(This article originally appeared on WhatTheyThink.)

The Earth is hotter than ever. 2023, and then 2024, were the hottest years on record, and that trend does not seem to be slowing down. In fact, data from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii suggests that atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide increased at a record rate in 2024. And forget about the goal to limit temperature increases to no more than 1.5 degrees Centigrade as compared to pre-industrial levels. All signs indicate that we are on the cusp of blowing past that. Because 2025 is forecasted to add CO₂ to the atmosphere at an even faster rate!

The research notes, “Long-term increases in observed CO₂ are the result of human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere—more than enough CO₂ has been emitted by fossil fuel burning and deforestation to account for the increase measured in the atmosphere. Although CO₂ concentrations have now increased by over 50% since the industrial revolution, this increase would have been almost twice as large if some CO₂ had not been removed from the atmosphere through natural absorption by plants and the oceans.”

How Are the Textiles and Packaging Industries Responding?

Let’s start with textiles, arguably the world’s second largest polluter behind fossil fuels industries. McKinsey’s State of Fashion 2025 report cites “challenges at every turn.” The report notes:

• In 2025, 80 percent of executives expect no improvement in the global fashion industry.
• Sustainability has fallen off the agenda, with only 18 percent of fashion executives citing it as a top-three risk for growth in 2025, down from 29 percent in 2024.
• Lack of consumer confidence and appetite to spend was cited by 70 percent of fashion executives as the biggest concern for the year ahead.

Add to that the apparent lack of interest in climate by the incoming administration in the U.S., and it looks like a recipe for disaster. And it doesn’t help that banks are quitting the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA) at an alarming rate. An article in The Diplomat states, “Without the participation of U.S. banks in the NZBA, the already limited pool of climate finance may shrink further.” And none of this is encouraging the textile industry to ramp up its sustainability efforts.

Packaging is a little different. This is due to many brands still concerned about their overall carbon footprint, working with their packaging partners to reduce packaging, especially the use of plastics and the adoption of more recyclable and reusable materials. But pollution from packaging is still an issue. The GWP Groupreports that while packaging sustainability will increasingly be balanced against costs, two trends will help:

• Brands and their converter partners will be working to take packaging back to basics to minimize material use—and cost.
• Returnable and/or reusable packaging is likely to grow in popularity.

Regulatory Impact

As with many tough business decisions, organizations in these industries will be pushed to be more sustainable by emerging regulations, both in Europe and the U.S. Here are a few examples:

• The U.S. Federal government, under the Biden administration, recognized waste from the apparel industry as a concern. This awareness was largely driven by the establishment of the Congressional Slow Fashion Caucus, announced by Congresswoman Chellie Pingree (D-Maine) in mid-2024. Its goal was to incentivize the apparel industry to promote reuse, repair, and recycling of textiles, among other things. According to the GAO, textile waste, such as discarded clothing, has been increasing over the past 20 years thanks to the rise in “fast fashion,” basically cheap, trendy, disposable fashion items. Unfortunately, President Biden rejected federal coordination on textile recycling. That’s not likely to change in the near term.
• California's Senate Bill 54 (SB 54) regulates packaging waste by requiring producers to reduce single-use packaging and increase recycling rates. By 2032, all single-use packaging must be recyclable or compostable.
• California legislation is also addressing textile waste. SB-707, the Responsible Textile Act of 2024, which makes apparel producers responsible for the recycle, reuse and collection of their products, marks the nation’s first extended producer responsibility program for textiles. California state Sen. Josh Newman, who authored the bill, said SB 707 is additionally meant to address the environmental impacts of fast fashion “and the ‘throwaway culture’ it has abetted.”
• France is proposing a tax on fast fashion items to address the environmental and social impact of the industry. The tax would also ban advertising for fast fashion brands.
• The European Union’s (EU) Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation (PPWR) aims to reduce packaging waste by requiring more recycling, reuse, and minimization. The PPWR was adopted by the European Parliament and is and is in effect as of January 2025.

These are just a few high-level regulatory actions. Lest you think they don’t apply to you, think again. You might think they don’t because you don’t have any European or California operations. However, if your products are sold in those geographies, the regulations apply to you! How they are actually enforced remains to be seen.

Hopeful Signs

There is, of course, some good news, although depending on what incoming governments around the world do, it could be fleeting. Again, some examples:

• S. regulators approved the first carbon capture and storage project in California. The project will inject captured CO₂ into disused oil wells in the Elk Hills oilfield by injecting it into the state’s rock formation. The wells would inject about 1.5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year for 26 years, totaling almost 38 million metric tons of carbon dioxide removed and stored, according to the EPA. Carbon capture can help offset the elimination of natural carbon sinks, such as forests, which are disappearing at an alarming rate.
• Recycling textile waste is complicated by the difficulty in determining fiber content of these materials. To help here, the S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) has built a comprehensive database cataloguing the molecular fingerprints of various textile fibers to increase both the effectiveness and speed of sorting at recycling facilities. Assuming the waste gets to these facilities.
• The RIKEN Center for Emergent Matter Science and the University of Tokyo in Japan developed a biodegradable plastic that dissolves in salt water. The plastic is designed to help reduce microplastic pollution in the ocean. Getting technical, “The newly developed plastic is based on supramolecular chemistry, utilizing ionic monomers linked by reversible salt bonds. This unique structure allows the plastic to maintain its strength during use while enabling rapid degradation when exposed to saline environments.” The researchers indicate that not only are the plastics strong and stable, but they do not generate microplastics.