The Weekly Briefing - 22 June

Headlines

The Independent

Quarantine-free travel for fully vaccinated under consideration, says Hancock

The health secretary has made clear he is in favour of a move to scrap quarantining post-travel to amber list countries for fully vaccinated travellers. Read 

He has updated to clarify that such removal of restrictions is not “clinically advised yet”. Read

The Guardian

Tory MPs accused of adding fuel to ‘culture war’ in report

A report from the Commons education committee examining underperformance of poorer white children has received immediate criticism and opposition, even within its own committee, for playing on the topic of white privilege in order to stock a “culture war”. Read

BBC News

Government borrowing eases in May

As lockdown measures have started to ease, the government’s borrowing for May was down from borrowing last May by £19.4 billion, evidence of more tax coming in due to the lowering of restrictions. It is expected that public borrowing will continue to decrease, and at a quicker rate than had been predicted by the Office for Budget Responsibility. Read

The Fashion Roundtable Focus

ITV News

Amazon destroying millions of items of unsold stock in one of its UK warehouses every year, ITV News investigation finds

Undercover footage from an ITV investigation has shown the destruction of unsold stock at one amazon warehouse in the UK, with an ex-employee explaining that there was a target to “destroy 130,000 items a week”. It is reported that half of the items destroyed are unopened and unused, with the other 50% being returns “in good condition”. Read

Retail Gazette

59% Brits prefer sustainability to fast fashion

Superdry has found that an increased number of shoppers, particularly Gen Z consumers, are leaving fast fashion behind for more sustainable choices. According to a new survey from Superdry, which surveyed 1000 people across the UK, 59 per cent preferred sustainably-made clothing. Over a third of women and a fifth of men said most of their clothes are still categorised as fast fashion. Read

EcoTextile News

Luxury fashion resale site raises $14 million

High-end fashion resale platform The Luxury Closet has secured US$14 million via its latest funding round, which will be used to scale its operations. The Dubai-based business has teams in five countries and serves more than 80 countries around the world, capitalising on growing appetite among consumers for pre-owned apparel. Read