Even with high tariffs, says Ken Pucker, former chief operating officer of Timberland, an American footwear and apparel company, the economics of apparel making “continue to be overwhelmingly in favor of low-wage countries.” The U.S. lacks the skilled workforce, supplier network, and machinery to mass produce garments after decades of offshoring, he says.
https://www.csmonitor.com/Business/2025/0821/trump-tariffs-imports-consumer-culture?icid=rss
BP, PepsiCo, FedEx and others are retreating from climate pledges, showing that voluntary action isn’t enough to tackle the growing carbon emission crisis
https://sustainabilitymag.com/news/voluntary-not-compulsory-the-change-of-environmental-goals
Coca-Cola, BP, HSBC and countless others are dropping environmental goals, highlighting the inadequacy of voluntary action.
https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2025-06-12/climate-pledges-dropped-by-coca-cola-bp-hsbc-as-planet-heats-up?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTc0OTczNzE4MiwiZXhwIjoxNzUwMzQxOTgyLCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTWFFTMEVEV1gyUFMwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiIzRjRGRUZFRDYwMzQ0Q0RDQjlGMTIwNTMyNzFCMUVBQiJ9.-J-3klDvYKh-TIgtwS7ZKPWLwaLmSej9ESX2K066Aw4&leadSource=uverify%20wall&embedded-checkout=true&sref=fnjoKOAK
SHEIN’s climate targets gained SBTi approval, however fast fashion critics have ongoing concerns over ethics, transparency and environmental harm
https://sustainabilitymag.com/articles/why-is-shein-facing-scepticism-despite-sbti-approval
Trump’s policies challenge notions of corporate responsibility and undermine environmental, social, and governance concerns, but it’s still possible to invest your values.
https://www.fastcompany.com/91339495/is-esg-investing-even-still-a-thing
Apparel industry experts weigh in on the Swedish fast-fashion giant’s latest sustainability report.
https://trellis.net/article/how-hm-is-improving-its-footprint/?mkt_tok=MjExLU5KWS0xNjUAAAGZvouyuZH0PWwHsG1vqlf5Dm5JsLWYzXxLpqpXtPVJqCEHK7anrTjf8xYvDfgomXYNw8rR6vsQzCNSMIevHv61R2z0_8qg1ncxvYsgXSmJkw
“Unfortunately, I think it’s pretty compelling to buy a $7 pair of jeans if you’re not rich,” Ken Pucker, professor of practice at the Fletcher School at Tufts University and the former chief operating officer of Timberland, told me last year. “To a consumer, there’s no real functional benefit of sustainable fashion. Just perhaps a psychic benefit that they’re helping the planet.”
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/30/opinion/forever-21-bankrupt-fast-fashion.html
Engaged citizens can organize to insist that their employers and legislators better represent their interests and those of their children and grandchildren.
https://climatevoice.org/climatevoices-featuring-ken-pucker/
New tariffs and the potential end of a duty-free loophole bring new challenges to fashion brands, resellers and manufacturers.
The trade policy, although a “fine step,” won’t kick consumers’ addiction to low-cost, polluting polyester clothes, according to Ken Pucker, a former Timberland executive who teaches business at Dartmouth College and Tufts University. “Even with the addition of a few dollars of duty to a Shein dress, it will still cost less than half many competitors’ garments,” he said.
https://trellis.net/article/fast-fashion-confronts-a-reckoning-on-sustainability-under-trump-tariffs/?mkt_tok=MjExLU5KWS0xNjUAAAGYmTgzF-jqZWzL04iHD3P5XzrWZxaBESuRN1u_GlwIHVUwb9dAhk-35Plz1K1MrPfqaHiblWbaIozB_3DOiiHV1zMTc70mcOptONXTI10a_w
“Since the outset, Allbirds has been clear that consumers do not buy their shoes because they are sustainable,” said Ken Pucker, professor of practice with the Tufts Fletcher School. “Instead, they seek to make the most comfortable, simple and purposeful products that happen to be lower in carbon.”
https://trellis.net/article/allbirds-wants-footwear-companies-to-copy-net-zero-shoe-design/