Supply Chains

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.

Forum for the Future’s Enabling Systemic Circularity in Fashion or ESCF project, running from 2023-24, brought 12 brands/retailers and manufacturers/ suppliers across the fashion industry to examine its limited progress made towards circularity, and identified key insights that are critical for the industry’s transformation.

A UNEP-led integrated programme (IP) has been launched to promote sustainable supply chains in the fashion industry in a bid to address the impact of the sector on biodiversity loss, chemicals and waste, climate change, international waters, and land degradation.

Only five years to 2030 to hold temperature increases to 1.5°C above preindustrial levels as per Paris Agreement. How are signatories at the Scandinavian Textile Initiative for Climate Action (STICA) performing? A report on their Climate Action Transition Plans reveals that though there is relative progress, the pace and scale varies, and is too slow.