The report, titled ‘Unlocking Equity in Innovation: Balancing the Scales in Supply Chain Partnerships,’ finds that this disconnect in tempo, coupled with an uneven distribution of risk, contributes to persistent power imbalances that hinder the formation of broad, equitable partnerships needed to meet climate objectives.
The research is based on more than 30 interviews with stakeholders worldwide, spanning the apparel supply chain.
Findings show that current barriers to progress include misaligned expectations between industry actors, a lack of recognition and compensation for suppliers, and irregular commitments from brands.
The report notes that although brands, investors and innovators have significant influence over sustainable change, suppliers who carry out the implementation of innovations remain “under-recognised and under-compensated”.
Transformers Foundation intelligence director Melinda Tually said: “Suppliers are critical value creators of innovation. Without equal partnership, the industry cannot achieve the scale, speed, or impact needed to meet its climate goals.”
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Embracing systems change by encouraging pre-competitive collaboration, developing strong business cases beyond sustainability or technical factors, and offsetting price premiums to help scale innovation.
Transformers Foundation founder Andrew Olah said: “Innovation won’t transform the industry unless it’s built on fair, transparent partnerships. This report is a call to reimagine how value and risk are distributed, and to ensure suppliers have an equal seat at the table.”
“Power imbalance slows fashion’s progress on climate innovation” was originally created and published by Just Style, a GlobalData owned brand.