But exiting established manufacturing hubs in the name of cutting costs comes with significant drawbacks. “Brands will need to balance cost savings with their commitment to sustainability and social responsibility. In regions where supply chains are less developed, ensuring fair wages, safe working conditions and sustainable practices might be harder to monitor and enforce, putting social and environmental goals at risk. It could compromise the standards that brands have worked hard to establish,” Padma says.
Though a reputational risk for brands, the true human risk is absorbed by the workers who are subject to potentially dangerous, abusive, and illegal working conditions that are enabled by opaque supply chains and weak social and environmental standards.
Without robust planning, training, and investment ahead of any major manufacturing shifts, fashion’s legacy of industrial harm will continue to grow. And what of those left in its wake? “If brands shift production elsewhere, factories will close, jobs will vanish, and communities will be left without pay,” says Bryher.
A just transition under threat?
The threat of tariffs is accelerating the redrawing of the sourcing map. This is bad news for those advocating for a just transition, which is reliant upon long-term investment and brand staying power to fund and catalyse progress in manufacturing regions. “Long-term relationships [with brands] are vital for us in supporting our beneficiaries. Everything is directly related,” says Augustine Jose, manager of Assisi.
A just transition accepts that some dislocation of workers is inevitable as industries decarbonise, but insists that workers are prioritised and involved in decision-making to ensure no one gets left behind. This takes time. Reactionary cut-and-run, cost-led tactics fly in the face of a just transition, cutting workers out of the conversation and leaving suppliers and their dependent communities financially stranded.
The same thinking can and should be applied to tariffs, experts say.
“If you have transitions which are not planned, they can be disorderly, and that’s most likely where workers, communities, businesses, and suppliers, are going to be affected,” says Nick Robins, chair of the Just Transition Finance Lab, which seeks to leverage the financial sector’s role in driving the just transition.
To adhere to the principles of the just transition and support the case for it throughout this turbulent trade period, brands must employ long-term strategies that give the garment workforce agency, experts say. “This is a leadership crisis. It is now fashion’s moral duty to show how the industry can come together to build something resilient for everyone,” says Karaosman. “Transition starts from the people. Brands need to create long-term, holistic strategies.”
The H&M Foundation, which recently published a roadmap to a just transition in Bangladesh, calls upon the industry to collaboratively safeguard hard-won social and environmental gains. “With shifts in trade and tariffs putting progress at risk, especially in sourcing hubs like Bangladesh… we see an urgent need to champion innovations and collaborations that help decarbonise the textile industry while building resilience in communities most exposed to future shocks,” says Fernanda Drumond, head of collective action, H&M Foundation.
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