What About Sustainability?
The Internal Organization of The British
Fashion Council: Sustainability Awareness
and ESG Practices
Hanna Jakab 11767898 BSc Business Administration
Program Track: Entrepreneurship, Innovation and Creativity University of Amsterdam
Supervisor: Dr. J. Aldo do Carmo – 10/07/2020 –
“Fashion, like all creative industries, can provide beauty, solace, entertainment and inspiration for people in isolation, under stress or in pain.”
(Shaway Yeh)
Statement of Originality
This document is written by Hanna Jakab who declares to take full responsibility for the contents of this document.
I declare that the text and the work presented in this document are original and that no sources other than those mentioned in the text and its references have been used in creating it.
The Faculty of Economics and Business is responsible solely for the supervision of completion of the work, not for the contents.
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT 4
CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION 5
CHAPTER 2. WHY IS SUSTAINABILITY IMPORTANT, YET SO COMPLICATED? 7
2.1 VARIOUS ASPECTS OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 8
2.2 ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL AND GOVERNANCE (ESG) 9
2.3 FASHION AND THE ENVIRONMENT 10
2.4 CONCEPTUAL FRAMEWORK 11
CHAPTER 3. METHODOLOGY 13
CHAPTER 4. OVERVIEW OF THE BRITISH FASHION COUNCIL’S PRACTICES 14
4.1. THE BRITISH FASHION COUNCIL 14
4.2. THE RISE AND FALL OF ESTETHICA 14
4.3. POSITIVE FASHION 15
CHAPTER 5. CASE STUDY ANALYSIS 17
5.1 THE EVOLVING ORGANIZATION AND RESPONSIVENESS 17 5.2 DYNAMISM AND THE INCLUSION OF SUSTAINABILITY IN ORGANIZATIONAL STRATEGY 18 5.3 IDENTITY LEADING TO VALUE CREATION FOR ALL OF SOCIETY 19
5.4 TRANSPARENCY 19
5.5 ASSOCIATIONS WITH STRICTLY SUSTAINABILITY-BASED BRANDS 20 CHAPTER 6. DISCUSSION 22
CHAPTER 7. CONCLUSIONS 25
7.1. CONTRIBUTIONS, OR HOW TO INTEGRATE SUSTAINABLE PRACTICES INTO AN ORGANIZATION 25
7.2. LIMITATIONS 26
7.3. RECOMMENDATIONS 27
7.4. LESSONS LEARNED 27
8. REFERENCES 28
Abstract
The fashion industry is notorious for its wasteful practices and harmful impacts on the environment. The British Fashion Council (BFC) is a not-for-profit organization, which aims to address the issues and challenges faced by the industry through the promotion of
sustainability awareness and ESG practices. This study sheds light on some of the
controversies regarding the British Fashion Council and its role in sustainability awareness, as well as the organization’s positive impacts on the fashion industry. The investigation
examines how the BFC is organizing internally in order to promote sustainability and ESG practices in the industry. The research was conducted through a case study investigation on the organization. The analysis outlines the positive impacts of BFC’s initiatives on industry practices, and how its internal organization contributes significantly to its ability to raise awareness towards sustainability and ESG practices in the industry. As a result of the case study analysis, a framework was developed which represents the means through which sustainability may be integrated internally into an organization’s business model. This
framework includes the five key elements of responsiveness, dynamism, value creation for all of society, transparency, and organizational associations.
Chapter 1. Introduction
Global efforts to increase awareness towards sustainability and standardizing sustainable practices have been on a rise – the environment urges attention and care. Emerging market consumers are some of the most impacted populations who deal with risks arising from unsustainable practices, daily, as a result of organizations exploiting their capabilities (Nielsen, 2018). Unsustainable behavior is leading to environmental damage, waste, and harmful complications. In the past, the fast fashion industry has been notorious for exploiting environmental, social, and governance practices in developing countries, but nowadays organizations are increasingly focusing on sustainability. Besides, many investors are now to include environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance indicators in their
decision-making.
The British Fashion Council (BFC) has been raising awareness to sustainable business practices in the fashion industry through various initiatives and events. The first initiative,
Estethica, founded in 2006 was aimed at promoting fair trade, ethical trading, recyclable and
organic textiles through fashion brands and designers (British Fashion Council, 2014). Estethica was the largest eco-fashion event in the UK (Kim, 2015), taking place during London Fashion Week (LFW), promoting sustainability through various runway shows and events. The BFC’s Estethica initiative was in effect until 2013 (British Fashion Council, n.d.), when it was rebranded as Positive Fashion. It is a unique means of promoting sustainable business practices, and serves as a new-and-improved initiative encompassing clear strategy and development goals - tackling the numerous challenges faced by the fashion industry in production, manufacturing and regarding climate change, among various others.
As an advocate for sustainability and environmental awareness, it seems contradictory that the BFC would promote such initiatives through an event that contributes to yearly CO2 emissions comparable to the emissions of a small country. Year-round fashion events - mainly in the form of Fashion Week - are estimated to produce 241,000 tons of CO2 emissions each year based on the travel of fashion buyers, designers, and attendees (Paton, 2020). Not to mention how shows during Fashion Week are set up, then torn down, and landfilled after a quick show, exemplifying the simply wasteful impacts of Fashion Week (Wicker, 2020). Furthermore, Fashion Week in itself is not sustainable, so why would an organization attempt to promote environmental awareness and sustainability through such an inherently wasteful event?
The external pressure of society for more environmentally and socially conscious fashion events and operational practices is forcing the fashion industry to develop newfound environmentally sustainable practices. As in many other sectors, fashion has to adapt to become more environmentally and socially responsible. Here, the BFC, LFW and the Positive Fashion initiative play a leading role. However, in order to truly bring about change to the
industry and transform industry malpractices into environmentally conscious decisions, significant action is needed. This requires more than publicity - the industry has to act and implement specific structural changes which back up these actions. Unfortunately, in the fashion industry there is a gap between the actions industry actors promote and the actual actions they take in order to mitigate the impacts of environmentally unsustainable practices. In light of such advancements, this research aims to answer the following question:
How is the British Fashion Council organizing internally to promote sustainability awareness and develop ESG practices?
