In the 90 days leading up to April 22, internet searches for ‘How to live a sustainable lifestyle’ increased by 4,500% according to Google. Faced with great change and uncertainty, consumers have a growing interest in sustainability. However, this new mindset may not be enough to turn the tide on fast fashion. Despite struggles across the retail sector, fast fashion brands are still coming out on top.

An exciting research project called Forest Fabrics at the University of Borås, Sweden, is on the quest to create a sustainable fabric made from paper. One of the collaborators behind the project, Swedish brand House of Dagmar, is currently working to see how the fabric can be used in their clothes.

Everything you need to know about the OAR— a free, neutral and open source tool mapping garment facilities worldwide and allocating a unique ID to each. The OAR was launched in March 2019 and has now grown to over 43,600 facilities across 129 countries. Here’s how the tool is becoming the industry’s “central source of truth”.

The UK has left the EU, and the transition period after Brexit comes to an end this year. Take action now to get ready for new rules from January 2021.

Modern slavery continues to be a problem both globally and in the UK. Persistent and coordinated political efforts are needed to end and prevent it once and for all.

We’re all familiar with the tactic of drowning a hashtag or report, something that’s a specialty of online fast fashion retailers. From giveaways to new collections released at the same time as controversy hits, this isn’t a coincidence. But in a time when consumers talk of wanting a cleaner industry, will they need longer memories to make that happen?

The made-to-order industry is the answer to some of the big problems presented by our current fashion industry. By only producing what has been ordered by a customer, textile waste is almost entirely eliminated. But there are limitations to this system. Can made-to-order brands maintain this production model as consumer demand grows?

Trend forecasting is a crucial part of the product development process, and likely the starting point to the majority of products we buy, wear, and throw-away each year. While Trend Forecasters are rarely recognised for their considerable contribution and artistry, they are also rarely challenged for their role in our wasteful industry.

Labour Behind the Label - a UK-based not-for-profit co-operative organisation which campaigns for workers' rights in the clothing industry - on how the global pandemic has had a huge impact on workers in global fashion supply chains. Image: Kalpona Akter, president of the Bangladesh Garment and Independent Workers Federation (BGIWF)

This bulletin includes the latest information on the Job Support Scheme, the taskforce for safe return to global travel launched, new and updated guidance, webinars, and travel corridors in England.

Fashion Roundtable are extremely proud that the industry has been so pivotal in the national effort to domestically produce PPE, simultaneously by creating hundreds of new jobs and reducing reliance on overseas companies. Before the pandemic, just 1 percent of PPE was produced in the UK.

Yesterday the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ethics & Sustainability in Fashion held its third evidence session as part of an ongoing inquiry into modern slavery, labour exploitation and sustainability in the UK fashion sector for the upcoming Cleaning Up Fashion report.

Fashion Roundtable joins industry stakeholders and calls on the Government to reverse plans to bring an end to the VAT Retail Export Scheme.

The Job Support Scheme (JSS) will be expanded to support businesses across the UK required to close their premises due to coronavirus restrictions. Plus a new Global Travel Taskforce to support the travel industry and the safe recovery of international travel has been launched.

Threat actors are launching new attacks on businesses and individuals during the Covid-19 pandemic. A study revealed that every 19 seconds, a small business in the UK is hacked. However, only 52% of companies acknowledged they have a strategy in place to manage cyber threats. Here’s 5 tips on how to mitigate the threat…

As efforts to achieve a more sustainable fashion industry are on the rise, it seems a crucial area for improvement has been overlooked: fashion education. With Covid-19 causing an upheaval of the way practically every fashion course was delivered in 2020, a shift from physical to digital working occurred almost overnight. This poses the question, why can’t we make dramatic changes to the way fashion is taught when it comes to sustainability?

Lockdown caused havoc in fashion publishing which has seen its ideological ups and downs over the past few years. However, the Covid-19 pandemic gave a whole new meaning to the term “chaos”. Editorials produced by models at home, heartwarming messages of community support and hope have been shared, repeated and re-shared over and over again. So what awaits the next generation of fashion journalists?

AMMA provides relief for the most marginalised people living on Sri Lanka’s tea estates by employing local mothers to make their zero-waste, natural garments and accessories. Justice is crafted directly into their product making to ensure both people and the environment are placed above profit.

“For too long communities like the one I come from have been trapped in a marginalised reality of under representation and exclusion, this has to stop. I implore every designer, agent, creative and CEO reading this to open the doors to real change. In this moment, in 2020, a year of unimaginable hardship, now is the time to act.”