TAMPA - With the textile industry responsible for over 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions and production rates increasing in many countries, there is a need to adopt cleaner, more efficient, and low-carbon technologies to mitigate climate…
GLOBAL - Swedish fashion giant H&M has updated its agreement with the IndustriALL global union and the Swedish trade union IF Metall to protect the interests of more than one million garment workers. It says the updated global framework agreement…
KETTERING - UK shoe brand, Loake Brothers has partnered with Buyerdock to integrate a digital product passport (DPP) system across its entire product range. Once implemented, each Loake product will feature a Buyerdock-powered DPP which the company…
KARACHI - Garment and textile factory owners in Pakistan recently attended a briefing on the roll out of the Pakistan Accord on Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry (Pakistan Accord). Nearly 130 brands have now signed up for the…
DHAKA - Nine multi-stakeholder organisations have issued a joint statement calling for responsible behaviour from brands sourcing from Bangladesh following the overthrow of the government. Amfori, Cascale, Ethical Trade Denmark, Ethical Trade…
ANKARA - The International Labour Organization (ILO) has linked up with a women-led social enterprise in Turkey for a project to promote more sustainable textiles and decent work opportunities. The Turkish office of the ILO is providing technical…
LONDON - The KnowTheChain initiative has published its 2024 Good Practice Guide, a new reference aimed at helping companies from the apparel and footwear sector ensure they are operating within ethical supply chains. The guide is described as a…
SYDNEY - Australian NGO Fair Supply has published a research paper examining the effectiveness of Canada’s recently introduced legislation aimed at identifying forced labour and child labour in the country’s supply chains. The paper delves into the…
AMSTERDAM - Cascale, formerly the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, has published a new research paper that details how the organisation’s Higg Brand & Retail Module (BRM) can help companies meet their regulatory reporting obligations under European…
PHNOM PENH - Negotiations are underway in Cambodia on setting a new minimum wage for garment workers for next year. Workers will be hoping for a significant increase in the current minimum wage of $204 per month in the sector, which also includes…
RHODES - Worker rights campaigners today presented a 85,000-name petition to Australian apparel retailer Best&Less urging the company to sign up to the International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry. ActionAid…
HONG KONG – Supplier assessment non-profit Ethical Supply Chain Program (ESCP) has partnered with supply chain mapping platform Open Supply Hub (OSH) to add almost 700 certified factories to the OSH digital map. The ESCP says data from the…
DHAKA - Garment workers' leaders in Bangladesh have presented a demand for improved pay and conditions to the country's new interim government led by Nobel Peace Prize winner Muhammad Yunus. The Sramik Samhati (Bangladesh Garment Workers'…
DHAKA - Swedish retail giant H&M, one of the biggest fashion companies sourcing from Bangladesh, has pledged to maintain a close dialogue with its suppliers and not to seek discounts for orders delayed by the current crisis. It comes as garment…
DHAKA - The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) has posted advice for companies sourcing from Bangladesh during the current crisis which has seen hundreds of deaths and the resignation of the Prime Minister. Many garment factories and textile mills…
WASHINGTON DC - The Fair Labor Association (FLA) has linked up with the Global Fashion Agenda (GFA) in a bid to raise the bar on fair compensation and living wages in global fashion supply chains. FLA and GFA renewed their agreement to collaborate…
DHAKA - Many garment factories and textile mills in Bangladesh have temporarily closed their gates due to ongoing violent protests which have led Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to resign and flee the country. About 250 people have so far been killed…
GENEVA – Increasing numbers of workers, including those in the global textile and clothing supply chain, are being exposed to heat stress. The new data from the International Labour Organization (ILO) also warns that regions previously unaccustomed…
PARIS - Environmental advocacy organisation Stand.earth has launched further legal action against Canadian athleticwear brand Lululemon over environmental claims made in its marketing campaigns. Filed with the French Directorate General for…
NEW DELHI – India’s Apparel Made-Ups and Home Furnishing Sector Skill Council (AMHSSC) has teamed up with chemical management specialist Bluesign to launch an online course titled “Foundation to Apparel Sustainability”. Described as a…
GENEVA - The IndustriALL global trade union has reiterated its call to the government of Bangladesh to ensure that the recent minimum wage ruling is effectively implemented across the country’s garment manufacturing sector. It has also called for…
GUATEMALA CITY - Workers at a Guatemelan garment factory, who were laid off in 2013 and then later rehired in 2015 without compensation, have won back $300,000 in back pay they were legally due. It follows the interventions of the Worker Rights…
WASHINGTON DC - Workers' rights campaigners have been staging protests across the US calling on sportswear giant Nike to ensure fair pay and conditions for the garment workers who make its products. The demonstrations of support for garment workers…
ROME - Italy's competition watchdog is investigating if Armani and Dior misled consumers following inquiries by prosecutors into worker exploitation at suppliers of the two luxury fashion houses. The Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) is focusing…
AHMEDABAD – Over 46,000 members of SEWA (Self Employed Women’s Association) in India, many of whom are informal garment workers who complete long hours at home rather than in factories, have taken part in a pilot scheme offering financial support to…
TASHKENT – Positive talks and several agreements struck between the International Labour Organization (ILO) and political leadership of Uzbekistan has led the ILO’s director-general to hail the country as a “role model” for its work to eliminate…
LOS ANGELES – The US Department of Labor (DOL) has recovered more than $1.1 million in back wages and damages from a Los Angeles garment contractor that deliberately denied overtime wages to its employees. The DOL is now actively trying to locate…
PHNOM PENH - The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) and the Fair Labor Association (FLA) are calling on the Cambodian government to call off an investigation into an NGO which criticised a garment factory watchdog. It comes as officers…
LONDON / NEW YORK - Six out of 10 major companies are underselling their sustainability efforts for fear of being accused of greenwashing, according to a new study. Data insights company Connected Impact and data science specialist Ringer Sciences…
