Latest news with #SustainableFashion
Associated Press
22-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Cascale CEO Colin Browne To Step Down at End of July
AMSTERDAM, HONG KONG, and OAKLAND, Calif., May 22, 2025 /3BL/ - Cascale today announced that CEO Colin Browne will step down from his role, effective July 31, 2025. Browne's decision to depart reflects a personal choice after leading the organization through a pivotal period of strategic reset and renewed ambition. 'Colin's steady leadership has been instrumental in stabilizing and refocusing Cascale over the past year,' said Tamar Hoek, Chair of the Board, and Senior Policy Director Sustainable Fashion, Solidaridad. 'He has helped lay a strong foundation for what's next and we are deeply grateful for his contributions.' Cascale enters this leadership transition from a position of clarity and momentum. Over the past 12 months, the organization has launched a bold new impact strategy, deepened engagement with manufacturers globally, purchased the assets of Better Buying, and advanced critical work on industry-wide decarbonization. These priorities — along with an emphasis on member value, and partnership — remain firmly in place. 'This has been an enlightening journey,' said Colin Browne. 'I'm proud of what we've achieved together and confident that the work ahead is in good hands. Cascale's mission is more important than ever, and I look forward to watching the team take it even further.' The executive team and Board will work closely together to guide Cascale through this next chapter. A global search for Browne's successor is currently underway. In the interim, the organization will maintain its strategic course, with senior leadership continuing to deliver on key priorities without pause. 'This is not a reset; it's a continuation,' said Hoek. 'Strong institutions don't pause when people change; they grow. Cascale remains focused on driving measurable impact across the value chain, and we are excited for what comes next.' ABOUT CASCALE Cascale is the global nonprofit alliance empowering collaboration to drive equitable and restorative business practices in the consumer goods industry. Formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Cascale owns and develops the Higg Index, which is exclusively available on Worldly, the most comprehensive sustainability data and insights platform. Cascale unites over 300 retailers, brands, manufacturers, governments, academics, and NGO/nonprofit affiliates around the globe through one singular vision: To catalyze impact at scale and give back more than we take to the planet and its people. LinkedIn | X | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube Visit 3BL Media to see more multimedia and stories from Cascale
Telegraph
22-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Ask the Style Doctors: ‘Which British fashion brands should I buy?'
In this advice series, Telegraph fashion experts Lisa Armstrong and Stephen Doig answer readers' what-to-wear dilemmas. This week, they advise on how the best British brands to shop now and the return of the waist. Dear Stephen, I'm increasingly keen that when shopping for clothes I help feed into our economy and secure jobs for UK craftspeople. So how can I make sure to buy British? – Charles Dear Charles, This is an issue that's become increasingly thorny in today's fashion landscape – like 'greenwashing', the practice of claiming to be eco-friendly while doing no such thing, there can be a fair amount of 'localwashing'. This means that a brand proudly claims to be ' Made in Britain ', but that involves some zips or finishing being applied in Blighty while the majority of the work is done elsewhere. If you're interested, it's a topic tackled nobly by Patrick Grant, the tailor and The Great British Sewing Bee judge in his book Less, which urges us to stop our over-consumption. Grant writes about companies who are swaggeringly British in their branding, but do little to support the local economies from which they sprang. Cotton pique polo, £120, Private White VC For instance, Aquascutum and Hunter are just two 'British' brands that don't make in the UK. Grant includes an excellent glossary of pieces that are genuinely 'Made in Britain' from start to finish, including his own initiative Community Clothing, which is excellent (great socks), as well as Barbour, Begg & Co, Margaret Howell, Private White VC and many others that produce in a way that feeds into the UK economy, creates jobs and safeguards skills. Ribbed cotton socks, £8.50, Community Clothing From my own experience, I've been lucky enough to visit many factories that are based in the UK: Sunspel in Northampton, for example, which makes expensive but very, very good T-shirts, as well as Johnstons of Elgin, Emma Willis shirts in Gloucestershire and the many shoemakers based in Northampton. One thing to note is that this is a more expensive way to buy clothes than ordering from a fast-fashion retailer, where the products will likely be pumped with plastics. But I'd rather buy less and better, and little items – like Rooska socks made by a local family-run company in Leicestershire – that aren't pricey considering they're properly made. – Stephen Dear Lisa, Is there any sign of the waist coming back anytime soon? All those empire lines make everyone look seven months pregnant. – Yvonne Dear Yvonne, You're in luck. The waist is emphatically back, on the catwalks, on the red carpets (think Demi Moore's series of drastically cinched-in gowns during this winter's award season, although she was far from the only one), and it's in the stores too. A good starting place is Jasper Conran, who has made a speciality of the shirt dress in various natural fabrics and weights (from £350). Bubble hem dress, £115, Cos Anthropologie is always worth a look. Cos has beautiful bubble-hem sleeveless dresses – that sounds weird, but they look subtly different in a not-too-artsy, sophisticated way and come in soft neutral shades, although you may not go for the 100 per cent recycled polyamide sell… in fact waisted dresses are everywhere. Nothing like the constricted gowns Moore et al wore, but more gentle and comfortable for a 16-hour stint. Separates are another route to stylish contouring. My eye is on a bubble skirt and matching top from M&S in a beautiful cherry red cotton that should hit the stores in a few weeks. – Lisa
