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P. S. dos Santos and L. M. S. Campos
part of the planning system throughout the fashion industry’s value chain over the
next years. It is expected that more companies will embrace sustainability planning:
recycling of fabrics, using new sustainability technologies, and partnering with other
supply chain stakeholders (MGFI 2018).
These improvements are important given that the fashion industry is one of the
most exposed to public perceptions. Further, the industry has undergone recent environmental scandals, such as the use of BT cotton by fashion retail companies such
as Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M), the application and disposal of toxic dyes, and the
generation of poisonous textile waste and excessive by-products (including packaging) (Caniato et al. 2012).
Another factor also resulting from the use of fiber is the amount of natural
resources used for its cultivation and extraction. Cotton and wool production requires
large amounts of water and pesticides, while synthetic fibers are extracted from nonrenewable resources and require extensive energy use (Caniato et al. 2012).
In addition, because the clothing sector represents 4% of worldwide exports,
the high amount of pollutant emissions is also something to be considered (MGFI
2018). Companies in the fashion industry depend on external partners to produce
their products from distant locations; the various production activities (e.g., milling,
dyeing, weaving, finishing, sewing) are subcontracted to different companies scattered throughout the world (De Brito et al. 2008). Hence, reducing the environmental
impacts will require brands and retailers to re-examine the processes within their supply chains and to take more responsibility about production processes and product
life cycles (Nagurney and Yu 2012).
Green practices are activities that can help to conserve natural resources, decrease
waste, and sustain quality in operations. The literature demonstrates activities that
may potentially improve the industry with the design of new business strategies,
stakeholder management approaches, and operations planning using reverse logistics
(Zhu et al. 2012), ecodesign (Zhu et al. 2008), and green purchasing (Seuring and
Muller 2008). These activities are examples of green practices that can be used
throughout the fashion supply chain. Thus, the objective of this study is to identify
from the literature the green practices currently adopted by fashion companies within
their supply chain, to clarify the opportunities and barriers of existing green practices,
and to examine the role played by each supply chain link.
2 Literature Review
2.1 Green Practices in the Supply Chain
Increased pollution in urban areas, the scarcity of natural resources, and climate
change are factors that have contributed to galvanize concerns about the environmental impacts of manufacturing activities (Allwood et al. 2008). In this context,
green practices emerge as an operational approach in order to mitigate the negative
P. S. dos Santos and L. M. S. Campos
part of the planning system throughout the fashion industry’s value chain over the
next years. It is expected that more companies will embrace sustainability planning:
recycling of fabrics, using new sustainability technologies, and partnering with other
supply chain stakeholders (MGFI 2018).
These improvements are important given that the fashion industry is one of the
most exposed to public perceptions. Further, the industry has undergone recent environmental scandals, such as the use of BT cotton by fashion retail companies such
as Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M), the application and disposal of toxic dyes, and the
generation of poisonous textile waste and excessive by-products (including packaging) (Caniato et al. 2012).
Another factor also resulting from the use of fiber is the amount of natural
resources used for its cultivation and extraction. Cotton and wool production requires
large amounts of water and pesticides, while synthetic fibers are extracted from nonrenewable resources and require extensive energy use (Caniato et al. 2012).
In addition, because the clothing sector represents 4% of worldwide exports,
the high amount of pollutant emissions is also something to be considered (MGFI
2018). Companies in the fashion industry depend on external partners to produce
their products from distant locations; the various production activities (e.g., milling,
dyeing, weaving, finishing, sewing) are subcontracted to different companies scattered throughout the world (De Brito et al. 2008). Hence, reducing the environmental
impacts will require brands and retailers to re-examine the processes within their supply chains and to take more responsibility about production processes and product
life cycles (Nagurney and Yu 2012).
Green practices are activities that can help to conserve natural resources, decrease
waste, and sustain quality in operations. The literature demonstrates activities that
may potentially improve the industry with the design of new business strategies,
stakeholder management approaches, and operations planning using reverse logistics
(Zhu et al. 2012), ecodesign (Zhu et al. 2008), and green purchasing (Seuring and
Muller 2008). These activities are examples of green practices that can be used
throughout the fashion supply chain. Thus, the objective of this study is to identify
from the literature the green practices currently adopted by fashion companies within
their supply chain, to clarify the opportunities and barriers of existing green practices,
and to examine the role played by each supply chain link.
2 Literature Review
2.1 Green Practices in the Supply Chain
Increased pollution in urban areas, the scarcity of natural resources, and climate
change are factors that have contributed to galvanize concerns about the environmental impacts of manufacturing activities (Allwood et al. 2008). In this context,
green practices emerge as an operational approach in order to mitigate the negative