Workshop Facilitation Guide: A workshop for insights to why sustainable change of the global textile fashion system is harder than it looks

The textile and fashion industry has significant and growing environmental impacts, from carbon emissions to biodiversity loss, despite increasing attention to sustainability. While many actors have proposed solutions, real change remains elusive. Why? Because this is not just a technical or market problem, but a deeply systemic one.

This interactive workshop uses ecolabels as a concrete starting point to explore the complexity of transforming the fashion system. Ecolabels are designed to help consumers identify more sustainable products, yet their meaning and effectiveness are often unclear or misunderstood. Drawing on systems thinking and Q methodology, the session helps participants surface the diverse values, assumptions, and perspectives that shape our understanding of sustainability.

Through collaborative exercises and reflection, participants will gain:

- A clearer view of the barriers to sustainable change in fashion,

- Insights into how ecolabels communicate, and sometimes miscommunicate, sustainability,

- And a deeper appreciation of how differing worldviews shape environmental choices.

This workshop is an invitation to think beyond simple solutions, engage in dialogue across disciplines, and explore what meaningful transformation might look like in one of the world’s most impactful industries.