Apparel manufacturers and retailers are starting to build in corporate social responsibility (CSR), compliance and product safety all along their supply chains. CSR is now an important strategic business objective for many in the industry. Trends such as the push to take CSR into account throughout the apparel supply chain puts a premium on transparency in apparel design, manufacturing and merchandising than on quality or legal compliance. Transparency technology is making it possible to provide buyers and consumers with the visibility they need to have confidence in their brands.

Technological advances in supply chain risk management software are making it easier to achieve the transparency necessary to build trust all along supply chains, and ultimately, in the minds of consumers looking for brands that share their values.

Since consumers are so well-informed and demanding things like better CSR, compliance with fair labor standards and product safety, the most competitive companies are re-engineering their processes to build these in, just as quality control started to be designed in to a lot of products in the 1980s. That way, consumers can have the confidence they need to spend their money with brands they can trust. However, fast fashion trends have made it harder for brands to comply with product safety, CSR and internal directives.