Conversation about sustainability usually centers on the environment—recycling, water use, regenerative agriculture. But there’s another crucial piece that often gets overlooked: people. The social side of sustainability rarely gets the same spotlight or investment from brands and their supply chain partners.
According to Ani Wells, the founder of the sustainable fashion concept studio Simply Suzette, purpose-driven partnerships have the power to change that—and, in doing so, transform the denim industry from the inside out. Last week at Denim Première Vision in Milan, Wells spoke about the positive impact of social enterprises and what it means to build value with communities, not just extract from them.
Social procurement is at the crux of this change. Wells said social procurement is what it sounds like—it means sourcing from suppliers that are prioritizing social value. Think fair-trade producers, cooperatives, indigenous or women led businesses or certified social enterprises.
“The purpose of the business is to do good. Their mission is to do good and use their purchasing power to reinvest in communities so that they can sustain themselves. And when you break those two concepts down, they might seem simple, but it is a big shift from the way we work today,” she said.
However, social procurement challenges the foundation of the denim industry. Shifting from linear supply chains that are transactional and anonymous to one that prioritizes relationship building and shares the risks and rewards of business requires a new mentality.
Ani Wells, founder of Simply Suzette
“It’s great to imagine your supply chain as a community and not just a cost,” she said. “When we do that, we’re really seeing people as people, and not just as production units.”
For workers, Wells said social procurement goes beyond earning a paycheck. “It’s actually dignity at work, knowing that your skills are valued, your time is respected, and your safety matters, and it’s also about job security,” she said. “When brands commit to long-term partnerships, workers can plan for their futures accordingly.”
It also an opportunity to develops skills. Many social enterprises invest in training and upskilling so that they can give workers pathways to more specialized roles and higher paid roles as well, she added.
While there is no data to know what social procurement looks like in the economy, Wells pointed out how it can be the first step to rebalancing a deeply unequal system. In the fashion economy, she said most of the value is captured at the brand and retail level; the supply chain sees a fraction of it.
“Social procurement shift this by understanding what a fair wage or a fair income is for those who grow, spin, weave, dye and sew our clothes,” Wells said.
Consumers, particularly Gen Z and Gen Alpha, want this information. “They really want the raw, honest truth,” she said. “They do not like perfectly edited photo shoots anymore. They want to see rawness. And they want to know what you’re doing and why it matters and who it benefits…They want to see the proof and the processes and even the challenges because that’s relatable.”
Wells urged companies to begin to map out their supply chain if they haven’t already to see where they can bring in a social enterprise or a fair-trade partner. This can range from changing the brand of coffee served in the showroom to establishing long-term partnerships with artisans that carry centuries of intergenerational knowledge.
Get to know suppliers that employ vulnerable or underserved populations, such as migrant workers, single mothers, disabled persons or survivors of trafficking, she said, adding that it’s important to know you share values and can co-build programs together.
This requires a long-term mindset even if brands choose to begin with a capsule collection to see how products and messaging resonate with consumers. “You’re trying to bring [partners] on this growth journey with you. You’re co-developing goals, setting targets, sharing the challenges, but also celebrating the wins,” Wells said.
