A sourcing manager at a European brand requests fiber-level emissions data for a new product line. At a factory in South Asia, the sustainability team spends the next two days reconstructing numbers from production logs, supplier declarations and old audit reports. The data is sent back, with no real checks for accuracy or understanding of how it will be used.
This scenario is playing out across global supply chains. Beyond the hype around Digital Product Passports (DPPs) and traceability mandates lies a more fundamental issue: fashion’s next sustainability phase is not just about reporting, but about operational data infrastructure.
“Today, many factories face critical capability gaps in data, traceability and impact measurement, while operating under increasing pressure on water, energy, raw materials and compliance costs,” said Parvinder Kadyan, founder of Aadi Sustainability Solutions, a recycler in Panipat. “When I receive a request, my team and I used to spend days compiling data. And that’s the last I hear of it.”
As DPP requirements, ecodesign rules and buyer transparency expectations accelerate, the industry is moving at two speeds. On one side are typically larger brands and suppliers investing in systems that make sustainability measurable and integrated into sourcing decisions. On the other are small- and mid-sized enterprises struggling to operationalize transparency despite strong intent, often locked out of tools designed and priced for enterprise players.
The next competitive divide in fashion will not be creative or geographic. It will be infrastructural.
The View from the Factory Floor
Driven by ESPR, SBTi and other regulatory and industry initiatives, suppliers are being asked for increasingly granular data on fiber origins, chemical inputs and durability metrics. Too often, these requests arrive ad hoc and without context. There are no dedicated sustainability teams in many facilities, and those with some knowledge are looped in late, scrambling to respond manually with limited guidance or feedback.
In the last year, we’ve conducted readiness surveys and held conversations with manufacturers in China, Vietnam, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and Morocco. What’s clear is that awareness of upcoming non-tariff barriers via sustainability requirements remains surprisingly low. In informal surveys our team conducted on-site, only 4 in 60 suppliers demonstrated a clear understanding of emerging data obligations tied to market access.
Terms like DPP and traceability frequently appear in discussions, but often as a headache rather than an opportunity. Digital maturity across supply chains is uneven. Larger exporters may have systems in place, but smaller suppliers often rely on spreadsheets, fragmented tools or consultant-led reporting cycles.
“For us to be part of the opportunity provided by the emerging global circular economy, we need to align with evolving EU and global regulations on product transparency,” Kadyan said. “We have pioneered DPPs in our space, but adoption hurdles remain high, especially among my peers.”
The risk is not only inefficiency. Suppliers that cannot provide credible, interoperable data may gradually find themselves excluded from regulated markets or higher-value sourcing relationships. Sustainability compliance is increasingly tied to digital data readiness.
The Brand Reality: Risk in the Middle of the Supply Chain
Brands are under pressure to deliver product-level transparency while relying on supply chains with vastly different digital capabilities. For mid-sized brands with lean teams or part-time sustainability leads, the challenge is particularly acute.
“Suppliers need clarity, tools and training, not just deadlines. Transparency only works when the entire value chain understands what the data is for and how it creates value,” said Prama Bhardwaj, CEO and founder of Mantis and Babybugz, which sources from Tanzania, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Bhardwaj has experienced this firsthand. As a brand leader implementing early impact measurement initiatives, she saw how quickly good intentions ran into structural bottlenecks. Data requests often created friction rather than clarity. Suppliers were asked to provide information they had never previously tracked, while brands themselves were still learning how to operationalize impact data internally.
Maria Srivastava, co-founder and Chief Impact Officer of Pangaia, approached the problem differently by embedding impact measurement and material science into product development from the outset.
“Understanding the carbon, chemical and durability profiles of materials allows us to design differently,” Srivastava said. “But this data infrastructure requires time, investment and collective effort across the value chain. It’s significantly harder to retrofit than to build intentionally from the start.”
For early adopters, verified impact data became part of brand identity and sourcing strategy.
But many brands are now caught in the middle. Enterprise players may have the resources to build new systems. Early innovators built them before regulation intensified. Mid-market brands, however, are facing rising expectations without clear pathways to comply.
The danger is not just regulatory failure. It is commercial risk. Buyers are increasingly prioritizing partners who can provide reliable, interoperable data quickly and consistently. Without accessible systems, sustainability risks becoming exclusionary, rewarding scale rather than progress.
The Pathway: Practical Steps for Sourcing Leaders
Transparency is only as strong as the weakest data link. Without supplier enablement and shared systems, compliance risks becoming performative, often becoming an exchange of spreadsheets rather than a transformation of sourcing practices.
For sourcing professionals navigating this shift, several practical steps are emerging.
First, move from one-off data requests to structured supplier enablement. Training programs and shared learning environments help suppliers understand why sustainability data matters and how it connects to market access.
Second, support shared infrastructure rather than duplicating systems brand by brand. Cluster-based models led by Green Story where suppliers in regions like Tiruppur, Sialkot, Karur and Panipat receive coordinated training and access to common tools are showing promise in accelerating adoption.
Third, prioritize interoperability. Sustainability data systems must communicate across brands, suppliers and geographies. Without interoperability, data remains fragmented and expensive to manage.
Finally, treat suppliers as data partners rather than data sources. When suppliers understand the benefits and retain visibility into outcomes, they are more likely to invest in building robust systems themselves.
Programs involving ecosystem partners including initiatives demonstrate that coordinated capacity building can scale adoption more effectively than isolated compliance efforts. I speak from experience, having participated in the Switch Asia program led by Intellecap, as well as supplier training initiatives in major manufacturing clusters led by Green Story
This shift is not just about faster reporting. It is about aligning capability across the value chain so suppliers, brands and markets evolve together rather than at different speeds.
Merge Lanes or Risk Fragmentation
Sustainability compliance will increasingly define sourcing relationships. Data readiness will shape market access.
The industry now faces a choice: build inclusive infrastructure that enables suppliers and brands of all sizes to participate, or accept a two-speed system that entrenches fragmentation. Long-term division risks bad data, lost contracts and financial penalties for all parties.
Most of us in the industry are certain sustainability and transparency will define fashion’s future. But will everyone be equipped to participate in it?
Akhil Sivanandan is the CEO and co-founder of Green Story, an AI-first sustainability intelligence platform that helps brands and manufacturers measure product impact, prepare for regulatory requirements such as Digital Product Passports, and operationalize sustainability across their supply chains. Based in Europe and working extensively across South Asia, Sivanandan collaborates with brands, manufacturers and public institutions to build practical pathways for sustainability data adoption at scale.