A More Sustainable Textile Supply Chain

Previous studies related to cooperative advertising mainly focus on the one-period supply chain. In the fashion and textiles (FT) supply chain, the demand of most FT products (fashion clothing, vogue handbags, fashion shoes, and so on) varies over time due to the trends of fashion. In these conditions, a decision-making framework with a multiple-period supply chain becomes more realistic. In view of this, we investigate the optimal cooperative advertising strategies in a two-period FT supply chain consisting of a manufacturer and a retailer in two different scenarios: (i) each channel member makes decisions within a cooperative program; (ii) the retailer is vertically integrated with a manufacturer. Also, we introduce a two-way subsidy contract to coordinate the supply chain.

PurposeEnterprises face the wrath of the government for taking part in environmental conservation and adoption of sustainable initiatives along with customer demands. Therefore, enterprises are forced to adopt sustainable supply chain practices (SSCPs), which leads to competitive advantage. Now, sustainable supply chain management (SSCM) is a management process that promotes the adoption of eco-friendly activities in conventional supply chains (SCs). Enterprises in India are under tremendous pressure to include SSCPs into their conventional SCs. The goal of this paper is to evaluate the barriers for the implementation of SSCPs into Indian Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).Design/methodology/approachThis study aims to identify critical barriers for adoption of SSCPs in the textile MSME SCs located in Eastern India, Odisha with the help of interpretive structural modeling (ISM).FindingsThe paper develops a framework for the evaluation of barriers to the adoption of SSCP in the textile SC. This paper also provides appropriate suggestive measures to deal with the barriers and overcome the same to attain a sustainable textile SC.Research limitations/implicationsOpportunities exist for extension of this research on wider geographical area. In addition to this, some other quantitative modeling approaches can be applied, like analytical hierarchy process, to prioritize the barriers.Practical implicationsThe framework offers help to SC managers in their decision-making process by enabling them to analyze the barriers and ways to overcome them.Originality/valueThe paper deals with a particular geographical area where such kinds of studies are rare. The proposed framework provides a foundation for further research.

This study aims to examine the mediating role perceived usefulness between supply chain collaboration and the intention to use blockchain in the textile industry of Pakistan. A cross-sectional method is conducted, and data is gathered with the help of the adopted questionnaire from previous studies. The HR department of the concerned firm is requested to circulate the printed questionnaire among middle-level employees of the firm. A total of 240 cases are considered in this study. Five Likert scales, from strongly disagree to agree strongly, are considered to test the suggested hypotheses based on previous studies. The findings of this study confirmed the direct effect of supply chain collaboration on the intention to use the blockchain and the partial mediation effect of perceived usefulness is revealed. There are few studies on supply chain collaboration, blockchain use, and perceived usefulness in developing countries like Pakistan's textile industry, especially among middle-level employees. Existing scholarship ignores emerging countries' textile sectors and extends results to other industries. The insights also help managers create blockchain-integrated supply chain strategies. Blockchain technology may be maximized via technology providers and industry-wide cooperation. These practical consequences may improve developing nations' textile supply chains' efficiency, transparency, and competitiveness. The insights also help managers create blockchain-integrated supply chain strategies. Blockchain technology may be maximized via technology providers and industry-wide cooperation.

Several noteworthy scenarios emerged in the global textile and fashion supply chains during the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukraine war. The destabilizing influences of a global pandemic and a geographically localized conflict are being acutely noticed in the worldwide fashion and textile supply chains. This work examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russo-Ukraine conflict on supply chains within the textile and fashion industry. This research employed a content analysis method to identify relevant articles and news from sources such as Google Scholar, the Summon database of North Carolina State University, and the scholarly news portal NexisUni. The selected papers, news articles, and reports provide a comprehensive overview of the fashion, textile, and apparel supply chain disruptions caused by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine, accompanied by discussions from common supply chain perspectives. Disruptions due to COVID-19 include international brands and retailers canceling orders, closures of stores and factories in developing countries, layoffs, and furloughs of workers in both retail stores and supplier factories, the increased prominence of online and e-commerce businesses, the growing importance of automation and digitalization in the fashion supply chain, considerations of sustainability, and the need for a resilient supply chain system to facilitate post-pandemic recovery. In the case of the Russo-Ukraine war, the second-order effects of the conflict have had a more significant impact on the textile supply chain than the direct military operations themselves. In addition to these topics, the study delves into the potential strategies for restoring and strengthening the fashion supply chain. It synthesizes insights from the latest literature to guide future research in understanding and addressing the challenges fashion supply chains face in the COVID-19 era. Overall, this study offers valuable insights that can inform future endeavors in researching and improving the fashion supply chain in the context of the ongoing pandemic and war in Ukraine.

