industry.

What key steps can SMEs take to act on their biodiversity goals—from understanding their impact, to integrating into a collaborative effort of suppliers, innovators, and conservation advocates to drive change through supply chains and secure conservation where it counts?

A new report identifies likely scenarios for Bangladesh’s industrial sectors, and opportunities to accelerate just industry transitions both through direct grant-making and multistakeholder collaboration.