Better Buying 2025 insights: Navigating global volatility and defining the next steps for better purchasing practices

Across the industry, we’re seeing a growing number of verbal commitments to long-term, balanced buyer–supplier relationships. But 63% of suppliers surveyed by Vogue Business report that brands expect them to advance sustainability while continuing to squeeze margins; a financially untenable partnership for all.

How do we pursue shared responsibility? It starts with supplier voices. The Better Buying Purchasing Practices Index (BBPPI) from Cascale’s Better Buying offers the most comprehensive evidence of what fair and responsible purchasing truly looks like. By centering the supplier perspective across seven key indicators, the BBPPI helps buyers identify where their practices are supporting — or undermining — their own sustainability ambitions.

This session delved into the latest BBPPI findings from 2025, unpacking what progress looks like today and where critical gaps remain.

What we discussed:

• Actionable insights behind building true supply chain partnerships, as defined by real supplier ratings and perspectives
• What the latest Better Buying data reveals about purchasing trends, regional differences, and more insights
• How responsible purchasing practices enhance resilience amid global trade volatility and key factors to drive lasting improvement
• Ways in which shared responsibility enables living wages, decent work, and sustainability investments for suppliers
• Where urgent alignment is needed; and how brands, suppliers, and multi-stakeholder initiatives can collaborate for systemic change