Fashion forward: A path to ethical and resilient supply chains

Dr Hakan Karaosman’s research reveals a crucial, often overlooked aspect of sustainability: social justice.

As an expert on social sustainability in fashion supply chains, Dr Hakan Karaosman recently addressed around 2,500 industry stakeholders in three keynote speeches.

He emphasised the critical role of social justice in sustainability, challenging conventional approaches and redefining what it means to create ethical and resilient supply chains in the fashion industry.

The talks included:

Revolutionizing sustainable supply chain strategies: responsibility, transparency, and value optimization. Venice Sustainable Fashion Forum. 25 October
Fashion forward: A path to ethical and resilient supply chains. Fashion for Future and University of Florence. 18 October
Una transizione giusta e sostenibile. 4Sustainability, Process Factory, Annual Summit. 3 October

Hakan tells us more about his research…

“Sustainability is being forced into a broken value system that prioritises cost reduction and operational efficiency above all else. Our research on just transition explains how to put people first in climate action.

Drawing on my research with Professor Donna Marshall (University College Dublin) on just transition in apparel and textile supply chains, companies typically frame and support decarbonisation as technology and innovation driven, emphasising the role of companies and markets for innovative and often niche solutions. But the solutions to this transition should not be framed solely in terms of technology to reduce emissions. While essential, decarbonisation plans ignore concepts of equity and overlook the interaction between social justice and environmental behaviour.

Our research explains that a social justice perspective must be adopted to understand how decarbonisation exacerbates existing inequalities and how the voices of supply chain stakeholders can be integrated into just, democratic and equitable transitions. Given that human agency, governance and power imbalances are often overlooked in sustainability conversations, it is time to highlight the need for a just transition to a sustainable future.

Decarbonisation must take place in a just, fair and equitable way. Environmental and social justice must therefore be orchestrated holistically. Things are context-specific with many contingent factors, so the involvement, representation and inclusion of supply chain communities is crucial.

In the context of fashion, this means putting suppliers, farmers and workers at the centre. Fashion must understand that the business continuity of fashion brands depends on the long-term social well-being of the communities in the supply chain.”