In chapter two this research will discuss the various theories behind corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental, social and governance (ESG) practices, through a literature review, in order to understand the different characteristics of a sustainability driven organization. These characteristics will be the basis of the conceptual framework, through which the case study analysis will be conducted. The following chapter will outline the methodology behind the case study investigation on the BFC; here, data is collected through secondary sources. In chapter four an overview of the BFC will be presented. The next chapter includes the analysis of the organization based on the main themes which arise from the secondary literature. The different themes in the data are then analysed to understand how the BFC is organizing internally in order to promote sustainable business practices. The discussion suggests how the BFC’s internal organization compares with the general
conceptual framework presented in chapter two, which is then followed by the conclusions of the investigation.
Chapter 2. Why is sustainability important, yet so complicated?
According to a study conducted by the consultancy firm Nielsen (2018), a new perspective on sustainability has been adapted by consumers, governments and corporations, as the impacts of environmental damage become more prevalent. Sustainability initiatives have become more ubiquitous and direct in all sectors. The study argues that the global embeddedness of sustainability may come from three different sources: corporations advocating for
sustainability in both the economic and retail landscape, government response through sustainability legislation, and changing consumer demand, as consumer realize the impact of their actions and purchases on the environment.
However, sustainability is a broad term and there is no predetermined guideline through which firms can adapt such an all-encompassing perspective in a straightforward way. A starting point for firms is to consider corporate social responsibility (CSR). In the past two decades, for many organizations CSR has become a reality, rather than merely a theoretical ideology, as they consider it a necessity to establish their roles in society and apply ethical practices to their business models (Lichtenstein et al., 2004). Although organizations
increasingly adopt a responsible perspective, many of them face certain difficulty in doing so (Lindgreen et al., 2009). Lindgreen & Swaen (2010) argue that such challenges may arise due to the means in which CSR has developed over time, reflecting the impact of numerous theories, including agency theory, institutional theory, the resource-based view of the firm, stakeholder theory, stewardship theory and the theory of the firm. The complexity behind CSR may be one of the reasons why organizations struggle to completely embrace the concept.
Lindgreen & Swaen (2010) propose five different means to shed light on the difficulties, and clarify CSR for management purposes. Firstly, communicating the role of CSR is an essential step in its application, to ensure that stakeholders have a positive attribution to CSR activities, in order to maximize the firm’s benefits from such activities. Secondly, implementation of CSR should be comprehensive in organizational culture. Importance should also be placed on stakeholder engagement, in order for CSR strategy to pursue both personal and corporate objectives. It is vital to put clear measures in place for corporate social performance, although such measures prove to be challenging to implement due to the scope of CSR. Finally,
organizations are to make it clear as to why they have started implementing CSR practices on both the financial and social front, increasing both firm performance and social welfare (Lindgreen & Swaen, 2010).
2.1 Various aspects of corporate social responsibility
Defining CSR poses a challenge to both managers and researchers. The concept is constantly changing and evolving, as renewed interest for CSR and propositions for various alternative concepts are regularly on a rise; such as corporate citizenship or corporate sustainability. To further complicate this concept, certain theories combine different approaches and give new meanings to the same terminology (Garriga & Melé, 2004). Anteriorly, Votaw (1972) argued that corporate social responsibility does not always mean the same thing to everyone, ranging from the idea of legal responsibility and means of legitimacy to an act of a socially conscious, or a charitable contribution.
Clearly CSR has numerous functions, as social responsibility may, for instance, be used in public relations, in order to gain a better reputation and promote a more positive image (Gonzalez-Perez & Leonard, 2013). Meanwhile, CSR dialogue on social media creates value for stakeholders based on the extent to which they identify with the community and the expectations they have regarding the organization (Korschun & Du, 2013). Conversely, Attig & Cleary (2015) conducted a study which concluded that management quality practices are positively and significantly related to a firm’s CSR rating; and as investigated by Bonini, Koller & Mirvis (2009), CSR is at the center of corporate consciousness, as several executives believe CSR activity may indeed drive corporate performance.
In an effort to offer a framework for the classification of the various concepts behind CSR, Garriga & Melé (2004) propose the most relevant CSR theories and approaches focusing on the four aspects of social reality: economics, politics, social integration and ethics. The first classification which the researchers introduce, regarding economics, is in which the
organization is an instrument for wealth creation, constructing wealth creation as their sole social responsibility; therefore, social responsibility is only accepted when it creates wealth, suggesting CSR as a means to create profit (Garriga & Melé, 2004). The second classification is the political, in which “the social power of corporation is emphasized” and results in the organization accepting social duties in order to gain business power (Garriga & Melé, 2004, p.52). The third aspect, social integration, considers that the organization should acknowledge various social demands - since they depend on societal demands - in order to maintain
organizational growth (Garriga & Melé, 2004). Finally, certain organizations emphasize that the relation between business and society is ingrained through ethical values, meaning that CSR is approached from an ethical point of view, leading firms to accept CSR as an ethical duty (Garriga & Melé, 2004).
2.2 Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG)
A recently proposed perspective, which embodies the numerous aspects of CSR into a single framework are ESG criteria. ESG criteria are used in the financial sense for socially
responsible investments (Syed, 2017), but also in various other managerial and
decision-making processes. Many investors are now trying to include environmental, social and governance (ESG) performance indicators in their decision-making.
