Sustainable Practices in the Pakistani Textile and Fashion Sector: A Study on Environmental Impact and Ethical Consumer Behavior
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.32350/jdt.51.05Keywords:
consumerism, eco-friendly fabrics, ethical practices, green technology, sustainability, textile and fashion industryAbstract
A growing number of pressure forces Pakistan’s textile and fashion industry to become more sustainable. This industry is one of the significant contributors but also one of the major sources of export to the nation. Contributes to environment degradation via carbon emissions, water pollution, energy use. There is a recent policy initiative to encourage eco-friendly such as Textile and Apparel Policy (2020-2025). Although it is a very effective approach to production it is not being used because of the technical problems, its cost and the lack of support for small and medium scale farmers. Larger brands have come up with recycling programs, natural resource preservation initiatives and more marketing promoting ethical consumer behavior such as sustainability focused marketing campaigns, which encourage ethical consumer behavior, frequently suffer from concerns about greenwashing because of their ongoing high emissions. Consumer’s interest in sustainability has risen. Demand for sustainability has grown. The fashion trend is increasing, but price comparison and the demand for fast fashion trends are not being undermined by inflation. A series of qualitative interviews with representatives of the leading brands of Pakistan (Sapphire, Khaadi, Gul Ahmed) were conducted. Gul Ahmed and Khaadi, showed initiatives aimed at introducing circular economy concepts and awareness raising campaigns and conform to ethical practice. Even with these measures, the area remains plagued by problem in resource inefficiencies, absence of subsidies and weak enforcement of regulations. Greater government intervention, investment in green technology and consumer acceptance will be necessary for sustainability. Education of achieving balance between economic development an environmental protection. The results indicate that the current approaches offer opportunities and challenges and that if no systemic changes were made, sustainability would not be realized.
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Copyright (c) 2025 Nosheen Zaidi
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