Apparel sustainability supply chain

Sustainable apparel retail would be easy to consider if all retailers had the same business model and if they aU operated as simple intermediaries in a supply chain... 

However, when considering the sustainabUity of apparel retail, the most important aspect of the business model to consider is associated with how the retailer sources products. This activity has the most direct impact on the ability of the retailer to be sustainable. The retailer s products and supply chain are the most significant source of the environmental and social impacts. Up to two-thirds of a retailer s carbon footprint and up to 90% of its water footprint is created by its products and supply chain (WRAP, 2011). And as a retailer s supply chain may have more than 20 times more workers in it than in its retail operation, and often in countries where social issues may be significant, the supply chain is a major source of social and ethical challenges for the retailer. Therefore, the sourcing model for products and suppliers is a critical consideration in the development of a sustainability strategy. 

As individual brands these fundamental issues may seem insurmountable however, in spite of the highly competitive nature of the retail apparel market, a growing group of responsible retailers are tackling these issues together. These retailers have recognized the interdependencies of their businesses within the supply chain and how the development of a more sustainable model is beneficial to individual organizations as well as the industry as a whole. 

As awareness and scientific understanding of the environmental and social issues facing the ATs industry has expanded, stakeholders within the apparel industry have developed various tools and indices for measuring different aspects of sustainability within the supply chain. Two of the first leading tools were the Outdoor Industry Association s Eco Index (OIA, 2014) and Nike s Apparel Environmental Design Tool (Nike, 2010), both of which evolved into the Sustainable Apparel Coalition s (SAC) Higg Index. 

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Nowadays there are two of the hottest trends now among CSR executives are supply chains and collaboration among companies on sustainability. The latest example for these two comes from the apparel industry, where the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), a trade association representing more than a third of the global apparel and footwear market, unveiled the Higg Index, a new tool for sustainabihty measurement across the industry value chain. 

The Higg Index is basically a tool enabling apparel companies to better measure the comprehensive enviromnental and social impacts of their products. The idea is that through use of the index companies can identify opportunities to reduce impacts and improve long-term sustainability throughout their supply chain. 

Levi s, which has long been known as a sustainable business leader in its industry, says it s taken the Detox Pledge in China, responding proactively to yet another report, this one by live Chinese non-profits. Sustainable Apparel s Critical Blind Spot. It too lists Levi s as linked to environmental contamination through its supply chain in China... 

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