Common Threads Round Up #17
A (brief) discussion on tariffs, another fast fashion rebrand, and the return of fur.
🗓️ Thursday, March 20th 2025
Source: The Guardian
🚫 What France’s ban on forever chemicals means for fashion - Vogue Business
France banned PFAS chemicals from consumer products, including clothing. This ban likely sets the stage for future EU countries to do the same, so will be interesting to see how brands react to this. The ban goes into effect Jan 1 of 2026.
💰 Temu and Shein Raised Prices, Removed Products as Trump’s China Tariffs Went Into Effect - Wired
Time to check in on how fast fashion is dealing with tariffs. First, buyers in the US are reporting increased prices on items, even moments after the tariffs went into place. You may also remember that part of the Trump tariffs would have banned a loophole that Shein and Temu used for duty-free shipping, however Trump reinstated that minimum loophole allowing Shein and Temu to continue shipping goods here without additional fees.
Meanwhile, in the UK/Europe, EU lawmakers are looking to phase out their own exemption from duties for Shein and Temu and Shein has abandoned plans for a London warehouse. Seems like that planned London IPO is maybe also on shaky ground.
2️⃣1️⃣ Forever 21 is bankrupt, again. This time actually could be forever - NPR
In other fast fashion news, Forever 21 is filing for bankruptcy again (it filed for the first time in 2019). The parent coming is blaming Shein and Temu for their demise.
🔄 Boohoo rebrands as Debenhams amid drop in youth labels’ sales - The Guardian
Just weeks after Pretty Little Thing went through its own rebrand and shifted to a trad-wife look, Boohoo is now rebranding as well.
🦊 Are you fur real? Gone is the social stigma around wearing animal skins - The Guardian
There’s an interesting shift happening now in the fashion space around fur. First, it started with influencers sharing their thoughts that vintage fur was more sustainable than the faux fur options that are made from plastic. And then this shifted to outfits being shown with more real fur on TikTok, which obviously influences more people to buy fur. And then on the runways, the return to fur was visible this past fashion week, which is a big shift from just a few years ago when luxury houses banned fur. Gabriela Hearst, a designer with sustainability goals on her website, sent a mink coat down the runway. An interesting trend to keep an eye on and see if more big houses abandon their fur-free label.
🗑️ Why are more clothes than ever being discarded?- BBC
Spoiler alert: it’s because of fast fashion!
That’s it for now! Until next week 🤙
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