texfash.com: One of the key findings of the report was this: "Despite the urgency for change, stakeholders are not aligned on critical goals or the actions to achieve them." What are you doing as a stakeholder to align your own work with that of others? What are the challenges therein?
Crystal International: We have been proactive in engaging our customers and different industry organisations, such as Forum for the Future, Cascale and Global Fashion Agenda, via a mix of channels. We’ve also participated in multi-stakeholder initiatives with industry peers and non-governmental organisations, to share best practices and foster dialogue aimed at defining a shared goal for sustainability in the sector.
More importantly, we need to co-develop an aligned approach to achieve this goal. For us, this also includes benchmarking the goals and actions of industry peers. Challenges include different priorities among stakeholders, which makes it difficult to balance views of every stakeholder and especially complex to align diverse business models and interests.
Another finding is this: "The interconnecting costs of the transition towards a low-impact and ultimately regenerative sector are unevenly distributed across the value chain." But costs can never be even, because the impacts are not even and capacities are not the same either. Comments, please.
Crystal International: While costs may be uneven, it’s crucial to work towards equitable solutions that consider the capabilities of each player in the value chain. Both large and smaller players should also invest in sustainable practices without being burdened by disproportionate costs.
It’s important to have open dialogue between brands and supply chain, to understand cost, impact and capacities.
Attributing the burden to a single player is a risky assumption. We have to recognise that the environmental impact of the industry involves market demands and consumption patterns, while suppliers are quite often considered as the culprits.
