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M&S questions future of large London-based head offices

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Marks & Spencer CEO Stuart Machin has said he does not see the need in the future for a large head office in central London.

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ender fluidity is not just Harry Styles in a feather boa. It can also be a woman in an elegantly oversized double-breasted trouser suit, like the model who opened Gucci's first Milan fashion week show in two years.

"Seven years ago I designed a menswear collection, and everyone told me I had invented gender fluidity," shrugged the designer Alessandro Michele backstage. "I was like, my definition of masculinity is broad, OK?" (Funny, now, to recall the furore caused by a man in a pussy-bow blouse, as recently as 2015.)

Michele knows perfectly well that he did not, in fact, invent gender fluidity. "I am between two genders," he said on Friday. "I was a special child. This is what I am, and I am voicing my own experience. Gender fluidity has become a marketing slogan, but I don't want that."

The show was also a reveal for a collaboration with Adidas Photograph: Mourad Balti Touati/EPA

This collection celebrated the quieter beauty of women in menswear, rather the rule-breaking energy of men in dresses. Most of the 84 models, whatever gender, wore trouser suits.

In other words: Gucci, best known recently for putting men in feminine clothes, dressed women in masculine clothes in a menswear-based collection shown during womenswear fashion week on models of all genders. Surprising an audience with a tradition-disrupting gender-fluid look is as on-brand for modern Gucci as supermodels in cocaine-white dresses slashed at the hipbone sashaying down a mirrored runway were in a previous era of glory days, under Tom Ford.

Gucci designer Alessandro Michele. Photograph: Daniele Venturelli/Getty Images for Gucci

Gucci - the world's second-most powerful fashion brand after Balenciaga, according to a recent Lyst report tracking sales, social media and search data - is not overly concerned with gatekeeping the traditions of what men and women wear.

"I really like men's suits," said Michele. "As a child I remember always feeling really impressed by them. Not just on men - I grew up in the 1980s around working women, and they wore them too." The women in his design team love menswear. "They will say, I love this jacket because the line is so neat, it's like a man's."

There was a clarity and simplicity to this show that allowed Michele's charm and sincerity - which in some seasons has been at risk of disappearing under all the glittery turbans and jumbo pearl buttons - to shine through. The designer said of the return to physical shows in Italy: "It is beautiful to be home. It was so great to work with music and light and space again. Although spending so much time with lots of other people, I find this is very tiring".

The show was also a reveal for a collaboration with Adidas. Double-breasted corduroy suits with a Gucci-adapted trefoil logo on the breast pocket, bespoke Gazelle trainers and triple stripes were reminiscent of the kooky elegance of Adidas tracksuits in Wes Anderson's cult 2001 film The Royal Tenenbaums. Michele remarked that "fashion has left the atelier" and credited Adidas with "bringing elegance into sportswear", although he was at pains to point out that Gucci's history with its iconic red-green-red stripe has a heritage traced to the Palio horse race in Siena, which dates to the 13th century.

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A quieter gender fluidity marks Gucci's return to the Milan runway

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ender fluidity is not just Harry Styles in a feather boa. It can also be a woman in an elegantly oversized double-breasted trouser suit, like the model who opened Gucci's first Milan fashion week show in two years. "Seven years ago I designed a menswear collection, and everyone told me I had invented gender fluidity," shrugged the designer Alessandro Michele backstage.

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Gender-fluid fashion is here. How should retailers sell it?

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Stores and e-commerce sites have long separated their clothes by men’s and women’s. Now that more brands are moving away from binary collections, retailers need to rethink how they merchandise.

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Playtime With Harry Styles: “You Can Never Be Overdressed”

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Dressing up, making music, living in the moment: This is what matters to Harry Styles. Boundaries and labels? Not so much.

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Billie Eilish Isn’t Here for Age or Gender Restrictions on Clothing

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Killing Eve Is Back, and Villanelle Is Dressed to Kill

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Ahead of tonight’s season three premiere, Killing Eve costume designer Sam Perry gives Vogue the exclusive details on Villanelle’s brand new look.

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Billie Eilish’s Gender Neutral Fashion Aesthetic Is Everything That The World Needs In 2022

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‘Bad Guy’ giving all the good fashion inspiration

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Fashion Icon Tom Ford Embraces Inclusivity with Launch of Gender-Neutral Collection

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New York City, New York — September 16, 2023 — Renowned fashion designer Tom Ford announced today the release of his highly anticipated…

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It was late in the summer in Los Angeles, with all the dry heat and burnished sunlight that implies, and Billie Eilish was sitting in a dark room, busy changing her mind. The singer was halfway through editing the music video she had directed for " Birds of a Feather," her latest astronomically successful hit song (nearly 1 billion streams) off her latest astronomically successful hit album (nearly 4 billion streams at the time), when she encountered a problem: She realized she hated it. Well, not hated. "I was like, this ain't it," she says.

She's telling this story, about the music video that wasn't, a few days after she came to that particular realization. We are sitting in the cool dark of her rehearsal space, curled up on a couch with her gray rescue pit bull, Shark, gently snoring between us. She is dressed in the kind of figure-​obscuring oversized streetwear she's favored (with certain gala and editorial exceptions) since she first became famous: wide khaki cargo shorts, black and white FTP high-tops, a well-loved orange Air Jordan tee. It's as good an outfit as any for writing the next page of the rest of your life.

Eilish has been directing her own music videos for the past five years. But in this case, faced with the not-quite-working video, she decided to start over and hand the reins to someone else: Aidan Zamiri, a friend who also directed the video for the Eilish-featuring remix of Charli XCX's "Guess." And she found she enjoyed ceding control. "I've kind of proven myself as a director," she shrugs. It's a stance that embodies where Eilish is in 2024: 22 years old and nine Grammys into the kind of annually escalating superstardom most artists could only dream of. She is now learning how she wants to be in the world, and it feels a little like a moment -like she's graduated, or just grew up.

We've met at her rehearsal space, with its overtones of old paint and forgotten furniture, because it's one of the few places no one knows about yet. (Eilish has been pursued by obsessive fans-and worse-for years.) An assistant sweeps in with a lighter for a scented candle to offset the stale air of the windowless workspace. Eilish is a little wiped out, reclining under an electric heating pad for period cramps. Her Oreos are in the freezer. (This is not a euphemism-she is a particular fan of the cookie frozen.) It's been full-on since her album Hit Me Hard and Soft came out in May, including a rather unusual Olympic handover ceremony, in which Tom Cruise parachuted to the Hollywood sign and she performed on the beach. Her band can be heard practicing next door. Shark sighs. One gets the feeling that she'd like to be done talking about herself, and just jump ahead, to when the next part starts.

But first let's rewind a little. Eilish's beginnings are well-trodden by now, but remarkable enough that you understand why: She and her older brother and musical collaborator, Finneas, were raised in the East Los Angeles neighborhood of Highland Park by adoring working actor parents, Maggie Baird and Patrick O'Connell, who homeschooled and encouraged their children to pursue every desired creative outlet. That the children both grew up to be musicians is not entirely a surprise. ("Finneas was obsessed with drumming-from when he was three years old," Baird tells me later, "and Billie was much the same with singing; she sang before she talked.") But Eilish did not actually intend to be a singer. She learned music theory from the Los Angeles Children's Chorus, but she really loved dance. When a growth plate injury in her hip sidelined her at age 13, she leaned into music. In 2015 she and Finneas uploaded " Ocean Eyes," an intimate, mournful song he had written with lyrics about "burning cities and napalm skies," to SoundCloud. A die-hard teen following amassed quickly: Eilish was relatable (making songs in her bedroom!) and real (she had zits and a snaggletooth!) and sort of reachable (she was very online!), and she sang about the same issues that preoccupied her fans, like anxiety and addiction. With her ethereal beauty, giant T-shirts, goth imagery, and resistance to being perceived on anyone else's terms, she didn't seem like anything that had happened in pop music before.

"I wish no one knew anything about my sexuality or anything about my dating life. Ever, ever, ever "

During the avalanche of attention that followed, she didn't feel like she had time to stop and study the actual art of singing. "I never felt like a singer. I've never had that as my identity," Eilish tells me. But things have changed. In the past two years or so, she has started taking lessons with a vocal coach. "The truth is that literally the love of my life is singing. And I didn't realize that you can train that instrument and have even more fun with it." She smiles, aware of the sentiment's corniness, anathema to her generation, but unapologetic in her earnestness. "It's fucking awesome to learn."

Eilish has been learning a lot lately. By the time this story comes out, her Hit Me Hard and Soft tour will have just kicked off its North American leg before it heads to Australia and Europe next year. It will be her first tour without Finneas backing her up on guitar (he'll be on hand for a few dates, but launching his own solo album as of October 4), and without her parents. Baird believes that every performer would benefit from having a "mom on tour" and has historically operated as a kind of Swiss Army knife of a PA, describing her duties as "I will get your tampons and cook you a burrito on a moment's notice, even if I have to use an iron to do it." But this time Baird and Finneas won't be on the bus, or at every single show. "It's sort of our 'going off to college year,' I guess," Baird says. Finneas, who at four years older was the first to leave the nest, uses the same analogy. "You want your family to come visit often, you don't want your family to, like, be the dean of the college, or in your dorm room," he says.

Eilish has a different analogy to offer: "You ever see those videos of the big muscular dog with the harness on and it gets on the treadmill and they hook it up and it's barking and squealing to start running?" No, but I get the picture. "That's me, I'm the dog." Onstage she jumps and thrashes and struts and skips. At the New York listening party for Hit Me Hard and Soft at Brooklyn's Barclays Center in May, she darted around the smoke-filled stadium floor, breaking into a gallop when the beat picked up; the next night at the Kia Forum in Los Angeles, she romped the room with Shark on a leash. Later, I watch her dance in the sound booth to "Chihiro," lifting Shark up under his armpits (he has the long-suffering patience of the genuinely adored canine) before running to the window to amp up the musicians, twisting her hips, both fists in the air. "I am literally sprinting all over the stage" when performing, she says. As a result, her tour looks prioritize flexibility over fashion. (The most important element is the sports bra, she says. Her preferred make and model is the Ultimate by Shefit, which she likens to a bulletproof vest-"for us girls with girls ...it's serious.")

"There were many years where I sort of felt like I would never miss a show because, you know, Billie was 16 or 17 and I really had this feeling of needing to be there for every minute," Finneas tells me, "and the truth is, over the last few years of touring she's really become an adult." He describes entire days when his first glimpse of her was a fist-bump on her way to the stage. "She has a really disciplined way of existing on tour. She sleeps through the day to make sure that she's rested for the show. She does hours of physical therapy. She does hours of vocal warm-ups." This will also be her first time touring with her own live band, and indie-rock duo Nat and Alex Wolff-"some of my best friends in the world," she says-are coming along as opening act, as are two other alternative-indie faves, the Marías and Towa Bird. Eilish is planning to have childhood friends come along, too, including just to hang out during her free time. I ask her what she's looking forward to the most: "I mean, hopefully it's going to be the fucking fun. "

Fun would be good. Ever since she was a preteen performer, Eilish has been deeply determined to be taken seriously. The hard-​to-​comprehend sacrifice for the professional child is that you don't really get to be a kid. You've experienced so much (paychecks! assistants! magazine profiles!), but you haven't really had a life. And without that context, it can be incredibly hard to know how actually deeply unhappy you are. In 2019, Eilish opened up about experiencing debilitating panic attacks before her When We All Fall Asleep tour, and detailed how depression had led to self-harm and thoughts of suicide early in her teens. "I was so unhappy, and so joyless.... I genuinely didn't think I'd make it to 17," Eilish told Gayle King in 2020, right before she became the youngest artist ever to win all four major Grammy categories.

What's most remarkable about Eilish might be that she's still at it. (Consider her childhood idol and now close friend Justin Bieber, who has had a similar career arc and has now largely stepped back from public life.) Eilish describes physical injuries-some connected to her hypermobility, the fact that her joints can bend beyond the typical range of movement-that she has sustained while performing. "I've basically been in pain since I was nine." She has said that for years she felt like she was at war with her body. "Growing up, I'd always hear people be like, 'Just wait until you're older! You're going to have so much pain!' And I remember being so furious." There is also the particular kind of isolation only someone at the bodyguarded dead center of thousands can feel. "I've had some really dark times on tour," Eilish tells me. "For a long time I was kind of living like it was temporary. Like, yeah, I'm touring for now and it's kind of unpleasant, and whatever. It'll be over," she says. "And the truth is, it's the rest of my life."

If that sounds like resignation, it isn't. It's closer to optimism, the kind that comes with experience and education. "I didn't realize that I could make touring enjoyable. I just was very lonely for many years, and I'm not interested in that anymore. I want to enjoy the show as well as my days." What that'll mean, exactly, is anyone's guess. "She's one of those people," Nat Wolff tells me, "where almost everything she does, she does better than everyone else. She's like, 'Come see me ride my horse,' and the teacher says, 'You know, if she put all her energy into it, she could go to the Olympics.' " Wolff first met Eilish at the Academy Museum Gala in Los Angeles, where they bonded over their experience as child stars who had Tourette syndrome. (Eilish was diagnosed when she was 11 and went public at 16 after fans made compilation videos of her physical tics.) "You just have to kind of submit to the fact that she's going to be better than everyone else at everything," says Wolff.

She's been leaning into that well-roundedness lately, thinking about her nonmusical aspirations, the kind of pursuits that got eclipsed by early success. (Maybe acting, she says later: "I really secretly love it.") "I got famous at 13 and suddenly had to live a really weird life, and I never went to school," she says now. She's been learning about how to best nurture and sustain herself: to regularly work out with her trainer, to read books ("I know how that sounds-like, all people read books"), to see her therapist, to cook her own food. "My mom is an amazing cook and I thought I was a bad cook, but now people are like, 'You can cook!' " Eilish says. "It's just that I don't really know a lot of recipes." Like many women in America, she's had body image and "eating issues," she says, and cooking really helps. "I definitely am like, Oh my God, I deserve this meal. "

She has also set an intention to stay offline when she gets that all-too-common itch to plummet into a bottomless pit of handheld despair. Eilish deleted the social media apps from her phone at the start of the summer and replaced them with games. She'll still post sometimes, but she no longer has access to her account on her phone, which has left her at times blissfully ignorant, including to her own record-shattering successes. She'll get a text that the album's gone platinum, or that she's the most streamed artist in the entire world on Spotify. "That's all of music," she says, like she still can't believe it. "That's literally all of the music in the world. " (And over 105 million monthly listeners on Spotify, to be precise.)

"A lot of my fans are going to be able to vote for the first time. So I'm like, Do you like freedom?"

The key, she says, is the balance between the desired intimacy of her private life and the enormity of her public persona. "Over time, I think I've made a really good mixture," she says, "making sure I feel like myself, and I'm not only being satisfied by the external validation." For many years, the audience reaction was the only thing that mattered. "If I was happy in my life, it was because people loved me on the internet. And if I was upset in my life, it was usually because people didn't." The loudest criticisms tended to focus on her physical presentation: When she posted a photograph of herself wearing a swimsuit on vacation, the blowback made Fox News; when she experimented with more traditionally feminine attire for photo shoots or the Met Gala, she had to put out her own version of a press release. ("I spent the first five years of my career getting absolutely obliterated by you fools for being boyish and dressing how I did & constantly being told I'd be hotter if I acted like a woman," Eilish wrote on Instagram in May 2023. "Now when I feel comfortable enough to wear anything remotely feminine or fitting, I changed and am a sellout.") "I've learned to not base my life around that," she says now. She's not totally offline, of course, or by any means impervious to outside opinion. (Find a 22-year-old who is.) But she's got some distance from it; an investment in the parts of her life you can't necessarily see within the massive frame of her fame, a playfulness and a sense that she doesn't need to take herself quite so seriously.

"I'm excited to see her enjoying it," Baird tells me later, "that she's doing things like going out to a restaurant.... There are many levels of fame, and many different times in fame. There are periods where you can't step outside your door, and then there are periods where you just have a little bit of grace, and taking advantage of those moments is really wonderful." In the weeks after we meet, Eilish is spotted in the audience at a Clairo concert at the Fonda Theatre in LA wearing a basketball jersey that says "EILISH" on the back. There is an ease to her in public that feels new, an adult embrace of the world, rather than viewing it from a protective crouch.

Speaking of seizing a moment: "Guess" came about after Charli XCX and her manager suggested the collaboration that would eventually end up on the remix-heavy second edition of Charli XCX's Brat. "I was so inspired," Eilish says. The result, a seductive whisper verse on a bawdy club banger, was a clear departure from Eilish's typical warble and croon, and quickly took the internet (and charts) by storm during what by then had already been dubbed "brat summer." It's a fun song, sweaty, provocative, unapologetically horny, and deeply tongue-in-cheek. In the music video, Eilish blithely drives a bulldozer through a wall and, with her strutting costar, summits a
mountain of underwear.

