Four years since the South African textile sector master plan was finalised alarms are ringing that this guiding document needs sustainability goals to be clearer, relevant and climate-smart to be the key to stimulating growth.
Back in 2019 when the national R-CTFL (Retail-Clothing Textile Footwear and Leather) master plan for a 2030 sector vision was completed the emphasis was on reviving a depleted sector worn out with jobs bloodbaths and factory closures. The focus was on stimulating job creation, and for new trade frameworks and initiatives to better shield South Africa from rising external competition coming from China.
Presented to Parliament in June 2022, the key targets highlighted plans to boost employment numbers to 330 000 R-CTFL jobs by 2030; for retail sales to hit R250 billion; to expand local procurement from 44% to 65% which translates to R66 billion; and findings ways to improve competitiveness, technology, skills and transformation.
The master plan does not set out explicit recommendations or targets on sustainability
Though the document makes reference to “sustainability”, the master plan does not set out explicit recommendations or targets on sustainability. As a guiding document it doesn’t prescribe to the industry how it should be tackling sustainability and its intersecting priorities including fairer labour practices and ethical and fair trade sourcing, or how they should be measuring it. It also doesn’t explore ways to root sustainability as a potential for new growth for next generation jobs and economies.
The fashion industry needs to embrace a deeper, more systemic change and scale low-carbon solutions
This means there are gaps around timeframes, momentum, scale and direct accountability of retailers and manufacturers’ roles. In 2018 already, the United Nations’ Fashion Industry Charter for Climate Action set a vision for net-zero emissions by 2050 for the broader industry. The Charter states “current solutions and business models will not be sufficient to deliver on the current climate agenda. The fashion industry needs to embrace a deeper, more systemic change and scale low-carbon solutions” and that “all companies, within fashion, retail and textile global value chain, regardless of size and geography, have opportunities to take actions that will result in a measurable reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.”
Courtney Barnes is head: buyer-led value chains at BMA Analysts, the consultancy that researched and helps manage the national master plan for the R-CTFL sector. She acknowledges that back in 2018 as the master plan for the sector was being mapped up, sustainability was a low priority.
“The master plan was built around growth and job creation. And in 2018, sustainability was considered something for the top tiers of the industry – the luxury brands were investing in things like interesting green materials. But this wasn’t on the radar of the average retailer.
“But since then we have seen the response to sustainability grow significantly beyond pockets of academia and advocacy. It is a commercial growth driver and it’s definitely on the agenda now,” she says.
An R-CTFL master plan town hall meeting was held in mid-March and Barnes says the virtual gathering was a successful show of interest in enlarging industry engagement across the value chain. It also represented a moment to review strategies in a Covid-19 recovery period and in a time of dire constraints from load shedding. But rolling blackouts have become another wake-up call for securing alternative clean energy supply to do business without Eskom, the country’s failing national power utility.
“The 2023 priority for the master plan is therefore to really understand what sustainability means for the sector and for a sustainability strategy to be worked out that aligns with the master plan,” she says.
Michael Lawrence, executive director of The National Clothing Retail Federation (NCRF) a key proponent of the R-CTFL Master Plan, acknowledges that the original document did lack urgency and stronger timeframes in addressing sustainability.
But he believes that within the R-CTFL community there is commitment to work in more integrated ways and to focus on locally appropriate solutions. For instance Michael says it’s the likes of working out better options for dealing with confiscated illegal textile and clothing imports. He says: “If we send the goods back we would be adding to a bigger carbon footprint, so we could, for instance, repurpose those items as base materials for other products.”
The sustainability agenda will be addressed along with all our other ambitions as a sector
Ultimately getting off the mark quickly matters. Michael says, “We can’t wait for the perfect agenda for sustainability because then we will do nothing instead of getting better at this as we go along. We have to be a community of retailers who are accountable and willing to engage and I believe that as long as we are talking, the sustainability agenda will be addressed along with all our other ambitions as a sector.”
Individual South African retailers have for some years been changing operational practices. For value retailer Ackermans, sustainability initiatives have included a focus on fabric and product development, along with reducing packaging and factory processes, greener material sourcing and building consumer awareness.
Sanette van Huyssteen, product technology manager for the company, says their winter range this season is largely made from recycled polyester, or rPET. Plastic bottles recovered from the ocean are reclaimed, cleaned and extruded as polymer chips to be spun into yarns.
The reliance of recycled polyester as solution, however, remains controversial. Though rPET keeps plastic bottles from landfills and the oceans, during use polyester generates microfibres that still end up in water systems and oceans. And when rPET is blended with other materials it cannot be recycled at end-of-life and eventually ends up as waste.
