Sustainability in the fashion supply chain in a fast fashion era : an exploratory multiple case study research

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Avital Kuperman

Supervisor: dhr. R. Bohnsack

Master thesis Business Studies – International Management University of Amsterdam, 22-03-2014

Sustainability in the fashion supply chain in a fast fashion era: An

exploratory multiple case study research

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Acknowledgements

I would sincerely like to thank my supervisor Dr. René Bohnsack. His constructive feedback, motivation and patience helped me to discover a new field of interest and brought me in the right direction to finish this thesis.

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2 Abstract

In recent academic literature, sustainability issues and fast fashion concepts are growing more prominent. Large fashion retailers are dominated by fast fashion principles, which implies they are captured by the shift from a product-driven strategy towards a fully low-cost and demand-driven strategy. Fast fashion affects the traditional way of supply chain

management and challenges sustainable development in the industry by its environmental and social impacts. The objective of this study is to address the shift towards a fully low-cost and demand-driven strategy and how it affects sustainability in the fashion industry. This study provides a multiple-case study analysis. By coding and analyzing newspaper articles and company sources, constructs of trade-offs are formed between on the one hand being

responsive to market and keeping the low by pursuing a fast fashion system - and on the other hand integrating responsible practices. The results illustrate that companies that are

dominated by fast fashion principles incremental improve their responsible practices. Environmental responsible practices are performed by ‘greening’ their supply chain by the use of more sustainable materials, aims towards waste reduction of production processes and by the involvement of consumers, suppliers and stakeholders such as NGOs and non-profit organizations. Social responsible practices are performed by pursuing minimum requirements of wages, health and safety of workers in factories of suppliers. These social responsible practices are enforced by the companies’ code of conduct. After involvement in ethical issues in the light of low-cost production, companies that are dominated by fast fashion principles exceed the minimum requirements and reassess the social responsible practices to mend reputation and maintain low-costs production.

Key words: sustainability, fast fashion, supply chain management, sustainable development, responsible practices

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competition, the industry requires companies to be flexible and responsive while keeping the costs low. The integration of a fast fashion system is a strategy to achieve and maintain low costs and market responsiveness and implies offering regularly clothing to the mass that are affordable, while simultaneously capturing the latest trends (Bhardwaj & Fairhurst, 2010; Mihm, 2010). Besides, it is imperative to deliver the products with speed to the market in order to capture the greatest valuation of customers as possible (Cachon & Swinney, 2011). Scholars made attempts to conceptualize fast fashion and its implications on the market (Bhardwaj & Fairhurst, 2010; Cachon & Swinney, 2011; Ghemawat & Nueno 2006; Tokatli, 2008). One of the identified affect is that the pressure for lower cost and being responsive, challenges the efforts of becoming a more sustainable industry (Hansen & Schaltegger, 2013, Kozlowski, Bardecki & Searcy, 2012). Sustainability is conceptualized in academic literature by the sustainable development framework, which acknowledges three main pillars:

environment, social and economy (De Brito et al., 2008; Hockerts & Wüstenhagen, 2010). This thesis aims to further research the fast fashion concept and how it affects sustainability in the industry, which is characterized by complex supply chains. This implicate garments undergo different phases at different companies before they are ready to be sold in stores.

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6 There is a stream of academic literature that addresses sustainability in the fashion industry linked to supply chain management (Caniato, Caridi, Crippa & Moretto, 2012; De Brito, Carbone, & Blanquart, 2008). In order to conduct a study how fast fashion principles affect sustainability in the industry, the concept of fast fashion is linked to sustainability and supply chain management theory. Furthermore, academic literature recognizes that sustainability and supply chain management theory are increasingly aligned (Ashby et al., 2012; Caniato et al., 2012; De Brito et al., 2008; Seuring & Müller, 2008). Companies in the fashion industry are dependent on the practices of their suppliers in order to attain sustainable development through its entire supply chain. If a company does not own its factory, then it is dependent on external parties. Tight relationships with suppliers are likely to be necessary in order to attain sustainability. Moreover, production processes are regularly outsourced to lower-wage countries. Outsourcing of these processes are frequently associated with environmental and social issues during the last two decades. In order to achieve sustainability, focal companies have to consider managing it through their entire supply chain, including outsourced

production processes. Focal companies are namely held responsible if their suppliers perform unsustainable practices (Seuring & Müller, 2008). This is why this study considers both the conceptualization of fast fashion and how it affects sustainability throughout the fashion supply chain.

The ultimate aim is to develop new interpretations of the trade-off between on the one hand being responsive to the market and maintaining low-costs by implementing a fast fashion system. While on the other hand, handling the associations with environmental and social impacts by integrating responsible practices. The research question is therefore: How does the recent shift from a product-driven strategy towards a fully low-cost demand-driven strategy affect sustainability in the fashion supply chain?

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7 By reviewing prior research, a theoretical framework is derived that constructs the core

principles of fast fashion and its affect on sustainability in the different phases of the fashion supply chain. From this theoretical framework, propositions are derived and tested by a multiple case-study analysis. The findings construct new interpretations of trade-offs between on the one hand being responsive to the market and maintaining low-costs by implementing a fast fashion system. While on the other hand, handling the associations with environmental and social impacts by integrating responsible practices. Furthermore, the discussion section interprets the findings and suggests what possibilities are for future research.

2. Case background: Sustainability in the fashion industry

This chapter addresses how sustainability in the fashion industry has evolved over time and which issues triggered awareness for more sustainability in the industry. In the globalized industry, production processes of large fashion companies are regularly outsourced to lower-wage countries. Therefore, fashion companies commonly have suppliers dispersed

internationally. However, the focal company is being held responsible for the sustainability performance of its suppliers and is being pressured to consider sustainability issues in its entire supply chain (Seuring & Müller, 2008). Secondly, this chapter also argues why

sustainability in the fashion supply chain is still topical nowadays in the academic literature.

The fashion industry faces challenges for more than two decades regarding sustainability. A contributing development in the 1990s is that companies outsourced parts of their production processes to lower-wage countries. This development was a force of the globalization of the industry. Relocation of production processes to lower-wage countries has resulted in

companies conforming to local institutions, which for instance, have other regulations

regarding environmental and social issues (Allwood, Laursen, De Rodríguez, & Bocken, 2006; Kozlowski et al., 2012). Numerous numbers of apparel brands have outsourced their

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8 production processes to lower-wage countries, and have been accused of being unsustainable in their production processes. For instance, if there were unethical working conditions discovered in the factories, which implied disrespect for workers’ rights, or if the company was accused of having negative environmental impacts.

