Suppliers of fabric, garments, footwear, or components to apparel brands and retailers receive ESG questionnaires constantly, and they lean on the sector's specific issues: chemicals, water, and labor conditions. Textiles is one sector in the ESG requirements by industry overview.
| First question | Short answer |
|---|---|
| What is weighted most? | Chemicals management and restricted substances, especially for wet processing. Then water and wastewater, then labor. |
| Which tools will I be sent? | Higg FEM and FSLM (Cascale, on Worldly), EcoVadis, SMETA, amfori BSCI; sometimes GOTS, OEKO-TEX, or bluesign. |
| What is the MRSL? | The ZDHC Manufacturing Restricted Substances List: chemicals banned or limited in production. Buyers ask for compliance with it or their own list. |
| What about traceability? | Brands ask where materials come from: fiber origin, sub-supplier mapping, chain of custody for certified materials. |
| What if I have no water or energy figures? | Start with the free calculators from meter readings and bills, and say what is still being measured. |
Links checked 18 July 2026.
Why textiles are scrutinized closely
Wet processing uses large volumes of water and chemistry; dyeing and finishing carry environmental risk; the industry's labor history keeps social conditions in scope. A textile questionnaire therefore covers areas a generic one skips: chemicals management, water and wastewater, detailed labor practice. Knowing where the emphasis falls means preparing the evidence that matters.
The requests you will see
Chemicals and restricted substances
The textile-specific core:
- Chemical inventory and management — what is used, how it is stored and handled, safety data sheets
- Restricted substance lists — compliance with the buyer's list or the industry-standard ZDHC MRSL
- Wastewater — treatment and discharge quality, especially for dye houses and finishing
For any wet processing, chemicals questions are the center of the assessment. Get the chemical inventory and SDS library in order first.
Water and environmental data
- Water — intake and, where relevant, recycling
- Energy and emissions — consumption and Scope 1 and 2 figures; brands increasingly ask for product- or facility-level carbon
- Waste — textile waste, offcuts, packaging, disposal routes
Without measurements, the free water calculator and carbon calculator produce first figures from meter readings and utility bills — enough to answer accurately while proper tracking is set up.
Labor and social conditions
- Wages and working hours, overtime, fair remuneration
- Health and safety — building safety, machine guarding, fire safety
- No child or forced labor; recruitment practice, especially with migrant labor
- Freedom of association and a working grievance mechanism
Traceability
Where materials come from: fiber origin, sub-supplier mapping, chain of custody for certified materials (organic cotton, recycled content).
The platforms behind the questions
Textile buyers usually route requests through standardized tools:
- The Higg Index — stewarded by Cascale, accessed through Worldly. The FEM (environmental) and FSLM (social and labor) facility modules are the dominant self-assessment-plus-verification tools in apparel. See the Higg Index guide.
- EcoVadis — general sustainability scoring, common among larger brands
- SMETA / Sedex — social and ethical audits
- amfori BSCI — social compliance, widely used by European retailers
- Certification schemes — GOTS, OEKO-TEX, bluesign, and similar
The same facts are asked in several formats. Build the evidence once and reuse it.
The evidence base
- Chemical inventory and safety data sheets, RSL and MRSL compliance documentation
- Water and wastewater records — meter data, discharge and treatment evidence
- Energy and emissions — utility bills, a basic carbon footprint
- Waste records — quantities, streams, disposal
- Labor documentation — payroll, working-hour records, contracts, age verification, training logs
- Health and safety — risk assessments, fire and building safety, incident log
- Policies — environmental, health and safety, supplier code of conduct, human rights
- Certificates and traceability — material certifications, sub-supplier information
The assessment checklist shows which are missing before the next questionnaire.
What not to do
- Do not guess chemical or water figures. In textiles these are checked closely.
- Do not assume unknown means zero. If wastewater quality has never been measured, say so and start.
- Do not ignore traceability requests. "We do not know where our fiber comes from" is increasingly disqualifying. Map sub-suppliers now.
- Do not answer each buyer from scratch. The facts repeat across Higg, EcoVadis, BSCI, and direct questionnaires.
The bottom line
Textile and apparel ESG questionnaires concentrate on chemicals, water, labor, and traceability, usually through standardized tools such as the Higg modules, EcoVadis, or BSCI. One evidence base covering those areas, kept current, answers every buyer.