15th- 19th September 2025
Ecotextile News
The purpose-led multimedia news platform for sustainability in the global fashion and textile industry.
Welcome back to another Ecotextile News Weekly Briefing, where we give you the rundown on the most important news in the textile, fashion and sustainability industry in just a few minutes. Sit back* and let us guide you through the week...
*☕️We would say grab a cup of tea, but you’ll be finished reading this before it's brewed
Monday
📍We began the week with the news that South Korean researchers claiming that they have developed a machine learning framework capable of predicting sustainable textile dyeing outcomes with high confidence using only minimal experimental data.
Hyeokjun Cho and Seung Geol Lee, from the Ulsan National Institute of Science and Technology (UNIST), say their study could revolutionise dyeing processes, cutting water, chemical and energy use while enhancing consistency and reducing waste.
📍We also released a business article from our contributor Stephen Frost who argues that rising production costs, inflation, and an unstable exchange rate have crippled the Turkish textile sector’s competitiveness, resulting in brands relocating to other sourcing countries, leading to a wave of factory closures and layoffs.
Tuesday
📍On Tuesday, we brought light to a new study which claims to be the first to assess the methane footprint for the global fashion sector and concludes with an urgent call on the sector to curb its emissions.
The report highlights the disproportionate impact of animal-derived materials, stating: “Despite making up under 4% of overall material use in the fashion industry, 75% of fashion’s methane footprint is tied to animal-derived leather, wool and cashmere production.”
📍We also reported that leading European textile and clothing federations came together to make a joint call on European authorities to take urgent action against ultra fast fashion retailers such as Shein and Temu.
Trade groups from across Europe united at the Première Vision trade fair in Villepinte, Paris, to raise concerns about the business model which they say accounted for 4.5 billion imported parcels into the EU in 2024.
They point out that these mostly Chinese-owned companies now represent 5% of clothing sales in the single market – and 20% of online fashion – and continue to grow at a staggering pace.
Wednesday
📍On Wednesday, we announced that Worldly has launched a new risk intelligence tool aimed at helping fashion retailers and brands make more effective investments.
Launched at Worldly’s annual customer forum, which took place in Hong Kong on Thursday, Worldly Axion integrates dozens of external datasets to provide clear performance indicators across five key areas, namely carbon and energy, water, heat stress, extreme events, and facility benchmarking.
“By 2030, if mitigation is not stepped up, the number of climate-related disasters could be 40% higher than in 2015,” Worldly said in a statement.
📍We also looked into the claim that China’s textile and apparel industry stands at a pivotal crossroads as it navigates heightened decarbonisation pressures and global competitive shifts.
Cascale‘s new China Country Report says that China remains the world’s largest garment exporter with over 31% of the global market in 2023 and approximately 7.8 million workers, most of them women, employed directly in the industry.
Thursday
📍On Thursday, we brought light to new Textile Exchange data which claims that greenhouse gas emissions associated with the production of raw materials for the apparel, home textiles and footwear industry have risen by 20% over the past five years.
The increase is fuelled by record-breaking global production which reached around 132 million tonnes in 2024 – equivalent to four tonnes of fibre every second – up from about 125 million tonnes in 2023.
If current patterns persist, Textile Exchange projects that total production could reach 169 million tonnes by 2030 — raising serious concern over the sector’s climate commitments and reliance on non-renewable resources.
📍We also covered that the Scandinavian Textile Initiative for Climate Action, the European platform driving climate accountability in the apparel and textile sector, has called on the Swedish government to lower VAT on second-hand clothing sales.
Together with 47 of its signatories, the organisation has released a joint position in support of a 6% VAT rate on second-hand clothing, highlighting how targeted fiscal policy can accelerate the transition to a more circular and climate-friendly textile sector. The current general rate for clothing is 12%.
Friday
📍Today we cover the news that The Or Foundation , which campaigns against textile waste exports from the Global North to Africa, wants Europe to embrace “global accountability”
🌟That's a wrap on this Weekly Briefing- stay tuned for next week!