#Sustainability

2025-05-08

Timely report highlights regional trends ahead of Cascale Forum in Vietnam

Cascale, the global nonprofit alliance empowering collaboration to drive equitable and restorative business practices in the consumer goods industry, and Worldly, the leading supply chain sustainability data insights platform, today released a new policy deep dive: Navigating Regulation and Building Resilience: Key Trends in Corporate Supply Chain Responsibility for APAC in 2025.

This report examines the growing trend of climate- and supply chain-related regulations across the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region and their implications for global brands, manufacturers, and suppliers. Released ahead of the Cascale Forum: Ho Chi Minh City, taking place on May 14–15, the analysis provides key insights that can inform conversations on regulatory readiness, facility-level data, and regional leadership.

The urgency of these shifts is underscored by the region’s exposure to climate risk,” said Elisabeth von Reitzenstein, senior director of policy and public affairs at Cascale. “The APAC region is home to the majority of the world’s 100 most environmentally at-risk cities. Our industry has a responsibility—and an opportunity—to lead in shaping more resilient, transparent supply chains. This deep dive is designed to equip our members with the foresight to do exactly that.”

In addition to spotlighting major national and international regulatory developments, the deep dive outlines clear recommendations for companies, including how to invest in localized data systems, set science-based targets, and build stronger brand-manufacturer partnerships.

As part of its expanded focus on the APAC region, Cascale plans to launch a new APAC Policy Member Expert Team (MET) in 2025, which will advise on regulatory priorities and help shape the organization’s advocacy efforts across the region. Cascale also continues to work closely with local industry associations such as VITAS and BGMEA to support members in navigating compliance and aligning with policy momentum.

“We’re committed to amplifying local voices and building policy alignment from the ground up,” said Howard Kwong, senior manager of public affairs, APAC at Cascale. “This deep dive is part of a broader effort to equip our members in and sourcing from the APAC region with the insight, partnerships, and tools needed to lead in a shifting global landscape.”

Tools such as the Higg Index continue to play a critical role in enabling companies to meet emerging regulatory and buyer expectations, offering standardized, facility-level data on environmental and social performance.

“To build resilient, future-ready businesses, companies must look beyond compliance and deeply understand the policy shifts unfolding across the Asia-Pacific region,” said JR Siegel, vice president, sustainability at Worldly. “As APAC governments move from voluntary guidance to mandatory regulation, the leading companies of tomorrow will be the ones that invest in transparency, climate adaptation, and clean energy today. This paper is a call to action for businesses to treat these policy changes as an opportunity to shape the future of responsible commerce.”

This publication builds on previous Cascale and Worldly policy deep dives, including reports on the EU’s CS3D and IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standards. It reflects the organizations’ ongoing commitment to delivering expert insight, regional engagement, and practical support to help the consumer goods industry meet its sustainability and compliance goals.

Download the full report

Get expert analysis, regional insights, and strategic recommendations to help your company meet evolving expectations and build resilience in the world’s most dynamic manufacturing region.

https://cascale.org/resources/publications/policy-deep-dive-navigating-regulation-and-building-resilience-key-trends-in-corporate-supply-chain-responsibility-for-apac-in-2025/

Experts publish APAC policy priorities

Cascale today announced the publication of its APAC Policy Priorities Paper, developed by the Asia-Pacific (APAC) Policy Member Expert Team (MET) to identify key regional sustainability challenges and provide practical, aligned recommendations for policymakers and industry stakeholders across Asia-Pacific.

Cascale Forum: Colombo convenes 500+ manufacturers brands, and stakeholders to advance capacity building and collaboration across the consumer goods industry

Cascale today announced program details for Cascale Forum: Colombo, taking place March 30–April 1, 2026 in Sri Lanka. Building on the success of the 2025 Forum in Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam, this gathering will convene manufacturers, brands, retailers, NGOs, policymakers, and solution providers under the theme “Action by Design: Accelerating a Fairer, More Resilient Value Chain.”

HKRITA signs MoU with Jeanologia and Looptworks to establish the Green Machine Circular Textile Ecosystem

The Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel (HKRITA) yesterday officially signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with two key global partners, Jeanologia and Looptworks, to establish the Green Machine Circular Textile Ecosystem – a first-of-its-kind collaboration to accelerate the large-scale recycling of blended textiles.

Textile Exchange unveils agenda for 2026 conference in Vancouver

Textile Exchange has released the agenda for its 2026 Conference, which will take place from October 12–16 in Vancouver, Canada. Under the theme “The Implementation Era,” the event will focus on translating sustainability commitments into practical action and scaling solutions across businesses, supply systems, and landscapes.

Textile PRO Forum calls for greater harmonisation of textile EPR systems across Europe

The Textile PRO Forum has published a new analysis highlighting the need for greater harmonisation of textile Extended Producer Responsibility systems across Europe. The document, Toward harmonised Textile EPR Systems in Europe: analysis and recommendations, presents the results of work carried out by Workstream 1 of the Textile PRO Forum, led by Dr. Eng. Viola Corbellini, Strategic Development and Innovation Expert at Erion Textiles, and Eng. Luca Campadello, General Director at Erion Textiles. The workstream focused on reducing administrative burden for textile producers by identifying areas where procedures could be better aligned across countries.

Results of the 38th ITMF Global Textile Industry Survey

The global textile industry appears to be turning a corner, but this is more likely a fragile and possibly temporary improvement than the start of a durable recovery. According to the 38th ITMF Global Textile Industry Survey, conducted worldwide during the second half of May 2026, business sentiment, order intake, order backlogs and capacity utilization all improved versus March — yet every indicator remains weak by historical standards, and rising costs cast doubt on how long the upturn can last.

2026 general meeting of the Friends and Supporters of RWTH Aachen at ITA

The Friends and Supporters of RWTH Aachen e. V. (proRWTH) looked back on a successful year of support at their 2026 general meeting. The meeting took place at Institut für Textiltechnik (ITA) of RWTH Aachen and was combined with a joint session of the Executive Board and the Administrative Board. Before the general meeting began, participants were given a guided tour of ITA, providing them with fascinating insights into current research and development topics in textile engineering.

Cotton ConneXions Insight to Impact brings supply chain leaders together around cotton innovation

Cotton Incorporated’s Cotton ConneXions Insight to Impact brought together more than 300 industry leaders from 140 companies across 10 countries, including more than 45 top global brands and sourcing organizations, underscoring strong global interest in cotton-rich product development, sourcing and supply chain collaboration.

Footwear innovation enabled by warp knitting technology– insights from New Balance

The future of the athletic shoe is increasingly being shaped on warp knitting machines. For KARL MAYER, the footwear industry is one of the most important growth markets – and one of the sectors where innovative textiles can realize their full potential. In his keynote address at the opening of KARL MAYER’s TEXTILE INNOVATION CENTER in Obertshausen in April, Vishnu Prakash Muthusamy, Senior Textile and Materials Engineer at New Balance, explained the opportunities that warp knitting technology opens up for performance, sustainability, and faster development processes, and why textile manufacturers are transitioning from suppliers to development partners.