At the dawn of 2024, sustainable fashion stakeholders were pinning their hopes on radical change, following several years of incremental shifts and painfully slow progress. Did this year deliver? The short answer is no, but not all hope is lost.
Here, Vogue Business reflects on the moments and movements that defined the year in sustainable fashion.
Policymakers pushed ahead
In the European Union, several regulations linked to the European Green Deal came into focus in 2024, with more detail on the rollout and the first compliance deadlines looming. They covered waste management, supply chain due diligence and digital product passports, among other elements of the circular and sustainable fashion ecosystem. There is more change on the horizon: Europe is considering a ban of PFAS (or ‘forever chemicals’) and France is proposing an anti-fast fashion bill. In the US, the Americas Act introduced $14 billion in incentives for circular innovation, and California advanced a landmark bill to tackle fashion’s waste problem.
But for every two steps forward, there was a step back. In the UK, policymakers faced off with fast fashion giants but still failed to legislate. And after Donald Trump was re-elected as US president in November, fashion’s motivation for change hit a new low.
Textile waste has been top of the agenda for policymakers, from ecodesign to extended producer responsibility.Photo: Martin Bernetti via Getty Images
Scandals rocked supply chains
Social impact was front and centre in 2024. The year started with a new minimum wage in Bangladesh, following months of protests and a violent backlash from authorities. Key sourcing countries around the world struggled to put workers first amid ongoing union-busting and crackdowns on freedom of association. A slew of scandals around certification schemes and auditing processes left many feeling disillusioned. Better Cotton, for example, was linked to deforestation and human rights abuses — the organisation enlisted a third-party to investigate and found that the farms in question were not in breach of its standards.
Such reports of forced labour continued throughout the year, spanning from the fastest fashion to the highest luxury. In March, a Bloomberg investigation alleged that LVMH-owned Loro Piana was paying little to nothing to the community sourcing its vicuña fibre (Loro Piana declined to comment on the record, but refuted the allegations and said in a statement to AFP that it has a “real and continued commitment in favour of the local population”). Then, in May, jasmine farms supplying fragrance ingredients to Estée Lauder and L’Oréal were linked to child labour in a new documentary from the BBC World Service. (Estée Lauder told Vogue Business it was investigating the matter. L’Oréal said it was aware of the issue and was working with the Government of Egypt, the Fair Labor Association and the International Labour Organisation to find a remedy — this coalition has hosted four national multi-stakeholder meetings since and has drafted enhanced child labour protections.) And in July, Italian authorities launched a probe into suppliers used by Dior and Armani, alleging poor working conditions and low pay (both brands said they are working with the authorities to resolve the situation. We delved deeper into ‘Made in Italy’ supply chains, here).
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