Sustainability in fashion is often associated first with environmental impact: the materials used, the waste generated, the resources consumed or the emissions produced. But the sustainability challenges of the fashion and textile sector extend beyond environmental performance alone.
Looking at sustainability through a broader perspective means considering not only environmental impact, but also the people, relationships and governance structures that shape the fashion ecosystem. It also means recognising that sustainability priorities can differ significantly depending on where actors operate within the value chain and the characteristics of their regional ecosystem.
Sustainability Beyond Environmental Performance
An ESG perspective broadens the understanding of sustainability beyond environmental performance alone. Environmental issues remain central, including material use, waste, circularity, emissions, water and chemical impacts. However, social and governance dimensions are equally relevant within fashion ecosystems.
The social dimension includes issues such as labour conditions, skills, inclusion, diversity, local value creation, access to opportunity and fairness in supply-chain relations. Governance, meanwhile, encompasses areas including traceability, transparency, accountability, compliance, decision integrity and the institutional capacity to manage transition.
This broader perspective helps avoid reducing sustainability to a narrow environmental discussion disconnected from economic and social realities. Instead, it encourages a more comprehensive understanding of how sustainability challenges interact across fashion ecosystems.
Looking Across the Fashion Value Chain
Sustainability challenges and opportunities for innovation can also vary significantly depending on where they occur within the fashion and textile value chain.
A value-chain perspective may require attention to textile production, garment manufacturing, design practices, retail systems, logistics, repair and reuse ecosystems, or end-of-life solutions, depending on the characteristics of a particular ecosystem.
Looking across the entire value chain can also reveal which actors are highly visible and connected and which remain under-represented. This is important because focusing primarily on the most visible actors, such as designers and brands, can overlook other stakeholders that may be essential to deeper transformation—including manufacturers, suppliers, education actors, public authorities, social innovators and technology providers.
In this sense, sustainability in fashion cannot be understood through one part of the value chain alone. The challenges, opportunities and actors involved extend from upstream production through to downstream use, reuse and end-of-life.
Different Ecosystems, Different Priorities
A broader approach to fashion sustainability also means recognising that the same priorities cannot simply be applied everywhere.
A materiality approach focuses attention on the issues that are most significant in relation to ecosystem structure, stakeholder concerns and innovation opportunities. Sustainability priorities may therefore differ between regions and can evolve as understanding of an ecosystem develops.
For example, an ecosystem with a stronger manufacturing profile may place greater emphasis on resource efficiency, traceability, workforce transition or compliance readiness. A region with stronger design and education ecosystems may identify different priorities around design methods, curriculum innovation or experimentation.
This approach helps avoid two extremes: treating sustainability as such a broad concept that it becomes difficult to translate into action, or imposing a fixed sustainability agenda that does not reflect local realities.
Towards a Broader Understanding of Sustainble Fashion
Fashion sustainability is therefore not a single issue or a single intervention point. Environmental impact remains fundamental, but it sits alongside social conditions, governance, skills, transparency and the different challenges found throughout the value chain.
Looking at sustainability through these interconnected dimensions provides a more nuanced way of understanding how fashion ecosystems can transition – and why priorities may need to differ across regions, actors and stages of the value chain.
This article draws on findings from FashionKIC Deliverable D2.1 – FashionKIC Node Operational Framework, particularly Chapter 6: Sustainability Integration. Explore the full report here.
About FashionKIC
FashionKIC is a co-funded by the European Union project that aims to build a pan-European Knowledge Innovation Community for sustainable fashion. The project focuses on fostering collaboration, innovation, and skills development to support the green and digital transition of the fashion industry.
Disclaimer
Funded by the European Union under the Grant Agreement 101256183. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them