At Vegan Fashion Repository, we keep our ears firmly to the ground for every essential development in the vegan and sustainable fashion industry, and celebrate when another milestone is reached.
Here’s a summary of thehighlights from June 2025:
Green Claims Directive on hold: To start with, the European Union paused negotiations on the Green Claims Directive — the proposed law requiring companies to substantiate their climate-friendly claims with evidence. The European Commission cited concerns that the policy would overburden small businesses and suggested shelving the proposal altogether. It’s the latest move by Brussels to weaken or simplify its green agenda amid a growing political backlash from conservative factions against ambitious environmental policies. (Source:Reuters)
Consumer Sustainability Sentiment Falters: While this step is presented as an effort to ease pressure on struggling businesses — many of which might collapse under the cost of verification and certification schemes — it undermines existing progress. For example, before the pause, GOTS reported a 5.2% increase in GOTS-approved certification bodies in 2024, with 26 GOTS-approved certification bodies reporting a noteworthy 15,441 certified facilities1. It’s now unclear how this trend will evolve, especially as consumer sentiment towards ‘sustainable fashion’ remains volatile. Zalando’s latest report, It Takes Many, found that although around 70% of consumers aspire to shop more sustainably, 20–40% struggle to do so. The report highlights that sustainability is a shared responsibility: 77% expect brands to lead, but also look to individuals (72%), governments, the EU, platforms, and influencers to drive change. (Source: Zalando)
French Senate Targets Ultra-Fast Fashion: On a more positive note, the French Senate has approved a bill targeting ultra-fast fashion platforms like Shein and Temu. The bill includes a ban on advertising, mandatory environmental impact labels, and penalties for non-compliance. Influencer promotions would also be prohibited. A €5 eco-contribution fee per item will be introduced in 2025, rising to €10 by 2030. While the bill still needs to clear a few legislative hurdles, it has strong backing — a previous version passed unanimously in the lower house. (Source:Reuters)
U.S. Senate Blocks Resource Exploitation Bill: In the United States, the Senate has blocked a proposal that would have sold millions of acres of public land for resource exploitation. The bill included automatic approval of liquefied natural gas export permits, new fees on renewable energy projects, and exemptions from environmental reviews for offshore oil and gas operations. (Source:LA Times)
Labour Rights for Fashion Models Strengthened: From 19 June 2025, model management companies, groups, and clients must comply with all legal responsibilities and prohibited actions (excluding registration requirements). From 21 December 2025, registration with the New York State Department of Labor becomes mandatory. (Source:U.S. Department of Labour)
CPHFW and CIFF join forces to promote Nordic talent: Copenhagen Fashion Week and CIFF have formed a long-term strategic alliance to support emerging Nordic talent through the CPHFW NEWTALENT programme. The partnership provides year-round exposure, mentorship, and studio support, with access to CIFF Village’s permanent showrooms — offering a comprehensive platform to accelerate the success of new Nordic brands. (Source:Copenhagen Fashion Week)
Innovation in Materials and Sustainability
At the Global Fashion Summit in Copenhagen, Modern Meadow unveiled INNOVERA™ (formerly Bio‑Vera®) — a high-performance, animal-free leather alternative made with over 80% renewable carbon. Meanwhile, Lululemon has signed a 10-year off-take agreement with Samsara Eco for sustainable nylon and polyester, which could represent up to 20% of its total fibre portfolio. Another good news is Asics joining Adidas in phasing out kangaroo leather, marking a further step towards animal-free performance footwear. (Sources:Modern Meadow; Lululemon; Fashion United)
In similar news, H&M has announced a multi-year scaling partnership with Circulose to replace a portion of its man-made cellulosic fibres with CIRCULOSE® fibre, derived from textile waste instead of virgin resources. The H&M Foundation is also committing $9 million to the “Oporajita Initiative” — aimed at empowering women working in the garment industry and supporting the climate transition within Bangladesh’s textile and apparel sector. (Sources: H&M, Just Style)
A Plan for Ghana: Ghana has become an unintended hub for global fashion waste. Last week, Landfills2Landmarks convened stakeholders — including Kantamanto market traders — to explore turning textile waste into economic opportunity. The goal is to build a truly circular fashion economy that supports local livelihoods and sustainable growth, as the country grapples — to say the least — with being quite literally overwhelmed by fashion waste from around the world. (Source: Landfill2Landmarks)
Chanel Invests in Material Repurposing: In a bold move for the luxury sector, Chanel launched Nevold — a project aimed at developing high-quality raw materials from waste (e.g. offcuts, unsold products, unused fabrics). With climate change threatening the availability of prized fibres like cashmere, silk and leather, Chanel sees material repurposing as a strategic step to secure future resources, not just for next season, but for generations to come. This investment comes at a peculiar — or perhaps strategically timed — moment, as the luxury sector faces unprecedented value erosion, exposing the fragility of its efforts to weather escalating global challenges. Meanwhile, luxury and aspirational consumers are increasingly turning to fine jewellery as purchases that, quite literally, never lose their value. (Source: Business of Fashion, Business of Fashion )
AI and Technology
AI Gets More ‘Toolsy’: GPT-5 is launching this summer, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has described it as “materially better” than GPT-4. While ads may be introduced, monetisation will not influence model output. Meanwhile, Midjourney has launched its first video generator — V1 — which turns any image into a 5-second clip, available via Discord. The long-term goal: real-time, interactive 3D environments. (Sources: AdWeek; TechCrunch)
Gaming Helps Save Furry Friends: Three video game giants — id Software, Bethesda Softworks, and Xbox — have teamed up to release a limited-edition Doom: The Bark Ages T-shirt, featuring a corgi riding the Slayer’s dragon. All proceeds will support three U.S. animal rescue charities, promoting animal welfare and adoption. (Source: Bethesda)
Google’s Veo 3 Integrated with YouTube: Google’s new video generation model, Veo 3, will soon be integrated into YouTube Shorts, enabling creators to produce short-form videos from simple text prompts. Building on Dream Screen, Veo 3 adds full visuals and sound. While it lowers the barrier for content creation, some critics warn of a Shorts feed increasingly filled with AI-generated “slop.” (Source:SearchEngineLand)
Last but by no means least, we’ve launched the VFR Global Fashion Events Calendar. Each quarter, we’ll publish a curated list of events focused on vegan, sustainable, and innovative fashion. Stay tuned — and tune in — we hope to see you at some of these events!
Cheers to that—and to everything still to come!
- https://global-standard.org/de/neuigkeiten/global-standard-expands-scope-leverages-ai-innovation-and-amplifies-global-engagement-2024-annual-report-reveals-key-achievements-and-strategic-shifts ↩︎