California Apparel News

The supply-chain chaos resulting from the Trump administration’s tariff policies in the United States has upended sourcing and supply-chain planning in the apparel industry. Implementation of tariffs in April, their subsequent pause and the recent court cases in which their legality has been debated have rendered brands, designers and manufacturers unable to make sound long-term decisions regarding how they should make their garments.

Amid this turbulent time, sustainability might seem to be an afterthought, but the importance of manufacturing apparel responsibly remains crucial for brands and designers. Authenticity remains top of mind for consumers, and they are holding brands accountable by demanding companies maintain their sustainable commitments.

The supply-chain chaos resulting from the Trump administration’s tariff policies in the United States has upended sourcing and supply-chain planning in the apparel industry. Implementation of tariffs in April, their subsequent pause and the recent court cases in which their legality has been debated have rendered brands, designers and manufacturers unable to make sound long-term decisions regarding how they should make their garments.

Amid this turbulent time, sustainability might seem to be an afterthought, but the importance of manufacturing apparel responsibly remains crucial for brands and designers. Authenticity remains top of mind for consumers, and they are holding brands accountable by demanding companies maintain their sustainable commitments.

California Apparel News asked experts in apparel sustainability: What steps can designers and manufacturers take to remain aligned with their sustainable goals amid the current uncertainty surrounding tariffs, sourcing and supply chains?

Tayfun Akbay

Chief Commercial Officer

ISKO

 Sustainability doesn’t have to take a back seat when the landscape gets complicated. If anything it should be a stabilizing force. For designers and manufacturers, the challenge is balancing creative ambition with practical, long-term thinking, especially around sourcing and materials.

One way to stay grounded is by prioritizing partnerships that offer consistency, transparency and a track record of innovation. That’s what enables you to respond to short-term pressures without drifting from your long-term goals.

At ISKO, we’ve embedded circularity into our design and production processes, incorporating recycled fibers like those from RE&UP and investing in fabrics made to last. This gives brands options that are not only sustainable but also built for real-world challenges.

Creativity and responsibility don’t need to be at odds. With the right choices upstream they can reinforce each other even when the external conditions are shifting.

    Kerry Bannigan

    Managing Director

    PVBLIC Foundation

    Co-Founder

    United Nations Fashion and Lifestyle Network

 Designers and manufacturers must lead with agility, integrity and long-term vision. Regional sourcing reduces environmental impact and builds resilience against global volatility. Circular design and zero-waste strategies strengthen sustainability while lessening dependence on unstable raw-material markets. Technology should be leveraged to enhance traceability and anticipate supply-chain disruptions.

Internally, continuous education ensures teams stay aligned with evolving ethical and regulatory standards. Engaging with global platforms such as the United Nations Fashion and Lifestyle Network amplifies shared learning and industry-wide action. Transparent communication with consumers, especially during uncertainty, reinforces trust and brand purpose. Sustainability cannot be conditional. It must remain a core principle that drives innovation, uncompromised by disruption.

Oya Barlas Bingul

Senior Manager, Business Development and Marketing

TextiMag

 First, diversify and localize. Overreliance on one region or supplier is too risky today. Building relationships with multiple, regionally diverse partners, especially those closer to home, reduces transport emissions and lowers exposure to unpredictable tariffs.

Second, embrace circularity and low-impact materials. Recycling and reuse aren’t just buzzwords—they’re essential strategies to stabilize supply and meet environmental goals.

Third, transparency and labor practices are nonnegotiable. Consumers and partners demand accountability. That’s why I advocate for robust audits, certifications and clear communication with suppliers.

Fourth, leverage technology. Data-driven tools like AI and IoT can identify bottlenecks and streamline operations, turning sustainability into a real competitive advantage.

Finally, don’t underestimate the power of collaboration. Working with industry peers and adapting to evolving policies strengthens your sustainability efforts and helps future-proof your brand.

    Meredith Boyd

    Chief Product Officer

    UNIFI, makers of REPREVE

 To stay aligned with sustainability goals amid ongoing tariff and supply-chain uncertainty, designers and manufacturers should diversify sourcing through trusted, innovative partners; invest in regional and circular supply chains; and prioritize transparency through traceability.

UNIFI, makers of REPREVE, is uniquely positioned with agile, regional manufacturing that delivers both flexibility and a broad product portfolio to support textile and apparel manufacturers, brands and retailers. The global economy is ever-changing—and so is sustainability. We deliver adaptability and differentiated value where it matters most.