It feels like a furthering of something Eilish started with her earlier summer hit, " Lunch" (sample lyric: "I could eat that girl for lunch.... It's a craving, not a crush"). While her prior albums used her instrument to plumb the depths of the human experience, this one seems happy to sonically skim along closer to the surface, playing with pop structures and her own psychology in equal measure. It just feels lighter, even if the actual messaging isn't; it also appears that she's no longer playing a character. "You know, the big challenge when you're on your third full-length record is trying not to repeat yourself," Finneas tells me, noting that it took a year to write Hit Me Hard and Soft. "The thing that was really important to me was really pushing Billie to be honest," he says. As a result, the bouncy tracks are met by songs like "The Greatest" ("And you don't wanna know / How alone I've been / Let you come and go / Whatever state I'm in") and "Wildflower" ("Things fall apart and time breaks your heart / I wasn't there, but I know / She was your girl, you showed her the world / You fell out of love and you both let go"). These songs, Finneas tells me, "are like confessions."

Set against the breezy raunch of "Guess," these present a more holistic, human vision of a young woman coming into her sexuality-an evolution that it wasn't always clear Eilish would be able to experience in public. During the press cycle for "What Was I Made For?", the Grammy- and Academy Award-winning song Eilish and Finneas wrote for Barbie, Eilish, who had split with the Neighbourhood frontman Jesse Rutherford six months prior, made headlines for describing to a Variety reporter how she related to girls. ("I love them so much. I love them as people. I'm attracted to them as people.") Shortly after, another Variety reporter asked whether she'd intended to come out. "No, I didn't," Eilish responded at the time. "But I kind of thought, Wasn't it obvious?"

Today she wishes she'd been a little less glib. "I wish no one knew anything about my sexuality or anything about my dating life. Ever, ever, ever," she declares, with visible frustration. "And I hope that they never will again. And I'm never talking about my sexuality ever again. And I'm never talking about who I'm dating ever again." She says she has a history of being too open and too honest, and that's too often come back to haunt her. In the spring, Rolling Stone quoted her at length detailing the particular joys of onanism and her appreciation for the female body, which spiraled out across several tabloid news cycles. "I guess I also underestimate that things I say will be blown up into the biggest news of the whole world," she sighs. It's an extraordinary circumstance, when most people her age are busy making loud, sometimes ludicrous, largely private mistakes, to instead have her results play out across tabloids and news tickers. "That's so unnatural," she says. She's going to make decisions that evolve and don't always line up perfectly. "We're all babies. We're all little kids growing up and learning ourselves."

The night after the "Guess" video came out, Charli XCX hosted her 32nd birthday party in Los Angeles. Addison Rae and Glen Powell and Nelly Furtado and Tove Lo and Lorde and Sabrina Carpenter turned up in the best clubwear brat summer had to offer; Rosalía arrived with a Parliament-stuffed bouquet of calla lilies. Eilish was there, too, dancing and singing along with Charli on a banquette while the DJ played their remix five times in a row. To an outsider, the press of bodies and the blinding lights of camera phones looked a little claustrophobic, maybe even scary. Eilish loved it. "I need small doses of that. I'll have one of those experiences maybe once a month. That many people and that many cameras on you can be a lot," she concedes. "But that night I was so happy. It was really fun. "

One thing about adulthood: It's not always fun! From the embers of caring-is-cringey brat summer rises don't-let-​democracy-die fall. "I mean, this is the most important election of our time, maybe," Eilish says, "and it's so easy to be like, I don't want to think about it.... I have that same kind of feeling: I'm one person, I can't make any change. But the truth is, we can all make change. And I have this platform and I'm going to use it." What issues are important to her this time around? She gestures with both of her palms up, like, here you go. "Really big fan of human rights. Really big fan of women's rights and women's reproductive rights and social justice and gun laws." To that end, along with actively rallying her fans to register to vote, she works with Power the Polls, encouraging her followers to sign up to be poll workers. "A lot of my fans are going to be able to vote for the first time. So I'm like, Do you like freedom?" She pauses to consider the candidates. "First female president? Would be really amazing. I would love to feel safe as a woman in my country." She will make her endorsement of Vice President Kamala Harris official a few weeks after we meet in an Instagram video that urges her followers to register and "vote like your life depends on it."

But before she explicitly stakes out her position, and a little under two weeks before Eilish & Co. officially pile into their buses to hit the road, I get an audience-eye view of the Hit Me Hard and Soft tour during a private rehearsal. First it's a view of the lobby of the practice space: Things are running behind, to the tune of a few hours. But hey, "Birds of a Feather" officially exceeded 1 billion streams on Spotify alone today. And, as every college student knows, what is adulthood for if not setting your own schedule? Eilish, wearing a low ponytail, vintage New York Knicks tee, and red-and-white basketball shorts, has been in meetings and vocal warm-ups all afternoon. She has been deciding on the lighting, the cues, the lasers, the cadence of the pyrotechnics, what marks she'll hit and when, all in service of the best possible experience for her audience. (As she told me earlier, "Pre-tour is just rehearsals, rehearsals, rehearsals like a motherfucker.")

Now onstage, she confidently issues directions to the small army of assembled technicians that one might expect from a stadium-touring star of her stature. "Just so you know, I'm marking this, I'm not fully singing," she chides into the mic after what sounds like a pretty note-perfect rendition of "Wildflower"; later she hams it up, coaxing the crew to laugh with an intentionally off-tune verse from "When the Party's Over."

The stage is shaped into a raised figure eight, so she can saunter and groove in infinite loops around her band, who are standing in the waist-deep wells. Performing in the round is a first for her, and something she's always wanted to do. There is a central platform hooked up to hydraulics, to lower and lift her up, and video screens that sometimes play primary-colored prerecordings and sometimes connect to a live feed from a handheld video camera. She takes hold of the camcorder, selfie-mode, for a couple of bars, Billie on Billie, flirting with the lens, before she gets into the band's area to rile up her backup singers and musicians, zooming in on a swirl of their instruments and hands and grins, just kids, fooling around, soon to the soundtrack of tens of thousands of screaming fans.

Watching her enjoy herself, fully in her element, reminds me of something she told me back in August, about how lately she's been playing music just for fun. "I'm a musician and you'd think I would've done that. But things blew up for me at an age when I would've been jamming with buddies. And because it was my career, I was not interested," she said. "So for the first time ever, I'm jamming, and it's amazing. It's so nice to not have pressure of like, Is this going to be the next single? It's like, No, we're just here. And it's just right in the moment." It's exactly where you hope she'll stay.
In this story: hair, James Pecis for Blu & Green Beauty at Bryant Artists; makeup, Emily Cheng; tailor, Irina Tshartaryan; manicurist, Erin Moffett; set design, Colin Donahue; produced by AP Studio Inc. The November issue is here featuring Billie Eilish. Subscribe to Vogue for $3 $1/month.

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She’s the queer fashion icon of my twisted lesbian dreams.

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Jersey Wide Leg Trousers with Stretch | M&S Collection | M&S

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Everyone needs a pair of easy-to-wear trousers, and this jersey style ticks all the boxes. Pull-on style with a roomy wide leg. Carefully crafted with an elasticated high waist and a hint of stretch for ultimate comfort. M&S Collection: easy-to-wear wardrobe staples that combine classic and contemporary styles.

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How to replace fabrics made from polyester, nylon, and other synthetic fibres with biodegradable or recycled options to optimise sustainability

The first synthetic fibres, in a long history of textile and clothing, were only invented in the 30s and 40s. American company DuPont invented nylon in 1935, and two scientists working for the Calico Printers' Association (a British textile company founded in 1899 and based in Manchester) created polyester in 1941. Unlike manmade natural fibres, which derive from natural components like plants (such as cotton and linen) or animals (wool, leather, silk) and are inherently biodegradable; polyester, nylon, and other synthetic fibres are petroleum-based, which makes them stronger -- amongst other profitable qualities.

Wrinkle and tear-resistant, presenting very little shrinking, and being a cheaper -- not to mention faster -- textile to produce, it is no surprise that in less than 100 years, synthetic fibres came to dominate the textile industry with over 60% of its share, according to the 2018 "Preferred Fibre and Materials Market Report" from Textile Exchange.. Their popularity, however, is proving to have damaging consequences for the planet, and though it might sound challenging, there are plenty of sustainable options to choose from if we want to keep both the environment and the industry healthy. Starting with recycled fibres might be a good idea.

The prediction is for that market share to rise even further. PCI Fibres calculates that by 2030 polyester might have a demand of 70 millions of tons, and other -- more pessimistic -- statistics believe that number to reach 90 millions of tons, significantly growing faster than all other fibre types. That parcel of the market and its steady increase, however, represent a well-known peril for the environment: not only synthetic fibres have a larger carbon-print, they also require harmful dyes most of the times, and release microplastic particles (through washing) that are rapidly accumulating in the ocean. Being synthetic, they are not biodegradable and contaminate not only the water but the wildlife. But what exactly are the types of synthetic fabrics?

This type of synthetic fibre is the most widely used and is produced mainly in China and India. Around 98% of all future fibre growth is expected to be in synthetic fibres, and 95% of which is expected to be polyester, according to the "Global Fibres Overview: Synthetic Fibres Raw Material Committee Meeting" in 2014. Inexpensive and long-lasting, the material is stain-resistant, easy to wash, and can be blended with natural fibres -- which makes it more appealing but difficult or almost impossible to recycle. (Recycling 100% polyester is an equal challenge since the mechanical process of recycling it [or any plastic in general] usually results in lower quality material every time, and chemical recycling is still expensive). Pure polyester can shed around 496,030 plastic microfibres per wash, against 137,951 from a polyester-cotton blend, according to a 2016 investigation by Plymouth University called "Release of Synthetic Microplastic Plastic Fibres From Domestic Washing Machines: Effects of Fabric Type and Washing Conditions". It is commonly used in clothing, fillings, and carpets.

Nylon

The first ever created synthetic fibre was used to replace silk in women's stockings, reaching the market in 1940. During World War II, all the nylon production was used in military parachutes, rope, and tents. This synthetic fibre is very durable, light, and malleable; used today in the production of swimwear and sportswear for its quick-drying properties, or in luggage, carpets and cars. Recycled nylon can already be found in lots of swimwear brands.

Its warmth giving properties made it a popular replacement for wool, but it can also be draped and dyed in bright colours. Used to make outdoor goods, clothing, and carpets. This type of synthetic textile unleashes the most plastic microfibres, around 730,000 per wash, says the research by Plymouth University.

These fibres -- well-known for their commercial names, Lycra and Dorlastan --, stretch from 4 to 7 times their length, always returning to their original shape. This type of elasticity makes it an excellent choice for swimwear, sportswear, and underwear. It dries quickly, it's light and very comfortable to wear, but it is not biodegradable. (Note: in the US, elastane fibres are often called spandex).

Sustainable Alternatives

Your garments' materials are one of the easiest places to start with sustainability. Even with the inevitable growth of polyester, considering sustainable, biodegradable, or recycled textiles are a healthier choice not only for the environment but also for whole communities involved in the textile industry. The eco-friendly fabric options are plenty, and their impact is overwhelming and urgent.

A mere 0.07% sustainable fibre used as part of the overall synthetic production is equivalent to saving 2.9 billion plastic bottles from landfills ("Preferred Fibre and Materials Market Report", 2018, by Textile Exchange). The tiny percentage has an evident sustainability impact, and more companies have started to invest their time and resources to make their processes eco-friendlier. Spanish outerwear brand Ecoalf, for instance, recycles plastic bottles, tyres, and fishing nets, turning them into winter coats, jackets, and even trainers and flip-flops in a project called "Upcycling the Oceans" with bases in Spain and Thailand. The revolutionary idea is simple: work with local fishermen to collect marine debris and upcycle it into threads, then turned into garments. They collect almost 1 ton of plastic waste every day.

Another major player is Adidas, who is pledging to eliminate all "virgin plastic" in its products, including polyester, by 2024, according to the Financial Times. Instead, the company is committed to investing in recycled plastics only: the SS19 collection already uses 41% recycled polyester, developed by reusing plastic waste and/or existing synthetic textile fibres, and in 2017 the German brand sold 1 million shoes with recycled plastic from the ocean. Water-efficient and with a lower fossil fuel consumption, the recycled material is a viable and sustainable choice and an important textile trend that has seen incredible and positive Research & Development news for the industry.

There is a lot of controversy about recycled synthetic fibres as they still release a percentage of plastic microfibres through washing. However, given the volume of plastic material in our ocean, recycled synthetic fibres contribute to recycling what would otherwise be considered waste, making it a sustainable alternative. In some fashion industry areas like sportswear or swimwear, for example, natural fibres will rarely perform in a similar way, making recycled synthetics a better option, if not the only (also to prevent more exploration of our natural resources) Their use and investment in research, as we will see, is bringing a recycled, sustainable biodegradable future closer and closer. Guppyfriend™, for instance, is a washing bag that protects synthetic garments and avoids the microfibres to be released in the water.

Endless renovation without any waste of resources: that's the premise from Econyl. A product from Aquafil, a company that talked about more its technology during Fashinnovation, and supplies regenerated nylon made from nylon waste from landfills and oceans around the world. It can be recycled and recreated over and over again, closing the resourcing loop and making it infinitely sustainable (this process is called closed-loop recycling ). Stella McCartney, Adidas and Speedo are amongst the adepts of the performance fabric, which can also be used in architecture (as insulation) and decoration (carpets and floor coverings).

This regenerated nylon reduces the global warming impact of nylon by up to 80% compared to non-recycled versions made directly from oil.

The company has recently introduced PrimaLoft Bio Performance Fabric , a 100% recycled, and, most importantly, biodegradable polyester expected to be commercially available from fall 2020. Its fibres break down when exposed to specific environments - the landfill or the ocean -- because they are made more attractive to the microbes present in these environments, eliminating the waste at a faster rate. Their first recycled polyester synthetic insulation product came out in 2016 and was first used by outerwear brand Patagonia, a large investor in recycled synthetics.

How did we dress before polyester and other synthetic fibres came along? The answer is easy: with naturally biodegradable choices like cotton, linen, and leather. Those options can also be sustainable, especially when choosing to buy organic and/or local. Manmade natural fibres -- like Tencel and lyocell blends -- focus on sustainability too, as they do not come from petrochemical polymers (but wood pulp) which makes them more environmentally friendly than their fossil fuel polymer counterparts.

In general, the sustainable fabric sourcing will invest in textiles that are made from recycled fibres, keeping an eye on the innovative textile technology that allows new products to replace or recycle the ubiquitous synthetic fibres like polyester and nylon.

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The Sustainable Alternatives for Polyester You Need To Know

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How to replace fabrics made from polyester, nylon, and other synthetic fibres with biodegradable or recycled options to optimise sustainability The first synthetic fibres, in a long history of textile and clothing, were only invented in the 30s and 40s. American company DuPont invented nylon in 1935, and two scientist

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7 tips for a plastic-free wardrobe!

Mei Plasticvrij is an initiative of Ineke van Nieuwenhove and others. We already worked together for their Billie Cup reusable coffee cups in our Christmas campaign in 2020.

COSH! would also like to remind you that - more often than you think - plastic can also be found in clothing.

1. Buy Natural materials

Check if the materials in your clothes do contain plastic. Buy only new clothes made of natural materials. With organic cotton, linen, hemp, ramie (Chinese grass), kapok (fruit of the kapok tree) and jute, you can be sure that there is no microplastic in the fibre. Clothes made of tencel, lyocell and modal are also a safe options, as they are man-made fibres of vegetal origin. Tencel is a brand name for the Lyocell from the Austrian company Lenzing. Lyocell is a natural regenerated fibre and is made from eucalyptus wood. If you choose Tencel from Lenzing, you can also rest assured that the trees were cut from sustainably managed forests. Eucalyptus wood is processed into a soft, supple fibre, making the lyocell fabric feel like silk.

Modal is made of beech wood cellulose. Lenzing Modal beech wood is extracted from sustainably managed forests. Much less water is needed to produce it than for cotton, for example. Modal looks a bit like silk, but is as practical as cotton to wash. Modal absorbs moisture better than cotton and feels less sweaty or sticky.

Is viscose also a good plastic free alternative?

Be careful with viscose or rayon, a fabric that is widely praised as it uses much less water than cotton production, but nothing could be further from the truth. There is a chance that the cellulose it contains comes from unsustainable forestry. The raw material is sometimes bamboo, but sometimes it is not. In addition, heavy chemical processes are often used to make bamboo fibres soft enough for processing.

