Why fashion’s future must be fair – the case for just transition

Every shift towards sustainability reshapes the world we live in – but who gets a seat at the table, and who gets left behind? Fernanda Drumond, Head of Collective Action at the H&M Foundation, shares her insights and reflections about why a just transition is the only way forward for the fashion and textile industry.

In brief

In this blog post Fernanda Drumond, Head of Collective Action at the H&M Foundation, shares her insights and reflections about why a just transition is the only way forward for the fashion and textile industry and what a just transition means for the H&M Foundation.

As the textile industry races to decarbonise, digitalise, and redefine itself through circularity, we face a critical question: will this transformation be fair for the people and communities most affected by it? That’s where just transition comes in – a concept that ensures that climate action and social justice go hand-in-hand.

Why this matters – and what we’ll unpack

A just transition is about much more than jobs. It’s about ensuring that people and the planet aren’t collateral damage in our race to reach net zero.

In this post, we’ll explore:

• Why the just transition agenda is about more than reskilling
• How it links people’s wellbeing to environmental regeneration
• And what a truly just transition looks like in the fashion and textile industry

It’s not just about jobs – it’s about lives

Let’s clear up a common misconception. While “just transition” originally referred to helping fossil fuel workers find decent jobs in greener sectors, the term has since evolved to capture the scale of today’s climate challenges as well as opportunities. In the fashion industry, conversations tend to focus on: training for circularity, preparing for automation, improving factory working conditions.

All important – yes – but too often, the focus stops at the factory door. As one factory owner candidly told me: “I never thought about the lives of the women working in my factory outside of their job”.

That comment stayed with me.

Because real justice means recognising that workers are also parents, carers, citizens – human beings with dreams, communities, and basic needs like housing, health, clean water, safety and yes, even joy.

A just transition means ensuring people have:

• inclusion – a say in shaping the changes that affect them;
• agency – the ability to act on those changes;
• accountability – mechanisms to hold powerful actors responsible.

And yes, this also means creating jobs that are safe, meaningful and future-fit. But if our solutions don’t consider the full human experience, they’re not really solutions. And in an industry as globalised and fragmented as fashion and textile industry – supply chains stretch across continents and many workers operate in informal or underregulated systems – building that kind of holistic justice is both uniquely difficult and urgently necessary.

It’s also about the planet – not only the people

Just transition isn’t only a social framework – it’s an ecological one too. Across the world, community-led organisations working on just transitions are showing how environmental protection and social equity go hand-in-hand. Many use local knowledge and regenerative practices to restore ecosystems and support livelihoods. In their view (and ours), human and planetary wellbeing are not competing priorities—they’re intertwined. And frankly, isn’t that obvious?

A just transition means creating the conditions for both people and the planet to thrive. It’s about helping Earth heal and ensuring that those most impacted by environmental degradation are part of, and benefit from, the solutions.

In communities where wastewater from dyeing textiles pollutes the rivers, or where no longer wanted fashion ends up in landfills behind people’s homes, environmental degradation directly erodes human health, dignity and opportunity. Regeneration isn’t a luxury, it’s a prerequisite for wellbeing.

What just transition looks like at H&M Foundation

Just Transition refers to the process of moving towards a low-carbon and more sustainable economy in a fair and inclusive manner. It promotes decent work opportunities, safeguards environmental protections, and addresses both historical and current inequalities. It also recognises the need to regenerate Earth’s ecosystems and resources while protecting human rights.

Here’s how we’re putting this into practice:

• We assess the social and environmental impact of every initiative we support
• We co-create projects that embed inclusion, agency and planetary wellbeing from day one
• We share insights to influence industry-wide action
• We communicate strategically to raise awareness and spark collective ambition
• We unlock finance that enables scalable, system-changing solutions

In other words: we don’t just fund ideas. We fund ideas that are fair, inclusive and planet-positive from the ground up. One example is Oporajita in Bangladesh, where we’re supporting a collaborative initiative to equip women garment workers with future-ready skills as the industry shifts toward automation. This project shows how just transition in the textile industry is already taking shape – one that centres lived experience, long-term resilience and regenerative thinking.

Looking ahead: a vision for 2050

Imagine this: a textile industry that’s net-zero, circular and clean. People who have secure, dignified, fulfilling lives, with equitable opportunities – not just jobs. A planet with thriving ecosystems, not exhausted ones.

That’s the vision behind a just transition. And it’s not just idealism – it’s what climate and equity demand of us.

Let’s stop treating justice as optional – and start designing it into everything we do. Let’s make it the default, not the dream.

( Press Release Image: https://photos.webwire.com/prmedia/7/338005/338005-1.jpg )

Related Links

Source

WebWireID338005

This news content was configured by WebWire editorial staff. Linking is permitted.

News Release Distribution and Press Release Distribution Services Provided by WebWire.