Supply Chain Management For Fast Fashion Industry

H&M’s vision is that all their operations are run economically, socially and environmentally sustainable. They believe that affordable fashion with high quality can be produced and sold in a way that is both fair and sustainable to the

* Inbound logistic: One of the core values of H&M is the sustainability, and, thus, sustainability in production. The aim of H&M is to offer good quality fashion at the best price and to achieve it, H&M tries to avoid the waste. In this purpose, all the waste coming from the manufacturing, the transport and other sources are planned to be reused, recycled and reduced.(H&M, 2012)

The current reality of clothing production, called fast fashion, is the industry standard of mass producing luxury styles in a matter of weeks. To do so, clothes are churned out quickly using poor quality materials. This is problematic because of the large amount of unnecessary environmental damage that this business model causes. The fashion industry should abandon the current trend of fast fashion and disposable clothing to decrease the amount of hazardous environmental waste created. The fashion industry should adopt slow fashion values that aim to cut excess consumer waste by changing the current societal norms around fashion buying and clothing disposal.

In this revealing and thoughtful look at clothing and consumerism, author Elizabeth Cline sets out to reform how we look at fashion and how we shop for clothing. She approached this topic with a series of anecdotes and statistics to back up her findings. I became curious about sustainability in fashion through reading this book.

Today, new clothes are sold in synchronization with a consumer’s weekly paycheck making a cycle of about 52 seasons – one per week in each year. This is generating about 80 billion pieces of new clothing created annually which is 400% more than two decades ago. Because of this high demand, a term ‘fast fashion’ has come into focus – those looking deep at this term are both clothing companies and environmentalists. We’ve all

Finding an exact definition for the terms “sustainable fashion”. “Green”, “Eco fashion” to a name a few, is close to impossible. We all have the impression everyone understands it the same way but it is false, it has different meanings for all of us.

According to Green Stategy, sustainable fashion is where products are created, sold, and used in "the most sustainable manner possible, taking into account both environmental and socio-economic aspects." This basically means that a sustainable product is environmentally friendly, as it has been made from natural resources, and can be reused to the best of its abilities. Limited or no processes through the clothing's lifecycle should be harmful to the environment.

Marks and Spencer is one of the UK 's leading retailer business organisations. They have 21 million people visiting their stores each week. They sell clothing, home products, as well as food, responsibly sourced from around 2,000 suppliers globally. Their clothing and home ware sales account for 49% of their business while their food sales account for 51%. Now more than ever, they are also known for their green credentials as a result of their five-year eco plan, Plan A, which will see them, amongst other things, become carbon neutral and send no waste to landfill by 2012.

It’s become easier than ever to turn a blind eye in order to enjoy a cheaply made, materialistic pleasure. However, keeping an extra dollar in your pocket may be costing someone their life. Unethical fashion, an umbrella term to describe ethical design, production, retail, and purchasing, is a growing problem in today’s society. With the increasing demand for cheap and affordable clothing, the background of fair trade and sweatshops is often overlooked, as well as the disregard for the waste that goes back into the environment. Consumers benefit from lower prices but at the cost of unsafe conditions, poor wages, and environmental damages. In order to address this problem and inform the masses on the source of their products, brands should accept responsibility for educating consumers, and non-governmental organizations and government legislation should add fashion sustainability to their agenda. Although the problem may be oceans away, it is a fundamental issue that we still need to address.

Climate change is also now widely accepted to be due to the carbon dioxide and greenhouse gasses produced when burning fossil fuels which we have come to rely upon for most of our world wide power.

In conclusion, while doing and enjoying the fashion industry, people and fashion companies should be conscious of the environment because it is a concerning subject and it should be addressed. Because if the environment is being neglected continuously, there will be no future to maintain the fashion industry. In order to achieve ethical fashion, the fashion companies should also try to practice ethical fashion on the production of the products for the conservation of the environment and for the happy environment of work for the

In order to have higher profit margin, one of the most effective ways is to cut down production costs. In view of the low labor cost in developing countries, global sourcing seems to be a good choice to reduce costs. With the development of global production networks and the increasing competition, fast all fashion clothing firms have shifted their manufacturing operations to low lost locations over the past decades.

Slowing down the consumption that is encouraged by fast fashion will help reduce raw materials and decrease fashion production, allowing the earth time to regenerate and heal from the damage industry creates to the environment (1B). Linda Greer, a senior scientist at the NRDC (Natural Resources Defense Council, believes that the slow fashion movement will hold large retailers accountable for its manufacturing aboard. Clean by Design is a program created by the NRDC that works with retailers to “green the fashion supply chain” (4B). These types of programs will assist with the large companies meeting the needs of the new movement of ‘ethical consumerism’ where consumers are demanding that the clothes they buy do not harm the environment or the workers who made them (11B, pg.200).

Because of the continuous change in consumer demand in a very short span of time creating high complexity for the supply chain, the demand for apparel in fast fashion industry is volatile. A fast fashion retailing company can optimize its performance and remain competitive by creating agile supply chain. Agile supply chain is paramount to achieving the ultimate in profit maximization and corporate survival in the fashion industry as well as any other businesses. Companies like Zara, the retailer H&M and GAP have to keep up with every changing trends in the fashion industry. Fashion markets typically exhibit the following characteristics:

All H&M stores practice energy-efficiency. Use: H&M works to inspire their customers to care for the products they buy from them in a conscious and sustainable way (less washing, long lasting wear.) Training: H&M has conducted over 3,600 hours of sustainability training for their buyers and designers. In 2012 442,031 working in Bangladesh were trained on their rights. H&M has invested an estimated 9,000 days in training dedicated to their workers’ rights. Workers: 63% of employees are covered by collective bargaining agreements. 2x973 store safety audits and 3,684 emergency evacuation sessions were carried out in their stores. 72% of their managers are women. H&M board members are split 50/50 for men and women. Climate Change: In 2011: CO2 emissions were cut by 5% by cutting air transport and improving energy efficiency in their stores. 80%+ of their supplies are transported by less carbon-intensive sea or rail transport. LED Lights used in all store and signs. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle: H&M uses reusable transport boxes – saving 400,000 trees. They have started a Pilot Project to return worn garments to the store for recycling. Bags are made of 100% recycled material.