Trend forecasting is a crucial part of the product development process, and likely the starting point to the majority of products we buy, wear, and throw-away each year. While Trend Forecasters are rarely recognised for their considerable contribution and artistry, they are also rarely challenged for their role in our wasteful industry.

Labour Behind the Label - a UK-based not-for-profit co-operative organisation which campaigns for workers' rights in the clothing industry - on how the global pandemic has had a huge impact on workers in global fashion supply chains. Image: Kalpona Akter, president of the Bangladesh Garment and Independent Workers Federation (BGIWF)

This bulletin includes the latest information on the Job Support Scheme, the taskforce for safe return to global travel launched, new and updated guidance, webinars, and travel corridors in England.

Fashion Roundtable are extremely proud that the industry has been so pivotal in the national effort to domestically produce PPE, simultaneously by creating hundreds of new jobs and reducing reliance on overseas companies. Before the pandemic, just 1 percent of PPE was produced in the UK.

Yesterday the All-Party Parliamentary Group for Ethics & Sustainability in Fashion held its third evidence session as part of an ongoing inquiry into modern slavery, labour exploitation and sustainability in the UK fashion sector for the upcoming Cleaning Up Fashion report.

Fashion Roundtable joins industry stakeholders and calls on the Government to reverse plans to bring an end to the VAT Retail Export Scheme.

The Job Support Scheme (JSS) will be expanded to support businesses across the UK required to close their premises due to coronavirus restrictions. Plus a new Global Travel Taskforce to support the travel industry and the safe recovery of international travel has been launched.

Threat actors are launching new attacks on businesses and individuals during the Covid-19 pandemic. A study revealed that every 19 seconds, a small business in the UK is hacked. However, only 52% of companies acknowledged they have a strategy in place to manage cyber threats. Here’s 5 tips on how to mitigate the threat…

As efforts to achieve a more sustainable fashion industry are on the rise, it seems a crucial area for improvement has been overlooked: fashion education. With Covid-19 causing an upheaval of the way practically every fashion course was delivered in 2020, a shift from physical to digital working occurred almost overnight. This poses the question, why can’t we make dramatic changes to the way fashion is taught when it comes to sustainability?