Sustainbility Pulse #119
Sustainability Trends & News Worth Exploring - September 2, 2025
If this week’s fashion news feels a little like whiplash, you’re not wrong. On one side, Brandy Melville is suing Temu (again proving that in fast fashion, drama moves faster than shipping).
On the other, the quiet beauty of sashiko reminds us that the future of fashion might be found in the slow rhythm of tiny hand-stitches, passed down for centuries.
Between lawsuits, greenwashing fines, pre-loved runways, and startups trying to reinvent cashmere, the industry feels like it’s running two parallel shows: one chasing profit at any cost, the other stitching meaning back into every seam.
Here’s what caught my eye this week, equal parts chaos, creativity, and cautious hope.
Brandy Melville sues Temu for trademark infringement, counterfeiting
The lawsuit follows a similar one Brandy Melville filed against Temu’s fast fashion competitor Shein.
Could the Japanese art of ‘sashiko’ sew meaning back into sustainable fashion?
What if the secret to sustainable fashion isn’t new, it’s ancient?
Enter sashiko: Japan’s centuries-old hand-stitching art. Indigo cloth. White thread. Tiny, rhythmic “little stabs” that don’tjust mend fabric—they create meaning. Waves for resilience, zigzags for protection, rice stitches for abundance. Imperfection turned into beauty, repair elevated to ritual.
Today, designers from Paris to Mumbai are reviving sashiko, proving that heritage can be modern, that repair can be luxury, that sustainability can be stitched into every seam.
EBay’s pre-loved, circular runway initiative to return this September
Designers Altuzarra, Erdem and Luar are participating in the Endless Runway event with archival pieces.
6 recycled material firms to watch this year
So far in 2025, brands such as Lululemon and Tapestry have signed long-term partnerships with alternative material producers.
Increased production, polyester use causing fashion industry’s emissions to rise: report
The apparel sector’s greenhouse gas emissions increased to 944 million metric tons in 2023, up by 7.5% compared to 2022, according to the Apparel Impact Institute.
So Your Workout Clothes Are Made of Plastic. Now What?
So you’ve been wondering if tight workout clothes might expose you to toxic chemicals. Me too. I’ve seen this idea pop up more and more often, on my social feeds, in marketing for “nontoxic” leggings. I’m also noticing it in my community: More and more people I know say they’re ditching their polyester and spandex yoga sets for loose-fitting cotton, citing not just their comfort but also their health.
Right Angle: Sustainable fashion is an oxymoron
Even if all clothes are produced sustainably, the industry will still remain unsustainable
ECO-INNOVATIONS RESHAPING THE CLOTHING MARKET
From fiber to finish, numerous innovations are poised to revolutionize the fashion industry and propel it toward an eco-friendly future. Pioneers in fashion are finding ways to reduce the environmental impact of fibers and dyes and develop packaging methods that can promote healthy plant growth and soil when they decompose.
Fast Fashion Greenwashing: SHEIN’s US$1.15m Fine from Italy
The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) has imposed a fine of €1m (USD$1.15m) on Infinite Styles Services Co. Ltd, the company responsible for managing SHEIN’s product trading websites in Europe.
Brooklyn Designer Fuses Nostalgia And Sustainability With Golden Girls Tribute
Daniel Silverstein, also known as Zero Waste Daniel, plays tribute to the 40th anniversary of the hit TV show "The Golden Girls" with flare and fun.
As the world heats up, fashion’s climate transition must start with workers
As the planet heats up, the world’s most vulnerable workers are being pushed to the brink. In 2024, India recorded its hottest year on record, with temperatures hitting 50 degrees Celsius in some regions. This summer, heatwaves across the United States, Europe and Asia have disrupted daily life and taken lives.
New Look sustainability head joins Primark
Primark has appointed Sue Fairley, New Look's senior head of sustainability, sourcing and quality, to oversee ethical sourcing for the Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia (EMEAA) regions, Drapers can exclusively reveal.
Depop appoints CEO
Second-hand fashion marketplace Depop has announced that Peter Semple, currently interim chief executive officer, will take up the post on a permanent basis from 1 August.
Has the EU lost its appetite for regulating fashion?
This time last year, many fashion companies were gearing up for a new world, a regulated one where businesses would be required to root out deforestation and forced labor from their supply chains, reduce their carbon emissions, and produce garments designed with sustainability in mind from the start.
Do shoes have a circular future?
From modular design to hiring a chief composting officer, footwear innovators are thinking differently to overcome big barriers and make circular shoes a reality.
