The textile industry is one of the most influential businesses that fulfills the basic need of human for clothing and has essential roles in many countries, including Indonesia. Particularly, the Indonesian textile industry significantly contributes to the country’s economic growth by being one of the priority sectors in export commodities of Indonesia and absorbing labours with about a quarter of the total workers in the manufacturing industries. Unfortunately, the achievements in the economic terms are disproportional to the industry’s performance in terms of environmental and social aspects. Crucial issues on the environmental side, such as water pollution and emissions, and on the social side, including labour exploitation and social responsibility within textile supply chains, have been lingering. With the rapid demands from stakeholders for textile companies to take more responsibility and be more sustainable in their production, the companies have invested in standard certifications, while gaining a better public image, expanding their market access, and strengthening their existence.

This research aims to understand the extent of standard contribution towards addressing sustainability in textile and textile product industries in Indonesia. In particular, this study investigates the current sustainability issues in the Indonesian textile sector and scrutinizes the relevance of the content of existing standards in relation to sustainability issues in the industries, as well as examining the economic, environmental, and social impacts of standard implementation by textile companies in dealing with sustainability issues.