Sustainable entrepreneurship in the apparel industry: Passion and challenges

Su, Jin; Wood, Anne Mitchell; Gargeya, Vidyaranya B.

doi:10.1080/00405000.2021.1957276

Cited by 5 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Abrazo Style—a company that promotes ethical framing , describes its products as “fairly traded, quality, hand embroidered, 100% cotton Mexican apparel in contemporary fabrics and designs” (Style, 2021 ). Similarly, other sustainability entrepreneurs use ethical framing to highlight the social dimension of sustainability and emphasise providing jobs for communities and local economies guided by social inequalities in their businesses (Su et al, 2022 ). Advocating slow framing , the Tiny Closet creates clothing from outsourced/deadstock fabric while ensuring all pieces are made to order, thereby aligning itself with the principles of slow fashion (Wardrobe Oxygen, 2021 ).…”

Section: The Illustrative Case Of (Un)sustainable Fashion Transitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

(Un)Sustainable transitions towards fast and ultra-fast fashion

Dzhengiz

Haukkala²,

Sahimaa

2023

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Due to pressing sustainability challenges, the fashion industry is undergoing tremendous change. Surprisingly, even though the unique context of fashion presents an opportunity for scholars to explore the (un)sustainable transitions, this context has yet to receive the attention of transition scholars. Our article explores fashion transitions and develops a conceptual framework demonstrating this transition's multi-level and multi-dimensional interactions. We draw on three literature areas: multi-level perspective (MLP) of sustainable transitions, institutional logics and framing contests. We then introduce a conceptual framework and illustrative examples from the industry and demonstrate the tensions between positive and negative environmental and social sustainability developments at the niche, regime and landscape levels. We show that while many positive developments can be seen in the regime players through the adoption of corporate sustainability initiatives, new business models and collaborations, more attention should also be given to some adverse developments. Overall, we contribute to the literature by exploring fashion transitions, an under-explored context, and by demonstrating the complexity of interactions due to the diffusion of heterogeneous institutional logics and framing contests between players.

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Section: The Illustrative Case Of (Un)sustainable Fashion Transitionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

(Un)Sustainable transitions towards fast and ultra-fast fashion

Dzhengiz

Haukkala²,

Sahimaa

2023

Fash Text

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“…The literature on challenges for sustainable entrepreneurs and for small business management in the fashion industry is diffuse and remains ambiguous. Only few authors investigate current challenges in a systematic and detailed way [10,[40][41][42][43][44][45].…”

Section: Challenges For Sustainable Fashion Companiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thus, costs and pricing also constitute challenges for sustainable entrepreneurs and managers of small businesses [10]. In this context, the education of consumers [10,40,41,43] and their activation [10] are identified as key hurdles. Although social media appears to be a prolific tool [43], the commercial use of social networks for marketing purposes requires careful preparation, monitoring and ongoing management.…”

Section: Challenges For Sustainable Fashion Companiesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Overcoming Growth Challenges of Sustainable Ventures in the Fashion Industry: A Multinational Exploration

2022

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Over the past decade, the proliferation of entrepreneurial ventures and small firms with sustainable business models have pushed the sustainability agenda in the fashion industry. Despite prominent success stories, these companies often encounter significant operative challenges that hinder growth or even cause business failure. This paper adopts a qualitative research design and uses data gathered during 18 expert interviews with entrepreneurs and executive managers of 18 firms from 13 countries to identify and explore the dominant challenges that micro- and small-sized sustainable fashion companies struggle with. The results indicate that communicating with consumers is perceived as surprisingly difficult, especially because sustainable brands need to justify higher prices and explain the added benefits of their products. Second, resource constraints lead to operative friction and overburdening of the decision makers and their small management teams. Third, sustainable sourcing and production processes are economically difficult in an industry that continues to occupy a mass and low-cost logic. Against the background of these insights, a range of managerial recommendations are developed and contextualized in the framework of the Business Model Canvas. This novel approach makes the suggestions which are rooted in the resource-based view actionable and supports sustainable businesses to better manage their operations and achieve growth. For example, collaborative approaches with different stakeholders may mitigate constraints across all three identified problem areas.

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“…In addition, studies revealed that with growing pressure from consumers and other stakeholders, clothing retailers increasingly treated sustainability as another critical factor in their sourcing decisions [23,24]. Whereas companies' specific scopes and priorities for "sourcing sustainability" varied, goals commonly pursued included using eco-friendly textile raw materials, reducing carbon emissions in logistics, achieving supply chain transparency, and protecting workers' rights [25,26]. Adding sustainability to retailers' sourcing criteria was considered conducive to expanding clothing imports from developed countries, which were perceived to protect the environment and workers better than most developing countries and could shorten the shipping distance to the end market [14,15].…”

Section: Us Retailers' Sourcing Factors For Clothingmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explore U.S. Retailers’ Sourcing Strategies for Clothing Made from Recycled Textile Materials

2022

Sustainability

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This study explored U.S. retailers’ sourcing patterns for clothing made from recycled textile materials. Based on a statistical analysis of over 3000 such clothing items for sale in the U.S. retail market from January 2019 to August 2022 at the Stock Keeping Unit (SKU) level, the study found that U.S. retailers adopted a diverse sourcing base for clothing made from recycled textile materials, covering developed and developing economies worldwide. Additionally, an exporting country’s economic development level and geographic location had statistically significant impacts on U.S. retailers’ sourcing patterns for clothing made from recycled textile materials regarding assortment diversity, product sophistication, market segments, and pricing. The study’s findings revealed the broad supply base for clothing made from recycled textile materials and suggested promising sourcing opportunities for such products. The findings also indicated that sourcing clothing made from recycled textile materials may help U.S. retailers achieve business benefits beyond the positive environmental impacts.

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Sustainable entrepreneurship in the apparel industry: Passion and challenges

Cited by 5 publications

References 24 publications

(Un)Sustainable transitions towards fast and ultra-fast fashion

(Un)Sustainable transitions towards fast and ultra-fast fashion

Overcoming Growth Challenges of Sustainable Ventures in the Fashion Industry: A Multinational Exploration

Explore U.S. Retailers’ Sourcing Strategies for Clothing Made from Recycled Textile Materials

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