Figure 1: Timeline sustainability in the fashion industry

Source: Author

Sweatshop labor is a growing phenomenon that does not respect the rights of workers. This is related to the social pillar of sustainability and encompasses ignorance of safety conditions, underpayments and child labor. Nike, Levi’s, Benetton, Adidas and C&A are all blamed in the 1990s for sweatshop labor because of the discovery of inhumane working conditions in their factories (Caniato, Caridi, Crippa, & Moretto, 2012). Sweatshop labor created awareness for ethical production (De Brito, Carbona & Blanquart, 2008). More specifically, companies are pressured to give more attention to ethical corporate behavior after these scandals. Also this attention encouraged the industry to reassess and introduce sustainability practices such as: codes of conduct or sourcing policies (Kozlowski et al., 2012). The direction towards this attitude with awareness is termed as corporate social responsibility (CSR).

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9 Along with the pressure for more ethical behavior caused by the sweatshop scandals the first green movement in the 1990s for more sustainability in the fashion industry came forth (Kozlowski et al., 2012). However, the green movement from this decade is heavily criticized because there was no perceived match between the offered qualities and premium prices. Companies were accused of ‘greenwashing’ their image by using green labels and symbols, but without actual contribution to sustainable development.

In the 2000s a second green movement came up, which characterized a broader trend integral to sustainability in the fashion industry (Kozlowski et al., 2012). This movement can be defined as a more offensive way of incorporating sustainability instead of a defensive way (Friedman, 2010). In this stream, instead of preventing stakeholders of the industry to make an argument, the attitude of companies shifted towards more acknowledging their impacts and the requirement of a more sustainable supply chain design. This broader trend goes hand-in-hand with the increasing awareness of sustainability by the media, public, government, and the rising sales of organic cotton (Rieple & Singh, 2010).In line with this broader eco-fashion stream that has started in the 2000s, retailers and producers are using more organically grown fibers for textile production. Organic cotton is the most extreme case of more sustainable cotton. Retailers like Nike, Marks & Spencer, CO-OP, Timberland, Wal-Mart, C&A, H&M, Target and Next are engaging in producing more organically grown fibers (De Brito et al., 2008).

Sustainability throughout the entire supply chain of the focal company is in the 2010s still topical. The collapse in 2013 of the Rana Plaza factory in Bangladesh captured great attention by the public and caused pressure for more sustainability as the factory was a supplier for Western brands. It caused pressure for improvement of labor conditions in factories in lower-wage countries and raised again the attention for sustainability throughout the entire supply chain. The Rana Plaza disaster is the largest of its kind in the garment industry with more than

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10 1200 deaths and is explained by stakeholders of the industry as a result of keeping the prices low by retailers (Sullivan, 2013). The disaster raised again questions about social concerns of demand-driven fashion companies that are high focused on keeping the prices low.

1990-2000 2000-2013

Outsourcing production processes lower-wage countries

Upcoming fast fashion systems Sweatshop labor scandals factories suppliers

lower-cost countries

Collapses and fires factories suppliers in the light of low-costs mass production

Introduction sourcing policies, CSR and code of conduct

Pressure for more sustainability throughout the supply chain

First ‘green’ movement: defensive Second ‘green’ movement: offensive Firms accused of ‘greenwashing’ Growth production and sales organic cotton

Table 1: Overview two phases of main sustainability issues and practices

Source: Allwood et al., 2006; Caniato et al., 2012; De Brito et al., 2008; Friedman, 2010; Kozlowski et al., 2012; Rieple & Singh, 2010; Sullivan, 2013

3. Theoretical background

In this chapter first academic literature is discussed that considers conceptualizing fast fashion, its drivers and the affects on the fashion industry. Secondly, prior research of sustainability and supply chain management is discussed. The abovementioned concepts further explain the complex supply chains that characterize the fashion industry. Sustainability issues in the fashion industry are commonly related to specific phases of the supply chain. In particular the production process which are regularly outsourced to lower-wage countries. Retailers are largely dependent on external suppliers in their supply chain and also held responsible for the possible unsustainable practices of their suppliers. In the academic literature, the link between sustainable development and supply chain management is termed as sustainable supply chain management.

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11 Following prior research, this study draws on the conceptualization of fast fashion,

sustainability, and supply chain theory in order to construct new interpretations of the trade-off between on the one hand being responsive to the market and maintaining low-costs by implementing a fast fashion system. While on the other hand, handling the associations with environmental and social impacts by integrating responsible practices.

3.1 The forces that evolved the fashion industry

There was a prevailing thought in the 1980s that fashion expertise was only possessed by employees of fashion companies in the US and Europe (Tokatli, 2008). In particular

supposedly companies in London, New York, Paris and Milan were perceived as the locations with expertise and flexible design capabilities for high-end fashion items (Tokatli, 2008).

Since the 1990s the organization of the fashion industry changed and it became a global industry. Lower-wage suppliers outside the US and Europe became more competent and attractive. To gain cost advantages, companies off-shored their production to lower-wage countries. For instance, markets and locations in BRIC countries became more attractive for manufacturing sites (Tokatli, 2008). A second force behind the globalization of the industry, is the change in legislation, which eased global trade: ‘Global trade in apparel and eased legislation, caused by a renegotiation of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing Act in 2005, which resulted in a re-movement of quota restrictions for all apparel and textile imports’ (Mihm, 2010 p. 55).

A second development since the 1990s is the replacement of mass production by smaller production. This change was caused by the greater consciousness of consumers about personal styles, which resulted in a change of the standardization strategy (Bhardwaj & Fairhurst, 2010). Traditionally fashion clothing is produced for a whole season based on predictions of consumer demand and trends. Instead of a standardized style for the whole

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12 season, retailers became more responsive on the new fashion trends. This has led to more frequent updates of products and more seasons per year.

3.2 The concept of fast fashion

Over the past decade academic literature is established that conceptualizes fast fashion and its impact on the market (Bhardwaj & Fairhust, 2010; Bruce & Daly, 2006; Cachon & Swinney, 2011; Ghemawat & Nueno, 2006; Tokatli, 2008). Scholars have considered Zara, as the fast fashion pioneer (Ghemawat & Nueno, 2006; Tokatli, 2008). Other scholars consider both Zara and H&M as the pioneers of fast fashion (Mihm, 2010). In this section, the core principles of the fast fashion concept are identified and discussed.