2. Fabrics which are plastics in disguise

Obviously you won't just see ​'plastic' on the label in your garment.

If you spot: polyester, acrylic, lycra, nylon, spandex, polyester fleece, elastane or polyamide on the washlabel? Hang that beauty back, because you almost bought something with plastic in it. Shoes also often contain plastic in the upper part and in the soles. This can be upcycled plastic, but that's not the end of it, because with every footstep you still leave particles of microplastic behind in nature. Opt for real rubber or leather soles.

By law brands only have to declare 97% of the product contents on their wash labels.

3. Ever thought about sewing yarns?

Beware of things that are not required to be stated on the care label. The law requires brands to state everything that makes up more than 97% of the garment on their care labels. Only the main fabric and possibly the inner lining can usually be found on the label. What is not mentioned are the sewing thread. Almost every garment is stitched with 100% PES sewing thread. Polyester? Yes! Chance of microplastics when washing.

Plastic sparkle, shimmer and shine!

4. Is glitter eco-friendly?

Glitter and sequins are unfortunately also made of plastic. Because most glitters are made of etched aluminium bound to polyethylene terephthalate (PET), it is a form of microplastic, which can find its way into our oceans. Noemi Lamanna uses glitter every day and is worried about that. She became a glitter activist. Together with her best friend she founded a company called Eco Glitter Fun. The PET in their glitter has been replaced by cellulose from trees or plants, mainly eucalyptus. Perhaps the attraction of glitter will fade. But that seems unlikely, knowing that our love for glitter goes back to the time of Cleopatra.

The current Ecoglitter has a very thin aluminium coating, but earlier in the Palaeolithic era our ancestors also used micavlakes in their cave paintings. Mica flakes can contain the following substances: potassium, sodium, calcium, barium or caesium, aluminium, lithium, iron, zinc, chromium, vanadium, titanium, manganese, magnesium, beryllium, boron and/​or iron in various compositions.

Research into the neanderthal has also revealed make-up that contains stains from a reflective black mineral. According to a group of Belgian scientists looking for the evolution to explain our attraction to shiny things, it is something innate: just like our attraction to water.

Gorgeous in second hand?

5. Spoiler alert: sequins are also plastic

If you buy a garment with a fair wair or organic cotton label, you should also make sure that there is no sequin application on it. The law requires brands to state everything that makes up more than 97% of the garment on their labels. Only the main fabric and possibly the inner lining can usually be found on the label. Not from which the sequins were made. And that is usually plastic of course. For those who thrift sequins and think they are doing a good deed. Think twice: every time you wash your garment (such as children's T‑shirt) with sequins, microplastic goes to sea.

6. Reduce packaging

Plastic-free shopping works better and better since many shops don't give bags anymore or you have to pay for them. But here and there you still have to be assertive enough to refuse a plastic bag. Well, try to do that even when you're shopping online. Ask them if they don't want to send your clothes in a plastic bag. There are shops that reuse packaging from their suppliers or just put a piece of silk paper around your new clothes and send it to them in a box. The more often we all ask this, the more effort online shops will make to adapt.

Shops and brands such as Supergoods, MUDjeans, O my bag and use RePack, a reusable packaging made from sustainable and recycled material. RePack works with a reward system: you will receive a 10% gift voucher for your next purchase after you have returned the RePack packaging to the store free of charge. Win-win for you and the environment. The more often we all ask this, the more effort online shops will make to adapt.

Plastic leaks into the oceans through washing machine waste water

Use a guppy friend and

7. Wash less often

One of the tips for a plastic-free life is that you wash your clothes less often. This way, less micropastic ends up in the sea. It also saves a lot of water and electricity. Sportswear and lingerie is often made of (recycled) polyester, polyamide or other non-natural materials. Unfortunately, our current society is used to a bit of elastane as support or ease of use. Moreover, all elastic bands also contain elastane (think of sports bras, lingerie straps, etc.). If you are going to wash those items anyway, do it safely with a Guppyfriend. This way you will catch the microplastic. Do not wash the laundry bag after use, otherwise the plastic will still end up in the water! Recycle the remaining particles.

Do you want to find out where you can buy lingerie made out of (bio)cotton, eucalyptus or hemp? Take a look at this blog with an overview of sustainable lingerie brands.

Do you want to be sure of mouth masks that don't dissolve microplastic when washing? Buy that mouth mask with our overview here.

Did you turn your wardrobe inside out and have to throw away clothes? What is the best way to recycle clothes with plastics? You can read that here.

Do you find the COSH effect useful? Then you can make a donation without obligation.

Each donation will benefit more research and sustainability information and communication.

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What are the all the microplastics in garments? How can you reduce the impact of polyester, polyamide and others when washing your lingery or sportswear?

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All you need to know about Fashion and Sutainability:

What’s wrong with the fashion Industry?

Fibers environmental ranking.

Sustainable Branks.

How to reduce our fashion impact?

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During the year 2021/22 we removed 75 million pieces of plastic from our Food business. Since 2018, we've removed over 3,000 tonnes of packaging in Foods, including removing plastic trays from vegetables such as broccoli, asparagus, and pears. We've also removed polystyrene from our pizza bases and all black plastic - which can be difficult to recycle - from our food halls. You'll also notice we've started to replace some of our ready meal trays with alternative materials like foil.

To help cut down on packaging, we've rolled out over 70 loose produce lines following a successful trial at our Tolworth store, and we're continuing to trial an additional 25 loose product lines at our test-and-learn renewal stores.

We're also set to remove a further estimated 50 tonnes of plastic packaging by the end of 2022 by switching our teacake packaging from plastic film to widely recycled FSC accredited paper.

We're rolling out fully recyclable on-the-vine tomato packaging. The new packaging replaces a hard-to-recycle plastic sleeve with fully recyclable cardboard - set to remove an estimated 6.3m pieces of plastic once rolled out by the end of the year.

Last year, M&S introduced fully recyclable packaging for its Mandagold tangerines, removing approximately 748,000 pieces of plastic, with more citrus lines, including blood oranges, available in the earth packaging later this year.

In Cards & Wrap, our wrapping paper is now cellophane-free and our Christmas cards, gift bags, gift tags and wrapping paper are made with FSC-certified paper and vegetable or water-based inks (not traditional petroleum-based inks).

The environment continues to be a major concern for customers, with M&S's upcoming Family Matters Index, revealing it is a priority for 64% of UK families and 56% are making an effort to educate themselves about their own environmental impact. A vast majority (88%) agree supermarkets should use recyclable packaging where possible and 37% are already changing the food they buy due to climate change.

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If you're concerned about the environmental impact of fashion, you probably spend some time reading garment tags to find out what your clothes are made of. When looking at labels, it doesn't take a magnifying glass to notice that one fabric comes up more than most: polyester. Today, we'll investigate and answer the question: how sustainable is polyester?
When did polyester first arrive on the scene?

Polyester fabric hasn't been around forever. Our grandparents were clothed in plant- and animal-based materials such as wool, linen, and cotton. By the end of World World II, the latter accounted for over 80% of fibre consumed.

Chemical advances in the 1940s introduced artificial fibres and so began a gradual shift away from cotton, turning towards cheaper and faster textile production methods. Nowadays, polyester dominates the clothing industry, with annual production exceeding 52 million metric tonnes worldwide.

So what exactly is polyester?

The term "polyester" describes a category of polymers produced by mixing ethylene glycol (derived from petroleum) and terephthalic acid.

Chemical jargon aside, polyester is a common plastic with a wide range of applications extending beyond the fashion industry.

It ranks third behind polyethylene (packaging and water bottles) and polypropylene (ropes, stationary, and Australian bank notes) as the most commonly used plastic.

Polyester is not biodegradable

The majority of polyesters are not biodegradable, meaning that the polyester fabric shirt you bought last season will not decompose for 20 years at best and 200 years at worst.

What's more, polyester is partially derived from petroleum, and the oil manufacturing industry is the world's largest pollutant.

Polyester dyes are not sustainable

Ever notice how polyester fabrics are stain-resistant? That's because it takes a special kind of dye to colour polyester successfully. These dyes, known as disperse dyes, are insoluble in water. Like polyester, they are made up of a complex molecular structure that does not readily decompose.

Wastewater from textile factories containing leftover dye is difficult to treat. When it enters the environment, its toxicity causes serious problems to local plant and animal life.

In addition to causing environmental problems , polyester dyes are toxic to humans. Dye workers worldwide report higher incidences of cancers and lung disease than the general population.

Polyester manufacturing is water-thirsty

Polyester is created through an energy-intensive heating process and requires large quantities of water for cooling. If not managed properly, this can result in groundwater levels dropping and reduced access to clean drinking water, particularly in vulnerable communities where polyester is often manufactured.

What about recycled PET plastic?

In the past few years, the sustainable fashion sphere has been introduced to recycled PET plastic, which has been touted as a "more sustainable" replacement for polyester fabrics. Recycled PET plastic is usually made from recycled plastic bottles . Buying recycled PET plastic means that you're minimising waste and cutting out the fossil fuel industry.

Be careful with fleeces, though. Studies have shown that plastic microfibres are polluting waterways at an alarming rate and that fleece made from recycled PET plastic may be more polluting than its original form.

More on those microfibres

Multiple studies have shown that synthetic fibres make up a good share of microplastics found in waters and are widely implicated as the source of pollution . It's been suggested that more than 4,500 fibres can be released per gram of clothing per wash, according to the Plastic Soup Foundation .

Microfibres are so tiny they can easily move through sewage treatment plants. They do not biodegrade and bind with molecules from harmful chemicals found in wastewater. They are then eaten by small fishes and plankton, concentrating toxins and going up the food chain until they reach us . The consequences of microfibres on the human body have yet to be researched and revealed. Until then, here are our top tips on dealing with microfibres in clothing .

What can we do to dress more sustainably?

Look for garments made from more eco-friendly materials, like organic cotton , , or , or from reused, upcycled, and recycled materials and coloured using natural dyes.

Choose well, buy less. Even garments made with natural fibres have ethical issues. Cotton is one of the thirstiest and dirtiest fabrics, and the wool industry has sometimes been criticised for unethical practices. By choosing well and buying less, you help discourage the unsustainable over-production of fibres at a cost to the environment and the world's most vulnerable people.

Buy from second hand and charity shops. An even better alternative to buying fewer new things is buying more pre-loved garments from second hand stores. Since polyester garments are both common and durable, you will find plenty of options in thrift shops that show few signs of wear and tear and will stand the test of time.

Wash less and wash better. Solutions are starting to appear to avoid microfibre shedding during washing, such as special laundry bags and laundry balls . You can also wash on cold, with a fuller load, and using liquid detergent to reduce shedding-and line-drying is always a better option for the environment and your clothes!

Choose brands with policies that protect and respect the planet and the people making their products. Good On You helps you uncover brands that perform better on the issues you care about. Check out the or to discover brands that tick all your boxes.

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What is polyester? Material Guide, Ethics and Sustainability

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Polyester is found in almost every wardrobe. But where does it come from, how is it made, and how sustainable is polyester?

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All you need to know about Fashion and Sutainability:

What’s wrong with the fashion Industry?

Fibers environmental ranking.

Sustainable Branks.

How to reduce our fashion impact?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
How to replace fabrics made from polyester, nylon, and other synthetic fibres with biodegradable or recycled options to optimise sustainability

The first synthetic fibres, in a long history of textile and clothing, were only invented in the 30s and 40s. American company DuPont invented nylon in 1935, and two scientists working for the Calico Printers' Association (a British textile company founded in 1899 and based in Manchester) created polyester in 1941. Unlike manmade natural fibres, which derive from natural components like plants (such as cotton and linen) or animals (wool, leather, silk) and are inherently biodegradable; polyester, nylon, and other synthetic fibres are petroleum-based, which makes them stronger -- amongst other profitable qualities.

Wrinkle and tear-resistant, presenting very little shrinking, and being a cheaper -- not to mention faster -- textile to produce, it is no surprise that in less than 100 years, synthetic fibres came to dominate the textile industry with over 60% of its share, according to the 2018 "Preferred Fibre and Materials Market Report" from Textile Exchange.. Their popularity, however, is proving to have damaging consequences for the planet, and though it might sound challenging, there are plenty of sustainable options to choose from if we want to keep both the environment and the industry healthy. Starting with recycled fibres might be a good idea.

The prediction is for that market share to rise even further. PCI Fibres calculates that by 2030 polyester might have a demand of 70 millions of tons, and other -- more pessimistic -- statistics believe that number to reach 90 millions of tons, significantly growing faster than all other fibre types. That parcel of the market and its steady increase, however, represent a well-known peril for the environment: not only synthetic fibres have a larger carbon-print, they also require harmful dyes most of the times, and release microplastic particles (through washing) that are rapidly accumulating in the ocean. Being synthetic, they are not biodegradable and contaminate not only the water but the wildlife. But what exactly are the types of synthetic fabrics?

This type of synthetic fibre is the most widely used and is produced mainly in China and India. Around 98% of all future fibre growth is expected to be in synthetic fibres, and 95% of which is expected to be polyester, according to the "Global Fibres Overview: Synthetic Fibres Raw Material Committee Meeting" in 2014. Inexpensive and long-lasting, the material is stain-resistant, easy to wash, and can be blended with natural fibres -- which makes it more appealing but difficult or almost impossible to recycle. (Recycling 100% polyester is an equal challenge since the mechanical process of recycling it [or any plastic in general] usually results in lower quality material every time, and chemical recycling is still expensive). Pure polyester can shed around 496,030 plastic microfibres per wash, against 137,951 from a polyester-cotton blend, according to a 2016 investigation by Plymouth University called "Release of Synthetic Microplastic Plastic Fibres From Domestic Washing Machines: Effects of Fabric Type and Washing Conditions". It is commonly used in clothing, fillings, and carpets.

Nylon

The first ever created synthetic fibre was used to replace silk in women's stockings, reaching the market in 1940. During World War II, all the nylon production was used in military parachutes, rope, and tents. This synthetic fibre is very durable, light, and malleable; used today in the production of swimwear and sportswear for its quick-drying properties, or in luggage, carpets and cars. Recycled nylon can already be found in lots of swimwear brands.

Its warmth giving properties made it a popular replacement for wool, but it can also be draped and dyed in bright colours. Used to make outdoor goods, clothing, and carpets. This type of synthetic textile unleashes the most plastic microfibres, around 730,000 per wash, says the research by Plymouth University.

These fibres -- well-known for their commercial names, Lycra and Dorlastan --, stretch from 4 to 7 times their length, always returning to their original shape. This type of elasticity makes it an excellent choice for swimwear, sportswear, and underwear. It dries quickly, it's light and very comfortable to wear, but it is not biodegradable. (Note: in the US, elastane fibres are often called spandex).

Sustainable Alternatives

Your garments' materials are one of the easiest places to start with sustainability. Even with the inevitable growth of polyester, considering sustainable, biodegradable, or recycled textiles are a healthier choice not only for the environment but also for whole communities involved in the textile industry. The eco-friendly fabric options are plenty, and their impact is overwhelming and urgent.

A mere 0.07% sustainable fibre used as part of the overall synthetic production is equivalent to saving 2.9 billion plastic bottles from landfills ("Preferred Fibre and Materials Market Report", 2018, by Textile Exchange). The tiny percentage has an evident sustainability impact, and more companies have started to invest their time and resources to make their processes eco-friendlier. Spanish outerwear brand Ecoalf, for instance, recycles plastic bottles, tyres, and fishing nets, turning them into winter coats, jackets, and even trainers and flip-flops in a project called "Upcycling the Oceans" with bases in Spain and Thailand. The revolutionary idea is simple: work with local fishermen to collect marine debris and upcycle it into threads, then turned into garments. They collect almost 1 ton of plastic waste every day.

Another major player is Adidas, who is pledging to eliminate all "virgin plastic" in its products, including polyester, by 2024, according to the Financial Times. Instead, the company is committed to investing in recycled plastics only: the SS19 collection already uses 41% recycled polyester, developed by reusing plastic waste and/or existing synthetic textile fibres, and in 2017 the German brand sold 1 million shoes with recycled plastic from the ocean. Water-efficient and with a lower fossil fuel consumption, the recycled material is a viable and sustainable choice and an important textile trend that has seen incredible and positive Research & Development news for the industry.