Paola Corna

Chief Financial Officer, Sustainability and HR Manager

Laura Corna

Sales Manager
ACM

 Ours is a family business that has been riding the unpredictable waves of the industry for more than 40 years. What our father taught us, and what we have learned ourselves in recent years, is that to navigate change successfully you must know how to evolve.

It is not about changing your identity; for us, sustainability has been a priority since 1992—when we built a forward-thinking water-recirculation system inside our button factory—and it always will be. We do not yet know what the real and tangible impact of tariffs will be or how they will affect the supply chain and, above all, the purchase of luxury goods, which is the sector we primarily serve.

What we do know is that facing change requires courage, agility, a bit of luck and a willingness to invest in new business relationships, sourcing strategies and markets. National and supranational institutions have an essential role in protecting their producers, industries and centers of manufacturing excellence. If the tariff situation becomes permanent we may well see increased demand within Europe, which could balance any potential decline from other parts of the world.

    Claudia de Witte

    Marketing and Sustainability Director of Textiles

    Eastman Naia

 In today’s shifting world, being sustainable means being adaptable. Since our launch of Eastman’s Naia cellulosic fibers in 2017 we have built adaptability into our foundation while always striving to make sustainable style accessible to everyone. Our approach is grounded in five core sustainability pillars: responsible sourcing, safe and environmentally sound chemical use, molecular recycling, low-impact manufacturing, and product biodegradability and compostability. These pillars guide every stage of our product journey.

We recognize that some may question whether the business case for sustainability still holds. We believe that now more than ever sustainability must remain front and center. It is about collaboration, celebrating small wins and scaling impact. For us, sustainability is not just a framework, it is a journey. In 2025 we will celebrate the completion of our Naia sustainability goals. This milestone marks the progress we have made and the beginning of the next chapter as we set new targets with renewed ambition. While the global landscape presents challenges, our goals serve as a strategic road map, helping us remain versatile in an evolving industry.

Andreas Dorner

General Manager

RE&UP

 In times of uncertainty, whether it’s tariffs, policy shifts or supply-chain disruptions, designers and manufacturers should focus on what they can control. Material choice is a powerful tool. Choosing recycled, traceable inputs helps brands stay aligned with their sustainability goals while building resilience into their supply chains. It’s not just about being responsible, it’s about being ready.

Regulations are evolving, and circularity is moving from optional to expected. The key is working with suppliers who offer reliability, transparency and scale. At RE&UP, we provide next-gen recycled fibers made from end-of-life textiles, with full traceability. That way, our partners can keep circularity at the heart of their product, even in volatile conditions. In short, sustainable progress doesn’t need to stop when the market shakes. It needs to get smarter.

    Betsy Franjola

    Founder

    PREFACE

    Chief Executive Officer

    Hocking Hills Garment Center

 Designers and manufacturers can stay aligned with their sustainability goals by staying educated on the latest textile innovations and building strong, transparent relationships with suppliers. In times of uncertainty—like shifting tariffs or supply-chain disruptions—diversifying sourcing and exploring local or regional partners can offer both stability and a lower environmental impact. Events like PREFACE help brands connect directly with both international and domestic suppliers who prioritize innovation and traceability.

Alyn Franklin

Chief Executive Officer

Oritain

 Designers and manufacturers are navigating a complex landscape of geopolitical uncertainty, shifting trade policies and supply-chain disruptions, meaning that understanding their supply chain just became more important than ever to stay aligned with sustainable goals.

To do this, proving the true origin of products and raw materials is essential. Companies need advanced traceability tools beyond blockchain and supply-chain mapping to verify sustainability claims. Typically, we find that with reliance on self-submissions, organizations gather as much information to derive a sense of compliance, but this is all subject to human error and misrepresentation. A clear way to validate the data points being captured is to perform physical testing.

At Oritain, we harness the power of science to improve traceability and transparency for businesses. With an extensive database of all core cotton-producing territories, Oritain’s unique science-based approach underpins sustainability principles by verifying the true origin of products and raw materials. This allows major brands and retailers around the world to identify fraud, which could be linked to unethical practices in supply chains.

Ultimately, in an environment of heightened regulatory pressures and evolving consumer expectations, this level of proactivity and traceability becomes fundamental, not just for compliance and mitigating risk but for building enduring brand trust and achieving long-term sustainable goals.

    Chelsea Franklin

    Head of Advanced Concepts

    PANGAIA

 Amid today’s uncertainty around tariffs, sourcing and supply-chain disruption, staying aligned with sustainability goals requires both resilience and adaptability. Designers and manufacturers must rethink how and where they source. The first step is diversifying suppliers, localizing production where possible and building trusted relationships with those who share their environmental and ethical values.