By the end of 1990s and beginning of 2000s, the competition between large fashions retailers became more vigorous. Being responsive became a core element of the strategy in order to keep up with the competition. ‘In order to be profitable in the industry, fashion apparel retailers were required to take the ‘speed to market’ approach to capitalize on fashion that is not in the stores of their competitors’ (Bhardwaj & Fairhurst, 2010, p.168). Fashion retailers that pursue ‘speed to the market’ are also aiming to capture consumer preferences in their products. Delivering trendy products that incorporates consumers’ preferences with speed to the market can be defined, according to Cachon and Swinney (2011) as the market

responsiveness approach. This is the first core principle of a fast fashion system, where ‘fast’ literally refers to delivering with speed to the market.

In addition of being responsive to the market, the aim of a fast fashion system is to match demand and supply as precise as possible. This implies reducing surpluses of stock and risk of the traditional forecasting approach (Birtwistle, Fiorito & Moore, 2006). The aim towards more accurate matching of demand is based on the collection of real-time data. Matching of

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13 demand and supply leads to an increasing number of seasons per year with deliveries in

smaller batches (Tokatli, 2008), which is the second identified core principle fast fashion. This can be explained by the argument that frequent re-stocks in limited amounts motivates the consumer to buy the product before it is not available anymore (Mihm, 2010). This results in more valuation by the consumer, because the product captures its preferences and it is less likely that the consumer will wait for the purchase if there is a chance that the product might be sold out later (Cachon & Swinney, 2011). As a consequence of higher valuations by the consumer, fast fashion retailers are able to achieve higher net margins on the sales of its products (Tokatli, 2008). The approach to match demand and supply as precise as possible and reduce surpluses of stock, is by the implementation of a quick response (QR) system (Cachon & Swinney, 2011). A QR system ensures that the production of styles, colors, sizes and quantities runs in response to sales of the stores (Şen, 2008). By collecting real-time data collected by technology systems, the data are used to analyze the preferences of the

consumers.

As well as being responsive, the industry requires that the cost are kept low, in order to maintain a competitive edge over other fashion retailers. As previously mentioned, fast fashion implies deliveries in smaller batches. However, at the same time these deliveries are made available to the mass with affordable prices. This leads to the third core principle of a fast fashion system, namely a cost-focused design of the supply chain (Bhardwaj & Fairhurst, 2010; Bruce & Daly, 2006; Mihm, 2010). ‘The supply chain design has implications on the distribution of value-added activities along the chain and the nature of the power relationships’ (Tokatli, 2008, p. 23-24). In order to reach low-cost labor and low-cost goods, sourcing

decisions are affected. This is because companies are likely to seek suppliers that can produce for the lowest costs as possible (Mihm, 2010).

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14 Figure 2: Fast fashion principles

Source: Bhardwaj & Fairhust, 2010; Bruce & Daly, 2006; Cachon & Swinney, 2011; Ghemawat & Nueno, 2006; Tokatli, 2008

3.3 Sustainability and the fashion supply chain

In this paragraph the core ideas of the sustainability literature and supply chain management literature in the context of the fashion industry are discussed. Before garment ends up in a store, ready to be sold, it has undergone different phases in the supply chain. However, the focal company (the retailer) is held responsible for sustainability issues in another phase of the supply chain. Sustainability issues in the industry are commonly related to production processes, which are regularly outsourced to lower-wage countries (Kozlowski et al., 2012). Industry requirements

to keep up with competition:

• Being responsive to the market

• Keep the costs low

Fast fashion principle (1) to meet market responsiveness: • Speed to the market

deliveries • Incorporation of

consumers’ preferences

• Method: minimal lead times and enhanced product design

Fast fashion principle (2) to meet market responsiveness: • Deliveries in small batches • Increasing number of seasons • Method: production in response to sales in stores (QR) Fast fashion principle

(3) to meet low-costs: • Affordable products • Available to the mass • Method: low-cost

design of supply chain

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15 3.3.1 Sustainable development framework and the fashion industry

According to the World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) ‘‘Sustainability means being able to satisfy current needs without compromising the possibility for future generations to satisfy their own needs” (Caniato, Caridi, Crippa, & Moretto, 2012, p. 660).A theoretical tool that is acknowledged by scholars to assess sustainability is the sustainable development (SD) framework. This framework recognizes three pillars, encompassing: environment, social and economic (Ashby, Leat, & Hudson-Smith, 2011; Caniato et al., 2012; De Brito et al., 2008; Hockerts & Wüstenhagen, 2010; Hutchins & Sutherland, 2008).

Social sustainability requires fair and equal treatment of employees. Environmental sustainability accounts for a careful usage of resources and the economic sustainability requires a reasonable living for employees and society. In prior research of sustainability, the social and environmental pillars are more emphasized. Scholars have argued that the

environmental pillar and the social pillar are directly linked to the economic pillar of sustainability (De Brito et al., 2008; Seuring & Müller, 2008). An explanation is that if the employees are not treated well, it is likely that it will negatively influence the welfare of a society. The same can be argued for the usage of natural resources. If the natural resources are used in an excessive and irresponsible way, this also has negatively impacts and influences the welfare of the society (De Brito et al., 2008).

3.3.2 Supply chain management in the fashion industry

Before garment ends up in a store, ready to be sold, it has undergone different phases in the supply chain. During these phases other companies might be involved. “The supply chain encompasses all activities associated with the flow and transformation of goods from raw

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16 materials stage, through the end user, as well as the associated information flows” (Seuring & Müller, 2008 p. 1700).

Şen (2008) conducted a research to identify the supply chain phases in the fashion industry. At the top of the textile supply chain there are fiber producers. Fibers are raw materials, for instance: cotton, leather, and wool. Either fiber producers can produce natural materials or synthetic materials. Agricultural firms produce natural fibers, while synthetic fibers are produced chemically in factories (Şen, 2008). Raw materials are regularly sourced from distant locations (Caniato et al., 2012). The textile mills transform the raw fibers to fabrics in the second phase. The third stage consists of the textile manufacturing. In the fourth and last stage, retailers offer the textile products to consumers, where consumption and eventually disposal takes place.

Figure 3: Phases supply chain fashion industry

Source: Author

Companies in the fashion industry rely increasingly on external partners in order to make their production more efficient. This is done by subcontracting parts of the production processes like dyeing and weaving and for the input of raw materials like leather and fibers (Caniato et al., 2012). There is continuous developments for innovations in technology for all the

different processes of the supply chain. However, human labor cannot be fully replaced. Fiber production (1) Raw materials gained,i.e. with agiricultural practices Textile mills (2) From raw materials transformation into fabrics Consumption (4) From retailer to consumer, involves consumption and disposal Manufactering (3) Production of garments in plants

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17 3.3.3 Sustainable development and supply chain management

Academic literature has acknowledged that sustainable development and supply chain

management are increasingly related (Ashby et al., 2012; Caniato et al., 2012; De Brito et al., 2008; Seuring & Müller, 2008). Companies in the fashion industry are dependent on the practices of their suppliers in order to attain sustainable development throughout the whole supply chain. Seuring, Sarkis, Müller and Rao (2008) explained the link between sustainable development with supply chain management by the concept of sustainable supply chain management: “the management of material and information flows as well as cooperation among companies along the supply chain while taking goals from all the three pillars i.e. economic, environmental and social, and stakeholder requirements into account” (p. 1545). Seuring and Müller (2008) identified three challenges for managing sustainability through a companies’ entire supply chain, encompassing: high costs, the complexity or effort of coordination, and insufficient communication.

