Pakistan’s fashion and textiles sector is caught between its rich legacy of sustainable practices and the pressures of industrialised production. Despite strong supply chains and heritage crafts, systemic challenges including water-intensive crops, synthetic fibre growth, labour exploitation, and unchecked waste undermine sustainability, an extensive study of the sector has found. Small businesses highlight possibilities for a different model, but large-scale brands remain committed to profit-driven growth.
- An integrated textile-to-retail chain could support meaningful traceability, yet many businesses treat transparency as proprietary and hesitate to disclose information across procurement, processing, and logistics.
- Dyeing, printing, and finishing drive water pollution; synthetic dyes and screen printing dominate local markets and expose workers and habitats to harmful substances restricted or banned in other jurisdictions.
- Labour violations, overtime without due pay, and cash wages persist; home-based workers on piece rates lack protections, while minimum pay lags estimated living-wage thresholds in key urban centres.
- The findings are from ‘Textile Legacies: Mapping the Sustainable Fashion Ecosystem in Pakistan’, published by British Council Pakistan.
THE STUDY: The research underpinning this study was conducted over ten months across 52 sites in Punjab and Sindh. Using interviews, fieldwork, surveys, workshops and brand reviews, the study examined sustainability across Pakistan’s textiles and fashion supply chains. Twenty-two major brands were assessed for design, materials, transparency, and labour practices, with mixed participation. Some declined involvement, citing political concerns over international organisations.
- Fieldwork ran from October 2023 to July 2024, tracing materials, processes, and market behaviours across cities, towns, and villages linked by supply, retail, and consumer practice.
- Brand inclusion reflected popularity in survey responses; many small labels operating nationwide could not be comprehensively assessed within time and access constraints.
- Retail-floor interviews probed workload, wages, and contracts; parallel brand reviews examined marketing claims, product composition, and price points via on-site and online channels.
- Some individuals and organisations declined participation; researchers invested significant effort building trust in under-served areas to enable safe dialogue and documentation.
WHAT’S AT STAKE: Pakistan’s position as a major supplier of cotton and garments for global fashion creates economic dependence, yet it disproportionately absorbs environmental and social costs. A culture of culture of overconsumption, toxic textile processing, and labour exploitation persist. Without systemic changes, Pakistan risks deepening ecological degradation and undermining its own heritage industries, even as global markets increasingly value sustainable and transparent supply chains.
- Outsourcing of garment waste and toxic dye practices burden Pakistan with disproportionate environmental costs, especially through imported discarded clothing.
- Failure to enforce labour laws perpetuates unsafe conditions, wage theft, and gender discrimination across production chains.
- Overconsumption culture in domestic markets accelerates unsustainable production, weakening intergenerational skills of repair and reuse.
- Parallel sustainable systems exist but remain marginalised by large-scale industrial practices dominating the mainstream economy.
WHAT THE DATA SHOWS: Consumer surveys reveal Pakistanis purchase fewer garments annually compared to developed markets, yet practices of care, reuse and upcycling remain strong. However, trends show polyester replacing cotton, while eco-friendly Desi cotton has nearly vanished. Energy-intensive weaving and toxic processing dominate industrial hubs, compounding environmental impact. Byssinosis remains widespread among mill workers, highlighting ongoing public health costs.
- The average Pakistani buys seven new garments annually, a significantly lower figure than in most developed countries.
- Traditional practices such as repairing, handwashing, and line drying clothes remain widespread, reducing energy footprints in garment use.
- Polyester use is rising, often promoted as sustainable despite negative ecological impacts, while American cotton’s dominance intensifies water and pesticide challenges.
- Fabric varieties such as banana fibre, hemp, jute and bamboo exist locally but remain underdeveloped despite ecological benefits.
