The transformation of fashion or the fashion of transformation? An exploration of transformative change for biodiversity in impactful economic sectors: the case of the textile, apparel, and fashion (TAF) sector.

This thesis examines transformative change for biodiversity in global economic sectors through the textile, apparel, and fashion (TAF) sector. It argues that biodiversity loss is shaped not only by direct ecological pressures, such as land-use change, raw material production, and pollution, but also by deeper economic, political, cultural, technological, and governance dynamics. Using an exploratory, critical realist, and transformative sustainability science approach, it develops a framework around drivers, barriers, discursive frames, business models, and system changes. The thesis shows that fashion’s biodiversity impacts are linked to overproduction, overconsumption, weak governance, limited biodiversity knowledge, and insufficient technologies. It also finds that grey literature frames biodiversity through a business-case logic, while transformative ideas such as regeneration, sufficiency, ecological limits, justice, and power remain fragile without regulation. Non-profit-maximising fashion enterprises can model practices and influence consumers, suppliers, and networks, but cannot drive systemic transformation alone. The thesis concludes that change requires phasing in alternative practices, values, business models, and governance, and phasing out unsustainable and unjust production and consumption patterns. It links biodiversity and transformative change to an impactful but understudied sector, with insights for research, policy, business, and collective action.