As the global fashion industry accelerates its shift toward sustainability, the focus remains primarily on fast fashion waste, carbon footprints, and labor practices. But one of the most environmentally damaging stages of garment production often flies under the radar: textile dyeing and finishing.
Environmental Cost
Coloring raw fabrics comes at a high environmental cost—contributing up to 20% of global industrial water pollution, according to the European Parliament. Traditional dyeing processes rely on heat-intensive methods that release significant emissions and discharge toxic wastewater filled with heavy metals, dyes, and salts. Most of these operations take place in regions with weak labor and water regulations, where factories often sit near rivers, farmland, and densely populated areas, and suppliers frequently operate with little to no environmental transparency (Source: Topics, European Parliament).
Why Conventional Reporting Falls Short
For most brands and manufacturersdyeing is outsourced to third-party vendors. This might lead to challenges in estimating pollution levels if suppliers underreport environmental violations or claim sustainability practices, such as “zero liquid discharge” (ZLD), that aren’t verified. And because most ESG disclosures typically lack asset-level detail, companies are often unaware of some components of the process such as water use at specific sites, land and ecosystem impacts, and surrounding environmental risks.The result? Companies are left exposed to regulatory, financial, and reputational risk and may not be aware that this is the case.
A New Layer of Visibility: RS Metrics’ Approach
RS Metrics provides a solution to address the scarcity of reliable, location-specific environmental data in global supply chains. Its geospatial intelligence platform ESGSignals® is built to assess on-the-ground conditions remotely, using satellite imagery and site-level analytics to surface risks that are often missed in traditional environmental, climate, and physical risk reporting. This approach is especially valuable in sourcing networks, such as textiles and apparel, where dyeing and finishing operations are frequently outsourced and challenging to monitor through disclosures alone.
Through its two core data products, AssetTracker and ESGSignals®, RS Metrics enables companies to gain visibility into environmental risks and conditions at the asset level, helping them move from assumption-based assessments to evidence-based decisions.
Asset Tracker & ESGSignals®: Locating and Measuring Impact of the Global Textile Industry
AssetTracker provides a detailed database of global industrial assets, connected to publicly listed companies and mapped with high geographic precision. In the textile sector, this enables brands to identify dyeing and finishing clusters worldwide, even when suppliers do not report them. The platform also supports assessment of a facility’s proximity to sensitive areas such as rivers, wetlands, or densely populated communities. By tracing ownership structures, companies can gain insight into who operates or benefits from a given site. AssetTracker further allows for the monitoring of rapidly industrializing regions in major apparel hubs like Tiruppur, Dhaka, and Lahore. With location-based intelligence, brands can map environmental and social exposure across sourcing regions, regardless of supplier transparency.
While AssetTracker provides the “where,” ESGSignals® delivers the “what.” ESGSignals® provides over 250 asset-level environmental and physical risk metrics, utilizing satellite imagery, remote sensing, and proprietary analytics to track site conditions that are often unavailable for suppliers. For companies sourcing from dyeing-intensive regions, these metrics provide a consistent and scalable way to assess environmental exposure.
ESGSignals® helps companies assess environmental risks around supplier facilities by analyzing a range of site-level indicators. The platform evaluates water stress using metrics like baseline scarcity and seasonal variability, offering insight into both long-term and short-term water availability. It also tracks changes in nearby water bodies, including discoloration and surface loss, which may indicate untreated wastewater discharge. In addition, ESGSignals monitors land use patterns, such as vegetation loss or facility expansion into surrounding farmland or ecologically sensitive areas. Thermal and reflectance data are also analyzed to identify the presence of heat-intensive dyeing operations. These insights provide a clear and consistent view of environmental conditions that are often unreported, supporting better decision-making across the supply chain.
These insights provide a clear and consistent view of environmental conditions that are often unreported, supporting better decision-making across the supply chain.
This type of data also helps align priorities across the broader ecosystem. As Malcolm Harris, Senior Advisor ESG at RS Metrics, noted in the piece “Transparency is the New Black”:
“Satellite and other alternative data sources allow investors to peer into a company’s operations and objectively measure exactly what that company is doing. If investors are worried about emissions, they can see how the company is performing at an asset level with no need for reliance on company disclosures.”
By leveraging this type of objective, asset-level insight, companies can take a more proactive and evidence-based approach to sourcing, compliance, and disclosure, especially in high-risk segments like textile dyeing and finishing.
From Data to Action: Real-World Case Example
Consider a global apparel brand sourcing from a supplier cluster on the outskirts of Dhaka, Bangladesh—a region known for high concentrations of textile dyeing operations. The supplier claims to operate under strict environmental controls, including a zero liquid discharge (ZLD) system. However, using AssetTracker, RS Metrics identifies a cluster of facilities in the area not listed in the company’s supplier disclosures. With ESGSignals®, the brand detects seasonal water stress in the region, visible discoloration in nearby water bodies, and vegetation decline around the industrial zone. Combined, these indicators suggest the potential for untreated discharge and broader environmental degradation. With this data, the company initiates a third-party audit and re-evaluates its sourcing strategy for the region, strengthening its risk oversight and ensuring its sustainability commitments are backed by independent, asset-level intelligence.
Building A Responsible Supply Chain
As the fashion industry faces rising expectations around transparency and sustainability, the need for credible, site-specific data has never been more urgent. New regulations in major markets, growing investor demands, and public pressure are prompting companies to move beyond broad commitments and demonstrate genuine accountability, especially in high-impact areas such as textile dyeing. These operations often fall outside the scope of traditional reporting, leaving brands exposed to risks they cannot fully see or verify.
RS Metrics helps close this gap. By using tools like AssetTracker and ESGSignals® for textile and apparel supply chain analysis, companies gain the ability to monitor environmental conditions at the facility level, independently of what is self-reported. From identifying water stress and pollution risks to tracking land use and proximity to main ecosystems in the area, RS Metrics’ data allows brands to take a more proactive, data-driven approach to sourcing, compliance, and disclosure. By grounding sustainability decisions in objective, location-based insights, brands can take meaningful steps toward building a more responsible and resilient supply chain.
This piece was written by Divya Sharma, a Product Marketing Intern at RS Metrics. She is currently pursuing a degree in International Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, with a focus on International Business and Sustainability. Her interests include ESG strategy, social impact, and advancing responsible business practices.
