Clothing Destruction, Cybersecurity and AI, Affordability, And UK-EU Politics

This week, Grace and Ben discuss a diverse mix of fashion technology stories, although AI is still front and centre.

The European Commission's ban on the destruction of unsold clothing: https://environment.ec.europa.eu/news/ban-destruction-unsold-clothes-and-shoes-enters-application-2026-07-17_en

An unprecedented AI cybersecurity moment... or a marketing stunt? https://openai.com/index/hugging-face-model-evaluation-security-incident/

The explosion in maturity of open-weights Chinese models, and the risk they might represent to US businesses: https://www.semafor.com/article/07/17/2026/kimi-k3-threatens-ai-business-models

A suite of stories that suggest more competition in affordable fashion, and premium goods look for even more ways to spread consumer spending: https://techcrunch.com/2026/07/21/apple-teams-up-with-klarna-to-launch-a-lease-to-own-program-for-iphones-ipads-and-macs/ and https://www.theindustry.fashion/zaras-sister-brand-lefties-confirms-late-august-opening-for-first-uk-store/ and https://retailasia.com/e-commerce/news/shein-targets-50b-valuation-in-hong-kong-ipo

And finally the prospect of new leadership in the UK bringing the country closer to Europe again, and what that might mean for selling and buying fashion: https://www.drapersonline.com/news/burberry-boss-calls-for-burnham-to-scrap-tourist-tax