Femnet e.V.

Ethical issues with offshore manufacturing plants in the readymade garment industry is a regular affair, particularly for factories located in lesser developed nations. Despite efforts by non-government agencies around the globe pressurizing both governments and multinational corporations to adopt ethical practices, disastrous accidents and loss of lives continue to haunt the industry. This paper reviews existing literature to develop an understanding of consumers as pressure groups, and proposes a factor model that may influence consumers’ willingness to pay for ethical garments which will be tested in future studies.

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New and existing companies are looking for ways to thrive in a competitive environment with innovative business models while respecting society and avoiding actions that harm the planet. Trends such as circular economy, fair trade, lowsumerism, and sharing economy are some of the many emerging entrepreneurial approaches that address this issue, but there is still a gap between what theory argues and the levels of environmental and social sustainability realized when theory is put into practice. In fact, most research on the topic of sustainable business models is still exploratory and does not fully acknowledge these emerging approaches, whose definitions, boundaries, and defining characteristics are still somewhat vague. This study seeks to contribute to the understanding of the inner entrepreneurial dynamics of innovative sustainable business models. In particular, we focus on the fashion business, a resource-intensive industry in which opportunities to reduce environmental impacts and to innovate business models abound. The aim of our research is to investigate innovative business models in the fashion industry that have sustainability as their defining characteristic, especially in terms of value proposition. In order to do that, we combine a systematic review of the literature with empirical research comprised of six interviews with specialists in sustainability, business model innovation, and the fashion industry, along with eight case studies on innovative fashion startups we define as ‘born sustainable.’ As a result, we propose a synthesizing framework that discloses trends and drivers of innovative and sustainable business models in the fashion industry. We also highlight opportunities and challenges for researchers and entrepreneurs interested in this topic. 

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Due to environmental and social problems with suppliers, companies have included sustainability criteria in their supplier evaluation. However, there is little research on the application of environmental and social criteria and related purchasing practices. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine how companies apply environmental and social criteria in supplier evaluation. Interviews with purchasing experts from the fashion and apparel industry were conducted. The results indicate that no child labour, working hours, no forced labour, no discrimination, employment compensation, freedom of association, and health and safety practices are commonly used as social criteria, whereas end-of-pipe control (wastewater treatment systems) and environmentally friendly materials are used as environmental criteria. New criteria, for example, housing conditions and home worker conditions, were identified as not having been suggested in the literature on supplier evaluation. The discussion herein examines the application and the importance of sustainability criteria in the supplier evaluation process. Environmental and social criteria are applied in pre-qualification as well as verification of the compliance of the purchasing requirements in supplier controlling. However, these criteria are not important in the final selection of a supplier for an order as is often recommended in the literature. Consequently, sustainability criteria are indeed important for supplier evaluation but do not carry the same importance that many papers assign them. The research findings contribute to the literature on sustainable supply chain management with empirical insights about the application and importance of environmental and social criteria in supplier evaluation. Furthermore, the identified sustainability criteria can be used by practitioners to improve supplier evaluation efforts.

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The Fashion market is characterized by the rapidity with which a product becomes outmoded.
Enterprises producing clothes, shoes, bags and other accessories generate wastes at a fast rhythm, due to the continuous change of collections. They must store notable quantities of textiles and components no longer used for production. Furthermore, the percentage of scraps of fabrics, leather and other materials, is often significant. Recycling can be applied to the Fashion sector in order to recuperate wastes and create original items, which can be particularly successful in a market where customers are increasing their sensitivity towards sustainability.
We describe the case of a prestigious Italian brand, manufacturing high luxury leather and fabric accessories where Eco Design and Recycling have been applied. A Life Cycle Assessment of a traditional product of the company is also presented to enhance the significant aspects of sustainability in Fashion. 

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Sustainability is an issue that increasingly concerns all those involved in the apparel industry, including textile manufacturers, apparel designers, retailers and consumers. This important book covers recent advances and novel technologies in the key areas of production, processing and recycling of apparel.

Part One addresses sustainable finishing and dyeing processes for textiles. The first two chapters concentrate on the environmental impact of fabric finishing, including water consumption, emissions and waste management. Further chapters focus on plasma and enzymatic treatments for sustainable textile processing, and the potential for improving the sustainability of dyeing technologies. Part Two covers issues of design, retail and recycling, and includes discussions of public attitudes towards sustainability in fashion, methods of measuring apparel sustainability and social trends in the re-use of apparel.

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