An overview on corporate response towards sustainability issues in textile industry

Textiles constitute an important part of human beings everyday life. Environmentalists have been calling forth industries to incorporate sustainability principles into their production processes. In comparison with other industries, textile industry is considered to be major contributor towards environmental pollution and is subject to creating various ecological (water body pollution, waste generation, air pollution) issues throughout supply chain from fibre production till fabric finishing. This paper reviews the existing literature related to various sustainability issues surrounding the textile industry across the globe. The authors classify the literature to discuss the drivers, barriers, and responses of firms in the textile industry in favour of sustainability. Despite a growing body of research in this area, we identify significant gaps in the literature with special reference to managerial approaches being used for incorporating sustainability. While it is very important to understand the motivations that drive firms towards sustainability and barriers to implementation, attention is also drawn towards research aspects pertaining to managerial perception towards new technologies and processes. The article also provides future research opportunities in form of specific questions to strengthen existing literature in this field.