Abstract
This work, set in the context of the apparel industry, proposes an action-oriented disclosure tool to help solve the sustainability challenges of complex fast-fashion supply chains (SCs). In a search for effective disclosure, it focusses on actions towards sustainability instead of the measurements and indicators of its impacts. We applied qualitative and quantitative content analysis to the sustainability reporting of the world’s two largest fast-fashion companies in three phases. First, we searched for the challenges that the organisations report they are currently facing. Second, we introduced the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) framework to overcome the voluntary reporting drawback of ‘choosing what to disclose’, and revealed orphan issues. This broadened the scope from internal corporate challenges to issues impacting the ecosystems in which companies operate. Third, we analysed the reported sustainability actions and decomposed them into topics, instruments, and actors. The results showed that fast-fashion reporting has a broadly developed analysis base, but lacks action orientation. This has led us to propose the ‘Fast-Fashion Sustainability Scorecard’ as a universal disclosure framework that shifts the focus from (i) reporting towards action; (ii) financial performance towards sustainable value creation; and (iii) corporate boundaries towards value creation for the broader SC ecosystem.
Highlights
The textile and apparel industry, which ranks among the world’s most polluting sectors [1], has historically been among the first to enter less-developed countries due to its labour-intensive character [2]
Fast-fashion supply chains (SCs) are potential vehicles for the development of upstream producers and the introduction of industrial improvements to local communities [2], but are at risk of generating sustainability issues related to social and environmental breaches [6,7]. This situation, augmented by social pressures to enhance Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR), has forced fast-fashion companies to accelerate their search for sustainability—i.e., the confluence of the economic, social, and environmental dimensions, such that no dimension is compromised for the benefit of the others, as per Elkington’s triple bottom line (TBL) concept [8]
We further argue that sustainability and integrated reporting is crippled by its origin in financial reporting, which is understood as a “detailed periodic account of a company’s activities, financial condition, and prospects that is made available to shareholders and investors” [44] (p. 178)
Summary
The textile and apparel industry, which ranks among the world’s most polluting sectors [1], has historically been among the first to enter less-developed countries due to its labour-intensive character [2]. Since apparel and fast-fashion SCs currently employ millions of workers—especially young women—worldwide, there is an urgent need to leverage their developing power for local producers, communities, and the environment, as well as reverse the negative impacts of their growth: that is, to create sustainable value within and beyond company and SC boundaries This is the ultimate goal of this work, which relies on the potential of effective sustainability reporting. We start by describing the structure of fast-fashion SCs and analysing the potential of the sustainable value creation and collective impact approaches to solve or leverage the sustainability challenges and opportunities of complex global SCs. We discuss the limitations of mainstream reporting, and substantiate the potential utility of disclosure frameworks and practice-oriented and industry-relevant tools for sustainability. We outline the main conclusions and limitations of the study
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