Syed (2017) argues that corporate governance can boost long-term shareholder value. In their turn, Kocmanová and Dočekalová (2012) define these key performance indicators as the following; ‘environmental’ as climate change (emissions), compliance, efficiency (waste), etc.; ‘social’ as human capital management and workplace health and safety; ‘governance’ as board effectiveness and corporate conduct. These indicators may, for instance, be used for evaluating sustainable development, regarding the developments and changes within a company throughout a specified time period (Kocmanová & Dočekalová, 2012). However, it may also be used to evaluate the more complex and intricate factors of an organization, such as corporate management and competitiveness (Kocmanová & Dočekalová, 2012). The researchers also argue that it is essential to create key performance indicators - based on the five pillars of environmental, social, corporate governance, economics and sustainability of success aspects - to understand the appropriate developments of the organization.
Similarly to CSR, there exist various approaches towards the relevance of ESG. Several arguments include the fact that “doing good” for society is essential in business practices, and firms should take a broader view, looking at the long-term implications of their business practices and actions; whilst others argue that firms should focus on profits and shareholder wealth, as ESG based performance evaluations lead to inaccurate corporate objectives (Karnani, 2010).
Many organizations however, pay increased attention to ESG and CSR frameworks and policies. In an attempt to investigate why organizations adopt ESG policies and the extent to which the market needs and values such decisions (Gillian, Hartzell, Koch & Starks, 2010) evaluated the extent to which ESG performance is related to firms’ operating performance, efficiency, compensation practices, trading by institutional investors, and valuation.
Researchers concluded that operating performance, efficiency and firm value grow with more prominent ESG performance and initiatives; in addition, firms with stronger ESG policies benefit from more efficient practices than their peers (Gillian et al., 2010). Furthermore, investors prefer firms with a decreased amount of corporate governance concerns has been suggested (Gillian et al., 2010).
From a different point of view, it has been estimated that consumers will spend up to $150 billion on sustainable products by 2021 (Wilson, 2019). In a global online survey conducted by Nielsen (2018), 81% of respondent feel strongly that companies should act upon
improving the environment by implementing various environmental, social, and governance programs and processes ("The Evolution of the Sustainability Mindset", 2018). These values regarding ESG are mutual across genders and generations, with Millennials and Gen Z at the forefront, while other generations are not far behind either ("The Evolution of the
Sustainability Mindset", 2018). Such sentiments suggest a huge opportunity for emerging and established firms in various industries to act upon their ESG performance and sustainable practices, in order to increase their competitive stance in the market.
2.3 Fashion and the Environment
After exploring general sustainability practices, the study’s focus will turn specifically to the fashion industry. The fashion industry has been actively seeking new approaches in response to these challenges, including the support for slow fashion principles, and the creation of numerous initiatives for the purpose of inducing sustainability in the industry. Yet various controversies still prevail in the industry when it comes to responsible practices regarding social and environmental issues.
Sustainability and sustainable development (SD) have continually been implemented in governmental policy and corporate strategy (de Brito et al., 2007). However, several issues regarding sustainable development still remain in the fashion industry. The greatest issues faced by the industry include harmful supply chains, control systems, ethical concerns - such as the use of animal fur -, human rights breaches, protection of intellectual property rights, and harm to the environment; fast fashion is essentially the enemy of sustainable production (de Brito et al., 2007).
As consumers are constantly searching for new products, consumer demand pushes urgency in the retail sector, which is why a lot of companies are moving towards a fast fashion business model (Petro, 2018). The increased uncertainty in the fashion industry, due to the wide range of consumer goods, has made forecasting consumer demand accurately almost impossible (Petro, 2018). Such uncertainty drives organizations to explore and exploit new capabilities and resources, in order to quickly respond to external market changes,
emphasizing speed as a critical source of competitive advantage for products like clothing, which have short life cycles (Barnes et al., 2006). Fast fashion retailers introduce new
clothing goods to the market almost on a weekly basis, hence, the term ‘fast fashion’ (Byun & Sternquist, 2007). Breyer (2012) suggests that consumers in the United Kingdom, alone, have an estimated £30 billion worth of unworn clothes laying around in their closets. As a result of the issues fast fashion raises, there has been increased awareness and a growing concern due to fast fashion and “cradle-to-grave” business models (George, 2018). Such shifts in the retail and fashion industry raise several questions about the future direction of the industry itself and consumer behavior. Consumers would have to embody a shift in consumerism, and luxury brands could potentially become pioneers in sustainable practices, due to the
importance they place on the creation of artisanal quality goods (Joy et al., 2012). Sustainable 10
practices will also play a significant role in reducing the harmful impacts of the industry on its wide range of stakeholders.
The fashion industry has started to face the challenges of fast fashion through various initiatives; however, overall consumer awareness about the impacts of the industry is
relatively low, proving sustainable fashion to remain a niche market (Defra, 2008). The slow fashion concept promotes responsible production, adding value to the products through quality design and considering its connection with the environment, in addition to including the consumer in the supply chain, in order to create awareness to the production process (Cataldi et al., 2010). In a study to explore the opportunities for achieving sustainability within the fashion industry, Cataldi, Dickson & Grover (2010), propose three
recommendations which could provide the most leverage in deepening the slow fashion movement; these are: co-creating slow fashion principles to represent the values of the movement and an inclusive definition of sustainability, establishing a global network for the slow fashion movement, and integrating global textile labelling initiatives under a ‘Slow Fashion label’.
2.4 Conceptual Framework
The literature review outlines the different aspects of CSR and ESG which lead to sustainable business practices. As a result, sustainability driven organizations embody numerous
characteristics which derive from CSR and ESG practices. Figure 1 has been elaborated based on five overarching characteristics discussed in the literature review, presenting the various aspects of the sustainability driven organization.
The base of the framework is the sustainability-driven organization, and the five suggested aspects which characterize such organizations include: organizational ethics, the long-term approach, value creation for society, transparency, and performance.