Textile Recycling Market worth $11.88 billion by 2030
The report "Textile Recycling Market by Material (Cotton, Polyester & Polyester Fibers, Wool, Nylon & Nylon Fibers), Textile Waste, Process, Distribution Channel, End-Use (Apparel, Home Furnishing, Industrial & Institutional), and Region - Global Forecast To 2030", global textile recycling market size is expected to reach USD 11.88 billion in 2030 from USD 8.41 billion in 2025, at a CAGR of 7.2% from 2026 to 2030.
The True Cost of Cheap Chic: Fast Fashion Legal Risks
In response to rising legal scrutiny and environmental accountability, many fashion brands are beginning to embrace circular economy principles. Leading companies are investing in strategies like take-back programs, clothing resale, rental models, and textile recycling to extend the life of garments and reduce waste.
Brands such as Stella McCartney and Eileen Fisher have pioneered closed-loop initiatives, while mainstream retailers like Levi's and H&M are exploring sustainable material sourcing and in-store collection programs.
Kappahl takes a stand for sustainable denim – and encourages creativity with secondhand
Kappahl Group is clearly distancing itself from the trend of producing ripped jeans – a fashion that involves manufacturing new garments only to deliberately destroy them. Instead, Kappahl encourages its customers to get creative with secondhand and pre-loved jeans, crafting personal looks that stand the test of time.
The future of fashion: Sustainable brands and ‘circular’ business models
There’s no denying that the fashion industry has been a major contributor to climate change and biodiversity loss—which means the industry’s sustainability efforts are critical to our planet’s health. In this edition, The Next Normal explores the coming decade in sustainable fashion.
How Fashion Can Go Green, Despite Rising Climate Impact | Opinion
Fashion's climate footprint already contributes a significant portion of global warming, accounting for anywhere from 1.7 percent to 8 percent of the world's emissions, depending on how the industry's footprint is measured, whether that'sproduction alone or the full supply chain, from raw materials to end of life.
FASHION: A fresh cycle on the same narrative
A new generation of young creatives are finally taking up their much deserved space in Davao’s fashion community.
“Fashioning” a More Sustainable Future
In Shanghai, a cohort of experts brought together by 'Marie Claire' and Kering discuss sustainability and style for a new generation.
Bunko Junko – Transforming Fashion, Embracing Sustainability
Bunko Junko is a women-led Indian startup that transforms industrial fabric scraps – typically considered waste – into unique fashion products such as clothing, decorative items, and gifts. Their production process is guided by a strict “zero-waste policy”, ensuring that every piece of material is reused or repurposed.
This startup says it has the answer to cashmere’s sustainability problem
Everbloom spent seven years developing tech that mimics synthetic fibre manufacturing to produce fine natural cashmere at scale. Today, it’s launching commercially after piloting with half a dozen Italian cashmere mills.
Read More (Under Paywall)
Spinnova Buys Suzano, Woodspin Shares for $2
Spinnova is a pioneering textile technology company that produces sustainable, wood-based fibers and is also developing fibers from other waste materials. Woodspin operated as a joint venture with equal ownership between Spinnova and Suzano, a Brazilian manufacturer of wood-based products such as pulp and paper. It is the sole producer and distributor of Spinnova fibre derived from wood.
9 summer 2025 CEO changes that shook the fashion industry
Corporate transformations heated up in June and July at some of the sector’s biggest firms.
Luxury fashion transforms amid economic headwinds, changing tastes
Brands need to build deeper relationships with their wealthiest customers and offer products that reflect their identity, style and values, according to two reports by Boston Consulting Group.
Shein, Temu and AliExpress should be labeled ‘notorious markets,’ nonprofit says
The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation bought more than 50 products from the companies and saidnearly half were fakes.
Yes, Microplastics Are in Beauty Products, Too. How Worried Should You Be?
It’s not unusual for plastics to be used in beauty products—they can alter a formula’s texture, for instance—but when the product is washed off, microplastics can have a detrimental impact on the environment, explains beauty writer Theresa Yee. So how big is this problem, and what does the research say?
Sexploitation lawsuit filed against Roblox in case involving Clay County teen
National litigation firms Dolman Law Group and Wallace Miller filed the suit on behalf of a Missouri woman and her son. The complaint claims the San Mateo, California, headquartered corporation is accountable for “creating a breeding ground for predators and enabling sexual exploitation of a 13-year-old boy.”
Fast Fashion Brand Princess Polly Just Certified As B Corp - As a Sustainability Expert with Two Decades of Experience, I Have Some Questions
Ultra-fast fashion brands like to hint that they’re on the verge of a breakthrough where they use AI or magic recycling to consciously uncouple trend-driven plastic garments and ecological impact.
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