There is a lot of controversy about recycled synthetic fibres as they still release a percentage of plastic microfibres through washing. However, given the volume of plastic material in our ocean, recycled synthetic fibres contribute to recycling what would otherwise be considered waste, making it a sustainable alternative. In some fashion industry areas like sportswear or swimwear, for example, natural fibres will rarely perform in a similar way, making recycled synthetics a better option, if not the only (also to prevent more exploration of our natural resources) Their use and investment in research, as we will see, is bringing a recycled, sustainable biodegradable future closer and closer. Guppyfriend™, for instance, is a washing bag that protects synthetic garments and avoids the microfibres to be released in the water.

Endless renovation without any waste of resources: that's the premise from Econyl. A product from Aquafil, a company that talked about more its technology during Fashinnovation, and supplies regenerated nylon made from nylon waste from landfills and oceans around the world. It can be recycled and recreated over and over again, closing the resourcing loop and making it infinitely sustainable (this process is called closed-loop recycling ). Stella McCartney, Adidas and Speedo are amongst the adepts of the performance fabric, which can also be used in architecture (as insulation) and decoration (carpets and floor coverings).

This regenerated nylon reduces the global warming impact of nylon by up to 80% compared to non-recycled versions made directly from oil.

The company has recently introduced PrimaLoft Bio Performance Fabric , a 100% recycled, and, most importantly, biodegradable polyester expected to be commercially available from fall 2020. Its fibres break down when exposed to specific environments - the landfill or the ocean -- because they are made more attractive to the microbes present in these environments, eliminating the waste at a faster rate. Their first recycled polyester synthetic insulation product came out in 2016 and was first used by outerwear brand Patagonia, a large investor in recycled synthetics.

How did we dress before polyester and other synthetic fibres came along? The answer is easy: with naturally biodegradable choices like cotton, linen, and leather. Those options can also be sustainable, especially when choosing to buy organic and/or local. Manmade natural fibres -- like Tencel and lyocell blends -- focus on sustainability too, as they do not come from petrochemical polymers (but wood pulp) which makes them more environmentally friendly than their fossil fuel polymer counterparts.

In general, the sustainable fabric sourcing will invest in textiles that are made from recycled fibres, keeping an eye on the innovative textile technology that allows new products to replace or recycle the ubiquitous synthetic fibres like polyester and nylon.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Sustainable Alternatives for Polyester You Need To Know

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
How to replace fabrics made from polyester, nylon, and other synthetic fibres with biodegradable or recycled options to optimise sustainability The first synthetic fibres, in a long history of textile and clothing, were only invented in the 30s and 40s. American company DuPont invented nylon in 1935, and two scientist

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
7 tips for a plastic-free wardrobe!

Mei Plasticvrij is an initiative of Ineke van Nieuwenhove and others. We already worked together for their Billie Cup reusable coffee cups in our Christmas campaign in 2020.

COSH! would also like to remind you that - more often than you think - plastic can also be found in clothing.

1. Buy Natural materials

Check if the materials in your clothes do contain plastic. Buy only new clothes made of natural materials. With organic cotton, linen, hemp, ramie (Chinese grass), kapok (fruit of the kapok tree) and jute, you can be sure that there is no microplastic in the fibre. Clothes made of tencel, lyocell and modal are also a safe options, as they are man-made fibres of vegetal origin. Tencel is a brand name for the Lyocell from the Austrian company Lenzing. Lyocell is a natural regenerated fibre and is made from eucalyptus wood. If you choose Tencel from Lenzing, you can also rest assured that the trees were cut from sustainably managed forests. Eucalyptus wood is processed into a soft, supple fibre, making the lyocell fabric feel like silk.

Modal is made of beech wood cellulose. Lenzing Modal beech wood is extracted from sustainably managed forests. Much less water is needed to produce it than for cotton, for example. Modal looks a bit like silk, but is as practical as cotton to wash. Modal absorbs moisture better than cotton and feels less sweaty or sticky.

Is viscose also a good plastic free alternative?

Be careful with viscose or rayon, a fabric that is widely praised as it uses much less water than cotton production, but nothing could be further from the truth. There is a chance that the cellulose it contains comes from unsustainable forestry. The raw material is sometimes bamboo, but sometimes it is not. In addition, heavy chemical processes are often used to make bamboo fibres soft enough for processing.

2. Fabrics which are plastics in disguise

Obviously you won't just see ​'plastic' on the label in your garment.

If you spot: polyester, acrylic, lycra, nylon, spandex, polyester fleece, elastane or polyamide on the washlabel? Hang that beauty back, because you almost bought something with plastic in it. Shoes also often contain plastic in the upper part and in the soles. This can be upcycled plastic, but that's not the end of it, because with every footstep you still leave particles of microplastic behind in nature. Opt for real rubber or leather soles.

By law brands only have to declare 97% of the product contents on their wash labels.

3. Ever thought about sewing yarns?

Beware of things that are not required to be stated on the care label. The law requires brands to state everything that makes up more than 97% of the garment on their care labels. Only the main fabric and possibly the inner lining can usually be found on the label. What is not mentioned are the sewing thread. Almost every garment is stitched with 100% PES sewing thread. Polyester? Yes! Chance of microplastics when washing.

Plastic sparkle, shimmer and shine!

4. Is glitter eco-friendly?

Glitter and sequins are unfortunately also made of plastic. Because most glitters are made of etched aluminium bound to polyethylene terephthalate (PET), it is a form of microplastic, which can find its way into our oceans. Noemi Lamanna uses glitter every day and is worried about that. She became a glitter activist. Together with her best friend she founded a company called Eco Glitter Fun. The PET in their glitter has been replaced by cellulose from trees or plants, mainly eucalyptus. Perhaps the attraction of glitter will fade. But that seems unlikely, knowing that our love for glitter goes back to the time of Cleopatra.

The current Ecoglitter has a very thin aluminium coating, but earlier in the Palaeolithic era our ancestors also used micavlakes in their cave paintings. Mica flakes can contain the following substances: potassium, sodium, calcium, barium or caesium, aluminium, lithium, iron, zinc, chromium, vanadium, titanium, manganese, magnesium, beryllium, boron and/​or iron in various compositions.

Research into the neanderthal has also revealed make-up that contains stains from a reflective black mineral. According to a group of Belgian scientists looking for the evolution to explain our attraction to shiny things, it is something innate: just like our attraction to water.

Gorgeous in second hand?

5. Spoiler alert: sequins are also plastic

If you buy a garment with a fair wair or organic cotton label, you should also make sure that there is no sequin application on it. The law requires brands to state everything that makes up more than 97% of the garment on their labels. Only the main fabric and possibly the inner lining can usually be found on the label. Not from which the sequins were made. And that is usually plastic of course. For those who thrift sequins and think they are doing a good deed. Think twice: every time you wash your garment (such as children's T‑shirt) with sequins, microplastic goes to sea.

6. Reduce packaging

Plastic-free shopping works better and better since many shops don't give bags anymore or you have to pay for them. But here and there you still have to be assertive enough to refuse a plastic bag. Well, try to do that even when you're shopping online. Ask them if they don't want to send your clothes in a plastic bag. There are shops that reuse packaging from their suppliers or just put a piece of silk paper around your new clothes and send it to them in a box. The more often we all ask this, the more effort online shops will make to adapt.

Shops and brands such as Supergoods, MUDjeans, O my bag and use RePack, a reusable packaging made from sustainable and recycled material. RePack works with a reward system: you will receive a 10% gift voucher for your next purchase after you have returned the RePack packaging to the store free of charge. Win-win for you and the environment. The more often we all ask this, the more effort online shops will make to adapt.

Plastic leaks into the oceans through washing machine waste water

Use a guppy friend and

7. Wash less often

One of the tips for a plastic-free life is that you wash your clothes less often. This way, less micropastic ends up in the sea. It also saves a lot of water and electricity. Sportswear and lingerie is often made of (recycled) polyester, polyamide or other non-natural materials. Unfortunately, our current society is used to a bit of elastane as support or ease of use. Moreover, all elastic bands also contain elastane (think of sports bras, lingerie straps, etc.). If you are going to wash those items anyway, do it safely with a Guppyfriend. This way you will catch the microplastic. Do not wash the laundry bag after use, otherwise the plastic will still end up in the water! Recycle the remaining particles.

Do you want to find out where you can buy lingerie made out of (bio)cotton, eucalyptus or hemp? Take a look at this blog with an overview of sustainable lingerie brands.

Do you want to be sure of mouth masks that don't dissolve microplastic when washing? Buy that mouth mask with our overview here.

Did you turn your wardrobe inside out and have to throw away clothes? What is the best way to recycle clothes with plastics? You can read that here.

Do you find the COSH effect useful? Then you can make a donation without obligation.

Each donation will benefit more research and sustainability information and communication.

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What are the all the microplastics in garments? How can you reduce the impact of polyester, polyamide and others when washing your lingery or sportswear?

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Wood - our natural and renewable raw material, wood and pulp, comes from certified and controlled sources derived from sustainably managed forests. The non-profit environmental protection organization Canopy has consistently ranked Lenzing among the top viscose producers worldwide for our sustainable wood and pulp sourcing practices.

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LENZING™ ECOVERO™: Sustainable Viscose Fibers For Fabrics

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LENZING™ ECOVERO™ is a well recognized viscose fibers brand that practices eco responsible production for a cleaner and sustainable environment. Learn more.

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The problem with Elastane: ROICA™ V550 is an alternative

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It is difficult to imagine clothes without any elastic properties. Its ability to stretch and retain its original shape and size makes elastane an incredibly versatile material found in a large percentage of clothing. Unfortunately, it is not a very sustainable fiber. But what exactly is the problem with elastane? And

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Eco-Friendly Fabrics Explained: Why Hemp, Organic Cotton, and More Matter

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Welcome to The Source of quality hemp fabric. Envirotextiles, LLC is the manufacturer and importer of over 100 hemp fabrics world wide and a leading consultant for the Colorado hemp industry. We stock the finest collection of natural fiber fabrics from China, Romania, the Eastern Bloc of Europe, and parts of Mexico. Many of these fabrics are used by designers such as Ralph Lauren, Versace, Volkswagen VW motor company and many others. As the manufacturer and importer, we can provide the best possible pricing on our wholesale hemp fabric collections and finished promotional products.

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We at Lenzing have been making fibers for life for 80 years. Based on the raw material wood we create solutions for the needs of this world.

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London - As the fashion industry heads towards a future where textile resources are scarce, natural fibers such as cotton, which remains a resource-intensive material, and petroleum-based fibers like acrylic, polyester, nylon, and spandex remain high in demand. But as the production of these fibers continues to cause irreversible damage to our environment, more and more companies are seeking out an alternative, sustainable fibers, and fabrics. In this series, FashionUnited explores the future possibilities offered by sustainable innovations in the textile and fashion industry. In this installment, FashionUnited examines the new, more responsible option to viscose - EcoVero.

Viscose, which is also known as rayon, has been used to make soft, silky fabrics, luxurious feeling fabrics. Made from purified cellulose, it is produced from specially processed wood pulp and is often compared to silk and cotton. However although the fabric made from this fiber may be beautiful, viscose remains a semi-synthetic, chemical fiber. Often the timber used to for the wooden pulp stems from irrigation-intensive monocultures, which negatively impact the earth. Large amounts of highly toxic chemicals, such as carbon disulfide are used during the production of viscose, which has led to a number of worker poisonings. In addition, shipping the cellulose-based fiber around the globe also increases the level of Co2 emissions, making it a harmful fiber.

EcoVero - the new and improved sustainable alternative to conventional viscose

"This is about as dirty as it gets", said Christian Brandt COO of eco-friendly fashion brand Armedangels. "We can't possibly justify using fabrics like [viscose]." However, rather than give up their search for a more sustainable alternative to the fiber, the label continued its search until it stumbled across the most responsible viscose fiber available - EcoVero.

Produced by Lenzing, leading cellulose fibre producer, near the Attersee Lake in Austria, EcoVero is made using sustainable wood from controlled sources which are either FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or PEFC (Program for Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes) certified in Europe, instead of bamboo or eucalyptus which is commonly used in normal viscose production. More than 60 percent of the trees used to produced EcoVero fibers come from Austria and Bavaria to ensure lower emissions.

The cellulose fiber is produced on-site at a state of the art facility via a new, innovative environmental process which has significantly lower emissions and water impact than conventional viscose. Nearly all the chemicals used during the production of EcoVero are recovered and reused. Compared to conventional viscose production, the production of EcoVero causes 50 percent less emissions and takes up half as much energy and water in addition to its pulp bleaching being 100 percent chlorine-free.

What's more, Lenzing also offers full supply chain transparency which makes EcoVero fibers identifiable in the final product through its innovative identification technology. "We are supporting the trend in the fashion industry towards greater transparency," said Robert van de Kerkhof, Chief Commercial Officer at Lenzing. "It is becoming increasingly important to know where the products come from and which path they have covered."

Armedangels is the first and only organic, sustainable fashion brand to incorporate EcoVero into its collections for winter 2017, and visited Lenzing production facility in Austria to see first hand how the eco-fiber is made. "EcoVero really elevates viscose to a whole new level," said Brandt, after inspecting the EcoVero fabrics. "We are especially happy about the fact that these fibers do not come from monocultures - as it is the case with bamboo or eucalyptus - but from sustainable forestry. The transport is not as much of an issue either, as it doesn't need to be shipped around the globe since they use timber from Europe that is processed into fiber right on site at Lenzing in Austria. This is the best argument for us."

Although some argue that EcoVero remains a viscose product, whose production still requires the use of potentially hazardous chemicals even using newer, more sustainable production processes, the new fiber is still a welcome alternative to conventional viscose. Over the years Lenzing has invested several million euros into improving its viscose production to ensure it is environmentally friendly as possible. In addition, the production location is key for many fashion brands keen to source the fiber, as the laws and regulations concerning production are stricter and monitored more tightly than in other developing countries which have become sourcing hubs for the industry.

"Our goal is to raise awareness among as many customers as possible for the consequences of what they decide to buy," added Van De Kerkhof during Armedangels visit, a goal the brand is keen to help achieve. Both companies hope to make a difference when it comes to the fashion industry shift to a more sustainable model, and Armedangels is keen to continue working with Lenzing, even if other competitors are also using EcoVero.

"There is no other manufacturer for viscose who is this open," pointed out Brandt. "Passion and mutual trust are more important to us than just drafting long-term goals." The first items from Armedangels made from EcoVero include a blouse and a dress, are currently available online for sale.

Photos: courtesy of Armedangels and Lenzing

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Sustainable Textile Innovations: EcoVero, an alternative to viscose

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
London - As the fashion industry heads towards a future where textile resources are scarce, natural fibers such as cotton, which remains a resource-intensive

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
London - As the fashion industry heads towards a future where textile resources are scarce, natural fibers such as cotton, which remains a resource-intensive material, and petroleum-based fibers like acrylic, polyester, nylon, and spandex remain high in demand. But as the production of these fibers continues to cause irreversible damage to our environment, more and more companies are seeking out an alternative, sustainable fibers, and fabrics. In this series, FashionUnited explores the future possibilities offered by sustainable innovations in the textile and fashion industry. In this installment, FashionUnited examines the new, more responsible option to viscose - EcoVero.

Viscose, which is also known as rayon, has been used to make soft, silky fabrics, luxurious feeling fabrics. Made from purified cellulose, it is produced from specially processed wood pulp and is often compared to silk and cotton. However although the fabric made from this fiber may be beautiful, viscose remains a semi-synthetic, chemical fiber. Often the timber used to for the wooden pulp stems from irrigation-intensive monocultures, which negatively impact the earth. Large amounts of highly toxic chemicals, such as carbon disulfide are used during the production of viscose, which has led to a number of worker poisonings. In addition, shipping the cellulose-based fiber around the globe also increases the level of Co2 emissions, making it a harmful fiber.

EcoVero - the new and improved sustainable alternative to conventional viscose

"This is about as dirty as it gets", said Christian Brandt COO of eco-friendly fashion brand Armedangels. "We can't possibly justify using fabrics like [viscose]." However, rather than give up their search for a more sustainable alternative to the fiber, the label continued its search until it stumbled across the most responsible viscose fiber available - EcoVero.

Produced by Lenzing, leading cellulose fibre producer, near the Attersee Lake in Austria, EcoVero is made using sustainable wood from controlled sources which are either FSC (Forest Stewardship Council) or PEFC (Program for Endorsement of Forest Certification Schemes) certified in Europe, instead of bamboo or eucalyptus which is commonly used in normal viscose production. More than 60 percent of the trees used to produced EcoVero fibers come from Austria and Bavaria to ensure lower emissions.

The cellulose fiber is produced on-site at a state of the art facility via a new, innovative environmental process which has significantly lower emissions and water impact than conventional viscose. Nearly all the chemicals used during the production of EcoVero are recovered and reused. Compared to conventional viscose production, the production of EcoVero causes 50 percent less emissions and takes up half as much energy and water in addition to its pulp bleaching being 100 percent chlorine-free.