Traceability has recently gained considerable attention in the textile industry. Traceability stands for information sharing about a product including the product history, specification, or location. With the involvement of globally dispersed actors in the textile supply chain, ensuring appropriate product quality with timely supplies is crucial for surviving in this industry with ever increasing competition. Hence it is of paramount importance for a supply chain actor to track every product and trace its history in the supply chain. In this context, this paper presents a framework to implement traceability in the textile supply chain. A system approach has been followed, where firstly the usage requirement of traceability is defined, and then a framework for implementing intra-actor or internal traceability and inter-actor or external traceability is discussed. This article further presents a sequential diagram to demonstrate the interaction and information exchange between the actors in the supply chain, when the traceability information is requested. An example is also illustrated for data storage using a relational database management system and information exchange using XML for the textile weaver. Finally, the article discusses challenges and future studies required to implement traceability in the textile supply chain.

In the textile supply chain—specifically in textile finishing—chemicals play a crucial role. The amount, kind and the processing conditions of chemicals bear considerable impact on environmental performance as well as occupational and consumer safety. For this reason, chemicals management should be focused upon as well as addressed commonly and in a coordinated manner. In the following, it is investigated to what extent input-oriented chemicals management illustrates a solution for the highly complex and seemingly impenetrable global textile supply chain. The relevant stakeholders—chemical suppliers, textile manufacturers and brands—are defined by means of their tasks and interrelation with each other within the supply chain. Further, instruments for chemicals management—that can reach from meeting legal requirements up to taking voluntary actions such as testing and a system-oriented approach—and their effectiveness will be explained. In specific, foundational elements of a system-oriented approach will be defined by ascribing responsibilities to stakeholders regarding the choice and application of textile chemicals. Thereby, a positive list of analyzed and assessed textile chemicals is introduced as an efficient tool. It will become clear that the concept of ‘product stewardship’ and its consequent implementation throughout the entire textile supply chain represents the key to an increasingly sustainable textile production. All players in the supply chain need to be willing to approach alternatives and to follow a chemicals management strategy, which goes hand in hand with ‘chemicals change management’ and induces companies to think one step further, rethink and foremost do not think short-term.

The study focuses on preventing bluewashing in the worldwide textile supply chain. Recently, bluewashing, the practice of falsely portraying a product as socially sustainable, has come to light in the textile supply chain. This situation is created by the complexity of the supply chain and unregulated legislation imposed to fulfill the demands of the fast increasing textile business. Society 5.0, a human-centric concept, is proposed as a response to bluewashing. This strategy employs smart technology such as human-robot collaboration, blockchain, artificial intelligence, and tailored manufacturing. The paper presents conceptual frameworks for preventing bluewashing in the textile supply chain by utilizing Society 5.0's core principles and enabling technology. The frameworks study the prospects and drawbacks of establishing Society 5.0 through textile supply chain, emphasizing the benefits of ethical labour practice, production, and supply chain. Aditionaly, the study also addresses issues like worker skill development, investment return, cyber attack risk, and regulatory changes. The paper suggests a comprehensive approach to integrate Society 5.0 with the textile supply chain, including government legislation, incentives, and industrial collaboration.

Background: In the current political discourse, supply chain transparency is seen as a key to improving the working and environmental conditions within textile supply chains. Additionally, the use of technology is increasingly being regarded as a means of reducing complexity and increasing transparency within these supply chains. While much research has been conducted to understand the impact of the textile industry on sustainability and the impact of technology on the overall performance of the textile supply chains, little attention has been placed on the following question: How do technologies affect transparency within the textile supply chains? Methods: We conducted seven interviews with actors from the textile industry. Based on these collected data, the relevance of selected technologies for improving transparency is established and the challenges of their implementation and impact on the industry are assessed. Results: Digital technologies, such as blockchain, the Internet of Things and dialog platforms, are promising instruments for transparency, even though their current implementation is not ideal. Furthermore, great skepticism on platforms for reporting (audits and complaint systems) is still prevalent. Conclusions: Since the influence of transparency on sustainability is conditioned by the goal orientation with which the technologies are implemented and used, we propose a framework for the implementation of the selected technologies that account for the interaction between said technologies in the textile supply chains.

The uncertainty that arises in textile supply chains may be attributed to several causes. These may be due to the uncertainty in demand caused by changing product variety, rate of new product innovation, lead-time from design to production, etc., or due to uncertainty in supply caused by the failure of the firms to deliver the products or raw materials to the final consumers or intermediate manufacturers, delayed delivery of critical materials, frequency of changing suppliers of critical materials etc.. There is also an uncertainty in manufacturing caused by degree of interaction among components, process yield stability, manufacturing lead time, etc. This study analyzes the impact of uncertainty at different points in the textile supply chain, and tries to identify the weak points in the supply chain. The design adopted for the study is descriptive in nature, involving primary data collection from a sample of textile units in Bangalore city. The data was collected by interviewing the different textile units about their supply chain practices, the constraints they face in terms of uncertainty, and strategies adopted by them to resolve those. The paper suggests appropriate strategies and solutions to manage the uncertainty that occurs in textile supply chains at various nodes and due to varied reasons.

