Green Practices in the Fashion Supply
Chain: A Literature Review
Pedro Seolin dos Santos and Lucila M. S. Campos
Abstract The intensive use of chemicals, the high exploration of natural resources,
and greater dependence on external partners are factors that contribute to increase
environmental impacts in the fashion supply chain. To reduce negative impacts within
the supply network, an alternative is to promote green practices. This study aims to
identify these green practices from a supply chain perspective that are commonly
adopted by fashion companies. Our research identified and analysed barriers and
opportunities to implement green practices in the fashion supply chain from 28 articles found in the literature. Those practices most commonly approached were related
to the internal environmental management system (EMS), and the retail market was
the supply chain (SC) link with the largest participation in the identified practices.
Research also demonstrated that the main barriers to implementing green practices
are lack of market knowledge, commitment to suppliers, lack of employee training,
and high operational costs. Despite these challenges, opportunities are present in
reducing cost, enhancing corporate image, and augmenting partners’ technological
offerings.
Keywords Green practices · Supply chain · Fashion industry
1 Introduction
The word fashion is an intersectoral concept, certainly applicable to the clothing
industry but easily extended to companies operating in other clothing-related sectors, such as footwear, accessories, and jewelry segments (Brun and Castelli 2008).
According to the McKinsey Global Fashion Index—MGFI (2018), activities related
to sustainability will stop being just brand advertising and will become an integral
P. S. dos Santos (B) · L. M. S. Campos
Graduate Program in Production Engineering, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC),
Florianopolis, SC 88040-900, Brazil
e-mail: pedroseolin@gmail.com
L. M. S. Campos
e-mail: lucila.campos@ufsc.br
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Universities and Sustainable Communities:
Meeting the Goals of the Agenda 2030, World Sustainability Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30306-8_7
115
Chain: A Literature Review
Pedro Seolin dos Santos and Lucila M. S. Campos
Abstract The intensive use of chemicals, the high exploration of natural resources,
and greater dependence on external partners are factors that contribute to increase
environmental impacts in the fashion supply chain. To reduce negative impacts within
the supply network, an alternative is to promote green practices. This study aims to
identify these green practices from a supply chain perspective that are commonly
adopted by fashion companies. Our research identified and analysed barriers and
opportunities to implement green practices in the fashion supply chain from 28 articles found in the literature. Those practices most commonly approached were related
to the internal environmental management system (EMS), and the retail market was
the supply chain (SC) link with the largest participation in the identified practices.
Research also demonstrated that the main barriers to implementing green practices
are lack of market knowledge, commitment to suppliers, lack of employee training,
and high operational costs. Despite these challenges, opportunities are present in
reducing cost, enhancing corporate image, and augmenting partners’ technological
offerings.
Keywords Green practices · Supply chain · Fashion industry
1 Introduction
The word fashion is an intersectoral concept, certainly applicable to the clothing
industry but easily extended to companies operating in other clothing-related sectors, such as footwear, accessories, and jewelry segments (Brun and Castelli 2008).
According to the McKinsey Global Fashion Index—MGFI (2018), activities related
to sustainability will stop being just brand advertising and will become an integral
P. S. dos Santos (B) · L. M. S. Campos
Graduate Program in Production Engineering, Federal University of Santa Catarina (UFSC),
Florianopolis, SC 88040-900, Brazil
e-mail: pedroseolin@gmail.com
L. M. S. Campos
e-mail: lucila.campos@ufsc.br
© Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020
W. Leal Filho et al. (eds.), Universities and Sustainable Communities:
Meeting the Goals of the Agenda 2030, World Sustainability Series,
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-30306-8_7
115