Navigating sustainability in the fashion industry: insights from entrepreneurial perspectives on collaborative approaches

Abstract

Sustainability is an urgent topic for the global fashion system’s full evolution, although coping with it is not a simple task because of the extensive attention, discussions, and media coverage that sustainability in the fashion industry has received in recent years. This article uncovers common themes, provides a holistic perspective, and offers insights into sustainability from an entrepreneurial standpoint, by investigating the collaborative approaches implemented by five cultural and creative industry (CCI) players that are recognized globally for their strong proactivity in developing sustainable practices. Through semi-structured interviews with these experts, this contribution takes advantage of the knowledge, first-hand experience, and lessons learned from frontrunners in the field, a privileged perspective to observe sustainability’s multifaceted and heterogeneous nature. The insights presented in this article illustrate the interviewees’ perceptions and understanding of the challenges, coping strategies, and factors at play in the process of pursuing sustainable practices in association with other system players. Finally, this work reflects on the tensions arising between the perceived urgency of radical change and the global fashion system’s intrinsic disconnection and complexity. It prompts consideration of the pivotal role that networks can assume within this context and underscores the critical necessity of fostering robust and substantive dialogue between bottom-up innovative sustainable practices and top-down regulatory frameworks.