Discuss the Just Transition Manifesto

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0. Introduction: Designing a Just Transition.

The fashion industry is poorly designed at its very foundations. Billionaire brands are getting richer at the expense of people and the planet. Millions of women and garment workers are underpaid, overworked and unprotected. Fair working conditions come last, while corporate greed comes first. Billions of garments are produced every year through the exploitation of workers and the depletion of natural resources.

The fashion industry is worth billions of dollars. Yet that wealth fills the pockets of directors and shareholders, not the workers who make our clothes. From low wages and the suppression of unions to precarious working conditions and gender-based violence, garment workers struggle daily for their dignity and survival.

The same workers who barely survive on their wages are paying the highest price for the climate crisis. Floods, fires, earthquakes, storms and droughts shut down factories and threaten jobs. Wages that do not allow a decent life leave workers without security when tragedy strikes. Limited breaks and the lack of drinking water in poorly ventilated workplaces make heat waves unbearable. Meanwhile, wealthy fashion moguls run the industry from comfortable, air-conditioned offices, ignoring workers.

Fashion is one of the most polluting industries. It depletes soil, poisons water, pollutes the air, promotes deforestation and biodiversity loss, and releases emissions that heat the planet. Huge amounts of clothing quickly end up in landfills, burdening communities on the front lines of the textile waste crisis with a problem they did not create. Overproduction relies on low wages and generates enormous waste.

However, a different path is possible. Garment workers around the world are fighting for a future where their needs are at the center. They organize in unions to challenge powerful brands. They demand their right to a dignified life and a livable future, and call on us to strengthen their demands for a just transition to a fair and green world.

This manifesto presents our shared vision of a different fashion system—one that places the dignity of workers and the protection of the planet at its core. In the current system, the exploitation of workers and the planet are inseparably linked, and therefore the struggle for social and climate justice must also be connected. Securing the future of the fashion industry means abandoning harmful systems and embracing new, fair ways of producing and consuming clothing. Real change will not come from above; a just transition must be led by workers and must guarantee decent jobs on a healthy planet.

1. The fashion industry is based on equality, justice, solidarity and care for people and the planet.

The new fashion system rejects the capitalist “take–produce–throw away” model and everything it represents: the exploitation of workers, endless production, unequal distribution of wealth and environmental destruction.

Collective care is extended to workers, our shared home and our wardrobes. Solidarity is the thread that connects the people who make clothes with those who wear them.

The fashion industry operates on the basis of fairness, equality and justice. The financial and human costs of climate disruption no longer fall on those who already bear the greatest burden. A Just Transition not only shapes the future but also addresses historical injustices. Global inequalities and power imbalances are corrected. Reparations are made. The largest polluters bear the cost of adaptation.

2. The fashion industry is run by workers and unions, not billionaires.

The road to a fair and green future is guided by the needs and knowledge of workers. Those most vulnerable to the climate crisis have the strongest voice in decision-making.

Workers freely join unions to improve their working conditions and advocate for measures that protect the planet at the local level. Diverse models of shared governance give them greater ownership of the workplace. The balance of power finally shifts in favor of workers.

All workers have equal rights, regardless of race, gender, class, age, sexuality, legal status, employment status or place of residence. Inclusive systemic change places at the center the people who produce, sell, collect, sort, distribute, repair and dispose of clothing. No one is left behind.

3. The livelihoods of workers are more important than the profits of billionaires.

Wealth is redistributed from the hands of a few fashion billionaires to the hands of millions of workers. Profits are shared fairly and everyone receives a living wage. The enormous gap between workers’ pay and executives’ salaries is reduced. Companies pay their fair share of taxes. Investor capital is withdrawn from companies that profit from harming workers and the planet and redirected toward producers who embrace new models of care.

Fashion brands bear the costs of climate change and provide suppliers with the resources needed to adapt. Fashion enriches the lives of workers, their families and their communities.

4. Safe and dignified working conditions are guaranteed everywhere.

All workers enjoy fair working conditions and working hours, whether in factories or working from home. Workplaces are free from injuries, health risks, harassment, abuse and gender-based violence. International binding mechanisms, such as the Bangladesh Accord, ensure occupational health and safety and protect workers from extreme climate impacts.

5. Fashion meets everyone’s needs while respecting planetary boundaries.

The fashion industry replaces mass-produced, short-lived trends with high-quality clothing.

Reducing production helps restore nature and reduces the ecological footprint of fashion. No one is pushed into excessive consumption by manipulative marketing practices. We take from the Earth only what we truly need.

6. Job security increases as production decreases.

Clothing production reflects the true cost of labor, which reduces overproduction. Special attention is given to ensuring that workers do not lose their livelihoods.

New business models create opportunities for progress. Workers are retrained and supported in developing new skills and occupations. Brands and governments support retraining programs designed around the needs of workers.

7. All workers have a safety net in a warming world.

Social protection supports workers in times of crisis and climate disruption. Workers have access to sick leave, maternity benefits, severance pay and unemployment benefits. Governments provide social protection systems that protect workers both at work and at home from climate-related risks. Public spending shifts away from rearmament programs and toward guaranteeing decent wages, training programs and universal social protection systems that allow all workers to live dignified and climate-resilient lives.

8. Companies are responsible for the damage they cause.

Companies are financially and legally accountable for their business practices. Enforceable global legislation regulates the fashion industry to protect workers’ rights, prevent environmental and social harm, and remedy violations.

Every worker receives compensation when their rights are violated. Binding brand agreements and social protection programs help hold brands accountable. Mandatory transparency makes it easier to verify brand claims and demand justice.

9. Clothes are valued.

In a new culture of care, clothing is valued as a sign of respect for the people who made it. Clothes are worn again, repaired, resold, exchanged, repurposed, recycled and kept in circulation. Workers who collect, sort, dispose of and recycle clothing are not left alone to deal with fashion waste. Brands are responsible for the entire life cycle of their products—from design to disposal. Clothing is rarely thrown away.