1. Organizational ethics involves applying ethical practices to each aspect of the organization’s business model (Lichtenstein et al., 2004). This may also include updating and changing old business models, integrating sustainability into marketing, reducing packaging, or reformulating the supply chain (Nielsen, 2018).
2. Sustainability driven organizations pay attention to the future outcomes of their practices. They should be looking at long-term implications of their business practices and actions by focusing on sustainable development (Karnani, 2010).
3. Value creation for society involves acknowledging various social demands. Here, it is essential to put clear measures in place for corporate social performance (Lindgreen & Swaen, 2010). The organization should take this into consideration since they depend on societal demands, and by acknowledging them the organization maintains growth (Garriga & Melé, 2004).
4. Transparency, involves the implementation of CSR in organizational culture. Here importance should be placed on stakeholder engagement in order for CSR strategy to pursue both personal and corporate objectives (Lindgreen & Swaen, 2010).
5. The performance of the organization should be assessed based on various ESG criteria, as opposed to only financial criteria, for instance. As defined by Kocmanová and Dočekalová (2012), these are all the aspects which incorporate the environmental, social, and governance measures.
Sustainable organizations present the five previously outlined characteristics. This study will investigate whether the characteristics proposed in this section are also valid for the case of the BFC. The next chapters of this research, through a case study investigation, will explore the characteristics of the BFC and whether these characteristics make it a
sustainability-driven organization. This proposed framework will be used as a reference point to understand how the BFC compares to the general sustainability driven organization.
Chapter 3. Methodology
With the controversy surrounding London Fashion Week and the British Fashion Council’s participation in the event, this research aims to outline how the BFC is organizing internally in order to promote sustainable business practices. The research method employed in this paper will be a case study on the BFC and its initiatives, in order to examine its impact on the goal of promoting sustainable practices in the industry. The case study will take a thematic approach and focus on outlining the aspects of the organization which promote sustainability. The first part of the investigation will include an overview of the BFC’s practices and
sustainability promoting initiatives. The next part will be a case study analysis, proposing a new conceptual framework for the BFC’s sustainable internal practices. The theoretical framework presented in Section 2.4 will be adapted to the BFC, thereby proposing a new framework based on the organization. The analysis of the data will be conducted through a qualitative case study focused on the BFC and its inter-organizational aspects throughout the years of 2010-2020. To examine the case on the organization, data will be collected through secondary sources, and will be analyzed regarding internal practices, to investigate common themes and linkages. By investigating how the BFC is organizing internally, the researcher - in the case study analysis - will develop a new framework on how to integrate sustainable business practices into an organization internally. The case study will also integrate secondary data on two fashion designers, chosen based on purposive sampling: Hanna Fiedler and Vin+Omi, who have participated in the BFC’s sustainable LFW fashion show and have contributed to the sustainable fashion movement.
As part of the case study analysis, inductive reasoning will be used to create codes through the data, including repetitions, transitions and similarities and differences (Bryman, 2016 p.401) that have taken place in the organization between the years of 2010 to 2020. After coding the data, certain overarching themes that the organization uses to organize internally for the purpose of sustaining their mission will be identified. These will be categorized into a comprehensive list and will be compared with the theoretical framework examined previously in section 2.4. Through the case study investigation, the research will branch together various concepts in sustainable fashion in order to illustrate how organizations in fashion industry can organize internally in a more effective way for the purpose of promoting and embodying sustainable practices.
Chapter 4. Overview of The British Fashion Council’s Practices
Fashion and the environment are in the early stages of a newfound relationship. However, their rapports in the UK, the core of this study, already produced some compelling results which the investigation will take a closer look at.
Although London Fashion Week is wasteful, the BFC embodies numerous notable practices which promote sustainability. These will be outlined in the case study.
4.1. The British Fashion Council
The British Fashion Council (BFC) is a not-for-profit organization mobilizing the “collective power of the industry to enable sustainable growth and strengthen British fashion in the global fashion economy” ("British Fashion Council - About", n.d.). The UK is one of the most dominant countries in fashion with their London Fashion Week (LFW) events. LFW is organized by the BFC and is part of the top four Fashion Weeks globally, next to Paris, Milan, and New York (Kim, 2015). With 78% of LFW attendees using social media during the event, and the fact that LFW is streamed online in 190 different countries (British Fashion Council, 2014), the event has an immense global reach. The BFC’s principal strategy is to bind the power of the fashion industry in order to enable sustainable growth and the organization is “dedicated to supporting British fashion, helping designers to innovate and commercialize their creativity” ("British Fashion Council - About", n.d.). On top of
organizing events and promoting initiatives, the BFC provides apprenticeships, mentoring, contract opportunities for suppliers, and showrooms to aspiring designers.
4.2. The Rise and Fall of Estethica
The BFC, through their LFW events and various initiatives, has started addressing
sustainability concerns. In 2011, LFW became the pioneer of promoting sustainable fashion through a large-scale event, as they held the first sustainable runway show ever (British Fashion Council, 2010). Since 2011, the BFC has continuously been promoting sustainability and eco-friendly fashion initiatives, mainly through Estethica. Then, Estethica was the largest eco-fashion event in the UK and was organized by the BFC as part of LFW (Kim, 2015). Estethica was founded in 2006, and consists of four key criteria for the admission of brands and designers: fair trade, ethical trading, recyclable textiles, and organic biodegradable textiles (British Fashion Council, 2014). Fair trade is a market-based approach to help producers of goods trade equitably, while ethical trading improves the work conditions and
environments of producers making or growing consumer goods globally (Kim, 2015). Recyclable and organic biodegradable textiles reduce the harm they expose to the environment at each stage of their life cycle (Kim, 2015).
