structuring a change in a global system with many stakeholders is not easy. It requires both cooperation and coordination. What could be the role of governments?
What can governments, NGOs and brands do, apart from code of conducts and certification schemes, to positively influence the social working conditions and the environmental impact of the fashion industry?
auditing and certification is sensitive to deception and bribes, and never ‘airtight’. most of the time it is only the garment factory who is checked and not the parties who are subcontracted or who are deeper in the supply chain, like the spinning mills - it drives no real change, It is not innovative. It is repairing an inefficient business model full of low cost labour.
So, why do all the stakeholders who want to improve the social impact in the textile sector, can only think of compliance programs in terms of auditing and certification. Isn’t it better to start thinking about how we could change the system by innovating the current business model?
We can change this via transition management. Where it starts with the production of fibres, which are spun into yarns for knitwear and wovens, And after the dyeing and the ‘Cut-Make-Trim’ step, ready-made garments are exported to the West where they are used, discharged and incinerated.
fashion is still made in a very old-fashioned way, with hardly any other added value than being the cheapest in a very competitive market. This has lead to low margins and low wages. This race to the bottom transformed garments to fast-fashion disposables, causing anonymous, irresponsible and non-transparent production processes,
the current approach by Western governments and NGO’s now is to force brands to take measures in the supply chain on improving these labour issues. So the Dutch brands for instance, signed the Dutch Agreement on Sustainable Garments and Textile with the aim to improve the working conditions.The Bangladesh Accord is doing the same on safety issues. And these agreements can be seen as examples of optimization in an old regime, with due diligence, audits and certification as main instrument. It is focused on improvement of the current linear business model. But what we really need is system change.A new regime.
for example, By transforming the supply chain from a linear ‘take-make-waste’ system into a circular one, in which structural collaboration is needed throughout the whole value chain. A growing number of frontrunning brands – including the big ones - are already experimenting in this new regime of sustainable and inclusive business models.
H&M and Zara for example are heading for 100% organic and/or recycled materials in 2030. Patagonia wants to reach that already in 2025. So these goals have implications and opportunities for producing countries as well. In the denim market, G-star, Scotch & Soda, Kings of Indigo and C&A joined forces with a fixed group of high-tech Turkish waste recyclers and spinners to create circular denim.And to set a new standard of jeans with 20% post-consumer recycled content. In such ‘closed loop’ collaborations, the whole supply chain is involved. With long term relationships and contracts, based on trust instead of mistrust and with more added value. So the brands become responsible for taking back the jeans and for re-using them, the fibres are marked by nano-technology, so the origin can be traced down as well as all the processing steps and factories in between. This Extended Producer Responsibility is implemented in France and in The Netherlands. The Dutch government is planning to reward such sustainable and inclusive initiatives with tax-reductions. And to phase out garments without Extended Producer Responsibility.
the core question for brands and producing countries in this context is: do I stick to the old regime of linear mass production, including all kinds of social auditing programmes based on mistrust or can we innovate our industry towards joint initiatives in a transparent and traceable way?
the current system is based on distrust and how closed loop business models are based on trust. Auditing processes are a form of optimization of the old regime. It therefore doesn’t create systems change, nor does it achieve a better cooperation between industry players. Michiel van Yperen talks about laws and regulations that could be used to govern the transition to a circular system. However, the problem with the current system is not that the laws we have right now are unclear, but that the relationships between brands and producers are currently based on mistrust.
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