A. Falconer

By Falcon Research | December 2025 2025 marks the year fashion lost control of its sustainability narrative. Governments and regulators have moved from encouragement to enforcement , transforming sustainability from a branding exercise into a compliance requirement. From Ethics to Enforcement For years, fashion relied on: Voluntary commitments Self-reported metrics Selective transparency That era is ending. PFAS Bans Go Live As of January 1, 2025: California  and New York  banned apparel...

By Falcon Research | December 2025 Fashion’s environmental damage is not accidental. It is the result of business models designed around volume, speed, and disposability  — even as sustainability pledges multiply. In 2025, several global brands are increasingly seen as environmental defaulters : companies whose operating logic is fundamentally incompatible with planetary limits. What “Defaulter” Means in 2025 A defaulter is not necessarily breaking the law — yet. Instead, these brands: Rely...

By Falcon Research | December 2025 The global fashion industry has officially crossed a line. In 2025, fashion is no longer just “unsustainable.” It has become one of the world’s most resource-extractive industries , operating at a scale that ecosystems and regulators can no longer absorb. This is the first article in a three-part series examining how fashion reached this point, who is driving the damage, and why 2025 marks a turning point. Water: From Resource Use to Resource Collapse...