Clarifying the path to systems change with Textile Exchange

As Textile Exchange entered a new phase of growth, they wanted to sharpen focus and more clearly define how their organization drives impact across the apparel and textile industry. Workshop led Textile Exchange through a comprehensive 5-year strategic planning process that engaged leadership, board members, and key stakeholders. 

The result is an actionable roadmap that strengthens Textile Exchange’s role as a leader in advancing preferred materials and equips the organization to move forward with alignment, confidence, and momentum.

Over two decades, Textile Exchange has grown into a trusted leader in sustainability standards for raw material. With that growth came expanded scope, new opportunities, and increasing complexity.  As the organization looked ahead to 2030, Textile Exchange wanted to sharpen focus. At the same time, the organization was also evolving internally, with new structures and priorities. This created a need for a unifying strategy to clarify Textile Exchange’s role in driving industry transformation and turn this into an actionable, measurable plan.

Discovery & Alignment

• Led a multi-stakeholder discovery process, including interviews with internal and external stakeholders, to surface key insights and align on priorities.
• Designed and facilitated executive and Board sessions to gather input, build alignment, and create shared ownership throughout the strategy process.

Theory of Change & System Mapping

• Co-developed a clear Theory of Change defining how Textile Exchange creates the conditions for change in the apparel and textile industry.
• Created a system map that captured the current system and identified where Textile Exchange had the best opportunities to drive change. 

Strategy & Roadmap to 2030

• Guided the development of a 5-year strategy that clearly defined priorities to achieve impact.
• Developed a sequenced roadmap to 2030, providing clarity on how Textile Exchange achieves intended impact over time.

Vision & Mission & Positioning

• Facilitated a multi-stakeholder process to revise Textile Exchange’s Vision and Mission in alignment with the new strategy

Operationalization: Planning & MEL

• Designed an annual planning process to translate strategy into action and sustain momentum year over year.
• Developed a Measurement, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) framework to track progress, support decision-making, and ensure continuous adaptation.

• Multi-stakeholder process with leadership, Board, and partners to build alignment and shared ownership
• Theory of Change and system map to clarify how Textile Exchange drives systems-level impact
• Revised Vision and Mission to reflect new strategy and positioning
• Focused 5-year roadmap defining priorities and key milestones on the path to 2030

• Clarity on how Textile Exchange drives systems-level impact and a direction that is both clear and inspiring for its global community
• Strong alignment, support, and buy-in across leadership, Board, and staff, enabling more coordinated planning and implementation
• Greater organizational focus, with a streamlined portfolio and clear priorities guiding where to invest time and resources
• Annual planning process and MEL framework that embeds the strategy into day-to-day operations and supports adaptation over time

"On our first call, Workshop used this phrase to describe what they could offer to the process we were undertaking: 'space and pace'. The Workshop team held the space and pace for discovery, synthesis, reflection, navigating choices, and arriving at clarity. They helped us land the five year strategy we needed and provided us a set of tools to put it into action. It was a pleasure to work alongside the team, and Textile Exchange is driving more meaningful impact today than before."‍

Ashley Gill Chief Standards & Strategy Officer
Textile Exchange