What's more, Lenzing also offers full supply chain transparency which makes EcoVero fibers identifiable in the final product through its innovative identification technology. "We are supporting the trend in the fashion industry towards greater transparency," said Robert van de Kerkhof, Chief Commercial Officer at Lenzing. "It is becoming increasingly important to know where the products come from and which path they have covered."

Armedangels is the first and only organic, sustainable fashion brand to incorporate EcoVero into its collections for winter 2017, and visited Lenzing production facility in Austria to see first hand how the eco-fiber is made. "EcoVero really elevates viscose to a whole new level," said Brandt, after inspecting the EcoVero fabrics. "We are especially happy about the fact that these fibers do not come from monocultures - as it is the case with bamboo or eucalyptus - but from sustainable forestry. The transport is not as much of an issue either, as it doesn't need to be shipped around the globe since they use timber from Europe that is processed into fiber right on site at Lenzing in Austria. This is the best argument for us."

Although some argue that EcoVero remains a viscose product, whose production still requires the use of potentially hazardous chemicals even using newer, more sustainable production processes, the new fiber is still a welcome alternative to conventional viscose. Over the years Lenzing has invested several million euros into improving its viscose production to ensure it is environmentally friendly as possible. In addition, the production location is key for many fashion brands keen to source the fiber, as the laws and regulations concerning production are stricter and monitored more tightly than in other developing countries which have become sourcing hubs for the industry.

"Our goal is to raise awareness among as many customers as possible for the consequences of what they decide to buy," added Van De Kerkhof during Armedangels visit, a goal the brand is keen to help achieve. Both companies hope to make a difference when it comes to the fashion industry shift to a more sustainable model, and Armedangels is keen to continue working with Lenzing, even if other competitors are also using EcoVero.

"There is no other manufacturer for viscose who is this open," pointed out Brandt. "Passion and mutual trust are more important to us than just drafting long-term goals." The first items from Armedangels made from EcoVero include a blouse and a dress, are currently available online for sale.

Photos: courtesy of Armedangels and Lenzing

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Sustainable Textile Innovations: EcoVero, an alternative to viscose

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
London - As the fashion industry heads towards a future where textile resources are scarce, natural fibers such as cotton, which remains a resource-intensive

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Jersey Straight Leg Trousers with Stretch | M&S Collection | M&S

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Everyone needs a go-to pair of comfortable trousers. This soft jersey design has a straight leg for a contemporary look. Made with a hint of stretch and an elasticated waist for all-day comfort. M&S Collection: easy-to-wear wardrobe staples that combine classic and contemporary styles.

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Welcome to M&S media library. Please use the filters below to refine your search

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Matalan logo and symbol, meaning, history, PNG

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Matalan Logo PNG Matalan is the name of a fashion and interior accessories retailing company, which was founded in 1985 in Great Britain. Today the company has over 250 stores across the UK and Europe and is one of the successful retailers in its segment.

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Primark unveils ‘refreshed’ brand identity and new summer campaign - Retail Gazette

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Primark has released a new brand identity, including an updated logo

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Primark unveils ‘refreshed’ brand identity and new summer campaign - Retail Gazette

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Primark has released a new brand identity, including an updated logo

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ZARA logo vector (.EPS + .AI + .SVG) for free download

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Download the ZARA logo in vector formats (.AI, .EPS, .CDR, .SVG) and high-quality transparent PNG images for free. Get the official ZARA logotype, perfect for graphic design, printing, and digital use.

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H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB, also known as H&M Group, is a multinational clothing company based in Sweden that focuses on fast-fashion clothing. As of 23 June 2022, H&M Group operated in 75 geographical markets with 4,801 stores under the various company brands, with 107,375 full-time equivalent positions.

H&M is the second-largest international clothing retailer after Inditex.[unreliable source ] The company was originally founded by Erling Persson, and its current CEO is Daniel Erver who replaced Helena Helmersson in January 2024.

The business was established in 1947 by Erling Persson when he opened his first shop in Västerås, Sweden. The shop was called Hennes (Swedish for 'hers') and only sold women's clothing. Another store opened in Norway in 1964. In 1968, Persson acquired the hunting apparel retailer Mauritz Widforss in Stockholm, which led to the inclusion of a menswear collection in the product range, and the name was changed to Hennes & Mauritz.

The company was listed on the Stockholm Stock Exchange in 1974. Shortly after, in 1976, the first store outside Scandinavia opened in London. H&M continued to expand in Europe and began to retail online in 1998 with the domain hm.com, which was registered in 1997 according to data available via WHOIS. The opening of its first U.S. store on 31 March 2000 on Fifth Avenue in New York City marked the start of its expansion outside of Europe.

H&M Home section in an Antwerp store

In 2008, the company announced in a press release that it would begin selling home furnishings. While initially distributed online, the home furnishing items are now sold at H&M Home stores worldwide.

Concept stores, including COS, Weekday, Monki and Cheap Monday, were launched following H&M's expansion in Asia. In 2009 and 2010, brand consultancy Interbrand ranked H&M as the twenty-first most-valuable global brand. Its worth was estimated at $12 billion to $16 billion. Under the "H&M with Friends", H&M will partner with Good American, a brand founded by Khloe Kardashian and Emme Grede, to feature their products in H&M's Swedish and German e-commerce shops. In 2017 H&M founded a new concept store Arket.

H&M operated 2,325 stores at the end of 2011. At the end of August 2012, they were operating 304 more stores, bringing the total to 2,629. In September 2013, the retailer opened its 3000th store in Chengdu, China.

In October 2020, H&M announced that it was planning to close 5% of its worldwide stores in 2021 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The fashion retailer H&M closed 250 shops throughout the globe and moved the majority of its operations online. The H&M Group's sales growth remained at −34% year-over-year from 2020 week 12 to week 22.

Countries H&M operates in (2023)

H&M store at the Pavilions Shopping Centre, Birmingham, UK

H&M Asia flagship store at Causeway Bay, Hong Kong

H&M store at the Gandaria City, Jakarta, Indonesia

H&M store at the Chydenia Shopping Centre, Kokkola, Finland

H&M Store at Costanera Center Shopping Center, Santiago, Chile

H&M Store at NOMO - A Vista Lifestyle Center, Bacoor, Philippines

H&M store at the Ciputra World, Surabaya, Indonesia

Map of H&M stores in the U.S. as of April 2023

H&M Melbourne

Withdrawal from the Russian market (2022)

Along with hundreds of other global companies, H&M announced on 2 March 2022, an end to retail operations of its more than 150 stores in Russia as a result of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. H&M cited that it stands "with all the people who are suffering" in Ukraine as well as for "the safety of customers and colleagues" in Russia. Having recently expanded via its Weekday and & Other Stories formats, Russia was H&M's sixth-biggest market at the time, representing 4% of group sales in the fourth quarter of 2021. The company also temporarily closed its Ukraine stores, which remain closed as of 2023.

H&M supplies clothes from different areas around the world. The top three locations that ship its products are China, Bangladesh, and India. Its retail headquarter is located in Sweden, where 21 suppliers and factories manufacture H&M's clothing products and accessories.

The key trends for the H&M Group are (as of the financial year ending 30 November):

In November 2006, the company launched a collection by Stella McCartney.

Also in November 2006, the company launched a collection by avant-garde Dutch designers Viktor & Rolf.

In November 2007, several months after collaborating with Madonna, the company launched a collection by Italian designer Roberto Cavalli.

Finnish company Marimekko was chosen as a guest designer in spring 2008.[citation needed ]

On 14 November 2009, the company released a limited-edition diffusion collection by Jimmy Choo featuring handbags and shoes for men and women, with prices ranging from £30 to £170. The collection also included clothing designed by Choo, such as garments made of suede and leather, and was available in 200 stores worldwide, including London's Oxford Circus store.[34]

Sonia Rykiel collaborated with the company by designing a ladies knitwear and lingerie range that was released in select company stores on 5 December 2009.

French fashion house Lanvin collaborated with H&M to create a new collection, "Lanvin Hearts H&M," in fall 2010.[35] The collection, designed to make Lanvin clothing more accessible to the average consumer, featured items that were around 100 euros. Usually Lanvin dresses would cost hundreds of euros more.[36]

For Spring and Summer 2011, the company worked with fashion blogger Elin Kling, whose collection was only available at select stores.

H&M announced a collaboration with Versace in June 2011 that was later released on 19 November. Versace also planned a Spring collaboration with the company that would only be available in countries with online sales. Similar to past collaborations, Versace agreed to let H&M use its name for a previously agreed-upon sum, without actually having a role in the design process.[37]

H&M announced a collaboration with Marni in November 2011. The campaign launched a few months later in Mah 2012 and was led by director Sofia Coppola.[citation needed ]

Trompe-l'œil-printed viscose jersey dress by Maison Martin Margiela for H&M, 2012

On 4 October 2012, Vogue Japan editor Anna Dello Russo launched an accessories collection with H&M as Paris Fashion Week drew to an end. The collection was stocked in 140 H&M stores worldwide and was also available to purchase online.[38]

On 12 June 2012, H&M confirmed that it would launch a collaboration with avant-garde label Maison Martin Margiela for a fall rollout. The Maison Martin Margiela collection for H&M hit stores a few months later on 15 November 2012.[citation needed ]

Isabel Marant was a collaboration designer for fall 2013 and, for the first time in her career, made a few men's pieces to accompany the women's collection.[39] The collection sold out very quickly in cities across the globe and was heavily anchored in sales online.[40]

During the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in California, H&M announced its first collaboration with an American designer. Alexander Wang was the designer chosen and the collection was released to a select 250 stores around the world on 6 November 2014.

Balmain was announced as the next collaboration with H&M through Balmain designer Olivier Rousteing's Instagram page. The collection was released on 5 November 2015.[41] That year's H&M Christmas campaign was made in collaboration with popstar Katy Perry, who also sang the commercial soundtrack "'Every Day Is A Holiday".[42]

In November 2016, H&M released a designer line in collaboration with Kenzo.[43] That year the company released an annual holiday movie directed by Wes Anderson as part of the company's Christmas advertising campaign.[44] Titled "Come Together", the short film starred Adrien Brody as a train conductor who saves Christmas after a blizzard delays the train's arrival and causes the few passengers to miss part of the holiday.[44][45][46][47]

After 20 years, Naomi Campbell came back to collaborate with the company for a global female empowerment commercial spot in fall 2017. She wore clothes that blurred the line between masculine and feminine in the campaign's Tokyo spot-video where she lip-synced "Wham Rap (Enjoy What You Do)" by Wham!.[49]

Designers Jeremy Scott and Moschino collaborated with the brand in April 2018.

With the idea of reviving the spirit of the swinging sixties, H&M collaborated with designer Richard Allan in July 2019.[50]

Irish designer Simone Rocha, daughter of designer John Rocha, was announced as a collaborative partner in March 2021. Rocha's designs launched with an H&M campaign film and images shot by Tyler Mitchell.[52]

Starting in February 2013, H&M began offering patrons a voucher in exchange for used garments. Donated garments were to be processed by I:CO, a retailer that repurposes and recycles used clothing with the goal of creating a zero waste economy. The initiative is similar to an April 2012 clothes-collection voucher program launched by Marks & Spencer in partnership with Oxfam.

In April 2014, H&M joined Zara and other apparel companies in changing their supply chain to avoid endangered forests. The company teamed with Canopy, a nonprofit, to remove endangered and ancient forests from their dissolvable pulp supply chain for their viscose and rayon fabrics.

The H&M Foundation

The H&M Foundation, a nonprofit, was established in 2014 to fund projects that improve humanitarian and environmental issues within the fashion industry. The Persson family, the founders and owners of H&M, originally invested $180 million in the foundation. One of the foundation's projects includes the Green Machine, a recycling technology that would allow clothing to be recycled in a similar way to aluminum can recycling. Since 2013, the family has made contributions to the foundation, donating SEK1.1 billion (US$154 million) to it.[citation needed ] According to the OECD, H&M Foundation's financing for 2019 development increased by 7% to US$17 million. In August 2015, the H&M Foundation announced that it will award the Global Change Award, a million-euro annual prize, to advance recycling technology and techniques within the fashion industry. In 2021, H&M Foundation launched a virtual clothing collection named "The Billion Dollar Collection" that featured ten sustainable fashion innovation startups.

In September 2019, H&M halted its leather purchases from Brazil in response to the 2019 Amazon rainforest wildfires. The company issued an email statement: "The ban will be active until there are credible assurance systems in place to verify that the leather does not contribute to environmental harm in the Amazon." H&M imports only a small fraction of its leather needs from the country.

Actress Maisie Williams joined the brand as a global sustainability ambassador in April 2021. As a global sustainability ambassador, she helped front the company's campaign on using only recycled or sustainably sourced materials by 2030. The first initiative fronted by the actress has led to a collaboration with the video game Animal Crossing, with Williams being transformed into a digital game character to teach the virtues of recycling.

In May 2021, H&M announced a temporary rental clothing service that allows men to rent suits for up to 24 hours for job interviews. It began in the UK and was also being tested in the United States.

In addition to the H&M brand, the company consists of six individual brands with separate concepts. Brands include Afound, Arket, COS, Monki, Weekday, and & Other Stories.

COS launched its flagship store on London's Regent Street in March 2007 with a catwalk show at the Royal Academy. Its concept is encompassed by minimalist style inspired by architecture, graphics, and design.

It specializes in modern clothing pieces for men and women that are less trend-oriented than other similarly priced labels. COS makes clothing that can be worn beyond the season. COS has 197 stores in 34 countries in Europe, Asia, North America, Australia and the Middle East and currently retails online to 19 markets via cos.com.

2016 saw the hoarding of a new H&M concept in The Dubai Mall come up, labelled now 'H&M Details'.

In August 2011, nearly 300 workers fainted in one week at a Cambodian factory supplying H&M. Fumes from chemicals, poor ventilation, malnutrition, and even "mass hysteria" have all been blamed for making workers ill. The minimum wage in the country is the equivalent of $66 (£42) a month, an amount that is less than half of what is required to meet basic needs, according to human rights groups.

The same year, Bangladeshi and international labor groups put forth a detailed safety proposal that entailed the establishment of independent inspections of garment factories. The plan called for inspectors to have the power to close unsafe factories. The proposal entailed a legally binding contract between suppliers, customers, and unions. At a meeting in 2011 in Dhaka, major European and North American retailers, including H&M, rejected the proposal. Further efforts by unions to advance the proposal after numerous and deadly factory fires have been rejected.

After the 1 February 2021 military coup d'état, many labor groups demanded H&M and other clothing companies divest from Myanmar (Burma) because of the concern that there would be labor rights abuses. There have been multiple reports of labor abuses in factories making H&M clothes. A labor news outlet reported that a worker from Saung Oo Shwe Nay factory that makes H&M clothing was physically abused. Myanmar Labour News quoted FGWM, a labor union, with photos on how the worker was abused by her supervisors. There are multiple reports from other workers from the same factory complaining that they were also physically abused and the employers did not take responsibility, according to the union. There are increasing amount of labor abuses occurring in Burma under the military dictatorship. The largest labor group CTUM has been reporting to the International Labor Organization yearly on Burma labor abuses.

The Guardian wrote that in a conscious action sustainability report for 2012, H&M published a list of factories supplying 95% of its garments. This contributes to the trend of corporations leaning toward ethically transparent supply chains.

On 2 January 2013, The Ecologist reported allegations by Anti-Slavery International that H&M was continuing its association with the Uzbek government in exploiting child and adult forced labor as cotton harvesters in Uzbekistan.

In September 2020, amid international allegations over the use of Uyghur forced labor in Xinjiang, H&M published a statement saying that it had stopped buying cotton from growers in Xinjiang, stating that it was "deeply concerned by reports from civil society organizations and media that include accusations of forced labor and discrimination of ethno-religious minorities".

In February 2017, The Guardian reported children were employed to make H&M products in Myanmar and were paid 13p (about 15 cents US) an hour - half the full legal minimum wage.

Since then, H&M has become a Fair Labour Association (FLA) member and has set a goal to achieve fair living wages throughout its supply chain by 2030.

Savar building, Bangladesh

In April 2013, the Rana Plaza building collapsed in Bangladesh killing over 1,100 people. Fatalities were mostly garment workers. The incident is considered the deadliest non-deliberate structural failure accident and the deadliest garment factory disaster in modern history. The eight-story building complex that was not designed for factory production and had cracks in the structure that the owners ignored. Approximately 2,500 injured people were rescued from the rubble.

