Regulation, rising consumer awareness, and pressure from within are forcing fashion to move beyond platitudes and soundbites towards a more fundamental reassessment of how it deals with its environmental and social responsibilities. Voluntary change in the apparel industry has proven somewhat of a failure to date, meaning further regulation is now inevitable.
The EU’s recent interventions, and the New York state’s proposed fashion act in the US, could force brands to improve their sustainability disclosure, whilst reshaping the regulatory landscape in which companies operate.
It is our belief that, the best companies should already be ahead of the regulatory curve and working to ensure they remain so. In today’s fast evolving fashion industry, sustainability will play an increasingly important role in dictating just how resilient a company’s wealth-generating capabilities really are.
The Walter Scott Investment Team
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