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The publication of the Brundtland Report in 1987 put the topic of sustainable development on
the political and corporate agenda. Defining sustainable development as “a development that
meets the needs of the future without compromising the ability of future generations to meet
their own needs” (WCED, 1987, p. 43), the Report also put a positive spin on the issue of
sustainability by upholding capitalist beliefs in the possibility of infinite growth in a world of
finite resources. While growth has delivered benefits, however, it has done so unequally and
unsustainably. This thesis focuses on the textile and fashion industry, one of the world’s most
polluting industries and an industry to some degree notorious for leading the ‘race to the bottom’
in global labour standards. Despite being faced with increasing demands to practise
sustainability, most textile and fashion companies continue to fail undertake the changes that are
necessary to achieve greater sustainability—or at best continue to struggle in a globalized and
highly interconnected industry to implement the necessary changes. In light of this failure, this
thesis investigates how organizations can change towards practising sustainability, focusing on
the potential of taking a design approach to bringing about processes of organizational change. |
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