Specific developments in the fashion industry resulted in similar challenges in order to attain sustainable supply chain management by focal companies. From the 1990s, companies

relocated their production processes to lower-wage countries and in particular to the Far-East. A challenge of the relocation of supply chain processes to developing or emerging countries has risen because of the complexity of coordinating processes over a large distance (Hansen & Schaltegger, 2013). Authors of prior research argued that the need for responsiveness and competitiveness in price also challenged sustainable development in the fashion industry (De Brito et al., 2008; Hansen & Schaltegger, 2013; Kozlowski et al., 2012). In addition, Tokatli (2008) argued that companies that are dominated by fashion principles can be divided in two groups: the retailers who own their own factories, and the retailers with no manufacturing

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18 competencies. These different forms are likely to determine the firms’ control of

sustainability in its supply chain. If a company does not own a factory that manufactures its products, a tight relationship with its suppliers is likely to be necessary to attain sustainability.

The social pillar might be challenged if employees in factories work under bad conditions caused, for instance, by a lack of codes or control. Social sustainability issues arise in the fashion supply chain when employers are abusing the rights of their employees, especially in child labor rights, rights of employees, payments, precarious employment and sexual

harassment (Allwood et al., 2006). Possible environmental impacts caused during garment production are for example by the excessive use of energy and by toxic chemicals, which are released into the wastewater. Environmental sustainable development in the fashion supply chain can thus, be challenged during the production processes of clothing as dyeing, drying, and finishing use on an intensive way chemical products and natural resources, which in turn creates environmental impacts (De Brito et al., 2008; Caniato et al., 2012). In addition, the relocation of production processes to lower-wager countries impacts the emissions of transportation (Borghesi & Vercelli, 2003; Caniato et al., 2012).

3.4 Approaches towards sustainable development

In this paragraph possible drivers and practices towards sustainable development of prior research of sustainability are discussed. As discussed earlier, companies in the fashion industry are dependent on the practices of their suppliers in order to attain sustainable development throughout the entire supply chain. Therefore is it likely that both internal and external organization needs to be considered to achieve sustainable development throughout the entire supply chain.

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19 Two different types of organizations are discussed that can tackle sustainability issues and affect sustainable development according to prior research (Caniato et a., 2012; Hansen & Schaltegger 2013; Hockerts & Wüstenhagen, 2010; Illge & Preuss, 2012).

3.4.1 Drivers and practices towards sustainable development

De Brito et al. (2008) identified three drivers for sustainable development. The first driver is compliance with the legislation. The second driver pertains to firms going beyond the

regulations and transferring the obligations into competitive advantages. And the third driver is to serve the needs of the stakeholders. In addition, it is likely that companies integrate expectations of stakeholders in their decision-making processes and orientation to respond to pressure from stakeholders to reduce the environmental and social impacts of their production processes (De Brito et al., 2008; Kozlowski et al., 2012). This strategy can be defined as corporate responsibility, which integrates the social and environmental pillar into business practices. Kozlowski et al. (2012) acknowledged additional drivers for sustainable

development, which included: the opportunity to answer consumer demand, the competitive pressure of having CSR-based promotions, and the potential costs reduction associated with waste handling.

Practices towards environmental sustainable development are integrating more eco-friendly materials into the product design. For the growth of cotton pesticides are used, which besides having environmental impact, it also might cause health problems for the farmers (Chen & Burns, 2006; De Brito et al., 2008). However, there is a shift from conventional cotton towards to more sustainable cotton and the numbers are expected to grow (Textile Exchange, 2012). Hansen and Schaltegger (2013) recognized three drivers for this strategy towards sustainable development. Specifically, the possibility of entering new segments of customers to develop new competencies in managing the supply chain and it might give access to

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20 collaborations in order to increase the cultivation of more sustainable cotton. A challenge however, is that clothing might be processed conventionally after an organic production, which causes environment impacts (Rieple & Singh, 2010).

A second practice towards more sustainable development is by improvement of the

environmental and social impacts of the production processes. During production commonly intensive dye processes and chemicals usage takes place (Burns & Chen, 2006; Jang, Chun, Ko, & Lee, 2012). However, it is only possible to directly control the production processes if outsourcing does not take place (Caniato et al., 2012). So, besides improving sustainable development of the internal organization, there might also be a need for focal companies to consider actors outside the organization. For instance, by taking into accounts the needs and expectations of the various stakeholders (Kozlowski et al., 2012). In order to focus on the external organization, the supply chain design of the focal company needs to be considered, ‘which considers logistics channels, suppliers, customers and relationships with other actors in the supply chain’ (Caniato et al., 2012, p. 663).

3.4.2 Two different types of organizations that impact sustainable development According to a recent stream of academic literature there are two different types of

organizations that can tackle sustainability issues and affect sustainable development (Caniato et al., 2012; Hansen & Schaltegger 2013; Hockerts & Wüstenhagen, 2010, Illge & Preuss. 2012).

Hockerts and Wüstenhagen (2010) argued in their research of sustainable entrepreneurship that two different types of companies are able to contribute to sustainable development namely ‘Emerging Davids’ and ‘Greening Goliathts’. The difference between these two types of companies is that ‘Emerging Davids’ refer to smaller niche firms, which have built their strategy around sustainability. While, ‘Greening Goliaths’ refer to large mainstream

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21 incumbent companies (Hockerts & Wüstenhagen, 2010; Illge & Preuss, 2012). According to Hansen and Schaltegger (2013) the large incumbents and the smaller pioneering companies are two types of idealized companies and it is necessary to consider them both in order to

make arguments about sustainable development. Caniato et al. (2012) refer to two similar types of companies and conceptualize these as green

international brands (GIBs) and small alternative firms (SAFs). According to the authors are GIBs large mainstream incumbents who position themselves in the green segment by

incremental changes of their supply chain design, by including environmental issues as new concepts of quality. The SAFs are smaller innovative firms, which have built their strategy around environmental sustainability to compete in niches markets.

