This summer, members of the Fashion, Energy, and Climate Network attended the Global Fashion Summit 2025 in Copenhagen. The summit reflected growing uncertainty in policy and trade, but the theme “Barriers and Bridges” sparked discussion on turning challenges into opportunities.

Policy

• EU advances the Digital Production Passport (DPP) and Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR), plus the Circular Economy Act and Omnibus Regulation. Omnibus may limit due diligence to tier-1 suppliers.
• US sustainability efforts are weakening federally; high apparel tariffs (~145%) discourage decarbonization investment.
• Latin America is expanding EPR; Mexico is creating a national circular economy strategy.
• China targets textile recycling growth by 2030 and aims to boost demand for low-impact goods through VAT and consumer-debt reforms.

Trade

• US tariffs create near-embargo conditions, disrupting supply chains and raising costs for fast fashion and Chinese e-commerce.
• China renegotiates trade agreements to align with EU rules and maintain market access.

Circularity

• Global circularity: 6.9%; textiles: 0.3%.
• Barriers: limited infrastructure, small added cost (<1%) for recycled fibers.
• Solutions require renewable energy, product redesign, and systemic policies.

Innovation

• Agentic AI may transform design, forecasting, and supplier coordination in 2–3 years.
• Lenzing Group’s ECOVERO viscose uses ≥20% recycled textile waste; LYCRA/Qore corn-based spandex reduces emissions by ~40%.

Bridging the Gap

• 87% of consumers want to act sustainably, but only 27% do; framing sustainability as a product benefit helps.
• Visa leverages transaction data to promote repair and reuse across 32 million SMEs in Europe.
• Collaboration across academia, industry, and youth leadership is essential.

The tools exist; the challenge is aligning demand, policy, and investment. As the saying goes, “A wall lying down is a bridge.”