The company and other retailers signed on to the Accord on Factory and Building Safety in Bangladesh. In June 2016, SumOfUs launched a campaign to pressure H&M to honor the commitment they made and signed to protect Bangladesh's garment workers. SumOfUs alleged that "H&M is drastically behind schedule in fixing the safety hazards its workers have to face every day."

Phnom Penh, Cambodia

On 19 May 2013, a textile factory that produced apparel for H&M in Phnom Penh, Cambodia collapsed, injuring several people. The incident has raised concerns regarding industrial safety regulations.

On 25 November 2013, H&M's global head of sustainability committed that H&M, as the world's second-largest clothing retailer, would aim to pay all textile workers "living wage" by 2018, stating that governments are responding too slowly to poor working conditions in Bangladesh among other Asian countries where many clothing retailers source a majority if not all of their garments. Wages were increased in Bangladesh from 3,000 takas ($40) to 5,300 takas ($70) a month in late 2013.

In September 2015, CleanClothes.org, an NGO involved in garment labor working conditions, reported on a lack of specific fire safety renovations in H&M suppliers' factories.

In 2020, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute accused 82 major brands, including H&M, of being connected to alleged forced Uyghur labor in Xinjiang. Specifically the report mentions H&M as a customer of Huafu Top Dyed Melange Yarn Co. Ltd. See also: §Boycotts by China. The evidence adduced was that between April 2017 and June 2018 2,048 Uyghur workers were taken "from Hotan Prefecture in Xinjiang to 15 factories in Anhui Province, including [a] Huafu [factory]", and that H&M listed Huafu as a supplier.

On 16 September 2020, H&M said it was ending its relationship with Huafu. It further stated that it had "never had a business relationship with a mill owned by the yarn producer Huafu Fashion Co in Anhui province where workers from XUAR have been employed".

In March 2021, after the EU, UK, US, and Canada's joint sanctions against China over reports of human rights abuses in Xinjiang, H&M's stance on avoiding forced labor in Xinjiang and claim of not going to use cotton produced there was found and criticized by the Communist Youth League of China on its official Weibo page. Their post stated, "Spreading rumors to boycott Xinjiang cotton, while trying to make a profit in China? Wishful thinking!"

The viral post spread across mainland Chinese social media, leading to H&M facing significant criticism among Chinese social media users. On 24 March 2021, H&M became the first fashion brand to be targeted in China, with its products removed from Chinese e-commerce platforms such as Pinduoduo, JD.com and Alibaba, its mobile application removed from Chinese app stores, and rideshare platform DiDi blocking customers from requesting H&M stores as their destinations. Two of H&M's brand ambassadors in China, Huang Xuan and Victoria Song, announced they were no longer collaborating with H&M.

In August 2022, H&M resumed sales in China.

Chinese state media outlet China Global Television Network countered the statements against Xinjiang cotton with a video showing automation in cotton-picking and local Uyghurs claiming that the industry brought high earnings. On 26 March 2021, the United States condemned the China-backed boycotts, with its Department of Commerce stating that the United States "has taken strong actions to stop China from profiting off of its human-rights abuses in Xinjiang and to stop imports of products made with forced labor in China."

On 31 March, H&M responded with a statement vowing to rebuild trust in China and serve its customers in a "respectful way". H&M reported sales in China had fallen by approximately 23% for the second quarter of 2021 (compared to the same period in the last fiscal year). According to a report, more than half a million are forced to pick cotton in Xinjiang.

A proposed class action lawsuit in the US alleged that H&M was greenwashing via the sustainability claims made in its Conscious Choice range. These claims were dismissed. Earlier this year, The Norwegian Consumer Agency (Forbrukertilsynet) said it believed Norrøna is "breaking the law" in marketing clothes as environmentally friendly and issued a warning to H&M GROUP against using the same type of environmental claims.

In March 2022, the H&M Group communicated that they would pause their operations in Russia due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

H&M has operated stores in Israel since March 2010 with its first store in Tel Aviv in partnership with local franchisee Match Retail, a division of Union Group. As of December 2023, H&M operates 24 stores in Israel, predominantly around the region of Gush Dan. H&M does not operate any stores in the controversial areas of East Jerusalem or the West Bank.

However since opening in Israel, the Palestinian branch of BDS has campaigned for boycott of fashion chain, demanding that they pull out of the country. H&M's continuing presence in Israel has led to protests in various stores in Europe, especially since the invasion of the Gaza Strip. The company initially closed its stores when the invasion started in October, however the company quietly reopened the stores.

In January 2016, H&M initially put out and later pulled a tallit-like beige and dark blue striped scarf in its Israeli stores, after it was accused of being offensive to Jews.

In January 2024, the company was heavily criticized after its Australian branch released a rather contentious 'Back to School' advertisement. Melinda Tankard Reist, an Australian writer, questioned the brand's motives, claiming that girls that age just want to be left alone and don't want unwelcome attention. The company removed the advertisement and apologized.

6 January 2010

Was reported that unsold or refunded clothing and other items in one New York City store were cut up before being discarded, presumably to prevent resale or use.

24 January 2012

Was reported to have stolen the work of a UK-based artist, Tori LaConsay, using it on multiple items without compensating her.

August 2013

Withdrew faux-leather headdresses from its Canadian stores after consumers complained the items, part of the company's "summer music festival" collection, were insulting to Canada's Aboriginal peoples.

6 November 2015

H&M South Africa division was accused of racism for its lack of black models in their photoshoots, later stating that white models convey a more "positive Image."

8 January 2018

Showcased on their official United Kingdom website, a black child model wearing a green hoodie reading, "Coolest Monkey in the Jungle", which sparked controversy. This was especially so in the United States due to the use of the term "monkey" on a black person.

In response, Canadian and American singers such as The Weeknd and G-Eazy boycotted the company by ending their partnerships with it over the image. H&M later released an apology: "This image has now been removed from all H&M channels and we apologise to anyone this may have offended."

The mother of the model urged people to "stop crying wolf," deeming it "an unnecessary issue." After the allegations, H&M stores were vandalized and looted in South Africa. In response, H&M temporarily closed stores there.

13 July 2019

H&M docked the pay and suspended several unionized staff in three of its stores in New Zealand for wearing ' Living wage' stickers, as part of a wider industrial dispute.

9 December 2020

Sweden's Equality Ombudsman (DO) started an investigation into H&M following a media report accusing it of racism in Swedish stores.

Since January 2012 H&M has offered its H&M Design Award, an annual design prize for fashion graduates. The prize is established to support young designers with the beginning of their careers.

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H & M Hennes & Mauritz AB, also known as H&M Group, is a multinational clothing company based in Sweden that focuses on fast-fashion clothing. As of 23 June 2022, H&M Group operated in 75 geographical markets with 4,801 stores under the various company brands, with 107,375 full-time equivalent positions.

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Is your small business focusing on ESG? Read our guide to learn what ESG is and how it could benefit your business.

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When global markets were stitched together in the 1970s and 1980s, the labor and environmental gains achieved in the U.S., as incomplete as they were, were not extended to global trade. Fashion companies have flooded into global markets chasing cheaper costs without the attending governance to ensure that this global trade was not exploitative, to people or the environment.

The current challenge lies in holding corporations accountable for their involvement in human and environmental abuses and providing remedy to victims. This predicament exists for two reasons:

1. International law does not exist. There are no binding and effective global accountability mechanisms and;

2. Countries, mostly in the Global South, where production has moved are reluctant to sufficiently regulate these corporations' social and environmental conduct.

There is no regulatory entity at the global level to oversee corporate global operations and hold corporations accountable for their alleged complicity in human rights or environmental violations. Attempts at regulation introduced to date are entirely voluntary. There are "soft-law" initiatives developed by the UN including the UN Global Compact and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. While soft-law regulations might raise awareness, encourage corporations to behave more responsibly, or have an impact on corporate governance, soft-law initiatives have not curbed abuses because they rely on the voluntary participation of corporations, are non-binding, and lack monitoring and enforcement.

At the same time, governments in the Global South are reluctant to hold global fashion corporations accountable for their complicity in labor and environmental abuses for several reasons, including:

1. The dependence of host states on foreign direct investment leads to a lack of political will to enforce even existing laws and regulations. In the context of the fashion industry, countries are competing to get the business of brands, so they are disincentivised from developing or enforcing laws that would cause brands to flee, and;

2. Underdeveloped legal systems and institutions (eg no legal aid for victims or lack of resources for investigations);

3. Vulnerable and weak governments.

All of this leaves the victims of fashion's environmental and labor violations without the possibility for redress in nations where fashion production takes place. Given this context, it is totally unrealistic to expect transnational corporate accountability to come exclusively from the places where fashion production actually occurs.

Given the limitations of accountability mechanisms, the focus today is shifting to corporate home country strategies with extraterritorial effect. One of the principal strategies available to try to make global companies accountable for abuses in their supply chain is through extraterritorial jurisdiction - when a state regulates or when a court adjudicates conduct occurring outside of its territory.

In the US, global victims have tried to pursue lawsuits in US courts through a federal law called the Alien Tort Statute that gives federal courts jurisdiction over lawsuits filed by non-US residents for abuses (called torts) committed in violation of international law (such as international human rights law). It was first introduced in 1789, making it one of the oldest federal laws still in effect in the US.

But, and this is a huge but, since the 1980s, more than 120 foreign direct liability cases have been filed worldwide in the US against US-based multinational corporations for their alleged complicity in human rights abuses, but no corporation has been found guilty to date. Further, most human rights litigation cases have been dismissed.

The Supreme Court, by interpreting the law narrowly, has essentially put the kibosh on the potential power of the Alien Tort Statute.

The federal government is in political roadblock, unwilling to pass critical laws for the full functioning of our society. But the federal system is not our only way to drive regulation. Progressive states must correct this failure and pass laws that fill in this regulatory gap.

We need regulators to step up to the plate. Regulatory failure - a lack of laws - has been a driving force behind corporate short-termism and a lack of consideration for environmental, social and human rights interests. This is the heart of the failure of neoliberalism, corporations have grown focused on short term growth, while governments have not played their role of balancing that growth with the risks for broader society.

We need regulators to ensure products that are sold in US markets are not exploiting land and labor. And alongside this, we need to provide a path for those harmed by a fashion company's negligence, to be able to seek justice.

California has done this, for example by setting state mandated fuel efficiency standards, with enormous success. These state-based fuel efficiency standards have had the effect of revolutionizing the auto industry over the last two decades, improving environmental standards while ushering in new billion dollar companies and shifting existing companies to compete not on things like speed or size but on how environmentally friendly they can make their vehicles. Regulation can create a virtuous cycle of consistently improving environmental and social standards, rather than a race to the bottom through exploitative practices.

This is what the Fashion Act does. Fundamentally, the Fashion Act ensures a fair correlation between the economic power of multinationals and their legal responsibility.

From the 1970's when economist Milton Friedman was quoted as saying, "the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits," to today, corporate focus has been on short-term profit maximization.

While this dynamic has been at play, a competing trend has also made its way through the corporate world, including in the fashion sector: corporate sustainability. As the Cold War came to an end, leading western economies perceived a clear globalizing mission to use their peace, prosperity, and wealth to address shared global problems. For some, corporate sustainability was seen as an opportunity to rewrite the contract between society and capital.

But in the battle between short-term profit maximization and corporate sustainability, short-term profit maximization has won out.

In having to defend its mere existence, corporate sustainability has re-marketed itself as a business optimization function - an area that helps processes be more efficient, improve trust with consumers and regulators, and help to manage risk.

Given this context, today "corporate sustainability" is pursued only to the extent that the company can market it to consumers and financiers as a competitive advantage, thus yielding more short term profit, or because it is a legal obligation.

With these dynamics in place, it is clear both why corporations join voluntary initiatives - it's a marketing tool to win over customers and increase profits - as well as the internal dynamics that lead them to come up short when we move beyond goal setting to implementation.

Specific interest in sustainability initiatives within the fashion industry over the last ten years have not resulted in measurable progress, in fact indicators have only become work. In that time, Rana Plaza killed 1,132 people, microplastics from fashion are now in our bloodstream, and climate emissions continue to mount.

It is no surprise then, that while company involvement in corporate sustainability initiatives have increased significantly (see below), they have not demonstrated that they are addressing the defining environmental and social crises of our time.

Company involvement in corporate sustainability initiatives. ⁸

The job of legislators is to develop considered rules to allow society to thrive. Given that the corporate fashion world will not be achieving gains on their own, legislators must legislate to provide the basic rules to allow fashion companies to thrive within human rights and planetary boundaries.

As described above, labor and environmental abuses are prevalent through the supply chain of the apparel industry. The concept of Mandatory Due Diligence was first developed by the United Nations to address these issues and achieve better outcomes for people and the planet.

Mandatory Due Diligence is the process companies are required to perform to: embed responsible business conduct into policies and management systems, identify, cease, prevent, mitigate, account for, and remediate actual and potential adverse impacts to human rights and the environment in their own operations and in their supply chains.

Within the UN, Mandatory Due Diligence has been a voluntary framework, which has led to limited results. The Fashion Act moves this voluntary framework to a legally required duty, which will, for the first time, prevent companies from evading their responsibilities towards workers and the planet. It will further provide workers a legal framework for redress.

The Fashion Act has developed the most robust version of mandatory due diligence. It combines sufficiency requirements with robust monitoring and enforcement mechanisms -both administrative and through joint and several liability- which all together turns mandatory due diligence into a dynamic means for companies to be held accountable for the impacts in their supply chains. This considered approach ensures that compliance moves away from a "tick-box" approach to ensuring a focus on actual outcomes for people and the planet.

The Fashion Act's Mandatory Due Diligence framework contains the following key elements:

Mandatory Due Diligence could be put into law simply as a disclosure requirement, meaning that a company would only have to disclose how they are performing due diligence, without an accompanying responsibility to actually do anything. The Fashion Act, by contrast, mandates substantive due diligence, requiring companies to effectively carry out due diligence, which includes the requirement to effectively identify, cease, prevent, mitigate, account for, and remediate actual and potential adverse impacts to human rights and the environment in their own operations and in their supply chains. When abuses do occur, companies under the Fashion Act are required to mitigate and remedy the resulting adverse impacts.

Attorney General's Power to Investigate

Under the Fashion Act, the Attorney General is given monitoring, investigative, and enforcement powers to ensure that companies subject to the act comply with the new duty.

The Attorney General can fine the company up to 2% of global revenue for their failures to perform.

Joint and Several Liability for Garment Workers

Under the Fashion Act, regardless of a company's conduct in carrying out due diligence, garment workers will have joint and several liability for any lost wages.

Joint and several liability doctrine - When two or more parties are jointly and severally liable for a tortious act, each party is made independently liable for the full extent of the injuries stemming from the tortious act.

For example, New York State recently passed S2766 which makes contractors in the construction industry jointly and severally liable for wages owed to employees of its subcontractors.

Given that "effective" due diligence is required, the Fashion Act requires the New York Department of State to develop, in consultation with the New York Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Labor, clear rules and educational materials for companies to have the clearest ongoing understanding of how effective will be interpreted and provide guidance on time sensitive issues, emerging issues, and high-risk country situations. The Department is further required to assist companies to improve the quality of their due diligence processes. In this way, companies will have sufficient guidance and support to ensure that they can continue to be in compliance with the Fashion Act as situations continue to evolve.

For more information on mandatory due diligence as applied to the fashion industry, see: OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chain in the Garment and Footwear Sector.

Science Based Targets (SBTs) are five to ten year targets that set the pace that companies have to reduce their emissions to align with the goals of the Paris Agreement limiting global warming to well below 2C above pre-industrial levels and making efforts to limit warming to 1.5C.

The Science Based Target initiative (SBTi) is a partnership between CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), the United Nations Global Compact, World Resources Institute and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF).

SBTs are the de facto global standard for carbon management. Over 3,000 businesses have committed to Science Based Targets. It allows companies to move from doing something, to doing enough aligned with what science says is needed. Using science-based standards moves industry from storytelling competitions to a common definition of ambition. The SBT translates complex science into real-world corporate climate targets.

Science Based Targets break down emissions inside a company and within their supply chains into three scopes.

Scope 1: Direct GHG emissions occur from sources that are owned or controlled by the company. For fashion companies this includes the emissions from their own facilities (offices, warehouses etc), any owned vehicles and any production facilities that they own.

Scope 2: Indirect greenhouse gas emissions from consumption of purchased electricity, heat or steam. These are emissions from the generation of purchased or acquired electricity, steam, heating, or cooling consumed by the company to run its facilities.

