Prioritising Blockchain Adoption Barriers in Sustainable Textile and Leather Supply Chains: Technical Insights from Integrating the Delphi-AHP Method

Qiang Li , Zijing Wu

Article
2026 / Volume 9 / Pages 629-668
Received 24 August 2025; Accepted 7 October 2025; Published 12 March 2026
https://doi.org/10.31881/TLR.2026.629

Abstract
Background: Growing environmental concerns and shifting market expectations drive urgent sustainable transformation needs in the global textile and leather industry. Traditional supply chains face persistent challenges: fragmented data systems create silos between suppliers, manufacturers, and retailers; high green certification costs (e.g., ISO 14001) strain small enterprises; and information asymmetries undermine trust in sustainability claims. While blockchain—with its decentralised, immutable, and traceable features—offers solutions, its adoption is hindered by technical, regulatory, cost, and trust barriers. This study prioritises these barriers via the Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP).
Methodology: Combining AHP with the Delphi method, this research collected and refined evaluations from 18 experts across supply chain management, blockchain development, environmental compliance, and textile manufacturing. It quantified barrier importance through structured analysis, with consistency testing (to validate logic) and sensitivity analysis (to verify stability). Although the expert panel excludes direct consumer and retailer perspectives, limiting insights into end-user trust, this study provides foundational priorities for future inclusive analyses.
Results: Key barriers ranked as: trust/stakeholder acceptance (0.305), cost/resource efficiency (0.2671), regulatory compliance (0.259), and technical integration (0.1668). Core sub-obstacle: “trust deficit” (0.1883), “insufficient incentives” (0.1460), “scalability limits” (0.1168). Notably, the findings are context-specific to China’s textile and leather industry, as the study draws on data from Chinese experts and regulatory frameworks, and further validation in international contexts is needed to enhance global applicability.
Conclusions: Trust deficit is pivotal to blockchain adoption. Addressing it requires technical optimisation, policy support, and trust-building. Overcoming these barriers will enhance transparency, streamline sustainability verification, and accelerate the industry’s shift to responsible practices.

Keywords
textile and leather supply chain, blockchain, barrier analysis, trust deficit, AHP-delphi method