As a joint venture between the government and designers, Estethica allowed the UK
Department for the Environment, Food & Rural Affairs to capitalize upon the luxury-fashion event to launch the Sustainable Clothing Action Plan (SCAP) (Carrigan et al., 2013). The goal of SCAP was to reduce the effect of harmful practices in the fashion industry, mainly through reducing the tons of clothing sent to landfill every year. In addition to these initiatives, the BFC, partnered with START, an initiative by The Prince’s Charities Foundation to launch its first show through Estethica (British Fashion Council, 2010). Esthetica featured established luxury brands, as well as newer, sustainable designers to promote sustainable choices. The show emphasized how designers over a wide spectrum - from luxury to emerging brands - are incorporating sustainable practices into their products and processes (Carrigan et al., 2013). These various initiatives suggest how fashion can go hand-in-hand with ethical retail practices (Fox, 2009). Carrigan, Moraes & McEachern (2013) argue “due to the diverse nature of such groups, a lack of coordinated efforts, and the
subsequent ‘nudge’-type government appeals, the efforts of many of [the above-mentioned groups and initiatives] have not as yet convinced the majority of luxury-fashion brand owners to embrace their social responsibility” (p.1279).
4.3. Positive Fashion
The issues which arise with such initiatives, including the diverse nature of the groups and lack of coordination, is further emphasized with the recent rebranding of Estethica, which is now under the initiative of Positive Fashion. Positive Fashion is a new initiative by the BFC, established initially in 2013 (although Estethica was in effect during LFW up until 2014), which is a platform created to exemplify industry best practice and to encourage valuable business decisions, which lead to positive change ("British Fashion Council - Positive Fashion", n.d.). In 2020 the BFC continues to emphasize its Positive Fashion initiative in order to promote their mission. According to the BFC, the Positive Fashion initiative is built on three strategic pillars; the environment, people, and community and craftsmanship. The first pillar, environment, emphasizes environmental and business governance in order to drive a more sustainable future in the fashion industry. The second pillar, people, focuses on
representing the people, including designers, product makers, students and models who create and develop the brands. The final pillar is community and craftsmanship which encourages the talent, skills, and craftsmanship which make up the unique fashion industry, by having a positive impact on local communities ("British Fashion Council - Positive Fashion", n.d.). There exist numerous different criteria through which the BFC grants designers and brands their Positive Fashion logo. These criteria revolve around the three main pillars. Under the
environment aspect, there exist four different criteria including: protecting the environment (energy and water efficiency, chemical management, and pollution reduction); recycling and waste, environmentally friendly materials, and ‘animal friendly’. Under the people aspect, the criteria include: decent working conditions, diverse workforce representation, fair trade, and ethical sourcing and supply chain management. Finally, within the community aspect, the criteria include: supporting traditional skills, British made, and community or charity commitment (British Fashion Council, n.d.).
Although the initiatives help in the promotion of sustainable and ethical business practices in the fashion industry, a problem still remains. Fashion Week in itself is simply not sustainable (Paton, 2020). Zero to Market, jointly with Ordre.com and the Carbon Trust has put into perspective the carbon emissions and ‘carbon cost’ of the buying process of fashion season; this includes the fashion buyers for department stores and boutiques who travel
internationally, choosing items from runway shows and showrooms for their stores, in addition to all the designers and brands who transport their collections from studios, to displays, to their shops (Paton, 2020). It takes around six months of travel per year for buyers and brands to be able to attend the four main Fashion Weeks during each season (London, Paris, Milan and New York), and additional trade shows around the world, resulting in around 241,000 tons of CO2 emissions a year- equivalent to the annual emissions of a small country (Paton, 2020). Moreover, attendees get chauffeured around in different cars; leave around significant waste in the forms of disposable water bottles and gift-bags; fashion sets get built, then torn down, and landfilled after a quick show, exemplifying the simply wasteful impacts of Fashion Week (Wicker, 2020).
So how is it that an organization, which aims to promote sustainability and ethical business practices in the fashion industry, does so through such inherently wasteful fashion events? Such controversy became further illuminated in 2019 when the climate campaign group Extinction Rebellion executed a “die-in” outside of LFW’s Central London location showcasing how “business as usual” for the fashion industry is creating a severe harmful impact on the environment and life on earth (Cartner-Morley, 2019). Unfortunately, Fashion Week and all the environmental costs associated with yearly travels in the fashion industry are just the tip of the iceberg. Areas like manufacturing, logistics and clothing waste contribute significantly more to the climate crisis (Shannon, 2018).
Chapter 5. Case Study Analysis
Positive Fashion was certainly not the first significant initiative established by the BFC. Since the establishment of the organization, countless influential initiatives have been created to assert the importance of the industry and to accentuate the positive changes it may incite. These notable practices derive from to the internal organization of the BFC. After coding the secondary data from the articles, five key themes emerged regarding the internal organization of the BFC. Some of these concepts are comparable to those which make up the
sustainability-driven organization presented in Section 2.4.
5.1 The Evolving Organization and Responsiveness
One of the main themes discovered, include the organization’s responsiveness to relevant social and environmental demands. Preceding the Positive Fashion initiative, the BFC founded its Contemporary Scheme in 2014, with the main goal of focusing designers on contemporary fashion, due to increasing global demand for this type of product (Marriott, 2014).
“We pride ourselves on young creatives showing extravagant catwalk collections, and they are brilliant, but some designers want to dress more people and to do it more quickly.” (Sophie McElligot, 2014, in Marriott, 2014).
The aim was to shift young designers’ focus from creating a couple of extensive pieces for the catwalk, towards creating more consumer-accessible brands, available as part of the higher-end, high street market segment. The BFC knew that consumer demand was concentrated on fast and accessible clothing. Therefore, the organization was aiming to educate young designers on how to become successful in the industry, from a more
business-oriented view, rather than merely focusing on the artistic processes of fashion and garment making.
