Investigation of the challenges of implementing social sustainability initiatives: a case study of the apparel industry

Akbar, Suraiyah; Ahsan, Kamrul

doi:10.1108/srj-09-2019-0291

Cited by 22 publications

(12 citation statements)

References 105 publications

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“…The growing concerns about forced labor involved in cotton production (i.e., tier 4 suppliers) again set a good example. Additionally, different from the public perception and previous studies, the findings call for equal treatment of suppliers from developed and developing countries when vetting their environmental and social compliance-related transparency (Sodhi & Tang, 2019;Akbar & Ahsan, 2020).…”

Section: Implications and Future Research Agendacontrasting

confidence: 91%

Apparel Supply Chain Transparency: Where is the Weakness? A Case Study on VF Corporation

Merryman

2022

Breaking Boundaries

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BackgroundWith the public's increasing demand, fashion companies are making more significant efforts to improve their apparel supply chains' transparency, i.e., mapping where the product is made and knowing suppliers' compliance with social and environmental regulations (Fung, Choi, & Liu, 2020). Researchers have explored the impact of supply chain transparency on consumers' purchasing behaviors or fashion companies' business performance (Sodhi & Tang, 2020;Bhaduri & Copeland, 2021). However, the most vulnerable spots for supply chain transparency remain primarily unknown (Ma, Lee, & Goerlitz, 2016). This study aims to identify the critical weakness of apparel supply chain transparency based on a case study of VF Corporation (VF), one of the most historical and largest U.S. apparel companies operating globally (VF, 2021). Unlike existing literature that focused on finished garments only, we evaluated the transparency of VF Corporation's entire apparel supply chain in 2020, which included 327 suppliers making finished garments or textile intermediaries of all kinds (Modi & Zhao, 2020; VF, 2021). The findings of this study will fulfill a critical research gap and significantly enhance our understanding of the nature of today's apparel supply chain and the opportunities and challenges to improve its transparency. Literature reviewExisting studies suggest that several factors may affect the apparel supply chain's transparency. First, as the apparel production process is lengthy and fragmented, fashion companies typically map their tier 1 & tier 2 suppliers (i.e., garment or fabric manufacturers), but not tier 3 & tier 4 suppliers (i.e., yarn or fiber producers) (Lu, 2020). This suggests that supply chain transparency could worsen toward the supply chain's upper side (H1). Second, studies indicate that suppliers in different segments of the apparel supply chain may have their respective transparency priorities (Desore & Narula, 2018;Cai & Choi, 2020). In general, textile mills may prioritize environmental and sustainability-related transparency, whereas garment factories may focus more on social compliance (H2). Third, because of stricter government regulations and more effective enforcement, vendors located in developed countries could perform better than those from developing ones regarding supply chain transparency (Nayak, Akbari, & Far, 2019) (H3). MethodsGiven the nature of VF suppliers' data, we used the MANOVA technique to test the hypotheses (Huberty & Olejnik, 2006; VF, 2021). The dependent variables include three items that measure a supplier's transparency performance, namely: 1) Information: if VF indicates that a supplier provided its environmental or social compliance information =1; if VF indicates that the supplier was unresponsive to VF's request for environmental or social compliance information=0 (VF, 2021) 2021 Proceedings

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Section: Implications and Future Research Agendacontrasting

confidence: 91%

Apparel Supply Chain Transparency: Where is the Weakness? A Case Study on VF Corporation

