Textile Exchange recalibrates for 2030 with a sharper focus on systems change

Textile Exchange is entering a new phase—one focused less on consensus-building and more on collective accountability. This week, the organization unveiled a streamlined five-year strategy leading up to 2030, positioning itself to accelerate systems change and close the gap between ambition and action.

While at the core of the strategy is a candid admission: despite a two-decade track record, growing industry buy-in, and more than 90,000 certified sites globally, the fashion sector is not on track to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in line with science-based targets. Textile Exchange’s own benchmark—a 45 percent reduction in emissions from fiber and material production by 2030—remains far from reach.

“We’ve had strong engagement, but we’re not seeing enough movement on impact,” CEO Claire Bergkamp says in a press release. “To meet our targets, we need to realign around where change truly begins: the raw materials at the start of the supply chain.”

Bergkamp, who joined the organization in 2023 after a decade at Stella McCartney and the Global Fashion Agenda, led a strategic review to sharpen Textile Exchange’s scope and priorities. The result is a refined blueprint that doubles down on Tier 4—the often-overlooked producers and farmers at the base of the supply chain—while calling on brands to do more than signal commitment.

The strategy revolves around three interdependent focus areas: industry engagement, measurable climate and nature outcomes, and the transformation of its standards system. The latter, branded “Materials Matter,” marks a significant shift toward a unified, outcome-based certification framework. It’s a move meant to simplify a fragmented standards landscape and allow brands to focus on results rather than checklists.

The changes come as the industry grapples with volatility on multiple fronts—from US pushback against ESG frameworks to looming regulation in Europe and ongoing geopolitical uncertainty. Textile Exchange sees this as a critical inflection point: brands are under pressure to demonstrate credible climate action, and producers—often underfunded and overburdened—are demanding a seat at the table.

'Invest in the people producing the materials'

“We’re building our strategy around producer voice and equity,” says Bergkamp. “If a brand wants to make progress on climate, they have to invest in the people producing the materials. That means shifting financial flows, not just storytelling.”

The organization is also urging brands to adopt true cost accounting practices, highlighting the disconnect between material cost and long-term environmental value. Better materials—regenerative cotton, wool from well-managed grazing systems, or recycled synthetics—often come at a premium. Textile Exchange argues that brands must stop externalizing those costs onto producers and instead build supportive sourcing models.

At the same time, Textile Exchange is expanding its data and reporting infrastructure to enable more transparent impact tracking. By investing in science-based tools and clearer metrics, it hopes to make nature and climate outcomes both traceable and comparable across the industry.

The path ahead is far from straightforward. The organization is clear-eyed about the need to move beyond pilot projects and pledges. Its refreshed strategy emphasizes implementation: coordinated investment, shared risk, and field-level engagement between brands and producers.

“There’s no silver bullet,” Bergkamp shares in a press release. “But we believe the pathway to transformation starts with uniting the industry around material-level impact—and making sure those producing our fibers are empowered, supported, and seen.”

Textile Exchange, a sustainable nonprofit, has recalibrated its direction, signaling a shift in the sustainability conversation within the fashion industry. This updated approach moves away from disparate standards and fleeting campaigns towards a more integrated focus on impact, equity, and business fundamentals. With the 2030 deadline approaching, the industry awaits to see if this change will finally deliver the long-promised collective action.