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 the highlights from July 2025:
Let’s start with the rather obvious headline. With Trump’s new tariffs set to begin on 1 August, prices – and uncertainty – will continue to climb, compounding inflation and general anxiety. The tariffs on Europe are set at 15%, the same as for Japan; Canada faces a 35% rate, Mexico 30%, and negotiations with China are ongoing until 12 August.
Source: The New York Times
In light of this, and earlier in July, Vogue Business reported that apparel prices in the US rose for the first time since March – up 0.4%, according to the latest CPI data from the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. As inflation reaches the shop floor, brands are adjusting prices across core categories – and consumers are beginning to feel it. Handbags saw the steepest increases (up to +12% for a Burberry tote).
Source: Vogue Business
In other market news, Polaris Market Research & Consulting, Inc. has just released its latest report, which projects that the bio-based textile market will reach $17.31 billion by 2034 (valued at $5.80 billion in 2024, with a CAGR of 11.6%). Fingers crossed this helps more innovators secure funding for their work, especially as luxury continues its deepening downward spiral.
Source: Polaris Market Research
Sales reports for Q2 2025 are beginning to emerge. Gucci has reported a 25% drop in sales, while LVMH’s fashion and leather goods division saw a 9% decline.Luxury brands are clearly struggling to reclaim their market share (Louis Vuitton, Dior), rebuild customer trust (Loro Piana) – and ultimately – rediscover the ‘wow‘ factor. The ongoing reshuffling of creative directors is intended to fix that. We’ll see how it plays out.
Sources: Business of Fashion, Business of Fashion,
Circularity and Sustainability News
This was a good month for circularity though. To begin with, global players such as Zalando, Mango, and H&M and & Other Stories have each launched collaborations with circular product developers. Zalando and Circ® have teamed up for a two-piece collection under the popular Anna Field label, featuring 100% Circ Lyocell garments made from 40% recycled polycotton textile waste. Zalando and Triumph Group have also joined ZDHC (Zero Discharge of Hazardous Chemicals), a multi-stakeholder initiative aiming to eliminate the use and release of harmful chemicals across the textile, apparel, leather, and footwear supply chains. It’s encouraging to see globally recognised brands and manufacturers taking tangible steps to embed circularity into operations beyond mere marketing.
H&M and & Other Stories partnered up with Keel Labs to launch a summer-ready crochet collection made from Kelsun® – a plastic-free, seaweed-derived fibre blended with organic cotton. Meanwhile Mango has gone a step further by investing in ThePostFiber – a start-up dedicated to managing and recycling post-consumer textile waste to create new fibres for use in its Teen line.
YKK, erhaps the world’s most recognisable zip manufacturer, won the Red Dot Award 2025 in Sustainable Design for its Recycled Mono-material Detachable Button & Rivet – a fully recyclable fastener made entirely from recycled materials.
Sources: Fibre2Fashion, Circ® Official Annoucement, Mango Official Annoucement, Fashion United, Ecotextile
To further reduce textile waste, the European Union is introducing a ban on the destruction of unsold textiles and footwear as part of the Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR). The ban will be phased in, beginning with large companies in July 2026 and medium-sized companies from July 2030. Smaller businesses will be exempt.
In related news, the European Commission is calling on member states to improve water efficiency by at least 10% by 2030. To meet this target, countries are urged to modernise water infrastructure through both public and private investment, and to adopt digital solutions such as leakage detection and network optimisation.
Sources: European Commission’s Official Announcement, Boston Consulting Group
AI News
On July 10th 2025, the EU also published the General-Purpose AI Code of Practice. This voluntary set of guidelines is intended to help providers meet the AI Act’s GPAI obligations before they officially take effect on 2 August 2025. The Code outlines safety and security requirements across three chapters: Transparency, Copyright, and Safety and Security. It is assumed that providers complying with the Code will be considered AI Act-compliant. OpenAI and Mistral have already confirmed their intention to comply. The Code formalises a number of industry practices advocated by the AI safety community, such as publishing safety frameworks (i.e. responsible scaling policies) and system cards.
Source: The Center of AI Safety
Grok 4 is currently leading in performance, according to Artificial Analysis, becoming the first model to outperform competitors such as OpenAI’s o3, Gemini 2.5 Pro, Claude 4 Opus, and DeepSeek R1 across a full suite of benchmarks. However, its winning streak was distastefully marred by an antisemitism scandal, which was quickly followed by a controversy surrounding their anime waifu companion feature.
Sources:Thread Reader, The Guardian, Rolling Stone
Perplexity has launched Comet, a new search engine designed to “amplify our intelligence” by streamlining research, organisation, and daily tasks into fluid, conversational workflows, eliminating the need for traditional browsing.
Source: Perplexity Official Announcement
Workplace Trends
Last but by no means least, Business of Fashion published its workplace report, based on a global survey conducted between May and June 2025. Engaging more than 1,000 professionals across 74 countries and territories, the report highlights key concerns in the fashion industry’s workforce: fair compensation, career progression opportunities, greater transparency, and ethical leadership. Intriguingly, 45% of professionals surveyed are actively looking for a job outside their current employer, while only 15% report satisfaction with their present role.
With up to five generations co-existing in today’s workplace, this report is essential reading for anyone seeking new opportunities – or new hires.
Source: Business of Fashion