Fashion brands are increasingly alert to a wave of regulations reshaping the industry, explains Dr Hilde Heim, senior lecturer and deputy division head for fashion communications at Manchester Metropolitan University, in conversation with WTiN, and they struggle with compliance due to the sheer volume, complexity and pace of emerging regulations across multiple jurisdictions.  

“Chief among them is the EU’s Ecodesign for Sustainable Products Regulation (ESPR), which mandates the roll out of digital product passports (DPPs),” she explains. The EU’s DPP regulation mandates digital records and information for products, detailing sustainability, material constituents and lifecycle data. It aims to boost circularity, traceability and transparency across supply chains. But the roll-out has led to concerns among fashion brands and wider industry, and despite apparent efficacy in improving sustainability and supporting circular economy, conversation continues to discuss the clear and present problems they present in the lead-up to the roll-out, such as the incomplete nature and undefined rules of DPPs.

“Extended producer responsibility (EPR) is another major focus,” Heim adds. “While not yet enforced in the UK for textiles, it is under discussion and already in place in the EU.”  Most recently, the UK was urged to develop effective policy recommendations to guide domestic fashion sustainability legislation – or risk falling behind the European Union (EU) and the United States (US). Later, environmental action