Abstract
PurposeThe fashion industry is diverse and demands a high amount of resources and labor for its operation. It has powerful tools that can positively impact the environment and society as a whole. In this sense, it becomes necessary for fashion to adopt sustainable strategies quickly. One way would be the adoption of eco-innovations by companies in the sector. The objective of this research is to identify the main eco-innovation initiatives carried out by companies in the fashion sector and to verify what the trend is in the sector in relation to the types of eco-innovation, whether technological or non-technological in nature.Design/methodology/approachTo meet the objective, the sector’s sustainability reports are analyzed based on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) initiative. The method used to treat the data is content analysis. The authors chose to use the GRI-G4 and GRI-Standards versions of the GRI structure, as they include topics relevant to its stakeholders. The analysis based on these criteria considers 18 reports prepared by four companies (Cia Hering, Grupo Malwee, Dudalina and Lojas Renner).FindingsFrom the data analysis, it was noticed that eco-innovations of technological trends prevail in Brazilian fashion, in the first place, those of process (24.56%), followed by eco-innovations of product (10.53%). The pressure exerted by internal or external stakeholders will be fueled by the current scenario of sustainable development, positively influencing the adoption of eco-innovation. This characteristic can be attributed to the fashion sector, since technological eco-innovations overlap with non-technological ones in all the years that make up the analysis.Research limitations/implicationsAs limitations of this research, it is worth mentioning the availability of GRIs in the fashion sector. Even considering it a step forward, noting that larger companies support the adoption of these reports, it is important to highlight that only four companies make up the available database (Cia Hering, Lojas Renner, Dudalina and Malwee). From the adoption of the dissemination of sustainability reports by other organizations, the base could be expanded.Practical implicationsFrom this study, practical questions emerge that can contribute to managers and companies in the Brazilian fashion sector. Initially, the focus on eco-innovations is predominantly related to the technological component, with an emphasis on process eco-innovations. In this sense, business actions seek to resolve the accusations normally attributed to the sector, such as the adoption of unsustainable practices. For example, in cotton production, firms use large amounts of pesticides and water, despite the sector being accused of not taking proper responsibility regarding sustainability related issues.Social implicationsInvestment in eco-innovations indicates a positive attitude and change resulting from pressure and the need to return the market to society’s demands for more sustainable production technologies with less environmental impact.Originality/valueThe originality of the study lies in the systematization of a GRI analysis model applied to measure eco-innovations in fashion. Through the applied methodology, it is possible to emphasize that eco-innovations of technological trend prevail in the industry, first in processes and then in product development.
Highlights
Discussions about innovation have been shaping business performance everywhere
The fashion industry has been challenged to innovate from an environmental perspective, as it holds second place among the most polluting ones (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017) and has been widely criticized for generating a high environmental impact
The corporations and reports accessed are detailed in Table 3: The analysis considers all 17 available reports prepared by four companies in the fashion industry (Cia Hering, Grupo Malwee, Dudalina and Lojas Renner)
Summary
Discussions about innovation have been shaping business performance everywhere. One of the characteristics that influence business innovation most is the particularities of its industrial activity (Oliva et al, 2019). Poor environmental performance in raw materials, as in cotton production – which involves significant amounts of pesticides and water – makes it one of the most polluting crops in the world. Another criticism comes from the generation of high social impacts. Fashion may lack the environmental resilience found in sustainability because while the prospects for increasing productivity are uncertain, there is the certainty of increasing global challenges in the commercial sphere. In this sense, sustainability in fashion cannot be relegated to a secondary role. It becomes necessary to integrate it into the companies’ corporate strategy (McKinsey Global Fashion Index, 2019) and adopt these sustainable strategies fast (Choi & Han, 2019; Grose, 2019)
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