We need to design with agility in mind, creating products that are modular, repairable and made to last. Flexible design approaches reduce dependency on specific materials or regions and support circular business models. Logistics, too, must evolve. More-efficient packaging, reduced shipping volumes and sustainable transit options all play a role in reducing a product’s environmental impact.

Sustainability is not a static goal, it’s a continuous process of recalibrating in response to a changing world. By embedding flexibility, transparency and collaboration at every level, we can not only weather disruption but move closer to a responsible industry by design.

Jen Hodo

Business Development Manager

Birla Cellulose USA

 Stakeholders across industries are facing the same reality: Supply chains are shifting and agility is no longer optional. With tariffs and trade policies in flux, overreliance on a single region is a strategic risk. Being locked into one country or supplier not only increases exposure to geopolitical volatility but also limits your capacity to scale and innovate.

To stay resilient, brands should diversify their vendor base and begin evaluating, costing and sampling across multiple regions, especially those perceived as lower risk, which, admittedly, is hard to predict these days. Adaptability is a core tenet of sustainable business, and proactivity is key.

Tariff engineering is another useful lever. Factoring in material composition, origin rules and assembly location early in the design process can reduce duty impact and deliver measurable cost benefits without compromising quality or intent.

At Birla Cellulose, our global-manufacturing presence enables us to support brands with regionally diversified sourcing, fast sampling and local troubleshooting. We don’t just provide fiber, we support a broader, more resilient textile ecosystem. Notably, our New York studio has seen a sharp rise in India-based suppliers visiting and actively seeking to engage U.S. brands, offering a wide range of talent, quality and sustainable innovation.

In an industry where conditions can change overnight, working with globally integrated partners can help future-proof both your sourcing and sustainability goals and turn uncertainty into a strategic advantage.

    James Huang

    Chief Executive Officer

    Kingwhale

 In the face of supply-chain and tariff volatility, designers and manufacturers must embed sustainability into their operational DNA—not as a reactive measure but as a foundational strategy.

This begins with forging partnerships with suppliers—such as Kingwhale, which specializes in high-performance recycled textiles—who prioritize ethical innovation. Sustainability isn’t a trend, it’s a responsibility. True innovation means rethinking every thread in the supply chain.

Brands should focus on localizing supply chains to mitigate tariff shocks, invest in circular materials like recycled polyester or regenerative fibers, and demand transparency through certifications and traceable sourcing.

The lesson is clear: Uncertainty isn’t an excuse to deprioritize sustainability; it’s a catalyst to double down.

Jimmy Jin

Director of Sustainability

Dry-Tex

 As global trade uncertainties, tariff fluctuations and sourcing challenges continue to disrupt the textile industry, Dry-Tex’s forward-thinking approach demonstrates that environmental responsibility and supply-chain resilience are not mutually exclusive—they are essential partners in long-term success.

Relying on a single supplier or geography is no longer viable. By cultivating relationships with ethical partners worldwide, we protect our production timelines without compromising our environmental standards.

The brands that thrive in this new era will be those that treat sustainability as a driver of innovation, not just compliance. At Dry-Tex, we’re proving that responsible manufacturing isn’t a constraint—it’s the foundation of lasting success.

    Katrin Ley

    Managing Director

    Fashion for Good

 To remain aligned with sustainable goals during this period of tariff uncertainty and supply-chain volatility, designers and manufacturers must adopt three core strategies.

First, build strategic partnerships that enable collective purchasing power and shared risk as pooling demand for sustainable materials makes them economically viable even when traditional supply chains are disrupted.

Second, invest in comprehensive supplier mapping and traceability systems that provide real-time visibility into your entire value chain. This isn’t only about compliance, it’s about maintaining integrity when external pressures tempt shortcuts.

Third, treat sustainability as an operational discipline, not a marketing initiative. Embed environmental and social metrics directly into procurement decisions, performance evaluations and risk assessments. When uncertainty hits, companies with sustainability hardwired into their operating systems adapt faster and emerge stronger than those treating it as an add-on.

Dr. Cindy Lin 

Chief Executive Officer

Hey Social Good

Board Member

Climate Advisory Board to City of San Diego

 Right now it’s vital to distance emotionally from the roller-coaster changes happening externally. With the drastic uncertainties around tariffs, sourcing and supply chain, the most strategic action to take now is creating stability in your internal business and people operations and reinforcing your core functions.

