Sustainable Apparel Barometer

The textile and apparel sector is under intense scrutiny over its environmental and human impacts. In response, a number of initiatives and approaches are being taken by companies in the sector to reduce their environmental footprint and move towards genuinely sustainable apparel. Many of these have been set out and debated at our annual Sustainable Apparel and Textiles Conference over the last six years.

Yet much remains opaque. Despite all the attention the sector has received, and the work that has been done, many questions remain. There is clearly a need for a detached assessment of these and other issues. To address this, Innovation Forum is launching a new annual “Sustainable Apparel Barometer”.

Each year the Sustainable Apparel Barometer focuses on specific aspects of apparel production. This year, it looks in-depth into the challenges and opportunities in viscose production, how transparency in the cotton sector is evolving and what needs to be done to drive greater social compliance within apparel supply chains.

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Thank you to our partners

Textile Exchange is a global nonprofit that creates leaders in the sustainable fiber and materials industry. The organization develops, manages, and promotes a suite of leading industry standards as well as collects and publishes vital industry data and insights that enable brands and retailers to measure, manage, and track their use of preferred fiber and materials. With a membership that represents leading brands, retailers, and suppliers,

Textile Exchange has, for years, been positively impacting climate through accelerating the use of preferred fibers across the global textile industry and is now making it an imperative goal through its 2030 Strategy: Climate+. Under the Climate+ strategic direction, Textile Exchange will be the driving force for urgent climate action with a goal of 45% reduced CO2 emissions from textile fiber and material production by 2030.To learn more about Textile Exchange, visit TextileExchange.org. Follow TE on Twitter at @TextileExchange.

Asia Pacific Rayon is the first fully integrated viscose rayon producer in Asia. The factory with 240,000-ton capacity, located in Pangkalan Kerinci, Riau, uses the latest technology to produce high-quality rayon to meet textile needs.

APR is committed to become a leading viscose rayon producer, operating on principles of sustainability, transparency and operational efficiency, serving the interests of the community and the country, and adding value to customers.

APR is part of the RGE (Royal Golden Eagle) group of resource-based manufacturing companies. RGE's viscose companies (APR and Sateri) are collectively the world's largest viscose producer.

The research looks at areas such as:

The wider context of supply chains. Many of the challenges facing the sector, especially in relation to labour conditions, are the result of deep-seated challenges in supplier countries. What are these and how can they be tackled? The research incorporates views from disciplines such as development economics and political economy to offer new insights into these contextual issues.
What works? Companies have taken a range of different approaches; we assess each of these to understand which are most effective and why. We also explore how different strategies might usefully be combined. Cross learnings are key, and breaking silos is a key part of our research and overall work.

Analysis of the real human and environmental challenges facing the sector. Although not an academic document, the Barometer applies academically rigorous analysis to examine the real nature of the issues the sector faces.
The policies needed for change. The policy framework is key. The Barometer provides an in-depth, research-based look at the incentives needed to drive change. Which are currently planned or exist? Which can work, and why?
Where next? An assessment of the most promising courses of action for the industry in the coming years, to 2025.

Sustainable Apparel Barometer 2021: Collaboration for sector transformation

Head here to download the Sustainable Apparel Barometer in full.Launching the Sustainable Apparel...

30 Apr 21 | Weekly podcast

The road to COP26, and apparel’s upcycling opportunities

This week: Textile Exchange’s COO Claire Bergkamp on how to prepare for this year’s COP26 meeting...

16 Apr 21 | Opinion

Bangladesh: the challenges of adapting 4m apparel sector livelihoods

Please note: this Q+A is extracted from a podcast recorded in December 2019, when Rubana Huq was ...

What’s different about this research?

Innovation Forum Action Research is:

Independent: Innovation Forum is entirely independent with no mandate. We act as an honest broker unafraid to ask the tough questions and facilitate discussion and progress.
Practical: With a clear focus on what is practical and realistic for business, this research is designed to drive action and change throughout industries and supply chains.
Free to all: The results and outputs will be shared with Innovation Forum’s entire network of key stakeholders across a range of communications channels to ensure maximum impact.

Innovation Forum Action Research is NOT:

A PR platform: The research will NOT simply promote the work of our supporting partners. It will assess best practice across the industry, but will also highlight key failures, lessons learned and the major knowledge gaps that must be addressed.
All promise, no delivery: We will NOT promise what we can’t deliver. The issues covered are complex. They won’t be solved in any 12 month period. But we will help deliver progress through in-depth, constructive and practical research into specific issues.
Just another PDF: This will NOT be just another PDF report that may or may not be read. It will be a continuing annual process of engagement and dialogue. Key findings will be regularly fed into our industry network and wider stakeholder community throughout the year.

Innovation Forum is a purpose driven business based in London. Our people have collectively worked in sustainability for decades. Our mission is to help make sustainability mainstream in business.
As a platform for change, we research, create, and facilitate debate-driven, focused events and discussions tackling the critical business sustainability challenges around the world. We support this work with online publishing, analysis and in-depth research into challenges we know are essential for business innovation towards sustainability, the circular economy, improved resilience and regeneration.

Get in touch

For any questions or more information, please contact:

Tanya Richard
Head of Research
Innovation Forum
[email protected]

Additional research areas

Innovation Forum convenes a series of Action Research initiatives across a range of issues and industries. Additional areas include:

Innovation Accelerator: Building resilient smallholder supply chains

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