In 2014, the mission of the BFC was centered on education and strengthening of British fashion on a global scale (Marriott, 2014). Educating designers about the business
environment was a main priority for the organization. It may be noted that in 2014 the BFC had a different approach towards the means in which it was helping young designers, compared to their current (2020) approach. Today, part of the BFC’s main organizational goals is to promote sustainability and positive change, as its mission is to “harness the
collective power of the industry to enable sustainable growth and strengthen British fashion in the global fashion economy” (British Fashion Council, n.d.). It is no longer fundamental to “dress more people and do it more quickly”, as in most cases this would not prove to be a sustainable industry practice. Although the BFC is strongly goal oriented in its practices, and
places strong emphasis on its vision for positive initiatives, certain shifts in attitude and mission have taken place since the beginning of 2014, which are representative of how the organization is constantly evolving and responding to their stakeholders’ demands - including its external social and environmental groups.
5.2 Dynamism and the Inclusion of Sustainability in Organizational Strategy
Another theme that emerged was the dynamic nature of the organization in regards to accessibility towards sustainability education and the promotion of sustainable business practices, as part of their internal strategy. Caroline Rush, chief executive of the BFC, in a 2014 interview, stated that the BFC is composed of five strategic pillars.
“ ...we set out five strategic pillars each assigned with a president to cover business, reputation, education, innovation and investment in the UK's fashion industry. We have been working across these pillars to really push British fashion in the global economy” (Caroline Rush, 2014, in O’Connor, 2014)
One of the main strategies of the BFC is to promote education and training in the fashion industry, in addition to encouraging and building relationships between the fashion industry and the world of business; this also includes the strengthening of fashion graduates’
awareness about the operational side of fashion such as production, and further managerial facets (O’Connor, 2014). The aspects that were said to differentiate and make the BFC unique in 2014 were focused on the type of talent the UK has to offer and the empowerment of unique designers (O’Connor, 2014).
“The UK is an enduring, concentrated centre for talented and creative people and has a magnetic ability to draw creativity from all quarters of society” (Caroline Rush, 2014, in O’Connor, 2014).
Today, the BFC still aims to empower new talent and educate (British Fashion Council, n.d.), so certain founding principles and strategic pillars of the organization have remained the same. However, a significant shift in strategy has taken place within the organization over the past six years. Since the BFC established a Positive Fashion strategy, it implement three novel strategic pillars into their inter-organizational structure. The pillars include: compliance, corporate social responsibility and consumer engagement (British Fashion Council, 2014). As CSR and compliance are part of the BFC’s internal strategy, the
organization’s strategy is more focused on promoting CSR and ESG practices. Education has always been one of the main goals and founding pillars of the BFC, although now there is a much larger focus on CSR, ESG and sustainability, and educating others about these
practices. As illustrated, partly through the development of its internal strategy, the BFC is a dynamic organization in regards to constant social and environmental changes in industry demands and practices.
5.3 Identity Leading to Value Creation for all of Society
The identity of the organization may be partially outlined through a recent LFW, which took place in February 2020. Due to the impacts of the climate crisis, LFW - organized by the BFC - initiated its first ever ‘swap shop’. The practice of clothes swapping has gained attention recently, as consumers increasingly wish to dress sustainably for lower costs. However, clothes swapping has never received such high-profile, highly visible, approval from the fashion industry, until it was implemented in LFW in February (Marriott, 2020).
The swap shop’s primary aim is to promote the ‘sharing economy’, which consumers and industry actors believe could assist the fashion industry in reducing its carbon footprint in the long run (Marriott, 2020). This would prove a significant step for the fashion industry, especially as its wasteful practices impact populations on a global scale. A LFW organizer commented that it is one of the organization’s goals to “educate people about the process
behind their clothes. If people knew what they were buying, like they do with food, it would be very different” (Patrick Duffy, 2020, in Marriott, 2020). Such initiatives by the BFC bring
novelty to the industry in a positive way. As part of the BFC’s mission is to educate, even smaller initiatives, such as launching the first swap shop at LFW, bring about awareness to certain industry malpractices. Through these public educational initiatives, the organization’s identity becomes one of promoting sustainable practices at all scales, and therefore creates value not only for themselves, but for society in general.
5.4 Transparency
Another notable practice that the BFC performs is their ability to directly address modern day issues and societal changes in a straightforward manner, illustrating the transparency of the organization. For instance, BFC has a comprehensive list to keep in mind in addition to advice for how to prepare a business in case of a No Deal Brexit ("British Fashion Council - Brexit", n.d.). The recommended preparation includes advice on trade, contracts,
immigration, intellectual property and financial planning and management. The organization also addresses prevalent issues, such as climate change through various initiatives such as Positive Fashion and the LFW swap shop, among various others. The BFC is not afraid to directly address these issues and changes in a transparent manner, as tackling social issues and undertaking social change is part of the organization’s identity.
A significant recent event which the organization has remarkably attended to is the
COVID-19 pandemic. Due to the pandemic, LFW will now take place online and will merge women’s and menswear for the event (Elan, 2020). The BFC noted that the digital-only LFW will include designer diaries, webinars, digital showrooms, interviews and podcasts, which will be made available to the public as well as retailers (Whiteman, 2020). The reach of the
event will be more inclusive than in the past - as it is accessible to everyone online - and will provide designers more flexibility and means for reflecting on the event's (LFW’s) role as a platform for the city's influence on society, identity and culture (Whiteman, 2020). In regards to this year’s digital version of LFW, Caroline Rush noted that by creating such a cultural platform, the organization is “adapting digital innovation to best fit [its] needs today and
enacting something to build on as a global showcase for the future” (Caroline Rush, 2020, in
Elan, 2020). The organization also hopes that “the other side of this crisis,… will be about
sustainability, creativity and product that you value, respect, cherish.” (Caroline Rush, 2020,
in Elan, 2020) and that personal perspectives on this pandemic will bring about a significant amount of inspiration, as this is what British fashion is known for (Whiteman, 2020).