This paper explores the interaction and impact of political disruptions on textile supply chain performance in Pakistan. A qualitative approach is adopted to explore the linkages and relationships between political disruptions and supply chain disruptions and performance. Semi-structured interviews were conducted at 25 different textile manufacturing firms. This study confirmed the prevalence of severe and variegated impacts of political disruptions on the textile supply chain. Supply chain disruption is found to be a key mediating factor that directly and indirectly affect supply chain performance through an increased production and delivery lead-time, transportation delays, interruptions of raw material supplies to plants and distributors and the restricted access to workplaces for suppliers and workers. The linkages are represented through vicious circles that illustrate the interactions and inter-relationships between disrupted supply chain and performance. This study provides empirical evidence to help government to formulate pertinent labour laws and industrial policy to mitigate political disruptions and minimise deleterious effects of supply chain disruption on production and distribution networks whilst respecting and protecting the democratic rights of people.

The textile industry has a large stake in Pakistan's economy but has come under the spotlight lately due to unsustainable practices. This paper investigates how consumer awareness and demand can act as catalysts in the process of changing the textile supply chain of the country toward sustainability. Developed economies have adopted sustainable supply chain practices through regulatory frameworks and informed consumer choices, but emerging markets like Pakistan are still focusing on cost efficiency rather than environmental and social responsibility. Limited consumer knowledge, weak enforcement of sustainability regulations, and financial constraints are some of the key barriers to sustainable transformation. Using a qualitative research approach, this study explores consumer perspectives on sustainable textile products and whether they opt for sustainable textile products. Findings suggest that increasing consumer awareness and aligning demand with global sustainability trends can drive businesses to adopt responsible practices. This study provides insights for policymakers and businesses, highlighting the need for strategic interventions to promote sustainability through informed consumer engagement and industry-wide regulatory improvements.

Coordination mechanism, risk sharing, and risk aversion in a five-level textile supply chain under demand and supply uncertainty

Purpose Social sustainability has become increasingly critical for contemporary firms striving to achieve sustainability and social responsibility across their supply chain operations. While social concerns have recently gained considerable attention in academic literature and managerial practice, empirical studies on social sustainability, particularly female social sustainability (FSS), remain limited within the supply chain of critical process industries. Accordingly, this paper investigates FSS initiatives in the textile supply chain. Design/methodology/approach This study follows a qualitative methodology to examine the research phenomenon using in-depth information obtained from consultants and corporate managers in the textile industry of Pakistan. A total of 19 semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the FSS practices in the textile sector. Findings Building on the institutional theory-based view (ITBV) and social resource-based view (SRBV), the findings revealed various strategic, operational, female health and well-being, digital and stakeholder initiatives to enhance FSS in the textile supply chain in a developing economy. Originality/value We argue that the present study is one of the early empirical studies using the SRBV and ITBV to understand the FSS initiatives in a holistic way in the textile supply chain.

Decarbonization practices in the textile supply chain: Towards an integrated conceptual framework

Recent practices in textile supply chains (SC) show a growing concern for sustainability not only in its economic dimension, but fundamentally in its environmental and social ones. One of the key management processes that affect sustainability is the SC operations planning since its fundamental role in achieving a balance between supply and demand in a sustainable manner. Moreover, in an uncertain and dynamic environment such as the textile sector, it is necessary to provide a certain learning capability to the operations planning techniques used to increase the speed and quality of response of the textile SC to unexpected situations. In this context, mathematical programming models, heuristics and artificial intelligence techniques have proven their validity to achieve sustainable, robust and smart supply chains. Despite their potential, neither a conceptual framework (CF) nor a literature review have been detected to support the development and study of such models in the textile supply chain operations planning. In view of these gaps, this paper proposes a CF for supporting the sustainable and smart operations planning of the textile supply chains in a dynamic and uncertain context based on a set of dimensions, categories and elements that reflect the specific characteristics of the textile sector. Firstly, a tentative CF is predefined based on other generic works on SC operations planning in uncertain context and the own authors’ knowledge. Secondly, a structured literature review based on this CF has been made resulting, at the same time, in the updating of some of its dimensions, categories and elements to reflect some textile specific characteristics. Consequently, the CF is not only predefined but also logically derived from the literature analysis. The results of the literature review show that there is a great opportunity to contribute to making textile supply chains more sustainable, smart, flexible, robust and resilient in dynamic and uncertain environments.