The Chemical Compliance “Blind Spot” Threatening Business Continuity
For apparel brands, chemical management has traditionally had a fairly clear objective. Keep restricted substances out of products and production, make sure wastewater meets requirements and keep goods moving to market. That is no longer enough. Brands are beginning to connect chemical and wastewater performance to a much broader set of sourcing decisions, including where […]
Fashion’s Durability Push Has a Measurement Problem
Durability is moving from a product-quality consideration to something regulators increasingly want brands to define, measure and eventually communicate to consumers. Europe is driving much of this change, with durability appearing across policies and initiatives. But pinning down what constitutes longer-lasting is challenging. Currently, the EU is grappling with questions around wears, washes and which […]
US Consumer Confidence Plunges to Lowest Level Since 2014
(Bloomberg) — US consumer confidence fell in September to the lowest level since 2014 as views about the economy and the labor market deteriorated. The Conference Board’s gauge of confidence decreased 6.7 points to 81.9 after a downward revision to the prior month, data released Tuesday showed. The figure was well below all expectations in […]