Scope 3: Other indirect emissions, such as the extraction and production of purchased materials and fuels, transport-related activities in vehicles not owned or controlled by the reporting entity, electricity-related activities not covered in Scope 2, outsourced activities, waste disposal, etc. For fashion companies, Scope 3 is by far the most significant area of emissions, as this is the scope that includes the emissions from the supply chain, where the vast amount of emissions occur. The climate hotspot in the fashion industry is at the textile mills where clothing fibers are spun, woven, knit, dyed and finished into textiles. See emissions below as one illustration.

The Fashion Act requires companies, at a minimum, to set and achieve Science Based Targets.

The Science Based Targets initiative currently accepts Economic Intensity Methodology for scope three emissions. The Fashion Act only allows this method for companies with revenue below $1 billion. Once companies have reached $1billion and above they will be required to reduce emissions using the absolute reduction method.

Further, the bill states that Science Based Targets are a minimum requirement, this gives regulators space to build on this, should SBT prove to be insufficient.

While the SBTi has developed and continues to evolve a useful framework, the SBTi has no ability to legally enforce the requirement that companies actually achieve those targets. As a result, while companies that have set SBTs have shown to perform better on carbon reductions than their peers, they have NOT demonstrated that they are actually on a path to achieving the emission reduction targets. Moreover, and relatedly, it is only a few leading companies that have so far set or committed to set these emission reduction targets.

Given that carbon impacts in the apparel and footwear industries are largely within the supply chain of brands where facilities - such as textile mills - are shared by multiple brands, companies voluntarily working towards achieving Science Based Targets are put at a competitive disadvantage by carrying the cost that other companies then benefit from. This context inhibits players from both voluntarily signing up for Science Based Targets and from achieving those targets even when they do sign up for them.

Based on the broader short term profit maximization framework fashion companies operate in and the reality that fashion companies share common facilities, it is most likely that even those few companies that have voluntarily set Science Based Targets will not achieve them, unless this requirement is put into law.

Science Based Targets initiative does not explicitly endorse Higg. The Science Based Targets initiative released a guidance document, Apparel and Footwear Sector: Science-Based Targets Guidance and on one page of that they have a case study on how companies could use the Higg suite of tools to set SBTs and track progress.

In March 2022 the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) proposed a rule that would impose mandatory climate risks and greenhouse-gas emissions disclosure requirements on publicly traded companies. There was a 90 day comment period which ended June 2022. Companies' disclosures would require independent assurance, a type of review that's usually performed by engineering, consulting or audit firms. Businesses also would have to review the impact of climate risks stemming from extreme weather events, such as floods, on their finances. The SEC is now in a period of considering the feedback it has received and deciding whether to amend the proposal and vote on a final rule.

The SEC has said it expects additional costs related to the proposal of $420,000 a year on average for a publicly listed small company and $530,000 a year for a bigger firm.

One of the critiques coming from industry is that the proposal would essentially require businesses to maintain two separate sets of records on greenhouse-gas emissions, one for the SEC protocol and one for the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (as used by Science Based Targets) requiring more resources and resulting in higher costs. (see piece and GAP's formal feedback ).

We do not know whether the SEC will amend its rule to align with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol. But the benefit of the Fashion Act is that it already aligns with the Greenhouse Gas Protocol, as that is the protocol used by Science Based Targets.

Water Protections and Chemical Management in the Fashion Act

The fashion industry is a significant user and abuser of chemicals throughout its supply chain and, in particular, in textile mills where fibers are dyed and finished and made into textiles. Poor chemical stewardship in global fashion production results in toxic waste in waterways, poor health for textile workers and surrounding communities, and negative consequences for those purchasing and wearing clothing. This chemical mismanagement is leading to both polluted and dead rivers in the sites where textile mills are located.

The Fashion Act tackles chemical management at the mill, by requiring that fashion companies work with their significant mill suppliers to implement, at a minimum, Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals' (ZDHC's) most up to date Wastewater Guidelines.

The Fashion Act reaches large fashion brands selling in New York State. The Fashion Act applies to fashion and footwear brands that have a global revenue of over $100 million, this includes private label brands of multi-brand retailers, if those brands together reach the $100 million threshold. (This would include, for example, the apparel and footwear private labels of companies like Amazon).

It is the largest fashion companies that have by far the largest impact, earn the most profit and have the capacity and resources to do the work required by the law. It is the top 20 fashion companies that account for 97% of economic profit. ⁹

The Fashion Act is a massively significant bill that, when passed, will make New York State a national and global leader in not only addressing the negative impacts of the $2.5 trillion fashion industry, but will serve as model legislation for other industries with long, global supply chains.

The bill was introduced in the 2021-2022 legislative session by New York State Senator Alessandra Biaggi and Assemblymember Dr. Anna Kelles. The bill has been assigned to the Consumer Protection Committees in both the Senate and the Assembly. Given the bill's significance and recognizing that this is a new space for policy, the sponsoring legislators wanted to ensure that they took the time to be open to any feedback from the bill from all stakeholders interested in providing their feedback and work in dialogue with any and all stakeholders who cared to have their voices heard.

Having received this input, the legislators will release an amended bill in the 2022-2023 legislative session. In order to get the bill into law, the chairs of the Consumer Protection Committees in both houses must put it on their committee agendas where it must pass to move to each house's floor for debate. It must then get passed in each chamber, the Assembly and the Senate. Then, to become law, the Governor must also sign the bill.

To get a bill of such significance passed requires a massive team effort, this includes you! To join the effort, head to thefashionact.org . To learn more about the legislative process we also recommend reading, Short Circuiting Policy: Interest Groups and the Battle Over Clean Energy and Climate Policy in the American States. Found . To be an effective advocate, one needs to understand not just the outcomes hoped, but the political process that will get there.

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When global markets were stitched together in the 1970s and 1980s, the labor and environmental gains achieved in the U.S., as incomplete as they were, were not extended to global trade. Fashion companies have flooded into global markets chasing cheaper costs without the attending governance to ensure that this global trade was not exploitative, to people or the environment.

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In a world where every third piece of clothing is likely made of polyester, this synthetic fibre has woven its way into the fabric of our lives. But at what cost? Polyester, a petroleum-based product, has been under the microscope recently due to its significant environmental footprint.

It is the world's most commonly used fibre, accounting for 52% of fibres produced globally in 2020. This seemingly innocuous material, celebrated for its lightness, strength, and wrinkle-free nature, hides a darker side.

Polyester's production process is energy-intensive, requiring as much as 125 MJ/kg of polyester fibre, resulting in 27.2 kg CO2 eq/kg of polyester woven fabric emission. Yet, these staggering numbers are just the tip of the iceberg.

Moreover, the poor management of residues along the supply chain can cause soil and water pollution. These microplastics harm marine life and can eventually make their way up the food chain, threatening human health.

Furthermore, longevity is a double-edged sword. While it allows clothes to be worn many times, it also means that these garments will likely end up in landfills, where they can take hundreds of years to break down.

Despite these alarming facts, the use of this material continues to grow, fueled by its relative cheapness and the rise of fast fashion.

"Is Polyester Bad For The Environment? Statistics, Trends, Facts & Quotes" aims to peel back the layers of this ubiquitous material. We will dive deep into the polyester world through hard-hitting statistics, current trends, undeniable facts, and poignant quotes from industry leaders and environmentalists.

What Do We Mean With Polyester Exactly

Polyester comes in many forms, but for this article, we are talking about two specific types of polyester:

Virgin polyester, also called polyethylene terephthalate (PET). This is newly manufactured polyester.

Recycled polyester (RPET)

PET can be used alone or blended with other fabrics to make wrinkle-free, stain-resistant clothing that can retain its shape.

Polyester is used in an incredible amount of everyday things, for example:

Environmental Impact of Polyester

The environmental impact is in several ways, but the main problem is microfibers. Or specifically, microfibres getting into the bodies of animals, marine life and humans.

The estimation is that 0.5 million tonnes of plastic microfibers are shed yearly during the washing of textiles based on plastics like polyester, nylon or acrylic, which end up in water, rivers and the ocean.

This isn't polyester only, but it will be a large part of the 0.5 million ton. Based on the growth of the plastic industry, this might be even 0.7 million tons by 2050.

The accumulated amount entering the ocean between 2015 and 2050 would exceed 22 million tonnes. This is according to the research of the Ellen Macarthur Foundation.

700,000 fibres could come off per 6 KG wash (2016 study)

1,900 fibres could be released from a single synthetic garment in a wash (2011 study)

1 million fibres could be removed from washing polyester fleece (2017 study)

Top-loading washing machines release seven times the microfibers as front loaders (2016 study)

100,000 people produce approximately 1.02 kilograms of fibres daily or 793 pounds per year of individual, teeny-tiny plastic shards (2016 study).

Thirty-five per cent of the microplastics that enter the ocean come via synthetic textiles (2017 report).

Here are some of the most important statistics and research about microfibres:

Seventy-three (75) per cent of fish caught at mid-ocean depths in the Northwest Atlantic have microplastic in their stomachs. Even the animals living in the Mariana Trench, the deepest ocean part ( source).

It also underscored how this is a global problem: Synthetic textiles are more common in developing nations, which often don't have robust wastewater treatment facilities to filter them out.

The second sizeable environmental impact is on the workers producing the polyester.

High cost and time pressures are often imposed on all parts of the supply chain, which can lead to garment workers suffering poor working conditions with long hours and low pay, with evidence, in some instances, of modern slavery and child labour. Many workers face dangerous working environments due to hazardous processes, substances of concern used during production, unsafe buildings, or lack of safety equipment.

Then there is the problem of local pollution as factories discharge untreated production wastewater, polluting local rivers.

But the production comes with more problems. Material and water usage is set to become increasingly problematic. With water usage, the most significant challenge will be accessing the water that the textiles industry relies on in water-scarce regions.

For example, the production often uses antimony trioxide as a catalyst, which is retained in the polyester fibres. Antimony trioxide is suspected of causing cancer in humans if inhaled.

Polyester is made from oil, a non-renewable resource and a significant source of pollution. It also requires a lot of energy to create.

Then, finally, one more huge problem that most synthetic materials have: the average polyester product degrades in over 200 years. Meaning it will fill landfills for centuries to come.

One of the best alternatives to polyester is recycled polyester. Recycled material production reduces CO2 emissions by 75% compared to virgin polyester production, making it better for the environment.

Is Polyester Sustainable?

Is polyester sustainable? It is not sustainable. It doesn't degrade and is relatively hard to recycle. Once created, it will be on this earth for over 200 years. Finally, it sheds microfibres so small that it is hard to detect while doing considerable environmental damage.

Is Polyester Toxic?

Since polyester is made of plastic, it is not biodegradable. It takes hundreds of years for the fibre to dissolve. When sent to landfill, the toxic materials used during production leach into the soil and could contaminate the local population's water.

Can You Recycle Polyester?

Virgin polyester (PET) can be recycled into RPET but cannot be recycled anymore.

But this is harder when the polyester is blended with other fabrics like cotton, metal or other synthetic materials.

Also, it is tough to recycle it at scale. Therefore, the majority is burned. And with that, it releases carbon and the chemicals that are in the materials.

One Japanese factory operating at a commercial scale will recycle their polyester from Patagonia into fresh polyester. The rest of the global output can't be recycled at a cost acceptable to fashion brands using today's technology ( Eco Consult).

Is Polyester Biodegradable?

Polyester is not biodegradable, meaning it can take hundreds of years to break down if it ends up in a landfill. More than 200 even.

What Are Polyester Alternatives?

RPET is already an alternative to PET.

Other alternatives are other materials that are biodegradable or easier to recycle:

There is an extensive list of alternatives here: a list of sustainable fabrics.

Polyester Statistics, Trends, Facts and Quotes

Between 2000 and 2014, global clothing production has doubled. In 2002, demand for polyester surpassed cotton (McKinsey).

In 2020, 57.7 million tons of polyester were produced ( Textile exchange).

The % of RPET increased from 11% in 2010 to 15% in 2020 (8.4 million tons) ( Textile exchange).

The global polyester fibre market (PET) is valued at 90.6 billion US dollars and is projected to grow to 150 - 170 or even 230 billion in 2030 at a CAGR of 7.5 - 9.21%.

China is the largest manufacturer of polyester, with 73% of the total production (full disclosure, this is actually "chemical fibre production" that includes polyester, but this will also be true for polyester).

Significant large producers are shown in the image below.

The USA and Turkije also produce, but smaller amounts.

The total global production capacity is about 53.7 million metric tons.

53% of all fibres produced globally are polyester ( Textile exchange).

15% of that is from RPET

What do people say about polyester

If we can bring emissions from polyester to zero or negative value, we can significantly reduce industry emissions.
Benoit Illy, co-founder and CEO of French start-up Fairbrics

Polyester is the most widely-used clothing fibre in the world, but as a synthetic material made from plastic, polyester needs a lot of energy to produce and is highly water and air-polluting.
Roger Lee, CE O of clothing manufacturer TAL Apparel

The fashion industry is at a tipping point. Despite its environmental impact, the wide use of polyester calls for brands to take responsibility and explore alternatives like recycled fibres.
Annoymous Fashion Analyst

Polyester is a synthetic material that is loved for its ability to be both a natural fiber and a material for a wide range of applications such as a backpack, sports bag, and cooler bags.
kelvincorp

Frequently Asked Questions

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Is Polyester Bad For The Environment? Statistics, Trends, Facts & Quotes

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Smart Packaging: The Rise of QR Codes and Interactive Elements

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SKU: MH421B-Z293SW4500Z393

Gingham tank top with v-neck, scalloped trim, bow details, adjustable straps, and tie in the back.
100% cotton
Measurements: 22" (56cm) length , 15.5" (39cm) bust
China

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Gingham tank top with v-neck, scalloped trim, bow details, adjustable straps, and tie in the back.Fabrics: 100% cottonMeasurements: 22" (56cm) length , 15.5" (39cm) bustMade in: China

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Bangle bracelet with clasp closure.All accessories are final sale. Materials: Lead, nickel, and cadmium compliant. Measurement: 7″ (18 cm) length Made in: China

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Flowy, strapless, tube top. Fabrics: 95% Viscose, 5% SpandexMeasurements: 11″ (28 cm) length, 12″ (30 cm) bust Made in: China

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Dress with v-neck, flounces, and tie in the back.Fabrics: 100% viscoseMeasurement: 32″ (81 cm) length, 14″ (36 cm) bust Made In: Italy

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Stripes cotton shoulder bag, with spacious interior top handle, make-up bag, stitching on the side and magnetic closure.All accessories are final sale.Measurements: 16"(41cm) wide, 23" length (58,5 cm)Fabrics: Shell: 100% Cotton. Lining: 100% cotton.Made in: China

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SKU: MH715-Z375ST2200V228C

Short sleeve polka dot cotton top with ruffle detailing, a seam under the bust, button up.
97% cotton, 3% spandex
Measurements: 17" (44 cm) length, 14" (36 cm) bust
Europe

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Short sleeve polka dot cotton top with ruffle detailing, a seam under the bust, button up.Fabrics: 97% cotton, 3% spandexMeasurements: 17" (44 cm) length, 14" (36 cm) bustMade in: Europe

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Brandy Melville - 2025 Company Profile - Tracxn

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Brandy Melville - Retailer of women’s apparel and accessories.

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Brandy Melville: Does English fit all — even in Korea?

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Fast-fashion brand Brandy Melville’s Korea debut draws backlash — not for its sizing, but for speaking English Brandy Melville, the fast-fashion giant known for

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Not for everyone: Brandy Melville’s stance on body positivity - The State News

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Brandy Melville, a fast fashion California-inspired clothing brand, has been surrounded by controversy for their one size fits all sizing system, which results in the exclusion of bigger sizes and questions regarding the company’s stance on body positivity and inclusivity. MSU students and East Lansing community members discuss the effect the one size fits all narrative has on individuals and society.

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American Eagle Outfitters Headed to Europe | License Global

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American Eagle Outfitters has announced plans to expand its flagship brand and its Aerie brand throughout Europe.

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‘Brandy Hellville & the Cult of Fast Fashion’: 5 Takeaways (Published 2024)

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Former employees of the brand, a Gen Z fashion favorite, recount race and size discrimination in a new documentary on HBO.

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Everyone is Not Your Customer: A Case Study of Brandy Melville – Strategic Marketing & Production Company based in Trinidad & Tobago. Caribbean Content Strategy, Corporate Event Photography, Video Production, Marketing, Live Streaming Content

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Controversy Brandy Melville’s success stems from laser-focused targeting of girls and women aged 15-25. The brand appeals to those who resonate with its laid-back, California-inspired style, characterized by minimalist designs and effortless chic. Its limited sizing options further narrow the target market to petite frames.

