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Effective Disclosure in the Fast-Fashion Industry: from Sustainability Reporting to Action

Author

Listed:
  • Sofia Garcia-Torres

    (Deusto Business School, University of Deusto, Avda, Universidades, 24, 48007 Bilbao, Spain)

  • Marta Rey-Garcia

    (School of Economics and Business, University of A Coruña, 15071 A Coruña, Spain)

  • Laura Albareda-Vivo

    (School of Business and Management, Lappeenranta University of Technology, LUT, 53850 Lappeenranta, Finland)

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.

Suggested Citation

  • Sofia Garcia-Torres & Marta Rey-Garcia & Laura Albareda-Vivo, 2017. "Effective Disclosure in the Fast-Fashion Industry: from Sustainability Reporting to Action," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(12), pages 1-27, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:12:p:2256-:d:121844
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    6. Fung, Yi-Ning & Chan, Hau-Ling & Choi, Tsan-Ming & Liu, Rong, 2021. "Sustainable product development processes in fashion: Supply chains structures and classifications," International Journal of Production Economics, Elsevier, vol. 231(C).
    7. Thorey S Thorisdottir & Lara Johannsdottir, 2020. "Corporate Social Responsibility Influencing Sustainability within the Fashion Industry. A Systematic Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(21), pages 1-64, November.
    8. Nelly Oelze & Tim Gruchmann & Marcus Brandenburg, 2020. "Motivating Factors for Implementing Apparel Certification Schemes—A Sustainable Supply Chain Management Perspective," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(12), pages 1-15, June.
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    10. Áron Szennay & Cecília Szigeti & Norbert Kovács & Dániel Róbert Szabó, 2019. "Through the Blurry Looking Glass—SDGs in the GRI Reports," Resources, MDPI, vol. 8(2), pages 1-17, May.
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    12. Silvia Dimitrova, 2020. "Ethical Fashion," Izvestia Journal of the Union of Scientists - Varna. Economic Sciences Series, Union of Scientists - Varna, Economic Sciences Section, vol. 9(3), pages 27-39, December.
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    14. Ricardo Aguado & Jose Luis Retolaza, 2023. "Special Issue: From Profession to Purpose: Discerning the Authentic Self of Economic Actors in the New Normal," Humanistic Management Journal, Springer, vol. 8(2), pages 143-147, August.
    15. Carolin Brix-Asala & Anne-Kristin Geisbüsch & Philipp Christopher Sauer & Patrick Schöpflin & Axel Zehendner, 2018. "Sustainability Tensions in Supply Chains: A Case Study of Paradoxes and Their Management," Post-Print hal-03891228, HAL.

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