by Katie Hess, Cascale Better Buying
Responsible purchasing practices (RPP) are not just a “nice to have” in the textile industry — they are where climate ambition succeeds or fails in practice.
When buyers cancel orders, push down prices, change timelines, or create volatility, the impacts ripple through supply chains in ways that undermine labor rights and environmental outcomes.
Recent U.S. tariff disruptions show what happens when commercial risk is pushed down the supply chain.
An investigation earlier this year found that paused orders and cancelled purchases following new U.S. import tariffs contributed to labor risks in garment factories, as suppliers operating on already low margins struggled to absorb sudden cost shocks. These are not isolated side effects of market disruption — they are predictable outcomes when commercial risk is pushed down the supply chain.
Volatility is not the issue. Risk transfer is.
Commercial strain weakens supplier resilience — and resilience is essential to climate action. Better Buying’s supplier-reported data consistently shows that when pressures build, suppliers have less room to absorb shocks, less ability to plan, and less capacity to invest in the operational improvements that climate progress requires.
But here’s the good news: where there’s an impact, there is potential to influence.
This is the part often missing from climate conversations: suppliers cannot decarbonize in unstable commercial environments. Commercial predictability changes the game. Because when factories are managing last-minute changes, reduced margins, delayed payments, or unpredictable order volumes, they are not operating from a position of resilience. That’s a position of reactivity. And resilience is what makes long-term investments in cleaner production, efficiency, and emissions reductions possible.
The problem is not disruption itself, but how buyers anticipate it. When buyers respond to uncertainty by changing terms, cutting prices, or cancelling orders at short notice, the burden of adaptation falls on suppliers and workers, and climate progress becomes harder to sustain.
RPP challenges the characteristic race to the bottom that has long shaped the apparel industry.
It links climate ambition to real economic decisions. Climate strategies are harder to deliver if purchasing teams are incentivized to prioritize short-term cost savings over long-term stability. Fair terms, predictable planning, realistic timelines, and consistent communication are not sustainability add-ons — they are the commercial conditions that make decarbonization possible.
Tariff uncertainty makes the case even clearer. As further trade disruption looks likely, buyers will either reinforce or undermine supplier resilience. Embedding RPP now is one of the most direct ways companies can protect workers, stabilize supply chains, and support long-term climate goals.
Responsible purchasing practices are a critical part of building more resilient supply chains — and supplier feedback is essential to understanding where change is needed.
Explore Cascale’s Better Buying to learn how supplier insights are helping companies strengthen purchasing practices and support more resilient supply chains.
Katie Hess is head of product at Cascale Better Buying