In the vein of prior research to make an argument about how fast fashion affect sustainability in the fashion industry; this study will also consider these types of companies in order to generalize the how the trade-off takes place, between on the one hand being responsive to market and keeping the low by pursuing a fast fashion system - and on the other hand integrating responsible practices.

3.5 The paradox of a fast fashion system and sustainable development

Scholars that have conceptualized fast fashion also give attention to its negative connotations and why companies that have integrated a fast fashion system are criticized (Fletcher, 2010; Kozlowski et al., 2012). In this paragraph the main negative connotations and critics on fast fashion systems from prior research are examined.

De Brito et al. (2008) acknowledged the potential conflict between “modern supply chain principles” that relies on market responsiveness and sustainability. Consumption and disposal of clothing are globally increased and linked to the upcoming of fast fashion systems, which produce garments with a relative short product life cycle and relative low quality (Fletcher,

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22 2008; Kozlowski et al., 2012). This encourages quicker replacement in the consumption phase (Jang et al., 2012). Suppliers are constantly under pressure to be flexible and fast in order to keep the development cycle short (Barnes & Lea-Greenwood, 2006). This time pressure might cause ethical issues, for instance, unpaid overtime production (Fletcher, 2010). The increasing consumption and disposal are associated with the cost-focused design of the supply chain of companies that are dominated by fast fashion principles (Bruce & Daly, 2006;

Bhardwaj & Fairhurst, 2010). The cost-focused design of the supply chain implies affordable fashion, which is made available to the mass (Mihm, 2010). Ethical issues that are related to the cost-focused design of the supply chain are exploitation of labor costs in lower-wage countries (Fletcher, 2008; Tokatli, 2008) and health and safety issues (Kozlowski et al., 2012).

Kurt Cavano, founder of TradeCard stated at the International Apparel Federation (IAF) on September 2012‘When you have fashion that is designed to be washed eight times and thrown away and then have somebody come into the store and buy something a little bit different, it is not a model that speaks to sustainability, it is a model that speaks to

consumption’ (Barrie, 2012). This idea relates to the negative connotation of fast fashion, that “fast” refers to being unsustainable instead of ‘speed to the market’.

In order to contribute to the potential conflict of fast fashion principles and sustainability, this study aims to provide more insight in this topic by the following research question: How does the recent shift from a product-driven strategy towards a fully low-cost demand-driven strategy affect sustainability in the fashion supply chain?

A multiple case study analysis tries to answer this question by new interpretations of the trade-off between keeping the cost low and being responsive to the market by implementing a fast fashion system, and the integration of responsible practices to lower environmental and social impacts.

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23 4. Theoretical framework and working propositions

In this chapter the theoretical framework (Table 2) and working propositions (Figure 4) are presented, that builds upon the concept of fast fashion and how it affect sustainability in the different phases of the fashion supply chain. In the rows the fast fashion core principles are listed and in the columns the relevant phases of the fashion supply chain are itemized, which are derived from Şen (2008)1. The theoretical framework proposes that fast fashion principles are likely to have environmental and social impacts on the different levels of the supply chain. Theoretical lenses are used to assess how companies that are dominated by fast fashion

principles react on these impacts.

The first section below deliberates how companies are likely to respond to environmental impacts by integrating environmental responsible practices towards sustainable development. As a theoretical lens, indicators of the three-dimensional concurrent engineering (3DCE) framework are used to assess environmental sustainable development in the fashion supply chain (Caniato et al, 2012; Ellram et al, 2007). The second section discusses the assessment of social sustainable development in the fashion supply chain. As a theoretical lens the UNDSD framework is used (Hutchins & Sutherland, 2008). Both theoretical lenses are in accordance to authors of prior research a suitable starting point to evaluate environmental and social sustainable development in the fashion supply chain (Caniato et al, 2012; Ellram et al, 2007; Hutchins & Sutherland, 2008).

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The phases fiber production and textile mills are merged in the theoretical framework. The reasoning is, that while constructing the framework, it seemed that the affects of fast fashion principles were overlapping in these phases.

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24 Phase supply

chain

Fast fashion Principles

Fiber producers and textile mills Manufacturing and distribution Consumption and disposal Speed to the market with enhanced product design (Cachon & Swinney, 2011)

• Social impacts: suppliers under pressure because of short development cycles, requires high flexibility (Barnes & Lea-Greenwood, 2006) • Environmental impacts: no clear demarcation, cotton might be produced organically but processed conventionally (Rieple & Singh, 2010)

• Social impacts: pressure to deliver on time might cause ethical issues, for instance unpaid overtime production (Fletcher, 2010)

• Environmental impacts: dye production and chemicals usage (Burns & Chen, 2006; Jang et al., 2012)

• Environmental impacts: decrease in trend cycle causes quicker

replacement (Jang et al., 2012) promotes consumption Match of demand and supply: increasing number of seasons by frequent deliveries in smaller batches (Tokatli, 2008) • Environmental and social impacts: due accounts for pesticides for growth of cotton plants (Chen & Burns, 2006; De Brito et al., 2008) might cause health problems (Chen & Burns, 2006)

• Environmental impacts: due increased natural resource depletion by huge output of physical products (De Brito et al., 2008)

• Environmental impacts: increased pollution and impact on climate costs due huge output of physical products (Fletcher, 2010) • Environmental impacts:

Smaller batches with more often transport (De Brito et al., 2008) causes large amounts of emissions

• Environmental impacts: exclusivity created by offering latest design in limited quantity, (Tokatli, 2008) promotes

consumption

• Environmental impacts: New products on a frequent basis expected by consumers (Bruce & Daly, 2006) promotes consumption

Cost-focused design of the supply chain (Bruce & Daly, 2006; Bhardwaj Fairhurst, 2010)

• Social impacts: low labor costs crucial also for agricultural practices, criticism of exploiting low labor costs in low-wage countries (Fletcher, 2008; Tokatli, 2008). • Environmental impacts:

other regulations in lower wage countries regarding use of pesticides and agricultural practices (Rieple & Singh, 2010)

• Social impacts: problem of concerns low-wage countries for instance worker rights, long hour, low wage, health and safety issues (Kozlowski et al., 2012)

• Environmental impacts: Relocation to the Far- East as lower costs region implies transport over longer distance (Caniato et al., 2012)

• Environmental impacts: poor fabric quality and garment construction promotes rapid replacement (Fletcher, 2010) and disposal • Environmental impacts:

affordable fashion and easy to obtain by making it available to the mass (Mihm, 2010) promotes consumption

Table 2: Theoretical framework: Affects of fast fashion principles on sustainability in the different phases of the fashion supply chain