Telegraph
13-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Kate champions fashion industry in Victoria Beckham at design awards
The Princess of Wales showed emphatic support for young British fashion talent today, presenting the Queen Elizabeth II Award for British Design (QEII Award) to Patrick McDowell. McDowell's eponymous independent London-based fashion label, known for sustainable practices as well as highly regarded designs, was honoured with the annual award from the British Fashion Council at 180 Studios on London's Strand. Catherine looked characteristically elegant despite London's 22-degree heat, wearing an olive green suit by Victoria Beckham over a white shirt with organza frills. She took an extensive tour of the space with McDowell before presenting the award. 'This kind of support for a business like mine is invaluable,' said McDowell, after receiving the award. 'It provides a game-changing stamp of approval for our circular luxury brand.' The designer also praised the enduring legacy of the late Queen Elizabeth II and the royal family's recognition of British craftsmanship. 'I was already on cloud nine, but then to meet the Princess, to see her genuine interest in craftsmanship was really amazing,' the designer told me after the presentation. 'She was interested in the creative point of view. We're narrative-led and she was really amazed by the stories and the embroiderers.' Catherine's appearance was especially notable given the subtle step away from the fashion spotlight we have seen her take this year. It comes after Buckingham Palace had to issue a clarification, after saying in February that it would no longer share details about her wardrobe choices for public engagements, except for state and other big occasions. Writing at the time, The Telegraph 's head of fashion Lisa Armstrong wrote: 'Catherine has been of incalculable value to the £37-billion-a-year British fashion industry... And why hide the many quiet but oh-so-thoughtful sartorial gestures? I know from my WhatsApp groups how touching it was, at a time when so many Jews feel frightened, to see the Princess wearing a pearl necklace from the vintage jewellery site Susan Caplan, whose eponymous founder is Jewish, at a commemoration ceremony to mark Holocaust Memorial Day in London.' The series of ensembles Catherine has since worn, while as stylish and perfectly pitched as ever, have been notably quiet. Clearly, the Princess – and royal family in general – still recognises the value of engaging with the fashion industry. Established in 2018, when the late Queen presented it to Richard Quinn, the QEII Award recognises the work of an exceptional emerging designer who demonstrates a commitment to sustainable and community-driven practices. Last year's, awarded by the Duchess of Edinburgh, went to S.S Daley, the buzzy young label backed by Harry Styles and now stocked at John Lewis. 'It's such an honour to receive something like this, especially from the royal family,' McDowell told The Telegraph, adding that it feels like a 'full circle moment'. The designer received a scholarship from the BFC to attend Central Saint Martins, and the brand they have since formed has always focused on British craftsmanship, working alongside the King's Foundation scholarship students. McDowell recalls the wedding of the Prince and Princess of Wales – more specifically the latter's wedding dress by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen – as a moment 'ingrained' in their mind at the point when they were learning how to create clothes. 'It was such an impressive moment,' says McDowell. 'It would be incredible to dress the Princess of Wales one day. 'And, you know, I guess this award is possibly a step closer to that.' She wouldn't be the first style icon to don McDowell's designs, which have been worn by the likes of Sarah Jessica Parker, Lady Gaga and Keira Knightley. 'We've been really lucky that these amazing people have naturally come to us,' says the designer, whose modesty is striking. 'They're an eclectic mix of talent that somehow have style codes in common that resonate with what we do.' A key element of the brand's own code is circularity. It's become known for limited-edition, made-to-order pieces crafted from planet-friendly materials in London. Each is intentionally designed to last, but there are also redesign and repair services available to maximise longevity. This comes naturally to McDowell, who shares that the first thing they ever made, aged 13, was a bag crafted from a pair of jeans. 'At that time, it wasn't from a sustainability point of view, it was purely because I had jeans that I didn't wear and I wanted a new bag,' they say. That flair for upcycling has served them well, from a debut collection made from discarded Burberry fabrics to an spring/summer 2025 show filled with deadstock Erdem silks. It's also allowed for the creation of garments that are striking in their beauty and theatricality as well as their sustainable credentials. 'I think to shift the dial, really, and convince people, first of all you just have to make a great dress, and then tell them about why it's better for the planet,' says McDowell. As the Princess proved today, a great suit can be just as convincing.
