13. Strategies for Greening the Fashion Supply Chain

The disruption of supply chains by political, economic and black swan (unpredicted) events has put environmental issues into focus. One of the first industries to experience severe pressure is the fashion industry, which could be perceived as a want industry and not a need. This brings into question the size of the industry and the want for too many clothing items, which requires the industry to shrink to reduce consumption. The fashion industry could re-engineer its supply chain to make it sustainable (beyond corporate social responsibility) and move towards co-value that acknowledges not only the positives of the value chain but also the negatives (harmful activities). Congruency between the fashion brand and the influencer will garner positive outcomes for the brand image, but sustainability must be at the front and back of the brand to maximise the reputation of the brand, especially for future consumers such as Gen Z. However, there are implications for jobs in the global fashion economy. The industry needs to consider the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and understand how they can be more effectively applied to fashion. Furthermore, the fashion industry needs to look at implementation of SDGs, so they move beyond a marketing concept.