Sustainability Doesn’t Work When No One Pays for It

This episode explores a hard reality in global apparel manufacturing: sustainability requirements are rising, but prices are still falling.

Mithil Adarsh, Managing Director at Prima Exports and Asahi Green Tech, explains how manufacturers in Tiruppur — one of the world’s largest knitwear hubs — operate on razor-thin margins while being pushed to adopt costly sustainability measures like zero-liquid discharge and digital product passports. The result is a system where factories carry the burden while brands and consumers continue to demand lower prices.

Mithil Adarsh breaks down how price competition, labor intensity, and buyer pressure shape daily decisions on the factory floor, and why many manufacturers feel sustainability is structurally underfunded.