UK
Marketplaces will collect VAT on UK sellers from October 2027
Last week’s Budget had a sting I didn’t cover: from 1 October 2027, online marketplaces will collect the VAT on sales by UK businesses selling goods already in the UK to consumers. It applies to every VAT-registered seller, and to unregistered sellers who sell more than £90,000 a year on any one platform (the threshold counts per platform). Second-hand goods, private sales and business-to-business sales are left out. The detail will come in legislation and HMRC guidance next year.
What it means for you: If you sell through Amazon, eBay, Zalando or similar, VAT will be taken at source from October 2027. Check what that does to your pricing, your cash flow and how you reconcile marketplace payouts.
UK
PFAS in packaging could push you into the highest EPR fee band
Under PackUK’s new recyclability rules for packaging placed on the market in 2027, any packaging containing PFAS above 1 part per million is automatically rated red, whether or not anyone added it on purpose. The old rules only caught PFAS that was intentionally added. Packaging containing other hazardous substances above set limits is rated red too. Red-rated packaging pays 1.6 times the base fee in 2027/28, rising to twice the base fee the year after.
What it means for you: Ask your packaging suppliers for test results or declarations on PFAS and other restricted substances in your mailers, polybags, hangers and tags now. Without them, you can’t prove you’re not in the red band.
EU
Brussels scraps the Green Claims Directive, but the greenwashing ban stays
On 4 November the European Commission formally withdrew its proposed Green Claims Directive in its 2027 work programme. The proposal, which would have made companies get environmental claims checked by an independent verifier before using them, had been stuck for more than three years after EU governments failed to agree a position.
What it means for you: Nobody will pre-approve your claims, so the burden of proof sits squarely with you. Keep the evidence behind every claim on your EU product pages, and drop any you can’t back up.
EU
From 1 November, every product category in a parcel costs more
Since 1 November, goods sold online from outside the EU carry a new €2 handling fee for every “item” in a parcel. For customs, an item isn’t a single piece: it’s each product category, meaning goods with the same tariff code, description and origin. Five identical T-shirts count as one item; a T-shirt, a dress and a belt count as three. Unlike the duty, the fee applies whatever the parcel is worth, even above €150. And it can’t be refunded, even if the customer sends the item back unworn. If you’ve passed the fee on to a shopper who then returns the item, you still have to refund them in full, but you can’t reclaim the fee from customs.
What it means for you: If you ship direct to EU shoppers from the UK or anywhere outside the EU, each extra product category in a basket now adds up to €5. Check your landed costs and delivery charges, ask your carrier or customs agent how they’re grouping your goods, and make sure your product data goes with every parcel.
EU
Five weeks to go, and only three countries are ready
The new Product Liability Directive applies from 9 December. By 30 October only Hungary, Croatia and Lithuania had fully written it into national law, law firm Faegre Drinker reported. Czechia’s draft would extend liability to importers, authorised representatives, fulfilment services, distributors and online platforms.
What it means for you: If you’re outside the EU, your importer, EU representative or fulfilment partner can be held liable for your products from December, and they’ll want proof your products are safe. Expect those questions before Christmas.
US
New US customs rules will hit brands that ship from abroad
US Customs and Border Protection has issued a rule, effective 5 January 2027, that tightens who can import goods into the US. A “US importer of record” must now be a US citizen or permanent resident, or a US company that is at least 51% owned and controlled by them or owns significant US property. Foreign importers can only file entries if they’re certified under CBP’s CTPAT security programme or use a CTPAT-certified broker, and CBP may bar them from simplified low-value entries altogether (STR Trade Report, 5 November).
What it means for you: If you ship to US customers duty paid using your own foreign importer number, or your supplier’s, talk to your broker now. Before January you may need a CTPAT broker, a US entity or a US partner to act as importer.
US
Apparel tariffs have risen by two thirds in a year
The American Apparel & Footwear Association told the US Trade Representative on 29 October that the average US tariff on clothing rose from 14.70% in 2024 to 24.56% in 2025, and on footwear from 12.26% to 23.75%. The industry paid $28.4 billion in duties in 2025, up 68%. Democrats are projected to take control of both the House and the Senate after Tuesday’s mid-terms. Nothing changes until the new Congress sits in January, but tariffs, the AGOA renewal and US forced-labour rules could all come back on the table next year. I’ll keep you posted.
What it means for you: If you sell into the US, price in today’s tariffs rather than waiting for relief. If you source from South Africa, cost in full duty from January.
United Nations
COP31 opens on Monday, with waste at the top of the agenda
Türkiye, the host, has put “Zero Waste” first among its ten priorities for the conference. Its goals for 2035 include halving the expected growth in the world’s household and municipal waste and lifting the share of materials that are recycled back into use to at least 15%. These are the presidency’s goals, not binding rules, and I haven’t seen a fashion-specific programme yet.
What it means for you: Expect circularity to be talked about as climate action, which strengthens the case for textile EPR and recycled-content rules. I’ll report back on anything that touches fashion.
Where It’s Made
Wage protests close hundreds of factories, and a worker dies
Garment workers in Bangladesh are demanding a minimum wage of Tk 30,000 a month (about $242), up from the Tk 12,500 (about $101) set in 2023. On 1 November the government formed a new wage board, but protests went on: by 3 November around 690 factories employing more than 1.7 million workers had stopped production, mainly around Gazipur, Ashulia and Savar. A worker died after an attack during a protest in Gazipur, and Human Rights Watch has called on brands to make sure their buying prices make a living wage possible.
What it means for you: If you source from Bangladesh, expect delays now and a cost rise from December; the last increase, in 2023, was 56%. Talk to your suppliers about how you’ll share it, and check your due diligence on workers’ right to organise.
Downstream
Researchers tracked 200 old garments. A third left Europe
Consultancies Eunomia and Mepex tracked 200 discarded garments from Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden for six months, through 23 countries. Seven in ten were last located in Europe, mostly Poland and Slovakia, but 34% ended up outside the EU and EEA, with Pakistan the biggest destination. The lower the quality, the further it went: 56% of the lowest-grade items left Europe, against 24% of the best. Four reached Nigeria via Benin, even though Nigeria bans used-clothing imports. The study found no evidence of dumping or burning, but couldn’t confirm what finally happened to the clothes (Sourcing Journal, 4 November).
What it means for you: The EU will restrict textile waste exports to countries outside the OECD from May 2027, and low-grade exports are where the questions will land. If you run or fund a take-back scheme, ask your partner where the lowest grades go.
Downstream
A textile recycling charity is placed in provisional liquidation
Ireland’s Charities Regulator has had provisional liquidators appointed to Liberty Recycling, which runs nine shops and a sorting depot and employs around 95 people, while police investigate large international money transfers. More than €300,000 in cars, handbags and jewellery has been seized. Its clothing banks are out of use, and residents in Kildare have been asked not to use them.
What it means for you: Under EPR, brands will fund collection, so the collectors and exporters in your chain become your risk. Do the same due diligence on them as you would on a supplier.
Digital Product Passports
Without a Green Claims law, your product data is your proof
With the Green Claims Directive gone, there’s no EU scheme to check your environmental claims before you make them. But the greenwashing ban still applies, and from 2027 the ESPR rules for clothing will start to set out what information must sit in a Digital Product Passport. In both cases, the question a regulator, retailer or customer will ask is the same: where’s the evidence?
What it means for you: Build your claims from the same supplier and material data you’ll need for your passport. Collect it once and use it for both.
