AAFA 2025 Recap:
Navigating tariffs, regulations and circularity with confidence

Throughout the conference, one theme was clear: fragmented data continues to hold brands back from achieving their sustainability goals. Speakers from Bitopi Group, Inditex and the Apparel and Textile Transformation Initiative (ATTI) shared how connecting product and supplier data unlocks manufacturing strategies that reduce environmental impact, increase agility and build operational resilience.

Brands are shifting away from spreadsheets and disconnected systems to integrated digital platforms where sourcing, compliance, design and sustainability teams rely on the same real-time information. This alignment ensures decisions are grounded in reliable data rather than assumptions or outdated reports.

Centric PLM™ unifies product, material, sourcing and compliance data in a single platform, eliminating manual workarounds and aligning sustainability targets with daily operational decisions.

Circularity was a central focus, with Everlane sharing how its partnership with Debrand established reuse and recycling programs that integrate seamlessly into operations. Textile recycling trials further demonstrated the importance of industry-wide collaboration and standardized data to make circularity scalable. 

Brands are prioritizing product design for recyclability, tracking material certifications and recyclability attributes, and ensuring this data informs decisions across development, sourcing and compliance workflows. 

Centric PLM captures and organizes detailed material data, certifications and recyclability indicators, so circularity strategies are embedded directly into product development, enabling quick and confident execution. 

Sessions on EU legislation, EPR frameworks and due diligence laws highlighted how fast-changing regulations are reshaping operations worldwide. Policy experts urged brands to centralize and standardize data now to remain agile and compliant as requirements continue to evolve. 

Compliance today is deeply interconnected with traceability, ESG reporting and supply chain risk management. Brands need systems that keep them audit-ready without relying on time-consuming manual data gathering whenever policies shift. 

Centric PLM structures and maintains comprehensive, up-to-date product and supplier data. Integration with traceability platforms ensures compliance reporting remains efficient and accurate across multiple jurisdictions. 

One of the most impactful sessions addressed the shifting tariff landscape, a timely discussion given the latest announcements from the Trump campaign. While public narratives suggest one view of tariff impacts, the underlying numbers presented during the session revealed eye-opening realities that many brands may not yet fully grasp. Full slide decks from this session will be available post-event but key takeaways centered on strategic sourcing choices and traceability risks. 

Speakers cautioned that an over-concentration of sourcing shifts – such as mass moves from China to Vietnam – could create additional bottlenecks and systemic risks. Vietnam’s population, at only 100 million, cannot absorb an unchecked influx of production without significant capacity strain, potentially undermining both cost savings and supply chain stability.  

Traceability also remains on the administration’s radar, particularly concerning tariff engineering or evasion through transshipment. This practice involves rerouting goods through a third country and sometimes changing labels to avoid high tariffs imposed on direct imports from the original country, such as China. Brands engaging in transshipment strategies expose themselves to compliance risks, legal penalties and reputational damage if origin or classification misrepresentations are uncovered. 

Centric PLM establishes a digital record of product origins, components and supplier flows, ensuring accurate, verifiable data for regulatory compliance, trade reporting and risk mitigation. 

Discussions on leather supply chains, regenerative agriculture and forced labor prevention reinforced that traceability underpins ethical sourcing and nature-positive operations. End-to-end visibility is no longer optional – it is essential for building trust with consumers, regulators and stakeholders demanding verified impact. 

Centric PLM and its connected solutions provide detailed visibility from concept to consumer, enabling brands to validate claims, engage suppliers transparently and build ESG strategies backed by reliable data.

The AAFA conference made one thing clear: digital transformation is no longer an option – it is a strategic requirement for resilience, compliance and market leadership. As sustainability expectations accelerate, regulations tighten and sourcing strategies grow more complex, brands that invest in connected, accurate data systems will lead the way.

Centric Software enables brands to unify product development, sourcing, pricing and market intelligence into a single digital foundation.