Updates

Fashion’s mid-market is undergoing a structural reset as pressure from fast-fashion, value players and premium brands erodes its traditional price–value advantage. Once the industry’s stable centre, the segment has lost share, relevance and scale, particularly in the UK. The transformation under way in the mid-market now offers an early warning of the forces reshaping premium fashion.

Nepal’s garment sector shows strong export potential but is being held back by labour shortages, high turnover, low productivity, weak buyer linkages and costly logistics across production and delivery stages. If these constraints are addressed, firms expect exports to rise sharply, even as the industry faces mounting pressure from least developed country graduation and a changing global trade environment.

Gender pay disparities remain embedded in Türkiye’s fashion manufacturing sector, according to a new insights paper published by Global Fashion Agenda (GFA). Drawing on factory surveys, union interviews and social compliance data, the study examines structural drivers of wage inequality and outlines coordinated actions for policymakers, brands, other buyers and suppliers.

Recycling processes in the garment and footwear sector were found to carry heightened labour, environmental and governance risks, driven by widespread informality, low margins and hazardous working conditions. The analysis highlighted forced labour, child labour, unsafe facilities and criminal waste practices as material exposures within collection, sorting and reprocessing systems.

A feasibility assessment for South Africa has mapped 81 million additional garments for potential localisation by 2030, equivalent to R7.9 billion in annual manufacturing sales. The research assessed retailer demand, supplier readiness and factory-level competitiveness under the Retail Clothing, Textiles, Footwear and Leather (R-CTFL) Masterplan to test conditions for viability.

Fashion for Good has launched Stretching Circularity, a collaborative project focused on accelerating adoption of bio-based and recycled elastane alternatives compatible with circular textile systems. Through pilot-scale validation and demonstrator garments, the initiative aims to address elastane’s role as a recycling contaminant and generate comparable data on performance, impact and scalability.

A new Roadmap has urged global fashion brands sourcing from major garment-producing hubs to fund and implement a Just Energy Transition across their supply chains, warning that persistent financing gaps, weak adaptation measures and price-driven purchasing practices are shifting climate risks onto suppliers and workers throughout production networks.

Continued climate inaction could place around 70% of projected market value at risk by 2040, while delayed regulatory compliance may significantly erode profitability. A new analysis by the Apparel Impact Institute (AII) has modelled the financial exposure associated with carbon pricing, supply-chain disruption and transition risks, outlining how early mitigation strategies alter cost trajectories and long-term enterprise resilience.

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.

An OECD and EUIPO report has presented new empirical evidence linking illicit trade in counterfeit goods with labour exploitation, including forced labour and hazardous child labour. Using correlation analysis and econometric modelling, it finds that economies associated with illicit trade in counterfeit goods often show weaker labour protections, higher informality and poorer workplace safety. The findings call for integrated enforcement and labour-governance responses.