Doing the Same Thing and Expecting Sustainability? Time to Rethink

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“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.” Albert Einstein.

We have all heard this before - it’s a classic. However, when it comes to making real progress towards sustainability in the fashion industry, we seem to be stuck in a loop: pushing for am ambitious change from the top down, but the results never ends up the way we wanted to be.

Here’s a kicker: Big ideas and ambitious goals from senior management don’t automatically translate into real change on the ground. Why? Because the people tasked with implementing those changes—the working-level staff—are often overwhelmed, undertrained, and, let’s be honest, a little skeptical. Without the right knowledge, support, and incentives, they fall back on what’s familiar. And who can blame them?

The wide gap between ambition and action

“Zero waste by 2030.” “ 50% reduction in carbon emissions”. “Full digitalization transformation in supply chains”

Senior management loves to set bold sustainability goals, they sounds amazing on paper, but what about after the grand press releases and boardroom celebrations ?

The people who have to make those goals a reality—sourcing teams, production planners, QA managers—are juggling a million other priorities. They’re already swamped with their day-to-day tasks. Now, they’re being asked to completely change the way they work, often without a clear understanding of the new technology or processes they’re supposed to adopt.

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Here’s Where Things Go Sideways

Picture this: A major fashion brand decides to implement a digital repair tracking system to reduce waste and improve efficiency. Senior leadership is excited—they’ve done the research, invested in the tech, and expect to see results quickly. But then, things start going sideways. The system gets rolled out without enough hands-on training or practical examples, leaving staff confused. Faced with tight deadlines and unfamiliar workflows, they stick to the old way of doing things, because it’s faster and safer. A few months later, reports show minimal progress, and leadership is left wondering why their brilliant plan isn’t working.

That’s exactly what happens when companies introduce digital solutions without ensuring their teams fully understand and embrace the change. Inertia kicks in. People revert to the systems they know because they don’t have the time, energy, or knowledge to do learn a new system from scratch.

Here’s how to increase the success rate of your sustainability goals

If brands are serious about making sustainability more than a just a buzzword, we need to start doing things differently. It’s no longer about discovering new technology and processes, it’s about empowering the working-level staff to embrace those changes through sufficient education and assistance.

1. Focus on the intersection point of efficiency and sustainability

First of all, clearly communicate how these processes can benefit each part of the organization. For big corporations, most process automation projects will have a project team to oversee the initiation, development, and implementation phases. Build the adoption rate into the project team’s KPIs to ensure they also focus on educating their stakeholders about using the tools they are implementing.

After all, employees like us are looking to finish work earlier and easier, so that we can leave work on time, take a short break, or have a friendly chat with colleagues—you get the point. By clearly communicating the benefits to different departments, it increases the adoption rate of these applications while also increasing the chance that what senior management sees as ambitious sustainability goals can successfully translate into practical benefits across the organization.

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2. Leverage digitalisation and “humanisation”

In the modern day and age, leveraging digital tools can indeed accelerate a brands’ progress in sustainability, but many brands fall into the trap of assuming that once they buy a solution, their work is done. But here’s the thing, expecting a new system to magically fix everything without ongoing support is just another version of “doing the same thing and hoping for a different outcome”.

True collaboration isn’t about handing off responsibility to a vendor and crossing your fingers, it’s about ensuring that the vendor becomes an active partner in driving change - helping teams adopt and adapt to the new system. At Reclot, for example, we don’t just provide the platform and walk away, we offer a virtual help desk where ground-level staff can reach out directly for help, whether it is a quick question or troubleshooting a more complex issue. No more endless forwarding of requests or waiting for answers - just real support, from real people, when it is needed most.

When brands invest in new systems but don’t push for this kind of hands-on support, they’re setting themselves up for failure. Employees who encounter obstacles will quickly revert to old processes because it’s easier and safer. The result? Another well-intentioned initiative that doesn’t move the needle.

If brands want real results, they need to stop treating collaboration as a transaction and start treating it as an ongoing partnership. Ask vendors for more than just a product—demand practical assistance, like tutorial videos, onsite training, and help desk access. Because without that support, you’re just repeating the same cycle—and getting the same disappointing results.

Real Change Starts from the Ground Up

No amount of top-down pressure will drive real change if the people executing those changes aren’t fully on board. Until brands start investing in meaningful education, practical tools, and ongoing support for their teams, sustainability goals will remain just that—goals.

To move the needle, we need a shift in mindset. Instead of asking, “Why isn’t this working?” leaders should be asking, “What do our teams need to succeed?”

Because when people feel equipped, empowered, and engaged, that’s when real change happens. And that’s when sustainability stops being just another initiative—and starts becoming the new normal.

If we’re serious about transforming the fashion industry, we can’t keep doing the same thing and expecting a different outcome. It’s time to change the way we approach change.

Are you ready to break the cycle?

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