Abstract
The global garment industry faces persistent scrutiny regarding labor exploitation, environmental degradation, and supply chain opacity. While distributed ledger technologies have been proposed as transformative mechanisms for provenance tracking, empirical assessments integrating technological deployment with multi-stakeholder governance remain scarce. This interdisciplinary study investigates the implementation of a permissioned blockchain architecture designed to enhance supply chain transparency and verify ethical sourcing across a multi-tier apparel network. Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, we evaluated a 12-week pilot deployment tracking 15,000 organic cotton garments from agricultural cooperatives in India through processing and assembly facilities in Bangladesh to retail distribution in Western Europe. Concurrently, a structured survey and interview protocol assessed stakeholder perceptions (N = 214) across four key groups: primary producers, manufacturing executives, non-governmental organization (NGO) auditors, and end consumers. Technical results demonstrated high data integrity, sub-second transaction finality, and reliable verification of fair-wage attestations via automated smart contracts. Stakeholder analysis revealed significant divergence in perceived value: brand managers and consumers prioritized anti-greenwashing provenance and sustainability claims, whereas upstream suppliers expressed concerns regarding initial capital expenditure, data sovereignty, and technological asymmetry. Our findings underscore that technological efficacy is insufficient without inclusive governance models and regulatory alignment. We propose an interdisciplinary framework bridging cryptographic data integrity, corporate sustainability due diligence, and equitable stakeholder incentive structures to facilitate ethical digital transformation in global value chains.
