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 the summary of the highlights of October 2025:
The month began with the Anti Fast-Fashion Regulation coming into force in France on 1 October 2025. The regulation includes a €5 eco-tax on every fast-fashion item sold, doubling to €10 by 2030.
Meanwhile, in Germany, six fashion, textile, footwear and retail associations are teaming up to work on an Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) system specifically for the German market.
Sources: Just Style, Ecotextile
In the UK, the UK Fashion and Textile Association (UKFT) has launched the National Textile Recycling Infrastructure Plan to guide the country towards a circular textile economy by 2035. The plan is available to download and makes a good read for anyone keen to understand more about circular economy models and explore practical solutions.
Source: UKFT,
October Releases
WGSN has published The A/W 27/28 Key Colours – a creative and business-oriented forecast for 2027, featuring Luminous Blue, Russet, Peaceful Lilac, Maize and Deep Green. These colours are said to represent a range of emotions “from freedom and restoration, to comfort and melancholy, all linking back to ‘interconnectedness’, the theme that will define 2027.” We’ll surely be digging in.
Source: WGSN
In similar news, Première Vision Paris released its Season & Colour Report – a comprehensive analysis from the September 2025 edition of Première Vision Paris, offering a clear and in-depth look at the Autumn–Winter 26/27 season.
Source: Première Vision
Canopy has released the 10th edition of its Hot Button Report – the key tool for assessing man-made cellulosic fibre (MMCF) sourcing. According to the report, around 70% of global MMCF producers are taking steps to phase out sourcing from the world’s ancient and endangered forests, accelerating the shift to low-carbon, next-gen alternatives since 2016. Kudos to that.
Source: Canopy Planet
The Ellen MacArthur Foundation has released a new film, Scaling Circular Business Models: It Makes Fashion Sense. The film showcases real-world examples from Arc’teryx, H&M Group and Tapestry (Coach) – all participants in the Foundation’s Fashion ReModel project – and demonstrates how to make money without making more clothes. Definitely worth watching.
Source: The EllenMacArthur Foundation
AI, Technology and eCommerce
In the United States, Amazon launched an uncanny AI-powered feature, Help Me Decide, designed to capitalise on the growing role of AI in e-commerce. The tool helps users compare similar products and select the ‘best’ option, promising to save shoppers time and effort.
Source: Retail Dive
On the flip side, research from the University of Hamburg and the Frankfurt School of Finance & Management found that, while ChatGPT is known to refer more users to online shops, its conversion rate remains significantly lower than that of affiliate links (–86%) and search engines (–13%). Turns out, consumers still haven’t built up full trust in AI just yet.
Source: Digiday
Fifty fashion brands are set to launch their shoppable worlds for World Fashion Week, all powered by VLGE. The event aims to help creators — anyone building on VLGE — launch shoppable games on Roblox instantly, without needing to know its coding language or have any substantial tech background. The catch? Having an agency build a Roblox world typically costs between $10,000 and $100,000.
Source: Metaverse Fashion Council
In the world of luxury, Kering’s sales fell 5 per cent, still beating expectations following a deal with L’Oréal. Meanwhile, Hermès reported a 13.3 per cent rise in sales of leather goods, including its classic Birkin and Kelly handbags. In stock market news, LVMH’s share price soared by 14 per cent after the group reported better-than-expected third-quarter results – although sales in fashion and leather goods continue to face challenges. Kering, Hermès and Richemont all reported growth between 4–6 per cent.
Source:Business of Fashion
Material News and Circular Economy
Innovative materials had a viral moment this month when Taylor Swift was spotted wearing a custom-made Ganni x Cycora® jersey dress at a Chiefs game – the same design shown at Fashion Week, but produced using Ambercycle’s Cycora® instead of virgin polyester. Could this endorsement spark mainstream awareness – and perhaps enthusiasm – for innovative, low-impact materials?
Source: Sourcing Journal
Circ® announced its first sourcing partnership with H&M Group. The first products, including womenswear fleece made from Circ® polyester, will debut in A/W 2025, followed by S/S 2026 menswear denim crafted with TENCEL™ Circ® and REFIBRA™ technology. The partnership has been trialled in Bangladesh.
Source: Circ®
Stella McCartney debuted dramatic feather dresses made using plant-based ‘feathers’ from start-up Fevvers at Paris Fashion Week SS26. With dresses, coats and accessories made from leather-like materials being a major trend over the past two seasons, this launch couldn’t have come at a better time.
Source: The Guardian
And last but by no means least, congratulations to India – the country has launched its first next-gen circular fibre, Liva Reviva™ M by Birla Cellulose, made with up to 50% mechanically recycled post-consumer textile waste. It is certified by both the Global Recycle Standard (GRS) and the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC).
Source: Apparel Resources
Reju, along with Resortecs, COLEO, Tissage de Charlieu, Synergies TLC, Nouvelles Fibres Textiles, Sympany, European Spinning Group, Ariadne, Erdotex, Utexbel, and Noyfil, has launched the European Circular Textile Coalition to promote a fully circular textile economy across Europe. The goal: to urge the EU to invest in circular systems that transform post-consumer textile waste into both economic and environmental opportunity.
Source: Just Style
