Retailer Involvement in Sustainability and Demand for Sustainable Apparel and Textiles from South Africa

South Africa\u27s textile and apparel industries are struggling to rebuild after a period of weak investment during Apartheid and increasing competition from imports. One outcome was vertical disintegration where suppliers that had previously operated plants handling spinning through made-ups, dropped some operations. A recent investment of South Africa\u27s Clothing & Textile Competitiveness Programme was a Sustainable Cotton Cluster (SCC) that aims to reintegrate a supply chain that includes all nodes of the chain from cotton farmers through retail. The purpose of this research was to understand the extent of retailer involvement in sustainability and their demand for sustainable apparel and textile products from South Africa. Comparative case study research included four retailers that operate stores in South Africa. The Sustainable Apparel Coalition\u27s Higg 2.0 Brand Modules (environment and social/labor) were used as a foundational framework. These modules measure sustainability performance based on a company\u27s efforts on environmental and social/labor challenges