For years, fashion treated supply-chain data as admin. In ****, it is becoming market access. A garment is no longer only a style, size and cost sheet; it is a regulated data object. Its fibre mix affects customs classification and recycling. Its factory trail affects forced-labour exposure. Its unsold-stock record affects EU compliance. Its product passport may decide market access.
Three forces are converging. First, tariff volatility has turned product data into a margin tool. McKinsey’s State of Fashion **** estimates that **** tariff moves could add about $** billion in duties to apparel and footwear imported into the US if volumes stayed unchanged. It also notes that apparel and footwear tariffs jumped from ** per cent to ** per cent during the Spring **** shock, then settled near ** per cent for top importers by mid-October.
