The OECD publication Due Diligence Essentials for Responsible Garment and Footwear (2026) provides an overview of the most significant environmental, social, and governance risks facing the garment and footwear sector, while outlining practical considerations for responsible business conduct. Building on the OECD’s broader due diligence framework, the publication examines challenges across the entire value chain from raw material sourcing and manufacturing to retail, reuse, and recycling and highlights emerging opportunities to strengthen transparency, resilience, and sustainability in global supply chains.  

Key takeaways

• The garment and footwear sector faces complex environmental risks across the value chain
  The publication identifies hazardous chemical use, water consumption and pollution, greenhouse gas emissions, biodiversity loss, and waste generation as some of the sector’s most significant environmental challenges. The sector is estimated to account for approximately 2-8% of global greenhouse gas emissions, while water-intensive production processes and inadequate wastewater treatment continue to create environmental pressures. 
• Circularity remains limited despite growing industry efforts
  The report notes that the sector continues to rely largely on linear production models, generating substantial waste throughout product lifecycles. Low collection rates, limited recycling infrastructure, and the complexity of mixed-material products remain major barriers. While brands are increasingly exploring take-back schemes, repair services, and textile-to-textile recycling, recycled textiles still represent less than 1% of total textile production.
• Human rights risks persist across global supply chains
  The publication highlights continuing concerns related to child labour, forced labour, excessive working hours, low wages, occupational health and safety, and restrictions on freedom of association. Vulnerable groups, including migrant workers, informal workers, women, and young workers, often face heightened risks due to weak regulatory enforcement and limited oversight in some sourcing regions.   
• Supply chain complexity continues to challenge due diligence efforts
  The report emphasises that global garment and footwear supply chains often involve multiple tiers of suppliers, subcontractors, and cross-sector connections spanning agriculture, livestock, forestry, petrochemicals, and manufacturing. This complexity can make it difficult for companies to identify, assess, and mitigate risks effectively. 
• Transparency and traceability are becoming stronger industry tools
  Compared with many other sectors, garment and footwear supply chains have made notable progress in transparency. Increasing disclosure of supplier information, public supply chain databases, and traceability initiatives are helping companies improve risk identification and monitoring while supporting more effective due diligence practices.  
• Strategic partnerships can strengthen resilience and risk management
  The publication highlights a growing shift towards longer-term supplier relationships. According to cited research, strategic partnerships accounted for 43% of apparel supplier relationships in 2023, up from 26% in 2019. These partnerships can improve information sharing, strengthen leverage, and support more coordinated responses to sustainability and compliance challenges.
• Industry collaboration is helping improve due diligence practices
  The sector has developed a range of collaborative initiatives to address common challenges, including chemical management programmes, shared assessment tools, worker protection initiatives, and trade union engagement. The report notes that these approaches can reduce duplication, improve transparency, and support more effective remediation of identified risks.    

The publication shows that responsible business conduct in the garment and footwear sector increasingly requires a comprehensive approach that addresses environmental impacts, labour rights, governance challenges, and supply chain transparency simultaneously. While significant risks remain, the report also highlights growing opportunities for collaboration, circularity, and improved due diligence practices across global value chains.

To read the entire report, readers are encouraged to head to OECD website.