Economic and environmental sustainability dimensions of a fashion supply chain: A quantitative model

Abstract

Paper aim: The paper presents a model to assess the economic and the environmental sustainability dimensions of a fashion supply chain and tests it on a company. Originality: The gap intended to fill is the lack of models in this context having this purpose, and, in general, the necessity to develop models and metrics allowing to quantitatively assess the economic and environmental dimensions of supply chains. Research method: The fashion supply chain has been divided into five processes. Hence, an analytic model was developed by considering the total costs incurring in each process (economic evaluation), and the annual kilograms of CO 2 emitted (environmental perspective). The model was then applied to a case study. Data was obtained from interviews with the management. Main findings: Results show that from the economic perspective supply impacts the most, while from the environmental one the most polluting activity is production. Implications for theory and practice: The model is easy to apply and to understand and allows to identify the activities in the supply chain where the majority of costs/emissions are generated. It is therefore expected to be useful for undertaking operational decisions aimed at decreasing the economic or environmental impact of a fashion supply chain.

Managing disruptions and risks amidst COVID-19 outbreaks: role of blockchain technology in developing resilient food supply chains

“…FSCs need collaboration and information sharing to enhance their resilience (Ambulkar et al 2015;Bottani et al 2019Bottani et al , 2020. BC-T may act as an intermediary for inter-relationships among the SC actors (Crosby et al 2016).…”

Evidences on sustainability issues in the Fashion Supply Chain: An empirical study in Italy

“…As emerged from a literature analysis aiming at defining the trends of research of scientific documents in the FSC, the sustainability issue is one of the most addressed topics (Tebaldi et al, 2021), and there is a plethora of issues that can be addressed. Recalling a subdivision in functions of a FSC proposed in (Bottani et al, 2020), i.e., supply, warehousing, production, distribution and RL, below some main studies will be proposed in order to provide a brief overview of the main actions and practices.…”

“…Moreover, as already stressed, this sector has to face many challenges due to the spread of e-commerce channels, and in this sense logistics systems are involved. Despite numerous studies that have dealt with the sustainable aspect of logistics operations, from the transport to the inventory optimization, few of them specifically focused on the FSC (Bottani et al, 2020). As far as the warehousing, the only study in which this function is clearly mentioned is the development and implementation of an analytical model for quantifying the economic and environmental sustainability dimensions of a FSC (Bottani et al, 2019), and the activities contributing to costs and emissions are detailed (i.e., storage; heating/cooling and lighting; material handling equipment).…”

“…It follows that the RL is the necessary function for closing the loop (and let the FSC be a FCLSC). In terms of literature, firstly, the already mentioned paper by Bottani et al (2020), is recalled, which dealt with the development of a model under Microsoft Excel™ for determining the environmental and economic sustainability dimensions of a FSC, and in the modeling the RL channel is included; however, it shall be indicated that the implementation of the model in an Italian focal company of a FSC did not contemplate the RL function, as this company did not manage a RL channel; it follows that this part was not empirically tested. Janeiro et al (2020) the same year proposed a conceptual model for a RL system managed by Third Party Logistics (3PL) for FSCs; Kim et al (2018) developed and successfully implemented a deterministic model for flows optimization in a CLSC of the fashion industry, including concerns about demand uncertainty of recycled garments; again, Beh et al (2016) illustrated a business model for second-hand fashion products retailers; Fitzsimmons et al (2019), instead, investigated the topic of product optimal price when dealing with a FCLSC, allowing the system to be sustainable in economic terms, while Dissanayake and Sinha (2015) concentrated on the process of product development for fashion items which have to be remanufactured (from the quality issue to the disassembling phase, to the redesign of models).…”

A importância do Design do Ciclo de Vida, no contexto da dimensão ambiental, em relação aos produtos têxteis de moda

“…Outro ponto que também está ligado a dimensão ambiental, mais especificamente ao capital natural, é o que se refere à preservação do ecossistema natural, através da redução da poluição e da produção de resíduos (Bottani et al, 2020), o que é possível pela conservação e reciclagem de energia e recursos. Além disso, outros fatores como o fomento à biodiversidade, a melhoria da qualidade de vida dos outros seres e o respeito aos limites da resiliência da natureza também contribuem com a preservação em questão.…”