Last night an exposé by BBC Panorama aired probing the practices of fast-fashion giant Boohoo, who last year made a reported £1.7bn worth of sales. The majority of the filming occurred in their Manchester headquarters, where journalist Emma Lowther spent 10 weeks.

The evidence garnered showed increasing pressure to cut prices in order to save money and the unscrupulous practice of amending prices after the stock had already been made. Lowther exposed a number of occasions where suppliers were left out of pocket due to discounts being applied which were not initially agreed.

We unpick the evidence.

Meg Pirie is in conversation with co-founder of Sole Responsibility, Simon Payne. Founded in 2014, Sole Responsibility is a business which buys, repairs and sells seconds and stock with minor damage from some of the UK’s most-known high-street stores, which would otherwise have been destined for landfill or incineration. Now the brand acts as Sustainable Partner to JD Sports, amongst others. They talk how the idea transpired and what Payne would like to see from a policy point of view for end-of-life.

Last week, we launched our Impact Report for 2022.  Fashion Roundtable have consistently been the first to address the challenges of Brexit; Covid-19; climate change; exploitative working practices; Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR); VAT reduction for sustainable businesses; issues around fibre and localism; and inclusion in fashion. We use our platform to highlight inequalities across the fashion industry and to effect long-lasting social, business and environmental change. 

A formal meeting (oral evidence session) was held by Government about EU visa arrangements for creative workers. Tamara Cincik, Fashion Roundtable's Founder and CEO, outlined the challenges of working within the EU following the post-Brexit trade deal at this session hosted by the DCMS Select Committee.

On Wednesday 20th January, Fashion Roundtable CEO Tamara Cincik hosted a meeting via Zoom to bring together key voices from the sector. The aim of the meeting was to work on a coherent strategy that will advocate for the sector post-Brexit, whilst navigating the pandemic and beyond. We heard from a selection of representatives from the fashion and textiles industry.

We are currently collating names of signatories for our open letter to the Government regarding Brexit and the UK fashion industry. Please sign by emailing Sarah at Fashion Roundtable with confirmation of your name and job title.

This paper is intended to provide useful directions for new manufacturers of Covid-19 PPE for healthcare and for other key workers. The OPSS PPE Legislation Guidance for Businesses (PPE Regulations) includes guidelines for importers, but this category is not addressed in the current research paper. This is a research paper and it is advised you seek and consult the relevant legal and professional advice for manufacturing PPE equipment.

Fashion Roundtable founder and CEO, Tamara Cincik, weighs in on the election news coverage and how the same stories are covered by different newspapers and media outlets, all of whom of course hold divergent political allegiances. She believes this is important for finding common ground that will create real and inclusive change.