5 Questions with Sourcing and Labor Editor Jasmin Malik Chua

As Sourcing Journal’s sourcing and labor editor, Jasmin Malik Chua has an ear to the ground on the issues affecting the industry’s workforce—including geopolitical unrest, claims of non-compliant employers and forced labor. She also follows the ever-changing sustainability targets, tactics and transitions in the fashion space, whether it is efforts to scale up alternatives to conventional materials or the evolutions of certifications.

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Ahead of Sourcing Journal and Rivet’s Sustainability LA event, Sourcing Journal caught up with Chua to discuss what could move the needle for circularity and the pressures placed on factories and their workers.

We’re seeing sustainability legislation ramp up. As you’re speaking with the industry, what are the remaining hurdles toward meeting the compliance demands of new laws?

The fashion companies that have the most trouble being compliant are the ones that don’t know their supply chains, which have become more fragmented and diffuse over the decades. There can also be a stark difference between production that happens “on the books” and what takes place because of sub-contracting and even sub-sub-contracting. Reconciling this will continue to be challenging for firms without absolute visibility into their supply operations.

One of the sustainability opportunities that companies are still trying to completely unlock is circularity. Why do you think circular solutions have struggled to fully scale, and what potential does a firm like Syre have to get wider adoption?

Untangling a system that’s built on a linear model of “take, make and dispose” isn’t easy. The industry’s infrastructure hasn’t been set up that way and long-term investments that don’t immediately bear fruit can be a hard sell when executives and shareholders are laser focused on their immediate or next quarterly earnings. There’s also been a lack of industry alignment: How do you define circularity, for instance? Is it about recycling? Keeping things in circulation? All of the above? The global slowdown, which has squeezed margins for everyone, hasn’t helped, either.

For material innovators like Syre to succeed, they need to be backed by major companies that believe in patient capital and simply putting their money where their mouths are. The fact that Syre has the power of H&M behind it is a major plus.

As consumers are becoming more aware of the microplastic impact of polyester and other synthetics, what strategic advantage does this offer firms like Triarchy and Proclaim that are choosing non-petroleum materials?

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People are increasingly recognizing the problem of plastic pollution. It’s hard not to when you’re inundated by headlines about microplastics infiltrating brain tissue! And while it’s been slow going, consumers are gradually beginning to catch on to the fact that popular fabrics like polyester and nylon are a form of plastic. I think this is an issue that’s only going to gather momentum, if not for broader environmental reasons, then as we learn more about the impacts of petroleum-based materials, treatments and finishes on human health.

We can’t discuss sustainability without talking about people. What is the main thing the industry could do to improve its treatment of the individuals in the supply chain?

Change can only happen when we stop treating people as units of productivity. That goes for everyone in the industry. Suppliers are constantly being squeezed by bad brand purchasing practices, which means that workers can never be paid more than the chronically low wages they currently earn. And because many live hand to mouth, they’re often one paycheck away from destitution or starvation. At the same time, many of the world’s richest people own or operate fashion companies. There’s a lack of equity that’s been foundational to the industry’s success, and it’s the elephant in the room that still needs to be addressed.

What keeps you up at night about sustainability in the fashion industry? And on the other side, what makes you most hopeful?

I worry that there’s more talk than action and that brands aren’t making deep enough cuts in their climate emissions to hit Paris Agreement goals, something that numerous studies have found to be true. I worry about overconsumption and ever-lower prices that make it even harder for garment workers to eke out a dignified living. I worry about increasing temperatures and how they’ll make it even harder for workers to function even as their bodies are already breaking down due to repetitive work, stress and mental anxiety.

I am hopeful when I hear about companies who want to do something about all of this by signing binding agreements that hold them accountable for their actions, by deciding to decouple profits from production or simply choosing to do more than the regulatory minimum.

Hear more about these sustainability topics and more at Sourcing Journal x Rivet Sustainability LA on Sept. 26. Get your ticket here .

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