"Fashion’s ‘Underperforming’ Purchasing Practices Struggle Under Tariff Pressures", 19 November 2025

Forecasting...That’s what fashion brands need to double down on if they’re hoping to shore up the responsible business practices that embattled manufacturers need to keep production rolling in the face of unprecedented economic and geopolitical upheaval, according to the most recent edition of the Better Buying Purchasing Practices Index, or BBPPI.

Nearly 1,360 suppliers worldwide participated in the current cycle, scoring 35 brands that included Better Buying subscribers like American Eagle Outfitters, Eileen Fisher, Lululemon and Nike, along with non-subscribers such as Fanatics, Patagonia, Target and Zara owner Inditex.

While the analysis exhibits less of the “acute crisis” of mass order cancellations and non-payment for orders that was pervasive in the early days of the pandemic...its middling performance is still indicative of broader issues that undermine supply chain resilience through a lack of engagement, transparency and accountability.

“Today, the issues are more structural and chronic: weaker forecasting, price pressures and unstable sourcing volumes,”...“The shift is from crisis mode to chronic underperformance, and progress on purchasing practices remains slow overall.”...

...Suppliers who were surveyed between April 1 and June 5—a period marked by the sudden and whipsawing imposition of bruising tariffs, first on Canada, Mexico and China, then on the rest of the world—reported sub‑optimal purchasing practices, especially around forecasting, pricing, payment and sourcing stability.

Planning and forecasting, in particular, saw the biggest decline in category score...Some 37 percent of the suppliers polled rated this as the No. 1 priority area for improvement, or more than double the proportion for the next-highest category, cost and cost negotiation...

...without reliable planning and forecasts, suppliers risk not right-sizing their workforce or materials, leaving them with too much to spare or worse, scrambling to cover what they need, resulting in production delays, quality issues, diminished operational efficiency and increased costs. Discrepancies between forecasts and actual order volumes could force them to resort to subcontracting or put employees on furlough, both of which can harm worker well-being...

...buyers should commit to formalizing long-term partnerships with suppliers, so that when crises hit, the foundations are already in place to tackle challenges together.”

In total, the soft goods industry scored 66 out of a possible 100, or one point lower than 2024’s benchmark. Sourcing and order placement was the only category to demonstrate improvement, albeit from what the BBPI described as a “low base” that continues to put it at the bottom-most rung. Even the management of the purchasing process, a category that historically maintained the highest score, took a tumble.

Taken together, the analysis said, the results reveal a year that was marked more by “setbacks and emerging risks” than by advancement...

...companies need to take a “more consistent, systems-based” approach to embed not only fair working relationships throughout their supply chains but also predictable ones that don’t keep manufacturers guessing, the report said.

“But just as we saw during Covid, companies that have subscribed to Better Buying year over year and maintained strong, long-term relationships with their suppliers consistently performed better, and their suppliers were better able to absorb unexpected shocks,” Hess said....

Hess said that in a world where chaos and disruption have become the default, manufacturers will only be protected when buyers make the switch from playing crisis whack-a-mole to deploying responsible purchasing practices as the standard procedure.

“...The big takeaway is that brands need to accept global volatility as the new normal and commit to embedding resilient practices across the whole supply chain, learning from higher-performing regions and supporting suppliers in regions facing persistent challenges to foster more balanced, sustainable supply chains.”