This is a fantastic time to reflect on your business and identify and fix gaps. This may be the time to reassess your suppliers, diversify your sourcing options and identify a longer list of local and regional options. These may even bring new efficient and cost-effective options.

One of the key players in all of this is our customers. Keep in mind that we are all experiencing this together, and it is time to bolster, nurture and strengthen all business relationships with your designers, retailers and suppliers. Strong relationships help create new opportunities and even allow for flexibility. Creating or maintaining a strong sustainable business requires us to establish relationships with our partners authentically.

Prioritize transparency and enhance visibility across your supply chain. Assessing your social impact may endear you to your customers. Customers today are all aware of greenwashing and often misunderstand the complexity of business operations and the hundreds of steps it takes to work on sustainability.

    Steve McCullough

    Event Vice President

    Functional Fabric Fair

 Don’t put all your eggs in one basket. The brands that are sleeping well at night have relationships with suppliers in multiple regions. I’m talking about Turkey and Portugal, even bringing some production back to the United States. It’s not about abandoning your go-to partners, it’s about having options.

Get specific about what you need from your materials. Instead of saying “I need this exact fabric from this exact mill,” focus on the performance specs and sustainability standards that matter. If three different GOTS-certified mills can hit your targets, you’ve got backup plans when tariffs shake things up.

The smartest brands I know are also investing in supply-chain visibility tools right now. It costs money upfront, but when you can see what’s happening two or three tiers down, you’re not scrambling when problems hit.

Philippe Mignot

Project Manager

NextPrinting

 Economic, logistical and commercial challenges can reveal valuable opportunities for the market. They can accelerate the shift toward solutions that reduce the number of raw materials and processes needed to manufacture products. Digital printing is a highly effective tool in this respect.

By printing and applying finishes directly onto roll fabrics, our technology allows us to bypass multiple production steps and go straight to cutting, assembling and garment construction. We have no minimum-order quantities and can print on demand, eliminating the issue of unsold stock and excess warehouse storage. The market is increasingly looking for smart solutions like this, not as a replacement for traditional s but as an additional tool to streamline and optimize production while still achieving a high-impact aesthetic result.

    Ngozi Okaro

    Founder and Executive Director

    Custom Collaborative

 Seek flexibility wherever possible. Long lead times and overseas sampling are no longer compatible with our current trade climate nor the existing, fast-moving trend cycles.

Leverage virtual garment-design software and local sampling to streamline development, and be intentional about establishing a library of bestselling fit blocks to enable faster turnarounds. During production, consider opting for versatile greige fabrics that can be customized with trending colorways to avoid wasting hundreds of yards of stock that will not move.

Similarly, focus on engaging your community to help make design decisions. If your team is considering a novel print or bold new colorway, let your most dedicated followers make their opinions heard to gauge interest. It might just save you a whole lot of money and heartbreak later.

The bad news is that fashion is in a very chaotic moment. The good news is that many of the same changes that can help designers avoid paying unnecessary tariffs are the same ones that can help reduce production waste overall. For example, initial iterations of a garment can be planned out, reviewed and edited using digital design software. If you have more confidence in your design going into sampling, paying more to work with local manufacturers and avoiding steep tariffs starts to look like a smarter investment. Designers who want maximum flexibility and minimum fabric waste should shift to an on-demand production model and utilize versatile greige fabrics that can be dyed and printed on an as-needed basis.

Dr. Anna Sammarco

Senior Director Business Development and Strategy

Circulose

  With rising instability around global tariffs and trade regulations, it’s more important than ever for designers and manufacturers to stay true to their sustainability goals—while remaining agile by adopting a more resilient and future-forward approach to sustainability.

One key strategy is supply-chain diversification—not just geographically but also by prioritizing materials that are less exposed to tariff volatility. Diversifying supply chains to reduce reliance on a single region is essential, not only to manage disruptions but to support more-responsible sourcing.

Transparency tools such as digital traceability platforms also play a crucial role in ensuring accountability and building trust with consumers. These platforms can also support compliance with shifting regulatory demands, offering visibility into every tier of the supply chain and enabling quick pivots when needed.

Sustainability is not just a trend or a checkbox. It’s a strategic imperative. Brands that embed circularity at the core of their operations and supply chains will not only lead but endure in an increasingly unpredictable world.

    Adele Stafford

    Chief Growth Officer

    Worldly

 Staying the course on sustainability is more important—and possible—than ever. While at first glance the increasingly complex trade environment can feel daunting, businesses can make the most of this moment. For designers and manufacturers, the key lies in viewing sustainability data as a critical lever to proactively manage supply-chain risk.

