Analyses

The controversy surrounding Copenhagen Fashion Week’s greenwashing complaint marked a defining moment for global fashion. Beyond Denmark’s borders, it exposed deep fissures between image and integrity in sustainability narratives. As Europe tightens laws and activists demand accountability, the episode signalled that credibility—not creativity—will define the industry’s next chapter in sustainability storytelling.

For years, Copenhagen Fashion Week was lauded as a model of ethical transformation, blending Scandinavian aesthetics with moral purpose. But in 2025, the same event found itself in the dock, accused of greenwashing and exaggerating its eco-claims. The controversy exposed deep cracks in how fashion markets virtue, regulation, and credibility on the global stage.

The new report Now or Never from Collective Fashion Justice claims to present fashion’s first methane footprint. Promoting a phase-out of animal-derived materials, it casts the industry as a major climate offender. Yet scrutiny suggests its arguments rely on ideology rather than robust analysis, raising concerns about credibility, methodology, and overlooked mitigation pathways.

Sweden’s secondhand clothing sector is growing, yet campaigners argue outdated VAT rules keep reuse expensive and fragile. Across Europe, governments are testing tax reforms to promote repairs and resale, while the EU readies wider sustainability regulations. The debate highlights whether fiscal design will entrench fast fashion or enable circular fashion to flourish.

Natural Fiber Welding’s dramatic collapse has rattled the fashion and automotive sectors that once celebrated it as a sustainability pioneer. Its failure reflects not only management missteps but also a deeper structural malaise: investors retreating, brands shirking responsibility, and an industry addicted to storytelling while refusing to absorb the real costs of transition.

A groundbreaking study by the International Cotton Advisory Committee challenges the long-held perception of cotton as excessively water-intensive, revealing that focusing on total water use—including natural rainwater—distorts understanding of the crop's environmental impact. The research emphasises optimising irrigation practices for genuine water conservation.

The Victoria’s Secret cyberattack during Memorial Day weekend was more than a business disruption—it was a wake-up call for retail cybersecurity. The incident revealed systemic digital weaknesses, disrupted key operations, and joined a growing pattern of attacks on major retailers. The implications for 2025’s retail infrastructure are both immediate and long-term.

The lesson of the current US tariffs crisis roiling the trade world is this: you cannot keep relying on one country as your export destination. From now on it has to be ‘US Plus One’.

If leather needs to counter the fiction of the activist brigades, it needs to tell stories. Better stories. After all, leather is not fashion; it is heritage. A texfash rant on the push against leather and why in this age of social media, of reels, of influencers, it needs to go hammer and tongs, and move with the times.

The cotton misinformation problem needs to be seen in the light of today’s society where fake news thrives and wreaks havoc. It’s not difficult to find out how the cotton myths came into being. It’s also not difficult to find out who have been flinging and slinging these falsehoods. Cotton needs to be more assertive, and possibly a bit aggressive too. texfash tries to join some dots.