Trump Won the US Election—Here’s What That Means for Fashion, Retail & Sustainability
With Donald Trump’s return to the White House as president-elect, the fashion industry is preparing for potential shifts in trade, tariffs, and economic policies. Here’s breakdown of what another Trump term might mean for the industry:
Environmental and Regulatory Challenges: Fashion’s sustainability goals may face setbacks under Trump’s leadership, given his support for increased domestic energy production and potential rollbacks on climate regulations. This shift could pressure brands to rely more on state-led environmental initiatives to meet sustainability targets.
Trump’s proposed policies introduce significant challenges for the fashion industry, potentially impacting everything from pricing and sourcing to sustainability. While tariffs may lead some brands to explore new sourcing locations, large-scale reshoring to the U.S. remains unlikely due to logistical and cost complexities.
European Researchers Launch True Cost Calculator
The EU-funded SCIRT project has introduced the True Cost Calculator (TCC), a free online tool that allows fashion professionals to assess the full environmental and social impacts of garments across their lifecycle. Developed by research organization VITO and Flanders DC, the tool targets designers, buyers, and sustainability managers, offering insights to help reduce the “True Cost Gap”—the difference between the retail price and the real societal costs of a garment, including external environmental and social impacts.
The TCC uses lifecycle assessment data to quantify environmental effects, such as global warming potential and water consumption, while the social impact component evaluates factors like fair wages, safety, and child labor. By allowing users to model and compare lifecycle scenarios, the tool aims to guide decision-making that minimizes negative impacts, aligning fashion practices with circularity and sustainability goals.