Businesses have a growing desire to connect supply-chain sustainability data with broader-risk and scenario-planning tools—enabling companies to get a fuller, more accurate picture of their vulnerabilities so they can plan smarter for the future. Converging these datasets enables brands and manufacturers to better anticipate disruptions, respond with agility, and ultimately better support business growth and resilience.

Amid volatility, companies should prioritize supply-chain visibility to protect their operations and reach growth milestones. Real-time emissions and production data from suppliers are crucial to help identify bottlenecks, ensure ethical sourcing and improve efficiency. Leveraging primary data—not estimates or third-party averages—enables faster, more-accurate decisions, allowing companies to identify inefficiencies and carbon hot spots while ensuring compliance with evolving regulatory and trade environments.

The companies that successfully weather the regulatory storm will be those that use this moment as an opportunity to prioritize supply-chain visibility and operational resilience—and look to primary data as a catalyst for impact and business growth.

Andrea Venier

Managing Director

Officina39

 Our vision on the subject is very simple—sustainability goals are not something we add to our processes and products after they are developed, it is the foundation that drives our research and development from the outset. In recent years, amid COVID, wars, supply-chain disruptions, rising energy and transportation costs, and a variety of geopolitical crises, we have certainly faced challenges and difficulties, meeting them with the creativity that sets us apart.

However, these circumstances cannot alter our goals; on the contrary, we believe that only by staying true to our values can we continue to stand out as the ideal partner for those seeking concrete solutions for responsible change in the fashion industry.

Of course, this path is not and will not be easy. We must first understand whether price increases related to tariffs will have a greater impact on the supply chain, on consumers or on the brands themselves. This could influence both the quantity and quality of consumption. Some markets will benefit more than others, opening new opportunities and reshaping the geopolitical dynamics of fashion.

    Luciano Vivolo

    Founder and President

    Vivolo

 One of the qualities that sets us apart, beyond creativity and uniqueness, is our speed in responding to customer requests, creating prototypes in under 24 hours. To achieve this, it’s essential for us to always have the specific raw materials on hand that we know are needed by the brands that rely on us.

In nearly 50 years, we’ve built an exclusive and reliable supply chain through a network of Italian manufacturers. We can confidently say that supply is one of the things about which we are least worried right now. Tariffs are a different matter. We’ve already seen how the luxury market has come under serious pressure in recent years, and this added factor certainly won’t improve the situation.

Unfortunately, the ones who suffer in these cases are the supply-chain players who are unable to offer a clear economic or qualitative difference compared to their competitors. We, of course, focus everything on the uniqueness of our products and the values we infuse into our work every day. Among these, sustainability clearly plays an important role, both in terms of the environment and human relationships as well as in the development of our region and support for young designers. These are all key pillars of the business model we proudly carry forward.

David Williamson

Chief Executive Officer

Modern Meadow

 To survive the uncertainty of trade wars, designers should look to maximize efficiency in manufacturing workflows, savings from which can help mitigate the impact of tariffs. This is easier said than done.

Making products that are sustainable has required designers to make heavy investments in bespoke supply chains, workflows and hard-to-source materials. The significant costs that come with this have forced designers to compromise on their values to maintain efficient and profitable manufacturing.

Thanks to advances in biomaterials, designers need not compromise—they can have a sustainable material and an efficient workflow, even in the face of changing tariffs.

For example, Modern Meadow is a bio-design maker of leather alternative INNOVERA—derived from recycled rubber, biopolymers and plant-based proteins. INNOVERA’s drop-in capabilities means tanneries can use this material without building new infrastructure, reducing cost of adoption.

    Sherry Wood

    Director of Merchandising and Design

    Laguna Fabrics

 Laguna Fabrics is in a unique position as we took the initiative to stock our bestselling yarns to help shield us from some of the disruptions surrounding tariffs. Lenzing fibers is one of our most important sustainable partners as the majority of our collections are based off TENCEL Lyocell, TENCEL Modal and TENCEL Lyocell with Organic Cotton styles.

We prioritize suppliers that adhere to environmental standards and social responsibility. Investing in local and regional sourcing helps with lower emissions to reduce our carbon footprint and allows agility and control to audit and monitor local supply chains for sustainability compliance.

Preeminent is designing fabrics that can be easily modified or updated while being efficient reducing waste during production and improving end-of-life recyclability. Consumer engagement is a priority for us to communicate our sustainability efforts to encourage responsible consumption. Taking proactive steps, we can stay aligned with environmental and ethical goals, even in the face of geopolitical and economic uncertainty.

Responses have been edited for clarity and space.