Productivity, Digital Footprint and Sustainability in the Textile and Clothing Industry

Abstract

In recent years, there has been a shift from the linear economic model on which the textile and clothing industry is based to a more sustainable model. However, to date, limited research on the relationship between sustainability commitment and firm productivity has focused on the textile and clothing industry. This study addresses this gap and aims to explore whether the digital footprint of small and medium-sized textile companies in terms of their sustainable performance is related to their productivity. To this end, the paper proposes an innovative model to monitor the companies’ commitment to sustainable issues by analyzing online data retrieved from their corporate websites. This information is merged with balance sheet data to examine the impact of sustainability practices, capital and human capital on productivity. The estimated firm’s total factor productivity is explained as a function of the sustainability digital footprint measures and additional control variables for a sample of 315 textile firms located in the region of Comunidad Valenciana, Spain.