Merryman

2022

Breaking Boundaries

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“…Extant research also shows that OHS training is a part of the safety initiatives of garment factories in Bangladesh (Barua and Ansary, 2017; Ter Haar and Keune, 2014). However, training initiatives on OHS are not sufficient and regular in garment supplier factories, particularly training on higher skills (Akbar and Ahsan, 2020; Maalouf et al , 2019; Barua and Ansary, 2017). If suppliers want to improve the task performance of workers, they need to consider OHS training as a part of their routine activities and ensure regular OHS training for workers (Hoque et al , 2020; Maalouf et al , 2019).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This is partly because of the poor OHSMS in the garment industry of Bangladesh (Hamja et al , 2019). Although managers, supervisors and shop floor workers interact frequently through formal or informal communications, they do not understand each other due to poor communication skills (Akbar and Ahsan, 2020; Hoque et al , 2020; Maalouf et al , 2019). Therefore, management needs to focus on effective communication systems to convey the right message to the right workers at the right time (Walters and Nichols, 2007).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Task performance and occupational health and safety management systems in the garment industry of Bangladesh

Hoque

Shahinuzzaman

2021

IJWHM

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PurposeThis study investigates the relationship between individual task performance of garment workers and occupational health and safety management systems (OHSMS) in the garment industry of Bangladesh.Design/methodology/approachFollowing a quantitative research approach and using a four-stage cluster sampling technique, data collected from 610 workers of twelve garments supplier factories using a structured questionnaire. Mean, standard deviation, correlation and stepwise multiple regressions performed to understand the relationship between task performance and OHSMS.FindingsThe study results demonstrate that occupational health and safety (OHS) policy, benchmarking, worker participation, OHS training, communication, emergency response, preventive and protective action, monitoring and review are the significant predictors of individual task performance of garment workers; and OHS policy contributes most substantially to the variance of task performance in the garment industry of Bangladesh.Research limitations/implicationsThis study’s findings contribute to operations management, human resources management and the health and safety management literature by demonstrating a link between operational performance, human resources management and OHSMS.Practical implicationsThis study could be beneficial for garment suppliers to understand how effective OHSMS can reduce production costs by increasing worker efficiency.Originality/valueThis is a unique research attempt as it considers the task performance dimension of an individual garment worker from the OHS management perspective.

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“…In other words, companies must make responsible use of available resources and consider the well-being of their workers and society (Arslan, 2020). Improving the safety for employees, the relationships between them, increasing morale by showing that companies care about them, and creating a suitable work environment, companies gain social sustainability (SS) (Akbar & Ahsan, 2020). Specifically, given that the maquiladora industry carries out activities that require high levels of labor hand (García-Alcaraz et al, 2020), then SS is of great importance since they have many employees.…”

Section: Social Sustainabilitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Effect of lean manufacturing tools on sustainability: the case of Mexican maquiladoras

Alcaráz

García

Díaz-Reza

et al. 2022

Environ Sci Pollut Res

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The Mexican maquiladora industry is applying Lean Manufacturing Tools (LMT) in its production lines; however, few studies have investigated its relationship with sustainability (social, economic, and environmental). This paper presents a second-order structural equation model (SEM) relating 8 LMT integrated into three independent latent variables: continuous improvement (Kaizen and Gemba), supporting tools (Andon, visual management, and Poka-yoke), and machinery and equipment (total productive maintenance, overall equipment effectiveness, and Jidoka) that are related to social, economic, and environmental sustainability as dependent variables. The model is validated with information obtained from 249 companies using partial least squares. Findings show that the application of LMT in the Mexican maquiladora industry avoids the generation of waste and reprocessing. Likewise, the improvement of production processes reduces the waste emitted into the environment and reduces energy consumption. Also, when companies have environmental programs, the work environment is safe, and labor relations are improved, increasing morale and the commitment to work for the company, gaining economic and ecological benefits. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s11356-022-18978-6.

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Investigation of the challenges of implementing social sustainability initiatives: a case study of the apparel industry

Cited by 22 publications

References 105 publications

Apparel Supply Chain Transparency: Where is the Weakness? A Case Study on VF Corporation

Apparel Supply Chain Transparency: Where is the Weakness? A Case Study on VF Corporation

Task performance and occupational health and safety management systems in the garment industry of Bangladesh

Effect of lean manufacturing tools on sustainability: the case of Mexican maquiladoras

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