15 Sustainable Supply Chain Management of Clothing Industry …
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2014 non-financial information disclosure Directive is also limited to a large player,
exempting the vast majority of clothing brands in Europe.
This is not surprising given the limitation of introducing legal requirements on
activities that take place and affect people and the environment outside of the national
border (see Sect. 15.1).
Meanwhile, an in-depth study of the perception of Swedish clothing brands on
three case MSIs provides a mixed message regarding the roles of MSIs. On one hand,
interviewed brands clearly acknowledge the contribution the case MSIs have been
making in their SSCM practices. The interviewees also clarify that they make rather
down-to-earth assessment (alignment of the MSI activities to their need, strategy and
ambition, benefit and cost of joining the MSI), and negate the likelihood of joining
MSIs for the mere purpose of green washing.
On the other hand, the study also highlights concerns regarding the power asymmetry and unclear decision making process observed in some of the MSIs, as well
as the overall trend of smaller MSIs joining the larger ones. This, in light of lack of
effective public policy, might mean privatization of standards, which has been raised
as one of the primary criticisms against MSIs (see Sect. 15.1).
15.4.2 Potential Future Pathways
A few pathway could be considered to advance sustainability in the clothing supply
chain. Below these ideas are presented, together with areas that might require further
consideration for the respective cases.
Prohibition of import of illegally produced clothing, with the use of the producing
country’s law for the determination of illegality
While the importance of state sovereignty should be respected especially considering
the colonial past and associated injustice, consuming country could still introduce
the law restricting the importation of products whose production process violates the
relevant national environment/labour law of producing country.
Such legislation does exist today in the area of timber products, introduced in the
US, EU and Australia (Lacey Act of 2008; Regulation (EU) No. 995/2010; Illegal
Logging Prohibition Act 2012; Illegal Logging Prohibition Regulation 2012). While
details differ, what they have in common is the determination of illegality based on
the country of harvest, as well as the requirement of going through due diligence
procedure. Another area in which the due diligence system is used for supply chain
quality assurance is conflict minerals.
The three timber laws came into force relatively recently, which makes it difficult
to determine the level of success, but there are already some experiences that could
be of use to consider:
• The relatively heavier impacts on SMEs was experienced at least in the case of US
and Australia (Shelley 2012; Rynne and Corden 2015). How to reduce the burden
209
2014 non-financial information disclosure Directive is also limited to a large player,
exempting the vast majority of clothing brands in Europe.
This is not surprising given the limitation of introducing legal requirements on
activities that take place and affect people and the environment outside of the national
border (see Sect. 15.1).
Meanwhile, an in-depth study of the perception of Swedish clothing brands on
three case MSIs provides a mixed message regarding the roles of MSIs. On one hand,
interviewed brands clearly acknowledge the contribution the case MSIs have been
making in their SSCM practices. The interviewees also clarify that they make rather
down-to-earth assessment (alignment of the MSI activities to their need, strategy and
ambition, benefit and cost of joining the MSI), and negate the likelihood of joining
MSIs for the mere purpose of green washing.
On the other hand, the study also highlights concerns regarding the power asymmetry and unclear decision making process observed in some of the MSIs, as well
as the overall trend of smaller MSIs joining the larger ones. This, in light of lack of
effective public policy, might mean privatization of standards, which has been raised
as one of the primary criticisms against MSIs (see Sect. 15.1).
15.4.2 Potential Future Pathways
A few pathway could be considered to advance sustainability in the clothing supply
chain. Below these ideas are presented, together with areas that might require further
consideration for the respective cases.
Prohibition of import of illegally produced clothing, with the use of the producing
country’s law for the determination of illegality
While the importance of state sovereignty should be respected especially considering
the colonial past and associated injustice, consuming country could still introduce
the law restricting the importation of products whose production process violates the
relevant national environment/labour law of producing country.
Such legislation does exist today in the area of timber products, introduced in the
US, EU and Australia (Lacey Act of 2008; Regulation (EU) No. 995/2010; Illegal
Logging Prohibition Act 2012; Illegal Logging Prohibition Regulation 2012). While
details differ, what they have in common is the determination of illegality based on
the country of harvest, as well as the requirement of going through due diligence
procedure. Another area in which the due diligence system is used for supply chain
quality assurance is conflict minerals.
The three timber laws came into force relatively recently, which makes it difficult
to determine the level of success, but there are already some experiences that could
be of use to consider:
• The relatively heavier impacts on SMEs was experienced at least in the case of US
and Australia (Shelley 2012; Rynne and Corden 2015). How to reduce the burden