Governance in global production networks and local sustainability challenges: experiences of sustainability transitions in cotton garment production in India

Ongoing sustainability challenges in production processes are difficult to address as strong pressures often exist promoting stability. This chapter presents three cases where productive systems significantly transformed in relation to sustainability challenges. Each case is connected to India’s garment industry. Three factors are identified as significant in explaining change processes. The first is the nature of the sustainability challenges. Particularly, identifying local and external pressures for stability and pressures for change is crucial. The second is the position of key stakeholders. Understanding these arrangements can help to identify change pathways. The third factor is the type of mechanism that stimulated change. Both mandatory and voluntary mechanisms can be effective. Considering these factors may help in designing future interventions for promoting change. This chapter also highlights risks of behaviours being pushed out of one situation re-emerging in other parts of a production network and changes addressing one challenge creating new challenges.