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Blouse spaghetti strap plaid tank with ruffle detailing and a seem under the bust, button down detailing, and adjustable straps.Fabrics: 100% cottonMeasurements: 21″ (53 cm) length, 15″ (38 cm) bustMade in: China

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If you spend the second weekend of April in Indio, California, or if you dress like you do, then you've probably heard of Brandy Melville. The fast fashion chain has become the go-to label for teen girls and Coachella outfits thanks to its Insta-casual uniform of crop tops, miniskirts, and cotton basics. However, with its 'one size fits most' sizing and notably white, thin, and blonde cast of models, the store has also garnered significant criticism. Now, it appears that was just the tip of the iceberg.

A new report from Business Insider this week exposed an allegedly toxic, exploitative culture at Brandy Melville rife with racism, sexism, and antisemitism. The discrimination comes directly from the top, according to former employees, who said Italian CEO Stephan Marsan demands the sales associates be young, thin, pretty, and white. "If she was Black, if she was fat ... he didn't want them in the store," Luca Rotondo, a former senior vice president, told Insider.

Every day, the young girls who work at one of the 94 Brandy Melville locations are required to send a full-body photo to executives, a practice known as "staff style." If Marsan decides a girl is too unattractive or heavy, he demands that she be fired. If he thinks there are too many Black employees, he has them replaced with white women, according to Rotondo. He and former Canadian store owners alleged in two separate lawsuits that they were fired from their positions after refusing to let go employees based on race and appearance.

Meanwhile, in the New York City flagship store, Marsan and fellow executives work from an elevated area where they watch shoppers, another former employee shared. When they see someone who fits the "Brandy Melville look", they push a button which sets off a light prompting the cashier to ask for the girl's photo so she can be recruited.

The photos of all candidates are then sent to executives who decide who to hire and at what rate. According to multiple current and former staff, a new floor employee's pay is often determined solely by her appearance. "There was no sugarcoating it," a former New York regional manager who left in 2017 said. "It was, 'She is skinny, white, blond, and pretty - let's hire her.'" Black employees, meanwhile, were often relegated to the storeroom or night shifts.

This predatory behaviour from the higher-ups extends to their interactions with the staff. Multiple sources alleged that teenage employees as young as 14 would be asked to undress in front of male executives to try on new clothing for them. Executives would take underage employees out for drinks, while Marsan's right-hand man, Jessy Longo, was accused by several employees of inappropriately touching them. One former employee alleges that she was sexually assaulted by a store manager at an apartment owned by the brand.

It is not just the employees who are the target of racism and discrimination, it is also the consumers. Franco Sorgi, the owner of Brandy Melville stores in Canada and one of the plaintiffs in the second lawsuit, said Marsen told him directly that he didn't want to see Black or overweight women wear his clothes because it would damage the brand's image.

The Insider report also details antisemitism from Marsen and other executives including an instance where Marsan photoshopped his face onto Hitler's body in a group chat with senior leadership. Chat members also frequently exchanged pornography, mocked Black people, and shared memes related to Hitler and the Holocaust. One edited image of a severely emaciated woman wearing underwear and a sash read "Miss Auschwitz 1943."

"People don't realize how corrupt this company is," a current employee at a Massachusetts store told Insider. "It's a disgusting company, and the company needs to be shut down."

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Fashion label Brandy Melville accused of culture of racism and exploitation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
If you spend the second weekend of April in Indio, California, or if you dress like you do, then you've probably heard of Brandy Melville. The fast fashion chain has become the go-to label for teen girls and Coachella outfits thanks to its Insta-casual uniform of crop tops, miniskirts, and cotton basics.

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Primark logo and symbol, meaning, history, PNG

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Primark Logo PNG Primark is an Irish brand of fashion and home accessories retailer chain, which was founded in 1968 and today had stores in more than 300 locations in Europe and the United States. Meaning and history Primark is one of the brands, that experimented with its logotype many times throughout its history, but

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Shein logo and symbol, meaning, history, PNG, brand

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Shein Logo PNG Shein is an American online fashion retailer, which was established in 2008. The e-shop operates in more than 200 countries across the globe and specialized in women’s clothing and accessories at affordable prices. The store also has a wide range of men’s and kids’ apparel. The company is mainly focused on a

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Brandy Melville Stores Are Hell on Earth

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So argues a new HBO documentary, in which certain executives present a fast fashion nightmare dressed as a teenage daydream: “They are racist, sexist, antisemitic. They exploit young girls. And that’s really just the tipping point.”

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Starting ASAP, Van Etten is looking for a part-time PR Intern to join the team in London for the Summer period.
Responsibilities:

Oversee and organise the London studio

Supporting team in daily activities, including shipping gifting, editorial previews, influencer research, sample trafficking and organising media lists.

Maintaining the organisation of the showroom samples and press reports

Assisting with sample trafficking, new sample inventory and gifting initiatives

Reviewing national and local publications and websites for editorial credits on a daily basis.

Reviewing influencer and celebrity pages daily for placements.

Assisting with maintaining a database of influencers, editors and VIPs

Coordinating messenger services and shipments

General administrative duties

Profile:

Passion for and knowledge of the fashion industry and public relations

Strong understanding of influencer and VIP landscape.

Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Eagerness to contribute

Able to adapt to and multitask in high-pressure situations

High attention to detail

A strong sense of urgency

A genuine enthusiasm to learn and grow in a positive, collaborative work environment

Able to commit to working 14 hours a week

A minimum of high school or equivalent education

Application

Apply with a CV and cover letter outlining your suitability and interest.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Starting ASAP, Van Etten is looking for a part-time PR Intern to join the team in London for the Summer period. Responsibilities: Oversee and organise the London studio Supporting team in daily activities, including shipping gifting, editorial previews, influencer research, sample trafficking and organising media lists.

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Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

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Welcome back to Instagram. Sign in to check out what your friends, family & interests have been capturing & sharing around the world.

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Spaghetti strap long dress with adjustable straps, broderie detail and a tie in the back. Fabrics: 100% cottonMeasurement: 50.5″ 129 cm) length, 16″ (41 cm) bust Made In: China

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Basic, zip-up hoodie with two pockets and a drawstring hood.Fabrics: 87% cotton, 13% polyesterMeasurements: 22" (55 cm) length, 18" (46 cm) bustMade In: China

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SKU: MW922L-166TS015V784QR

Spaghetti strap tank top in black with the Sturgis Black Hills Rally 2002 graphic embroidered on the front with a scoop scallop neck.
Fabrics:100% cotton
Measurements:19 " (48 cm) length, 14" (36 cm) bust
Made in: Europe

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Spaghetti strap tank top in black with the Sturgis Black Hills Rally 2002 graphic embroidered on the front with a scoop scallop neck. Fabrics: 100% cotton Measurements: 19" (48 cm) length, 14" (36 cm) bust Made in: Europe

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Fitted cotton cropped spaghetti strap tank top with floral print and eyelet detailing. Fabrics: 100% cotton Measurement: 14″ (36 cm) length, 13″ (33 cm) bust Made In: Italy

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
Sarah Evans / Analytics Practice Manager

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In the analytics maturity model, companies progress in their journey through the 6 stages, showing the insight and differentiation each stage provides.

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Market Research Reports & Consulting | GlobalData UK Ltd.

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Womenswear Market Report Overview

The womenswear market size was estimated at $814 billion in 2022. The market is expected to achieve a CAGR of more than 4% during 2022-2026. After the world returned to normality in 2022 after the effects of COVID-19, there were sales in the womenswear market. Social occasions were back on the agenda and shoppers were eager to refresh their wardrobes for various events. Formal outfits were the preference of many customers. Many consumers also went on holiday abroad, with few travel restrictions in place, boosting sales of items such as swimwear, skirts, and dresses. However, inflation dampened sales in some countries in the second half of 2022.
Womenswear Market Overview, 2022-2026 ($ Billion) Buy the Full Report to Know More About the Womenswear Market Forecast, Download A Free Report Sample
The womenswear market research report offers comprehensive insight and analysis of the global Womenswear market, the major players, and the key trends. It provides a detailed analysis of the key trends shaping the market, market sizes and forecasts, and the performance of key retailers.

Market Size (2022)

$814 billion

CAGR (2022-2026)

>4%

Historical Period

2017-2021

Forecast Period

2022-2026

Key Regions

Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, and Middle East and Africa

Key Category

Coats & Jackets, Underwear, Dresses, Jeans, Shirts, Leggings, Swimwear, and Suits

Leading Brands

Shein, H&M, Zara, Uniqlq, Levi's, and C&A

Womenswear Market Drivers

Rising disposable income is one of the key drivers influencing the women's wear market. As women's incomes rise, they have more disposable income to spend, including on womenswear. This will also enable some consumers to afford higher-priced products, such as premium and luxury items, driving spend in the global womenswear market. Rising professional employment will also boost spending as spending on clothing and footwear for offices increases.

Furthermore, several notable mergers and acquisitions will generate growth in the womenswear market by bringing together the strengths of different companies and avoiding the collapse of players, while creating new products to suit the ever-changing demands of consumers.

Womenswear Market Segmentation by Distribution Channel
Womenswear Market Analysis, by Distribution Channel, 2022 (%) Buy the Full Report to know More About the Womenswear Market Distribution Channel, Download A Free Report Sample
The key distribution channels in the womenswear market are clothing, footwear, and accessories specialists, hypermarkets, supermarkets and hard discounters, department stores, online specialists, other offline channels, and other online retail. Clothing, footwear, and accessories specialists led the market in 2022.

Womenswear Market Segmentation by Categories
Womenswear Market Analysis, by Categories, 2022 (%) Buy the Full Report to Know More About the Womenswear Market Categories, Download A Free Report Sample
The key categories in the womenswear market are coats & jackets, underwear, dresses, jeans, shirts, leggings, swimwear, and suits among others. Coats & jackets led the market in 2022.

Womenswear Market Segmentation by Regions
Womenswear Market Analysis, by Regions, 2022 (%) Buy the Full Report to Get More Regional Insights On The Womenswear Market, Download A Free Report Sample
The key regions in the womenswear market are the Americas, Asia-Pacific, Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. APAC holds the largest share of the global womenswear market, and this will continue to rise in the coming years. International brands are continuing to focus on the region for expansion, particularly India and China, as they offer rapid growth opportunities as Western styles become more popular. Europe and American markets will underperform in 2026 as more women consider sustainability, purchasing fewer items and switching to resale.

Womenswear Market - Competitive Landscape
Womenswear Market Analysis, by Brands, 2022 (%) Buy the Full Report to Know More About Leading Womenswear Brands, Download A Free Report Sample
Some of the leading brands in the womenswear market are Shein, H&M, Zara, Uniqlq, Levi's, and C&A among others. Shein's endless options and low prices have allowed its market share to skyrocket, with Zara and Lululemon also quickly gaining share.

Segments Covered in this Report

Womenswear Market Category Outlook (Value, $ Billion, 2017-2026)

Coats & Jackets

Underwear

Dresses

Jeans

Shirts

Leggings

Swimwear

Suits

Womenswear Market Regional Outlook (Value, $ Billion, 2017-2026)

Americas

Asia-Pacific

Europe

Middle East and Africa

Key Highlights

The global womenswear market grew by more than 7% in 2022 as many consumers experienced the first year without any pandemic-related restrictions since 2019.

The womenswear market was supported by a return to normality in 2022 although inflation dampened sales in some countries

Online penetration in the womenswear market will rise by 2026, with stores increasingly becoming like showrooms

Reasons to Buy

Gain a comprehensive view of the global womenswear market and forecasts to 2026

Explore new opportunities that will allow you to align your product offerings and strategies to meet demand following the impact of recent events on the womenswear market

Investigate current and forecast trends in womenswear categories to identify the opportunities offering the most potential

Understand who the main competitors are in the sector and the price positioning

Mango
American Eagle
boohoo.com
Cotton On
SKIMS
ME+EM
Motel
Lucy & Yak
Primark
ASOS

Table of Contents

Executive Summary

Key Trends in the Global Womenswear Market

Global Market Size and Forecasts to 2026

Channel Performance & Forecasts to 2026

Regional Performance & Forecasts to 2026

Category Performance & Forecasts to 2026

Competitive Landscape: Leading Market Shares & Brand Profiles

Appendix

Methodology, Definitions & Contacts

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Womenswear Market Size, Share and Trend Analysis by Segments, Region, Category Performance and Competitive Landscape to 2026

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The womenswear market size was valued at $814.0 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 4% during 2022-2026. The womenswear market research report will help to understand what is driving the high growth in the womenswear market, and which categories will be the strongest performers out to 2026.

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As of March 2023, online search engine Bing accounted for 8.23 percent of the global search market, while market leader Google had a share of around 85.53 percent. Meanwhile, Yahoo's market share was 2.44 percent.

Google in the global market

Ever since the introduction of Google Search in 1997, the company has dominated the search engine market, while the shares of all other tools has been rather lopsided. The majority of Google revenues are generated through advertising. Its parent corporation, Alphabet, was one of the biggest internet companies worldwide as of 2022, with a market capitalization of 1,917 billion U.S. dollars. The company has also expanded its services to mail, productivity tools, enterprise products, mobile devices, and other ventures. As a result, Google earned one of the highest tech company revenues in 2021 with roughly 256.74 billion U.S. dollars.

Search engine usage in different countries

Google is the most frequently used search engine worldwide. But in some countries, its' alternatives are leading or competing with it to some extent. As of the third quarter of 2022, more than 62 percent of internet users in Russia used Yandex, whereas Google users were nearly 36 percent. In China, Baidu was the most used search engine as of December 2021, with nearly 86 percent of internet users in the country accessing it.

In other countries, like Japan and Mexico, people tend to use Yahoo along with Google. In the first quarter of 2022 nearly 56 percent of the respondents in Japan said that they had used Yahoo in the past four weeks. In the same year, over 27 percent of users in Mexico said they used Yahoo. Another search engine, Bing, operated by Microsoft, was the second most popular search engine in the United Kingdom after Google.

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Global search engine desktop market share 2023 | Statista

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As of March 2023, online search engine Bing accounted for 8.23 percent of the global search market, while market leader Google had a share of around 85.53 percent. Meanwhile, Yahoo's market share was 2.44 percent. Ever since the introduction of Google Search in 1997, the company has dominated the search engine market, while the shares of all other tools has been rather lopsided.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Light weight soft white cotton shorts with an elastic lie waistband, and floral embroidery trim. Fabrics: 100% cotton Measurement: 8" (20cm) rise, 2.5" (6cm) inseam, 26" (66cm)waist (stretches) Made in: Italy

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Fitted, crewneck button up cardigan sweater with ribbed trim.Fabrics: 100% cottonMeasurement: 22″ (57 cm) length, 19″ (49 cm) bust Made in: Europe

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Long flowy white prairie skirt with a tie waist and ruffle seams.Fabrics: 100% viscoseMeasurements: 36″ (91 cm) length, 28″ (71 cm) waist (stretches)Made in: China

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Fitted, ribbed, cotton crew neck tank top. Fabrics: 100% cotton Measurements: Size S: 19″ (48 cm) length, 11″ (28 cm) bust Size M: 22″ (55 cm) length, 12″ (30 cm) bustMade in: China

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Fitted cotton tank top with a scoop neck.Fabrics: 100% cottonMeasurements: 17″ (43 cm) length, 14″ (36 cm) bustMade in: Italy

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Classic, relaxed fit cable knit sweater with the American flag knitted on the front.Fabrics: 100% cottonMeasurement: 26″ (67 cm) length, 21″ (53 cm) bust Made in: Italy

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Official Store of Brandy Melville in the United States. Shop online to purchase tops, bottoms, accessories and more.

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Sarah Evans / Analytics Practice Manager

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In the analytics maturity model, companies progress in their journey through the 6 stages, showing the insight and differentiation each stage provides.

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Dresses & Skirts - Worldwide | Statista Market Forecast

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Worldwide: In 2025, the Dresses & Skirts market worldwide generated a revenue of US$106.59bn. Definition: The Dresses & Skirts market includes all types of dresses and skirts for women.

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Impact of Brexit on Apparel – Thematic Research

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Brexit is significantly impacting consumers and retailers operating in the UK and the Europe in a myriad of ways, including trade tariffs, the movement of goods, changes in the labor market, and general repercussions relating to consumer attitudes and buying behavior across the region. While these changes pose some initial hurdles in day-to-day business, in long run, Brexit will also provide fresh opportunities for retailers to consider and explore.

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Digital engagement tools used by fashion companies 2022| Statista

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A 2022 survey of fashion company executives revealed that nearly seven in ten fashion brands were using social media in order to engage with their consumers, while ** percent were using email marketing, followed by ** percent using paid search, like Google advertisements.