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25 Figure 4: Propositions derived from theoretical framework

Source: Author

4.1 Assessment of environmental sustainability in fashion supply chain

The theoretical framework (Table 2) illustrates that the core principles of the fast fashion concept affect the phases from fashion supply chain. According to Ellram et al. (2007) and

Company dominated by fast fashion principles Considers social sustainable development in the supply chain due social impacts Considers

environmental sustainable development in the

supply chain due environmental

impacts

WP1: Integration

environmental responsible practice by more sustainable materials

WP2: Integration

environmental responsible practices by waste reduction of production processes WP3a: Integration environmental responsible practices by cooperation with suppliers WP3b: Integration environmental responsible practices by cooperation with stakeholders WP4: Integration social responsible practices that meets minimum labor equity WP5: Integration social responsible practices practices that meets minimum healthy working environment

WP6: Integration social responsible practices that meets minimum safety standards WP7: Reassessment social responsible practices after involvement ethical issues

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26 Caniato et al. (2012) the 3DCE framework, which implies the simultaneous development of product design, process design and supply chain design practices (Table 3), is a suitable starting point to evaluate environmental sustainability in the fashion supply chain.

Practice Description of practice in context of fashion supply chain

Product design Use of more ecological friendly materials, for instance organic cotton Process design Reduction waste of production processes, for instance reduce emissions,

energy use and water

Supply chain design Reduction environmental impacts by focusing on activities that are not within the firms’ boundaries, for instance supplier evaluation and, customers and stakeholders perspectives

Table 3: Environmental practices as indicators of environmental sustainability Source: Caniato et al., 2012; Ellram et al., 2007

4.1.1 Environmental practices: Integration of more sustainable materials

Cotton is the most used fiber in garments. The rise of sales of more sustainable cotton refers to the re-consideration of the product design by using more sustainable materials. There is a shift from conventional cotton towards to more sustainable cotton and the numbers are expected to grow. According to the figures of Textile Exchange, 2011 is the first year that organic cotton production dropped, with a percentage of 37 percent. This is in contrast to the 81 percent of companies in the fashion industry that are striving to expand their organic cotton production (Textile Exchange, 2012).

Hansen and Schaltegger (2013) argued that there is a need for incumbents in the industry to shift towards integrating more sustainable cotton to improve managing the upstream supply chain. Efforts to create a more sustainable product design are put into practice by standards, certification systems and labels. The theoretical framework illustrates that managing the supply chain is necessary for companies that are dominated by fast fashion principles in order

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27 to address their environmental impacts. The way to achieve this might be through the use of more sustainable materials.

WP1: It is expected that companies dominated by fast fashion principles integrate

environmental responsible practices to ‘green’ their products by the use of more sustainable materials.

4.1.2 Environmental practices: Reduction waste of production processes

The theoretical framework shows that fast fashion principles have environmental impact throughout the supply chain due for instance: dye processes, usage of chemicals and

emissions (Burns & Chen, 2006; De Brito et al., 2008; Jang et al., 2012). In order to compete on costs, production processes are largely outsourced to lower-wage countries where there are different institutional frameworks than in Western countries. As a result, regulations

regarding waste are likely to be different in countries with different institutional frameworks, which might cause environmental issues. It is likely that companies that are dominated by fast fashion principles address these issues by integrating process design practices in order to achieve waste reduction of their outsourced production.

WP2: It is expected that companies dominated by fast fashion principles integrate environmental responsible practices to ‘green’ their outsourced production processes.

4.1.3 Environmental practices: Considering external organization

The theoretical framework also demonstrates that environmental impacts are likely to be found in all the phases of the fashion supply chain. The sustainability of the supply chain is dependent upon all the individual companies that are part of the chain (Hutchins & Sutherland, 2008). To achieve more sustainability throughout the focal companies’ entire supply chain, cooperation with suppliers is of increasing importance (Seuring & Müller, 2008). In addition, also

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28 (Kozlowski et al., 2012). Involvement of suppliers can be pursued by asking them to sign the companies’ code of conduct, auditing, or by striving for long-term relationships with

transparency (Caniato et al., 2012). Therefore it is expected that companies that are dominated by fast fashion principles consider the design of their supply chain by engaging with their suppliers and stakeholders in order to achieve environmental sustainable development.

WP3a: It is expected that companies dominated by fast fashion principles integrate environmental responsible practices that considers cooperation with suppliers. WP3b: It is expected that companies dominated by fast fashion principles integrate environmental responsible practices that considers cooperation with stakeholders.

4.2 Assessment of social sustainability in the fashion supply chain

Besides environmental impacts, the theoretical framework also, shows the social impacts of fast fashion principles in the different phases of the fashion supply chain. According to the theoretical framework the social impacts of fast fashion principles are likely to be found in the phases before the consumption phase. In order to assess how companies are dominated by fast fashion principles deal with social impacts, the indicators of the theoretical lens from the UNDSD framework are used, encompassing; labor equity, health and safety as proposed by Hutchins and Sutherland (2008).

Practice Description of practice

Labor equity Wages of employees i.e. meeting legal minimum requirement, equal wages for woman

Health Work environment that provides i.e. sanitation, drinking water and access to healthcare

Safety Safety of working environment i.e. safety of buildings

Table 4: Social practices as indicators of social sustainability practices Source: Hutchins & Sutherland (2008)

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29 Hutchins and Sutherland (2008) argued that the indicators are representative for social

sustainability practices and are linked to the Sustainability Reporting Guidelines of the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI), which implies that the indicators are commonly used and in general available from (Social) Sustainability Reports. Therefore is chosen for this specific lens, as social sustainable development is complex to assess. The indicators labor equity, health, and safety represent basic human and social needs and therefore, it is expected that focal companies integrate corporate practices to ensure that suppliers meet the basic standards of these indicators.

WP4: It is expected that companies dominated by fast fashion integrate social responsible practices that requires suppliers to meet minimum labor equity.

WP5: It is expected that companies dominated by fast fashion integrate social responsible practices that requires suppliers to meet minimum health standards.

WP6: It is expected that companies dominated by fast fashion integrate social responsible practices that requires suppliers to meet minimum safety standards.

After corporate scandals, companies reassess their ethical policy and introduce social sustainability practices, for instance by codes of conduct, sourcing policies and CSR (Kozlowski, Bardecki & Searcy, 2012). It is therefore expected that involvement in public scandals influence reassessment of corporate practices based on supply chain decisions that affect social sustainable development.

WP7: It is expected that companies that are dominated by fast fashion principles reassess corporate social practices after involvement in ethical issues.

