SUSTAINABILITY news and archive

Stella McCartney debuts first-ever plastic-free, plant-based sequin garment

British fashion designer Stella McCartney has showcased the world’s first garment crafted from Radiant Matter’s plastic-free, plant-based sequins. Dubbed ‘BioSequins,’ material innovation start-up Radiant Matter has created sequins derived from plant-based cellulose, using no metals, minerals, synthetic pigments and colourants. The innovative...

20 Mar 2023

BusinessFeatured

Tom Ford names Plastic Innovation Prize winners

Material science competition the Tom Ford Plastic Innovation Prize, created by the fashion designer in partnership with Lonely Whale, has named three winners who will receive investment from its 1.2 million US dollar prize purse to help scale their marine-safe and biologically degradable alternatives to traditional thin-film plastic made from...

20 Mar 2023

Fashion Featured

Primark rolls out repair workshops and commissions durability research

Fast-fashion retailer Primark is looking to educate its consumers on how to repair their clothes with a series of durability and repair initiatives to help clothes “be loved and worn for longer”. The move is part of the retailer’s commitment to give clothes a longer life and will include scaling up Primark’s free clothing repair workshops...

15 Mar 2023

BusinessFeatured

Carhartt launches resale and trade-in programme with Trove

American premium workwear brand Carhartt has launched a resale and consumer trade-in programme to extend the life of its products in partnership with Trove. The ‘Carhartt Reworked’ programme will mark the first branded resale platform in the workwear industry, explains Carhartt, and will support its sustainability journey “by creating a circular...

2 Mar 2023

BusinessFeatured

Ganni, Reformation, and Patagonia join Rubi pilot to decarbonise fashion

California start-up Rubi, which is pioneering carbon-negative cellulosic textiles, has secured an additional 8.7 million US dollars in funding and announced it has signed up fashion brands Ganni, Reformation, H&M, Patagonia and rental platform Nuuly to its initial strategic pilot project. The latest round of funding was led by Talis Capital,...

2 Mar 2023

Fashion Featured

Toast launches collection of “creatively repaired” pieces

Fashion and lifestyle brand Toast has launched a collection of one-of-a-kind “creatively repaired pieces for increased longevity” to demonstrate “the beauty in the process of repairs”. The Toast Renewed collection features womenswear and menswear garments, as well as soft textiles, which have been mended by the brand’s repair specialists. Each...

1 Mar 2023

Business

Standard Ethics issues first sustainability ratings to Burberry and Hugo Boss

Standard Ethics, the self-regulated sustainability rating company, has announced that Burberry and Hugo Boss are among the first fashion brands to be analysed and rated for the SE European Fashion and Luxury Index. In a press release, Standard Ethics assigned the Corporate Standard Ethics Rating (SER) “EE” to the British heritage label Burberry....

23 Feb 2023

Fashion

Lenzing and NFW collaborate on sustainable leather alternative

Austrian fibre producer Lenzing Group has teamed up with US-based material science company Natural Fiber Welding Inc. (NFW) to offer Tencel-branded fibres as another backer option to the current all-natural fabric backing for NFW’s patented plant-based technology Mirum. The Mirum x Tencel collaboration is currently being showcased for the first...

22 Feb 2023

Fashion Featured

5 Myths about leather vs vegan alternatives debunked

There is much confusion in the fashion world and among consumers when it comes to vegan products, especially leather alternatives: Are they harmful, because some of them use polyurethanes (PU) and chemicals, or are they the lesser of two evils as the perfect, circular material does not exist (yet)? FashionUnited spoke with Claudia Pievani from...

21 Feb 2023

Business

Francesca's announces launch of resale program with ThredUp

Women’s boutique chain Francesca's has announced the introduction of a resale program called ‘Forever Francesca’s’ that aims to combat fashion waste. For the launch of the new program, the brand will partner with ThredUP, one of the largest online resale platforms worldwide. "We are aware of the environmental impact apparel has on our planet,...

18 Feb 2023

Fashion Featured

When the textile industry goes digital it will save waste, emissions and time

The textile industry has remained largely unchanged for centuries, but as calls for sustainability and digitisation spur new advancements in manufacturing, materials processing, and design systems, and some companies are rising to the challenge to reduce their environmental impact and make fabric manufacturing as efficient as possible. An...

17 Feb 2023

Fashion

Nona Source launches ambassador programme

Nona Source, the luxury resale platform that offers deadstock fabrics and leathers from leading brands for reuse by fashion and design professionals, has launched an ambassador programme to support young emerging designers. The platform, which grew out of LVMH’s DARE intrapreneurial programme, has created ‘The Mindful Creatives Collective’ and...

15 Feb 2023