The BFC not only responds to the current pandemic in an innovative manner, but attempts to redirect fashion industry participants’ roles and focus towards sustainability and the creation of positive change in the future. Especially with all the controversy around the harmfulness of LFW, digitalizing the event is a huge step in a more sustainable direction, and could prove as a leading initiative for other Fashion Week events. Caroline Rush argues that the current pandemic will lead us to reflect more on our society and how we wish to lead our businesses in the future (Whiteman, 2020). The approach of looking towards future business practices in positive way is representative of the transparency of the organization. The BFC indirectly accepts that not all industry practices are aligned with its own mission, yet promotes positive stepping stones through which other actors in the fashion industry may operate to mediate harmful practices; ultimately deeming them a transparent organization. The BFC’s emphasis on transparency and embodiment of a missionary identity - of starting a firm to advance a greater cause and to encourage responsible action (Alsos et al., 2015) - are all ultimately embedded in the organization’s internal strategy.
5.5 Associations with Strictly Sustainability-Based Brands
The final theme which contributes to the case study is the BFC’s association with brands and designers as part of Positive Fashion. In order to be a part of Positive Fashion, designers are to strictly embody all strategic pillars (environment, people, community and craftsmanship) the initiative is built on. For instance, one of the designers, Hanna Fiedler, who is part of the BFC’s Positive Fashion initiative, works only with natural fibers and keeps all her production local, supporting the preservation of skills and traditional techniques (Cifre, 2019), touching upon the ‘community and craftsmanship’ pillar.
From the designer’s perspective, the sustainable approach and perspective on operations, relating to the ‘environment’ aspect of the pillars.
“comes through the way [they] design as well, reducing the amount of waste [created]
and being mindful in everyday choices...as sustainability [is] an ongoing journey of improvement” (Hanna Fiedler, 2019, in Cifre, 2019).
Additionally, the designer has also launched an initiative which combines designs with stories of inspirational women, each with a unique body, personality, and story (Cifre, 2019), which contributes to the ‘people’ aspect of the three pillars.
Similarly, designers Vin+Omi - who have participated in LFW’s Positive Fashion shows, have an approach to their design, production and brand which is based on social and environmental issues. In total they have initiated 23 social projects for their material and textile creation, including river and ocean cleanup projects ("SOCIAL IMPACT -
VINANDOMIECO", n.d.). For instance, in 2018, their fashion show included designs made out of natural materials to create eco-fabrics, in addition to fabrics manufactured from cans collected by homeless people, as part of a support program in Birmingham (Conlon, 2018).
“It’s not about us [the designers]. It’s about the process” (Vin, 2018, in Conclon,
2018)
Such admirable processes incorporate all pillars of the Positive Fashion initiative. Part of the BFC’s strategy, when associating with other brands and designers to promote its Positive Fashion initiative, is to truly takes all aspects of the pillars into consideration. This way the BFC can be assured that those representing the organization, through the Positive Fashion initiative, have the same values as them regarding social, environmental and
sustainability-related issues and practices.
Chapter 6. Discussion
In order to address the research question, five key points emerged as a response to how the BFC is organizing internally to promote sustainability awareness and develop ESG practices. As a result of the case study analysis, the researcher has developed a comprehensive model which represents the key aspects of how the organization integrates sustainable business practices into their business model. The model is based on the BFC and is an updated version of Figure 1. As a result of the investigation, the model includes the characteristics of a
sustainable organization. The new framework may be used to outline the similarities and differences the BFC has with the framework discussed in Section 2.4, presenting the characteristics of a sustainable organization.
The BFC is the base of the model. As for the rest of the model, there are five main aspects of promoting CSR and ESG practices and becoming a sustainable organization: responsiveness, dynamism, value creation for all of society, transparency, and associations.
1. Responsiveness, where the organization is acting in coordination with current social and environmental demands. The organization is continually addressing and
responding to these demands. The organization is also goal oriented and bases their internal goals and mission on their social and environmental setting, in order to improve, address, and raise awareness to prevailing challenges and issues. It is possible that over time the organization’s mission changes and its goals shift, as a result of novel and more current demands. In this case the organization may gain a new social purpose.
2. Dynamism, which attends to internal strategy. Sustainability is one of the foundations of the organization’s internal strategy and aims to promote and educate others about CSR and ESG practices. The organization includes the concept of sustainability in each business decision, no matter the scale and impact of the decision. The
organization also aims to educate other industry actors and individuals about the impacts of sustainable practices.
3. Value creation for all of society. This takes place when the organization creates value not only for itself and its partners but for all of society, including those who are not actively involved with the organization. This may be done through developing innovative industry practices - which, for instance, benefit the environment or a certain community - and creating novel initiatives which contribute to the identity of the organization. The organization identifies as one who creates value for all of its stakeholders.
4. Transparency, where the organization addresses prevalent social and environmental issues in a straightforward manner. This includes the organization’s proposed goals towards mitigating such issues and its role in tackling them. All stakeholders should have a clear vision of how the organization is addressing current social and
environmental challenges.
5. Associations. The organization has to pay strict attention to those external actors it chooses to partner with. External actors should have aligned strategic objectives with the organization in regards to CSR and ESG matters, and share the same values regarding sustainable practices.
Key differences were found between the BFC and the general sustainable organization - as discussed in section 2.4 of the conceptual framework. One of the main differences is
regarding ‘the long-term aspect’ of the conceptual framework. As mentioned in section 2.4, a characteristic of a sustainable organization is its intention to look at the long-term
implications of their business practices and actions. Regarding the BFC there is little mention of long-term implications. The organization is rather focused on addressing current and pressing environmental and social issues, as opposed to placing emphasis on sustainable development. Although the BFC is goal oriented, it emphasizes responsiveness and current development, rather than specific long-term performance.