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30 5. Research design

This section explains the structure of this study and how it is conducted. A deductive reasoning is applied to test the working propositions that are derived from the established theory to seek if this theory is applicable to the selected cases (Hyde, 2000).

Qualitative study is conducted in order to answer the overall research question: How does the recent shift from a product-driven strategy towards a fully low-cost demand-driven strategy affect sustainability in the fashion supply chain? This chapter connects the research question with the collected empirical data and the eventual conclusion (Yin, 1994). This study aims to contribute to academic literature of sustainability in the fashion supply chain in a fast fashion era. More specifically, how focal companies handling being responsive to the market and keeping the costs low with the associated environmental and social impacts, while

simultaneously integrating responsible practices. To find patterns in this apparent paradox, a multiple-case analysis is conducted, that takes into account multiple companies as units of analysis.

5.1 Case selection

The goal of this research is to create conceptual insights into how the domination of fast fashion principles affects sustainability through the fashion supply chain. In order to manage this, individual companies are selected that illuminate the logic of the constructs that are developed in the theoretical framework (Table 2). The selected cases are chosen on company level in order support the conceptual argument on industry level.

The selected cases are H&M, Zara, Primark, Topshop, People Tree and Kuyichi. These European companies are specifically chosen, because the retail chains dominated by fast fashion principles in Europe have grown faster than the retail fashion industry as a whole (Cachon & Swinney, 2011; Mihm, 2010; Joy, Sherry, Venkatesh, Wang, & Chan, 2012). The

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31 retail chains H&M, Zara, Primark and Topshop are large incumbents of the fashion industry that are dominated by fast fashion principles. The other two companies, People Tree and Kuyichi are pioneering ethical brands, which have built their strategy around sustainability.

To test external validity of this study, the replication logic is pursued in the selected cases (Yin, 2009). The cases are carefully selected to achieve both literal replication and theoretical replication (Yin, 1994). The logical replication logic of Yin (1994) as method is used, to create generalizations about how companies deal with keeping the costs low and being responsive to the market by implementing a fast fashion system on the one hand. While simultaneously, integrating environmental and social responsible practices.

The aim of the cases H&M, Zara, Primark and Topshop as incumbents retail chains of the industry, is to achieve similar results by literal replication. The theoretical framework (Table 2) conceptualizes the conditions whether a company is dominated by fast fashion principles, or not. For theoretical replications People Tree and Kuyichi as pioneer ethical brands are selected. These companies are not dominated by fast fashion principles, but have built their whole strategy around sustainability. Authors that studied the sustainability-oriented

transformation of the textile industry argued that both contributions of incumbents, as well as, pioneer companies are necessary to consider in this context, because as separates they are too limited (Hansen & Schaltegger, 2013; Hockerts & Wüstenhagen, 2010).

Retail company Country from origin Trade-off in-house production and outsourcing

Type of company Dominated by fast fashion principles?

H&M Sweden No own factories +/- 800 independent suppliers (H&M, 2013)

Incumbent retail chain Yes

Zara (part of Inditex

Spain Highly vertical

integrated, owns large

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32

Group) part of factories (Inditex, 2014) Topshop (part of Arcadia Group) UK No own factories (Arcadia Group, 2014)

Primark (part of Associated British Foods)

Ireland No own factories, +/- 700 independent suppliers (Primark, 2014)

People Tree

UK No own factories,

10 manufactering groups (People Tree, 2010)

Pioneering ethical brand

No

Kuyichi The Netherlands No own factories, N.A. Pioneering ethical brand

No

Table 5: Selected cases Source: Author

5.2 Data collection

In this paragraph every step is made as operational as possible for another researcher to replicate this study (Yin, 1994). To meet the test of construct validity to ensure that

responsible environmental and social responsible practices are actually measured, multiple sources of evidence are used. The reliability of measurement is structured by the use of the theoretical lenses of prior research, namely the indicators of the 3DCE framework and the UNSDN framework. In order to meet the test of reliability to minimize errors and biases, this study follows a step-wise approach described in detail that can be replicated by later

researchers (Yin, 1994).

The data consists of articles extracted from the newspaper Financial Times and additional company sources. Companies’ websites provide access to company sources, for instance sustainability reports, supply chain data reports and codes of conduct. Data from the

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33 Financial Times are used as the main focus of the analysis in order to prevent corporate self-perceived biases (Pinkse, Bohnsack & Kolk 2014). The newspaper articles from Financial Times were searched in the electronic newspaper database “Lexis Nexis Academic”. The Financial Times is chosen because of its outsider perspective on business strategies and attention to environmental issues (Pinkse et al., 2014).

The data collection processes has followed a step-wise approach. The first step is article selection (Appendix A) by using the Lexis Nexis news database as a tool. The search terms “H&M or/and Hennes & Mauritz”, “Zara or/and Inditex”, “Primark or Associated British Foods”, “Topshop or Arcadia Group”, “People Tree” and “Kuyichi” are used, which resulted in 1527 articles. The articles are searched within a time frame of 5 years, from 2008 until 20132. During these 5 years the growth of retail companies that are dominated by fast fashion principles are greater than the growth of the retail fashion industry as a whole (Cachon & Swinney, 2011; Mihm, 2010; Joy et al., 2012). The main focus in the Financial Times articles are on the companies’ overall strategies and the sustainability theme. The themes for instance refer to corporate decisions, involvement in sustainability issues and sourcing decisions. All the articles are scanned and the irrelevant ones, which for instance mention the companies’ name, but in an irrelevant context are deleted. This step resulted in 291 articles. Carefully reading and again deleting the irrelevant articles, pertains to the third step. These steps resulted eventually in 183 articles for the coding process. Additional, the collected company sources are added to the dataset (Appendix B).

2

The search in Lexis Nexis is performed at 28/11/2013, which implies that the dataset covers not the fully time frame of 5 years

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34 Figure 5: Data collection and data set development process

Source: Author

5.3 Coding and data analysis process

For the coding process, software program Nvivo is used. All remaining 183 articles from the dataset and the selected companies’ sources are imported in Nvivo. By carefully reading of the whole imported dataset, a codebook is created (Appendix C).

The analysis of the data is conducted in three steps as proposed by Miles and Huberman (1984), including: data reduction, data display and drawing a conclusion to achieve valid meaning. As data reduction tool, codes are developed in line with the research question and propositions. In the first step of code development, the same codes for all the six companies are developed based on the propositions. However, during the coding process, new codes are developed based on new expectations of patterns. The whole dataset is coded for the second time in order to cover the new developed codes.

