O ESG à sombra do fast fashion: análise exploratória nos pequenos negócios

Abstract

This dissertation examines how small companies in the textile sector, which act as suppliers to large department store chains, deal with the incorporation of ESG practices into their activities, within a context characterized by the dynamics of fast fashion, power inequalities, and growing socio-environmental and governance demands. The main objective was to understand how these companies perceive and implement ESG, as well as to identify the obstacles and opportunities related to this process. In methodological terms, this is a qualitative investigation that uses data triangulation and content analysis, with manual treatment of the collected data. The findings reveal that the adoption of ESG practices does not occur naturally, but rather is driven by external pressures, especially those originating from large retailers, certifications, audits, and institutional support networks, such as Sebrae and Sistema B Brasil. Small businesses face different barriers, with the main ones being financial and structural constraints, in addition to challenges in maintaining practices and certifications over time. At the same time, ESG is also seen as an element that can bring competitiveness, improve reputation, and ensure market presence. The analysis indicates that the implementation of this agenda occurs at different levels of intensity and unequally across the environmental, social, and governance pillars, highlighting tensions between compliance and survival, discourse and practice, as well as between pressure and support. The conclusion indicates that, in the absence of a more equitable distribution of responsibilities and adequate institutional instruments, ESG tends to behave more as a regulatory and reputational requirement than as a real transformation in the fashion production chain