What question did this study set out to answer?

Investigate the multidimensional barriers that hinder green certification adoption in the textile sector, focusing on non-technical issues.

March 7, 2026Open Access

Evaluating multidimensional barriers to green certification adoption in the textile industry: a TOE-based Delphi-AHP-FAHP framework

ZWZijing WuGuangzhou Vocational College of Science and Technology QLQiang LiGuangzhou Vocational College of Science and Technology

Key Points

Investigate the multidimensional barriers that hinder green certification adoption in the textile sector, focusing on non-technical issues.
Utilized a Delphi approach to refine barriers with 21 interdisciplinary experts over 3 rounds.
Applied Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) to quantify the weights of various barriers and criteria.
Employed Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (FAHP) to address ambiguity in expert judgments.
Identified 15 core barriers, with Trust and Acceptance and Compliance comprising over 64% of the weight.
Lack of trust and insufficient incentives were highlighted as major issues in adoption.
Determined that complexity of international standards is a critical challenge, scoring the highest in severity.

Abstract

Global sustainability regulations (e.g., EU’s Sustainable and Circular Textiles Strategy 2023) and green certifications (GOTS, OEKO-TEX) are vital for Chinese textile enterprises’ market access. However, adoption is uneven—especially among SMEs—due to unresolved multi-dimensional barriers. Existing research overemphasizes technical feasibility or generic supply chains, ignoring textile-specific traits (industrial clustering, cross-border standard alignment, trade secret sensitivity) and lacking quantification of non-technical barriers (trust deficits, compliance complexity). This gap harms China’s textile sector (50%+ global fiber processing), which faces dual pressures from domestic dual-carbon goals and EU CBAM. An integrated Delphi–AHP–FAHP framework was used. 15 core barriers were refined from 32 via 3 Delphi rounds with 21 interdisciplinary experts. AHP quantified weights of 4 criterion layers (Technology, Compliance, Cost, Trust) and 15 sub-barriers. FAHP addressed expert judgment fuzziness, with CR 64% of weight. Core sub-barriers: lack of trust (0.1274), insufficient incentives (0.1131), international standard complexity (0.1095) (stable in sensitivity tests). FAHP scores show standard complexity (4.5714) is most severe; technical barriers score lower (3.0952–3.8104). Contributions: (1) Expands TOE to textile clusters, verifying non-technical barriers’ dominance; (2) Validates Delphi–AHP–FAHP for industry-specific assessment; (3) Proposes solutions (hierarchical alliance chains, PPP cost-sharing) to guide policies and align with UN SDG 12.

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