After the coding process, data is organized by data display. Nvivo enables this by its queries function. Explanatory matrices are created and analyzed by drawing meaning from what are displayed (Miles & Huberman, 1984). By creating matrices, first the environmental and social responsible practices and its indicators are distinguished per company. Secondly, matrices are created that display per company its overall strategy encompassing: pricing strategy, sourcing Step 1: Filter all FT articles between 2008 and 2013 by companies’ name (N=1527) Step 2: Delete all articles that mention the companies in irrelevant context (N=291) Step 3: Filter out irrelevant articles after carefully reading (N=183) Step 4: Additional sources from companies’ website are collected and added to the dataset

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35 decisions and drivers. The matrices give insights into how a company performs their

environmental and social responsible practices and how it is related to its overall strategy. By extensively analyzing, patterns in the trade-off between fast fashion and responsible practices are found.

5.4 Limitations

Shortcoming of the selected measure is the outsider perspective might be limited in some cases. Moreover, only if there were newsworthy events (for instance after the collapse of Rana Plaza or a new collaboration between NGOs and companies) there was a visible peak in the news publications. If there were no newsworthy events, the outsider insights on

sustainability issues might be limited. Furthermore, about the pioneering smaller companies were only a few news articles available, namely 5 articles about People Tree and even 0 articles about Kuyichi. Newspaper articles from the Financial Times are the main sources of the analysis and company sources are used as additional data. The distribution might be skew, in particular with the smaller pioneering companies.

A second shortcoming is that the subject sustainability in the fashion supply chain is complex and involves actors such as customers, stakeholders and suppliers. The selected measure does not include other perspectives than the outsider and company perspective.

6. Results

This chapter presents the findings that are derived from the analysis. The first section describes the results of the within case analysis that treats each case as an independent research study (Yin, 1994). The second section of this chapter is the cross-case analysis that describes similarities and differences between the large incumbent retail chains that are dominated by fast fashion principles and the pioneering ethical brands that have build their strategy around sustainability. The results are linked back to the working

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36 propositions and leads to a cross-case conclusion of how fast fashion affects

sustainability through the fashion supply chain.

6.1 Within case analysis

The within case analysis describes first the environmental responsible practices of the selected cases. The analysis is based on the codes derived from the 3DCE framework (Caniato et al., 2012; Ellram et al., 2007). Secondly the social responsible practices, of each individual case are described according to the analysis of codes derived from the UNSDN framework (Hutchins & Sutherland, 2008).

6.1.1 Within case analysis: environmental responsible practices

The first analyzed code is product design, which refers to the use of more sustainable materials, for instance organic or recycled cotton. The second analyzed code is process design, which refers to the reduction of waste of production processes, for instance practices to reduce wastewater or dye impacts. The third code is supply chain design, which refers to involvement of actors outside the firms’ boundaries to achieve sustainable development, for instance cooperation with NGOs or suppliers. Based on the amounts coded per company (Table 5), the involvement in environmental responsible practices is interpreted. Table 6 describes the main identified environmental practices per company.

H&M Zara Primark Topshop People Tree

Kuyichi Product design:

practices to use more sustainable materials 6 3 3 7 6 4 Process design: practices to reduce waste production processes 7 6 5 7 6 6

Supply chain design: cooperation with suppliers/stakeholders

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Total: 19 19 14 20 16 12

Table 5: Amounts coded per indicator for analysis main environmental responsible practices per company

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Practice H&M Zara Primark Topshop Quote(s)

Product design: Use of more sustainable materials • Use of organic cotton and recycled in polyester in separate label • Recycling initiatives • Backing globally scheme of labels impact product • Aim to develop eco-friendly materials (i.e. organic cotton) • Develop tools to assess product-related CO2 and environmental impacts • Aim to improve agricultural practices for more sustainable cotton • Tool to trace country of origin cotton • Use of organic cotton/Fair Trade in product range • Reclaim to Wear: up-cycle with fabrics from stock surplus

• ‘’H&M launches a red-carpet-worthy collection, made from eco-friendly materials such as organic cotton and recycled polyester’’ (Wilkinson, 2012). • ‘’Promoting the consideration of eco-friendly

alternatives in the development of new products’’(Inditex, 2013).

• ‘’Our sustainable cotton program will enable us to work with cotton farmers in key growing countries to improve their agricultural practices – specifically around the use of pesticides and water

management” (Primark, 2013).

• ‘’Topshop is also increasing its offer of organic cotton this year (Topshop, 2011)’’.

Process design: Reducing waste of production processes • Reduce absolute emissions despite continued growth • Efficient transport, renewable energy, water management • Inditex chemicals policy ‘with long term goal: ‘Zero discharge of hazardous chemicals in 2020’ • Renewable energy plants, fuel replacement, water management • ‘Cleaner Production’ program implemented in factories Bangladesh and China • Energy, water and waste management: recycling plants • Local sourcing and processes to reduce impact, waste and support communities in need

• Energy and waste management

• ‘Our goal is to reduce our total emissions, despite our continued growth’ (H&M, 2012).

• ‘ Our new environmental strategy is based on two pillars: cutting the global ecological footprint of our value chain and lowering company-related CO2 emissions’ (Inditex, 2013).

• ‘We recognize the impact of our business on the environment. Therefore as a minimum we comply with current legislation of the countries in which we operate with a view that waste is reduced where practicable’ (Associated British Foods, 2010). • ‘We made a commitment last year to review the

environmental impact of our key suppliers’ factories. Actions have been taken in response to the findings’ (Arcadia Group, 2011).

Supply chain design: cooperation with suppliers, involvement of stakeholders • Encourage customers return old clothes for recycling, care labeling • Collaborations: Better Cotton Initiative: farming techniques. • Voluntary partnerships with • Engage customer by raising public awareness • Collaborations: brands, suppliers, stakeholders and the chemical industry: ‘Joint Action Plan towards Zero Discharge of Hazardous • Encourage customers to recycle clothing • Collaborations: Cotton traceability with Fair Labor Association (India), CottonConnect training program (China) • Involve customers with care labeling, working relationships with suppliers • Partnerships other brands (i.e. People Tree) to develop organic/Fair Trade product

• ‘Widening our scope to include our entire supply chain will take time, but some of our initiatives already reach far back in the supply chain’ (H&M, 2009).

• ‘We recognize that to achieve this goal,

collaboration between all involved sectors of the industry as well as with regulators and other stakeholders is essential. Inditex is committed working with material suppliers’ (Inditex, 2013). • ‘We recognize that we still have further to go and still much more that we can do either individually at Primark or in collaboration with other retailers,

Sustainability in the fashion supply chain in a fast fashion era : an exploratory multiple case study research

Sustainability in the fashion supply chain in a fast fashion era: An

exploratory multiple case study research

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