ABSTRACT For more than 20 years, the Driver‐Pressure‐State‐Impact‐Response (DPSIR) framework has contributed to clarifying causal chains for environmental sustainability issues. This study aims to answer the question of whether the framework can extend its usefulness to structuring social sustainability issues, to which it has not been applied so far. It shows that based on some simple conceptual foundations, it is possible to distinguish between drivers of social problems, pressure, social states, impacts and responses. Using the case of child labour, the study demonstrates how the DPSIR framework and the social pillar of sustainability can structure and clarify causal chains. The findings highlight the untapped potential of applying the DPSIR framework to social issues.