A performance evaluation system for product eco-design in the fashion supply chain

Abstract

With the increasing environmental awareness of citizens, sustainable fashion has become a hot topic in industry, academia, and society. The importance of product eco-design (ED) in ensuring the sustainability of organizations and supply chains cannot be overstated. This paper aims to establish an eco-design performance evaluation system and identify the most effective management mechanism. To achieve this goal, a linked two-stage network Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) model is developed. This model has a well-defined internal structure and potential causal relationships between variables; and the two stages are Internal and Supplier Management (ISM) and Openness and Collaboration (OC). We analyze stage and overall efficiencies using proactive, reactive, and simultaneous approaches. Additionally, we explore the convergence characteristics of the industry's ED efficiency from 2015 to 2018. The results show that the overall ED efficiency of fashion enterprises is significant when considering the interrelatedness of subsystems. However, there is disharmony between the two stages. As the proactive approach, ISM is the optimal strategy to maximize ED efficiency. On the other hand, OC is critical to eco-design performance. This paper contributes to the existing literature by developing an innovative DEA analytical framework for evaluating eco-design performance. It also identifies the most eco-efficient way to achieve better environmental performances, which allows decision-makers to better allocate their design efforts and improve both short- and long-term corporate sustainability.