Interviews

Climate risk is increasingly being modelled not as a reputational concern but as a margin-level financial exposure. New analysis suggests operating profits in apparel could shrink sharply under accelerated net-zero transitions. Kristina Elinder Liljas, Senior Director of Sustainable Finance and Engagement at Apparel Impact Institute, argues that carbon exposure now belongs inside capital allocation models, not sustainability reports.

Waterless dyeing has historically struggled with fibre limitations, slow cycles, and inconsistent shades. Recent industrial trials now suggest those constraints have been fixed. Swapneshu Baser, Managing Director of Deven Supercriticals explains how architectural changes in dye placement and process flow transformed supercritical CO₂ from a niche alternative into a viable, scalable dyeing medium for mainstream textiles.

The economics of reuse are under strain as ultra-fast fashion floods markets with garments never designed to last. In this environment, circular systems are absorbing rising costs without corresponding value. Steven Bethell, Founder of Bank & Vogue and Beyond Retro, outlines how low-quality imports are destabilising charities, recycling infrastructure, and material integrity across the secondhand ecosystem.

Growing scrutiny of textile waste is exposing a technical reality: recyclers remain limited by trim heterogeneity, variable feedstock quality and labour-intensive preprocessing. From this vantage point, Eileen Mockus, COO at Accelerating Circularity, outlines how these structural barriers influence both early-stage pilots and industrial recycling lines. Her analysis points to the need for standardised specifications and coordinated investment to improve outcomes.

The fashion sector continues to struggle with inconsistent data, fragmented supply chains and growing regulatory pressure, limiting progress on circularity. The updated Circular Transition Indicators guidance aims to overcome these challenges with refined methodologies and clearer regulatory alignment. Elisabetta Rocchi, Associate for Circular Products and Materials at the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, outlines how the sector-specific edition strengthens measurement and implementation.

The fashion industry’s demand for distressed denim often clashes with reliance on potassium permanganate, heavy bleaching, and water-intensive laundering. Pressure to modernise these approaches keeps growing. Providing momentum is Archroma, which developed the Denim Halo system to engineer predictable surface dyeing upstream, enabling strong contrasts with markedly reduced resource use and operational complexity.

As policymakers seek to standardise global rules on textile waste, African traders find themselves contending with definitions that could reshape their markets. Atobrah Edward Brinkley, Secretary of the Ghana Used Clothing Dealers Association, argues that lived realities of reuse and repair deserve equal recognition within sustainability frameworks largely framed by institutions far removed from their economies.

As international agencies develop new criteria for textile “waste,” concerns are emerging over how these definitions affect circular trade and livelihoods. SMART, the US-based association for secondary materials and recycled textiles, urges clarity and inclusiveness. Its Director of Government Affairs, Jessica Franken, stresses that credible environmental frameworks require full transparency and peer-reviewed data.

Efforts to tighten global definitions of “waste” have sparked a struggle over the future of reuse economies. Teresiah Wairimu Njenga, who leads the Mitumba Consortium Association of Kenya, argues that poorly conceived guidelines risk collapsing viable circular systems under the guise of environmental reform, while the real issue of fast-fashion overproduction remains unaddressed.

Across Europe, fashion’s sustainability narratives are under growing scrutiny. Amid rising consumer confusion and corporate opacity, one Danish researcher and consultant has been pushing national institutions to act. At the forefront is Tanja Gotthardsen, who has taken on major platforms such as Zalando and Copenhagen Fashion Week, pressing for systemic accountability in how sustainability is defined, communicated, and enforced.