ABSTRACT
Everyone accepts that sustainable practices have to be created, but the onus of creating those sustainable practices remains largely unaddressed. Should it be associated with the manufacturers or brands or retailers or consumer or the people on the planet? A holistic view envisages that not only the manufacturers or brands or retailers have a role to play in sustainability but also a greater and vital role lies in the hands of industry afliates, nonprot organizations (NPOs), and governmental and educational institutions to take the lead and make the change possible. However, in reality, everyone needs to contribute to the sustainable practices. Starting from the farmers, cultivating the bers or manufacturers who manufacture the bers to consumers who play a vital role in providing the raw materials for recycling should be involved actively in the sustainability cycle. It is interesting to note that many industry afliates, nongovernmental organization (NGO) or NPO, and governmental institutions have taken the lead in ensuring the sustainability in the textile value chain through policies, regulatory issues, strategic processes, audits, avoiding certain chemicals in the production, benchmarking the products and processes, adopting the best practices, ranking systems, and certication processes. Though many of these agencies started the operation in a small province, their efforts are visible across the globe, today. The role of all these agencies will be best understood with the understanding of impact measures and sustainable (eco-) standards and the kind of support these organizations offer to the public.
