Behind the runway: Extending sustainability in luxury fashion supply chains

Abstract

From a resource-based view, this paper investigates sustainability integration across multiple tiers in two Italian luxury supply chains producing fashion and leather footwear, a complex and fragmented industry sector that is highly dependent upon raw materials and a human skills base. Qualitative in-depth interview data were collected from senior industry informants within 10 businesses, spanning multiple supply chain tiers. Industry practices are systematically decomposed into product, process and supply chain levels to analyse supply chain sustainability. Findings reveal that product-level practices focused on raw materials more than design initiatives, with operational benefits of cost reduction and market benefits of consumer value-add. Process-level practices in water and energy reduction were motivated by cost reduction benefits more than environmental concerns. At supply chain level, traceability projects and supplier audits were limited by a lack of end-to-end supply chain visibility, despite the criticality of raw materials and evidence of close and long-term trading relationships. Supply chain transparency and supplier engagement are critical areas for development. Both technical and relational resources must be developed across supply networks. Current practices are geared towards reducing negative impacts associated with current operations, falling short of the radical strategies needed to address root causes and embrace sustainability at large.