Additionally, a key difference may be outlined through the importance the BFC places on associations compared to other sustainable organizations. This aspect may be explained by the fact that for the BFC, which hosts large scale events multiple times a year, associations with other companies, brands and individuals are clearly significant and consistently relevant. Whereas for a firm which sells a specific type of consumer good, for instance, direct
associations make up a less essential part of their business model.
Furthermore, the BFC also places importance on educating others about CSR and ESG practices, in addition to embodying them as an organization. Although the characteristics of a sustainable organization includes embodying these practices, the BFC takes this one step further and actively promotes these practices and actions to all external actors.
On the other hand, aspects such as ethics, transparency, and value creation for society are equally emphasized by the BFC as with other sustainable organizations. The comprehensive model represents the aspects that an organization may place their focus on in order to become more environmentally and socially conscious - promoting sustainability and ESG practices. By utilizing this framework an organization may integrate sustainable business practices internally into their business model.
Chapter 7. Conclusions
The BFC organizes internally in various different ways to promote sustainability awareness and develop ESG practices. In order to address the research question, five key aspects emerged as a response to how the BFC is organizing internally to promote sustainable practices. These include: responsiveness, dynamism, value creation for all of society, transparency, and the nature of its associations.
Although the BFC has stuck to its initial core values and mission, some internal aspects of the organization have changed over time. The most significant change which has occurred is a more in depth focus on sustainability within the organization, in addition to further promoting sustainability externally. The organization is continually developing new initiatives, practices and educational programs in order to change the way in which the fashion industry operates. The BFC is implementing CSR and ESG practices internally in numerous ways in order to make sure that every aspect of the organization is integrated with special attention and care towards social and environmental factors, and sustainability in general.
However, several controversies still remain surrounding the wasteful impacts of London Fashion Week - among other Fashion Weeks - the BFC tackles this issue through various significant means which lead to positive changes in industry practices. This summer, LFW is going to be presented in a completely digital format, for viewers to watch online, so we are yet to see the extent of its positive impacts on the environment. Naturally, one online Fashion Week will not change the entire industry’s attitude towards CSR and ESG practices, although it is a step in the right direction from the BFC, which will hopefully inspire other industry actors to follow or contribute to the promotion of sustainability awareness and ESG business practices, in one way or another.
7.1. Contributions, or how to integrate sustainable practices into an organization
As a result of this research, the study concluded that there are various ways organizations can integrate CSR and ESG practices internally. The case study has contributed to research in the cultural and creative industries as limited research, focused specifically on the British Fashion Council, exist. Studies have been conducted about London Fashion Week and older BFC initiatives, such as Estethica, yet these do not encapsulate the BFC fully on its mission of a more sustainable future. As a result, the research proposes a novel and organized framework (Figure 2.) for organizations in the fashion industry on how they may integrate sustainable business practices internally into their organization. As a contribution to research, the study organizes all of these aspects into one clear and integrated model, which has not been presented before in previous research.
The research concludes that there are five aspects of promoting CSR and ESG practices and becoming a sustainable organization.
1. Responsiveness, which includes acting on current environmental and social demands, and including these into the mission and goals of the organization.
2. Dynamism, where sustainability should be a significant part of the organization’s internal strategy and should aim to promote and educate others about CSR and ESG practices.
3. Transparency, as the organization should address prevalent social and environmental issues in a straightforward manner, including its goals towards mitigating such issues and its role in tackling them.
4. Associations, as the organization should partner and associate with other parties only when both share the same values and an aligned strategy regarding sustainability. 5. Finally, the organization should embody an identity in which they create value for all
of society through its practices - benefiting all of its stakeholders.
7.2. Limitations
As a not-for-profit organization, the BFC is a complex actor in the British fashion industry. It is a constantly evolving organization with dozens of novel initiatives leading positive change in the industry. If the research were to be conducted again, I would suggest acquiring some primary data from those involved in the organization. This would mainly include interviews with executives working at the BFC. Secondary interviews with Caroline Rush, the chief executive of the BFC were employed for this research, although more insight could have been provided from a personal interview with her and with others working within the organization. Unfortunately, I did not have this opportunity and access to such information. Moreover, personal interviews would have facilitated more in-depth insight into the BFC internally, as they could have perhaps provided an accurate representation the moods and tones of the employees when speaking about the organization, in addition to the dynamics between employees of the organization. Furthermore, ethnographic research may be an interesting approach to take for a case study on an organization, as this would provide further insight into internal processes. Of course, the investigation had a time constraint, and this form of
research was out of scope for this paper.
7.3. Recommendations
Further research should be conducted on how organizations in the fashion industry may implement sustainable practices into their business models, as theoretical framework is lacking on this topic and current research is rather focused on the wasteful practices of the industry - such as the damaging impacts of fast fashion and harm-chain analysis. More investigation on this topic is necessary in order to come up with an all-encompassing framework on how organizations in the creative and cultural industries may organize internally to promote sustainability, CSR, and ESG. Although this research provides insight on the BFC, extensive research on the organization is also lacking. For future research it would be interesting to explore how the organization progresses, especially after the novel online London Fashion Week event. The case study on the British Fashion Council provided notable insights, however, considerable changes are taking place currently, which would provide a basis for compelling future research.
7.4. Lessons Learned
During the research process I discovered more about the intricacies of CSR and ESG business practices. The implementation of these theories and the promotion of sustainability is a
complicated process to operationalize in every aspect of a business, as it is more than following a couple of theories or recommendations - which I am very aware of now, after conducting the research. An organization has to genuinely care about its social, political and environmental impacts and strive to mitigate issues, which arise due to social and
environmental neglect, in order to create value for not only themselves, but preferably all other stakeholders. Through such actions an organization may impactfully promote sustainable practices and educate others about them; as taking initiative and educating are equally as important in the long term as practicing sustainability. I have also become more aware and better educated about the concept and practices behind sustainable action and have learned how investigations in this field are conducted.
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