Social life cycle assessment of t-shirt supply chains using willingness to pay

Abstract

Managing social risks in the supply chain is an important issue that directly affects business performance. However, the existing literature does not provide sufficient quantitative assessment of labor problems for corporate decision-making. This study fills this research gap by conducting a social life cycle assessment (S-LCA) of the T-shirt supply chain from a consumer perspective to quantify labor issues in monetary terms. The framework consists of two approaches: (1) calculation of willingness to pay (WTP) to solve labor problems and (2) inventory analysis. To calculate the WTP, questionnaires were distributed to 203 respondents. The WTP ranged from 344 JPY (labor rights) to 596 JPY (child labor). The WTP was used as an indicator of integration of labor problems. In inventory analysis, working hours were used to quantify the impact on workers. The results showed that working hours were long in the textile and wearing apparel stages. In conclusion, T-shirts manufactured in Vietnam were identified as the least worker-friendly T-shirts sold in Japan, with a social cost of 2,835 JPY. In supply chain stages, child labor was identified as a major problem in India at the textile stage and in Vietnam, at the wearing apparel stage. This study quantifies labor risks through a cost–benefit analysis, thereby contributing to the development of supply chain strategies for companies.