Sustainability - the fashionable strategic concept of the moment for fast fashion retailers?

Sustainability - the fashionable strategic concept of the moment for fast fashion retailers?

1. 2.1 Sustainability in the fast fashion industry

   • Definition of sustainability
   • Issues relating to sustainability and corporate social responsibility
     • Product life cycles - harmful
   • Catalyst for sustainability (climate change and globalisation)
   • Priorities and drives (stakeholder and government concerns)
     • Implementing the strategy before it becomes a regulation like CSR
       • gov 2009 launched campaign
       • Why CSR is not enough to create a sustainable world
         • Why CSR is not enough to create a sustainable world http://www.theguardian.com/sustainability/blog/sustainable-business-csr  
   • Best practice/sustainaility reporting
     • Little yet established
     • How to communicate sustainabilitY
       • How to communicate sustainability  http://sustainly.com/system/files/Sustainly_Index_2015_Exec_Summary.pdf  
       • Are sustainability comms the business world’s attempt at piggybacking off social and environmental problems? Quite the opposite, argues Matthew Yeomans
       • current environmental sustainability issues of the apparel industry focus less on reducing consumption levels. Jung jing - this section will allow a smooth transition to the next topic of consumer behaviour.
     • http://www.theguardian.com/sustainability/sustainability-report-2014-governance
   • soft sustainability
     • Today, as companies try to convince the public why sustainability matters, some marketers and communicators are exploring a new strategy, one that stresses sustainability values that matter to people without alienating them with sustainability jargon – call it soft sustainability. Finally, at the top of the sustainability communication difficulty pyramid is soft sustainability and the art of talking about sustainability without ever mentioning the term. http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/feb/24/is-communicating-sustainability-a-subtle-attempt-at-doing-good?CMP=share_btn_tw

2. 2.2 Fast fashion consumer behaviour

   • The theory of involvement of consumer behaviour
     • Beyond the fad: a critical review of consumer fashion involvement
       • Beyond the fad: a critical review of consumer fashion involvement http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1470-6431.2011.01041.x/epdf
   • Description of current behaviour stats
     • Consumers want new and now - don't understand consequences
       • http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1111/ijcs.12169/asset/ijcs12169.pdf?v=1&t=i6vwsbv1&s=c4bd4a9577d2ddb72dd9578648bf8c3caf3e1241&systemMessage=Wiley+Online+Library+will+be+disrupted+on+7th+March+from+10%3A00-13%3A00+GMT+%2805%3A00-08%3A00+EST%29+for+essential+maintenance.++Apologies+for+the+inconvenience.

3. 2.3 Alternatives to fast fashion

   • NO ALTERNATIVE NEEDED!
     • CEO of H&M: reducing consumption will create a social catastrophe
       • http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/hm-partner-zone/2015/feb/03/ceo-of-hm-reducing-consumption-will-create-a-social-catastrophe?CMP=share_btn_tw
   • SLOW FASHION
     • the slow fashion concept asks consumers to question established practices and worldviews
       • http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/store/10.1111/ijcs.12169/asset/ijcs12169.pdf?v=1&t=i6vwsbv1&s=c4bd4a9577d2ddb72dd9578648bf8c3caf3e1241&systemMessage=Wiley+Online+Library+will+be+disrupted+on+7th+March+from+10%3A00-13%3A00+GMT+%2805%3A00-08%3A00+EST%29+for+essential+maintenance.++Apologies+for+the+inconvenience.
   • Quality not quantity
     • http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/grow.12041/epdf

4. RQ 1 = What sustainable fashion means in the fast fashion industry and how far should fast fashion retailers push the sustainability agenda

   • 2.3
   • 2.1

5. RQ 2 = Consumer behaviour in the apparel industry

   • 2.2

6. RQ 3 = Viable alternative to fast fashion

   • 2.3

7. CONCLUSION

   • "It's about continuous improvement - a step-by-step approach."We've created a situation where we've got really cheap clothes and that's not going to re-addressed overnight.”
     •  Allana McAspurn, of ethical fashion campaign body Made-By, said change would be gradual: "It's about continuous improvement - a step-by-step approach."We've created a situation where we've got really cheap clothes and that's not going to re-addressed overnight.” http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/7899327.stm
     • Fast fashion cannot be replaced entirely, strategic direction is whats needed
       • Either consumer behaviours need to change or legislation and strategy does
         • First, the evidence presented is often not hard enough, since it is based on qualitative data; and, sec- ond, (they are often only valid for a specic sector or company, hence their applicability is limited.
           •   Salzmann, O., Ionescu-somers, A., & Steger, U. (2005). The Business Case for Corporate Sustainability: European Management Journal, 23(1), 2736. doi:10.1016/j.emj.2004.12.007  
           • If the propositions emerging from this paper survive empirical testing, they will extend our theories of corporate sustainability beyond the all-or-nothing type of argument underlying most of the CSP–CFP debate. This in turn will hopefully lead to a more relevant description of the corporate sustainability challenges faced by most managers.
             •   Hockerts, K. (2015). A Cognitive Perspective on the Business Case for Corporate Sustainability.Business Strategy and the Environment, 24(2), 102–122. doi:10.1002/bse.1813  
             • Q: How do you feel it can move more into the mainstream, or if not why? KF: Surely the question is about how the mainstream can transform?
               • http://katefletcher.com/tag/fashion/page/4/
   • FURTHER RESEARCH
     • Perhaps younger consumers have a different ethical perspective than other age groups, which should be investigated in further research.
       • http://www.emeraldinsight.com/doi/pdfplus/10.1108/13612020610679321

8. GOOD REFERENCES/ POINTS

   • The future of waste (includes recycling and responsibility of retailers)
     • http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2015/feb/23/future-of-waste-five-things-look-2025?CMP=share_btn_tw

9. STRATEGY

   • link between strategic direction and CSR PORTER
     • http://f2.washington.edu/fm/sites/default/files/Porter%20Business%20Case%20for%20CSR.pdf
   • Business transformation towards sustainability
     • DOI 10.1007/s40685-014-0011-y