Sanette says they have relied on global recycling certification of their supplier in China to offset these concerns. “For us, certification is of utmost importance and so is building relationships with our suppliers,” she says.
Another key area of focus of product development is for durability and performance of their garments. She says even as they cater for a lower-income market it should not mean “cheap and nasty” clothing that quickly ends up in landfills.
Sanette says the journey to sustainability for their brand has evolved over time. Ackermans has scrapped multiple care labels on garments, use recycled cardboard for insoles in their footwear, recycle plastics for hangers, upskilling local knitters to work with the new recycled yarns and made a commitment to source locally where possible, such as for their summer range.
“I don’t think sustainability, a green approach, or whatever we want to call it, is something that you can force people into. It’s an experience – once you can see and feel the benefits then you become aware of it and you’ll look out for it,” she says.
For higher-end retailer, Woolworths, the focus is on value chain transparency.
For Alison Lloyd, sustainability and packaging manager for higher-end retailer, Woolworths, the focus is on value chain transparency.
She says: “Transparency is key to truly knowing where our products are made. Woolworths was one of the first local retailers to publicly declare our tier one manufacturing list and we will continue to drive transparency in our value chain right down to farm level.”
She adds that their tier one manufacturers, the direct suppliers of the final product, need to comply to their social and ethical standards that extend to safe and healthy working conditions as well as fair wages for workers. Woolworths, she says, has also focused on using sustainable fibres through responsible farming methods for cotton and responsible sourcing for viscose, leather, recycled synthetics, timber and palm oil.
Alison adds: “We have a non-negotiable animal welfare policy and all our private label beauty products are endorsed by Beauty Without Cruelty. We are also driving zero waste to landfill in our packaging space and not only recycle our hangers but also only purchase hangers with 50% recycled content.”
They also partner with an organisation called Taking Care of Business to repurpose and sell Woolworths’ products to be resold by women entrepreneurs.
Alison acknowledges that sustainability targets are currently tough to achieve. She says: “As we are in a very challenging economic situation with load shedding and inflation, customers are voting for quality, price and availability first but still depend on Woolworths to do the right thing to support the planet and communities.
In the future, brand love and brand loyalty will very much be dependent on sustainability attributes
But even with juggling multiple priorities, sustainability is no longer an option. Savvy global retailers have been quick to join the dots that environmentally sustainable business practices and products make for satisfied customers and satisfied customers make for brand loyalty. In turn, brand loyalty as a differentiator in saturated markets is gold. Karl-Hendrik Magnus, senior partner at McKinsey said in the company’s 2020 The Future of Sustainable Fashion reports: “This industry is about emotional attachment, loyalty, and excitement for brands. And we are very convinced that, in the future, brand love and brand loyalty will very much be dependent on the sustainability attributes that a brand enables or builds with its consumers.”
Michigan State University’s globalEDGE business blog honed in on some of the most recent standout sustainable fashion initiatives in an October 2022 article. Key takeaways are that winners are those that include better organising within the sector; an emphasis on smarter technologies and innovations; craftsmanship over fast fashion; engaging end users and creating transparency and integrity throughout the value chain.
Japan Sustainable Fashion Alliance (JSFA) launched in August 2021 has been able to call for value chain transparency, communicate clearly to its market and support retailers’ sustainability programmes. This includes support of Tokyo-based brand Shohei’s introduction of 3D rendering of clothes instead of creating samples, to eliminate waste in mock-ups.
In Singapore, the Singapore Fashion Council re-launched in order to bring in cross-sector players. It emphasises local craftsmanship and local technology and innovation. Last year the country launched its first circular kids’ clothing brand, called Nimbu. It sells new and pre-loved children’s clothes. Customers who return clothes their children have outgrown receive store discounts and credits.
There’s also a growing trend towards ecological conscious material sourcing
For the United Kingdom, the 10-year Fashion Industry Sustainability Change Programme that came into being in June 2022 has become a vehicle to change business models with sustainability in mind. Some initiatives include high-end department stores like Selfridges and Harrods offering rental options for luxury fashion items. There’s also a growing trend towards ecological conscious material sourcing. Stella McCartney’s spring/summer 2023 was made from regenerative cotton. Regenerative agriculture uses non-industrialised farming practices that preserve and enhance soil health, capture and stores carbon and minimises the use of water and fertilisers.
Fresh solutions and initiatives exist, so does market appetite for change. It means sustainability in fashion doesn’t have to compete with growth and job creation – it can be the thread that runs through the smart transformation the industry needs.
Image of Mall of Africa, Johannesburg / credit: Mark Potterton / Unsplash
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