MANCHESTER – The UK garment industry must better utilise digital technology to combat modern slavery in global supply chains, according to a new report by academics at the University of Manchester. Researchers called for urgent attention from…
QUEBEC – The Canadian government has launched a public consultation to address plastic waste and pollution from the textile and apparel sector. Outlining a number of measures the government could implement, Steven Guilbeault, Minister of Environment…
AMSTERDAM - Nine out of 10 of the world’s most influential companies are failing on human rights, decent work and ethical conduct - but apparel and footwear is the best performing sector, according to a new study. The World Benchmarking Alliance's…
KOBE – Japanese sportswear brand ASICS has been accused by workers' rights campaigners of standing by while a garment worker at one of its Cambodian supply factories was jailed for forming a trade union. The Worker Rights Consortium (WRC) claims…
SAN FRANCISCO – Cascale, formerly the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, saw its membership grow to 302 from across 34 countries in 2023, up from 257 the previous year, with the new members including retailers, brands, manufacturers, governments, and…
PHNOM PENH - Workers' rights campaigners in Cambodia who accused a factory watchdog of failing to protect garment workers are now reportedly under attack themselves from pro-government unions. The Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights…
DHAKA - Garment workers in Bangladesh are staging protests in industrial areas calling for ration cards because they say their wages are not sufficient to pay for food and other basic needs. The minimum wage for the country's garment workers…
UTRECHT - The Solidaridad international organisation has published a new paper highlighting adverse working conditions in the global cotton supply chain, including poverty, forced and child labour, and the impact of pesticides on the health and…
GENEVA - Workers from across the global garment sector face significant changes due to climate change and the twin green and digital transitions, a conference has heard. The challenges facing textile workers and what is needed to ensure a just…
SYDNEY – Australia’s new clothing product stewardship scheme will begin on the 1st July, environment minister Tanya Plibersek has announced. The ‘Seamless’ scheme aims to make Australian clothing circular by 2030, with a $0.03 (A$0.04) per garment…
MILAN – The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) has provided an update on the three-year progress of its ‘Sustainability Pledge’ project to highlight ongoing challenges and solutions in adopting a supply-chain-wide traceability…
GLOBAL - Fashion brands are failing to fulfil commitments to freedom of association and collective bargaining in their supply countries in South and Southeast Asia, according to new research today. The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (BHRRC)…
COWES - The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has published a new report in which it outlines why mandatory, fee-based extended producer responsibility (EPR) is essential to building a global circular economy for textiles. The report, ‘Pushing the…
MILAN - An Italian subsidiary of French luxury giant LVMH has been put under court administration over allegations it sub-contracted work to Chinese-owned firms which mistreated workers. The Milan court ordered manufacturer Dior, which is fully…
BRUSSELS – A new report has again identified major textile and garment-producing countries, including Bangladesh, Turkey, Myanmar and Guatemala, among the worst 10 in the world for workers’ rights. The International Trade Union Confederation’s…
GLOBAL - Companies sourcing from countries and regions where human rights are under extreme pressure are being offered guidance in a new report from the Joint Ethical Trading Initiatives. Entitled 'Human rights due diligence in challenging…
PHNOM PENH - The Better Factories Cambodia (BFC) initiative's role as watchdog of the country's garment industry is at risk due to failures to uncover breaches of workers' rights, according to a new report. Entitled 'Barriers to Representation:…
SAN FRANCISCO - The Apparel Impact Institute (Aii), which works with brands and factories to reduce the environmental and social impact of the fashion and textiles industry, is to launch the second round of its climate solutions portfolio (CSP)…
AMSTERDAM - The Fair Wear Foundation and the Social & Labor Convergence Program (SLCP) have announced a new partnership which will see Fair Wear use SLCP data in their human rights due diligence (HRDD) facilitation hub in a bid to eliminate audit…
BRUSSELS - Textile and clothing industry body Euratex and global trade union IndustriAll Europe have teamed up to launch Stitch Together, a Europe-wide two-year project to promote social partnerships in the European textiles and clothing industry.…
SEATTLE - Online retail giant Amazon has joined the Life and Building Safety (LABS) programme which works to fostering safer working conditions and sustainable practices within the global apparel, footwear and accessories supply chain. LABS is run…
Or if you prefer email, click on the button below and we'll get back to you asap
Why Subscribe?
Founded in 2006, Ecotextile News is the environmental magazine for the global textile and fashion industries and provides unrivalled daily coverage, comment and expertise in both print and online formats.
Focused on sustainable innovation and industry best practice, subscribers enjoy:
Daily breaking news on our market leading website.
Six printed magazine issues delivered to your door.
A weekly e-bulletin delivered to your inbox with all the latest developments
Unlimited access to our daily news website, including premium content
Digitised versions of every printed issue we’ve published since February 2007
Unlimited access to the MCL News and Media app with breaking news from our four market leading publications.
Exclusive discounts on MCL News & Media reports and magazines.
What we offer:
Inside track on the environmental strategies of brands and retailers
Influential commentary on MRSL’s and supply chain compliance
Exclusive interviews with key industry figures
New technology for sustainable textile production
Textile recycling, closed loop systems and recycled synthetics
Reports on social compliance and labour in developing nations
Guidance on environmental regulation and textile standards
How to select sustainable raw materials
Expert comment and analysis on textile dyeing and chemistry
Live reporting from global textile exhibitions and conferences
Breaking news on environmental policy briefings
The impact of natural resource consumption by the textile sector
Independent commentary on third-party sustainability tools
Textile manufacturing case studies
News on downstream pollution and wastewater treatment
Implications of trade agreements on environmental and social concerns