1st Edition

Sustainability in Fashion and Textiles Values, Design, Production and Consumption

Edited By Miguel Angel Gardetti, Ana Laura Torres Copyright 2013

    There is no doubt that the textile industry – the production of clothing, fabrics, thread, fibre and related products – plays a significant part in the global economy. It also frequently operates with disregard to its environmental and social impacts. The textile industry uses large quantities of water and outputs large quantities of waste. As for social aspects, many unskilled jobs have disappeared in regions that rely heavily on these industries. Another serious and still unresolved problem is the flexibility textile industry companies claim to need. Faced with fierce international competition, they are increasingly unable to offer job security. This is without even considering the informal-sector work proliferating both in developing and developed countries. Child labour persists within this sector despite growing pressure to halt it.Fashion demands continuous consumption. In seeking to own the latest trends consumers quickly come to regard their existing garments as inferior, if not useless. "Old" items become unwanted as quickly as new ones come into demand. This tendency towards disposability results in the increased use of resources and thus the accelerated accumulation of waste. It is obvious to many that current fashion industry practices are in direct competition with sustainability objectives; yet this is frequently overlooked as a pressing concern.It is, however, becoming apparent that there are social and ecological consequences to the current operation of the fashion industry: sustainability in the sector has been gaining attention in recent years from those who believe that it should be held accountable for the pressure it places on the individual, as well as its contribution to increases in consumption and waste disposal.This book takes a wide-screen approach to the topic, covering, among other issues: sustainability and business management in textile and fashion companies; value chain management; use of materials; sustainable production processes; fashion, needs and consumption; disposal; and innovation and design.The book will be essential reading for researchers and practitioners in the global fashion business.

    I: The systemic vision and the value chain in the textile and fashion industry1. Slow fashion: Tailoring a strategic approach for sustainabilityCarlotta Cataldi, Crystal Grover and Maureen Dickson, Co-founders, Slow Fashion Forward2. Wisdoms from the fashion trenchesLynda Grose, Fashion Design for Sustainability, California College of the Arts, USA3. From principle to practice: Embedding sustainability in clothing supply chain strategiesAlison Ashby, Melanie Hudson Smith and Rory Shand, Plymouth Business School, UK4. Managing chemical risk information: The case of Swedish retailers and Chinese suppliers in textile supply chainsKristin Fransson, Birgit Brunklaus and Sverker Molander, Chalmers University of Technology, SwedenYuntao Zhang, The Fourth Research and Design Engineering Corporation of CNNC, China5. Innovation power of fashion focal companies and participation in sustainability activities in their supply networkHarrie W.M. van Bommel, Saxion University of Applied Sciences, the Netherlands6. Sustainable colour forecasting: The benefits of creating a better colour trend forecasting system for consumers, the fashion industry and the environmentTracy Diane Cassidy, University of Leeds, UK7. Fashioning use: A polemic to provoke pro-environmental garment maintenanceTullia Jack, The University of Melbourne, Australia8. Fashion design education for sustainability practice: Reflections on undergraduate level teachingLynda Grose, California College of the Arts, USA9. Upcycling fashion for mass productionTracy Diane Cassidy, University of Leeds, UKSara Li-Chou Han, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK10. Creating new from that which is discarded: The collaborative San Francisco Tablecloth Repurposing ProjectConnie Ulasewicz and Gail Baugh, San Francisco State University, USAPart II: Marketing, brands and regulatory aspects in the textile and fashion industry11. Sustainable consumption and production patterns in the clothing sector: Is green the new black?Ines Weller, University of Bremen, Germany12. Redefining Made in Australia: A fair go for people and planetCameron Neil and Kirsten Simpson, Net Balance, AustraliaEloise Bishop, Ethical Clothing, Australia13. Sustainability isn't sexy: An exploratory study into luxury fashionIain A. Davies and Carla-Maria Streit, University of Bath, School of Management, UK14. Ethical fashion in Western Europe: A survey of the status quo through the digital communications lensIlaria Pasquinelli and Pamela Ravasio, texSture, UK15. Effectiveness of standard initiatives: Rules and effectiveimplementation of transnational standard initiatives (TSI) in the apparel industry: An empirical examinationClaude Meier, University of Zurich and University of Applied Sciences Zurich (HWZ), SwitzerlandPart III: The practice in textiles and fashion16. Corporate responsibility in the garment industry: Towards shared valueAnna Larsson, U&We, SwedenKatarina Buhr, IVL Swedish Environmental Research Institute and Linköping University, SwedenCecilia Mark-Herbert, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Sweden17. Zigzag or interlock? The case of the Sustainable Apparel CoalitionKim Poldner, University of St Gallen, Switzerland18. Garments without guilt? A case study of sustainable garment sourcing in Sri LankaPatsy Perry, George Davies Centre for Retail Excellence, Heriot-Watt University, UK19. Next one, please: Integrating sustainability criteria in the procurement of operating-room textiles: The case of GermanyEdeltraud Günther, Technische Universität Dresden, GermanyHolger Hoppe, SCHOTT Solar, GermanyGabriel Weber, ENT Environment & Management, SpainJulia Hillmann, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany20. Development and the garment industry: Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana IslandsSarah E. Heidebrecht, Alumna, Kansas State University, USAJoy M. Kozar, Kansas State University, USAPart IV: Consumer: purchase, identity, use and care of clothing and textiles21. Young academic women's clothing practice: Interactions between fast fashion and social expectations in DenmarkCharlotte Louise Jensen and Michael Søgaard Jørgensen, Department of Development and Planning, Aalborg University, Denmark22. Connecting meanings and materials: Identity dynamics in sustainable fashionFernando F. Fachin, HEC Montréal, Canada23. Consumers' attitudes towards sustainable fashion: Clothing usage and disposalHelen Goworek and Alex Hiller, Nottingham Business School, Nottingham Trent University, UKTom Fisher, School of Art and Design, Nottingham Trent University, UKTim Cooper, School of Architecture, Design and the Built Environment, Nottingham Trent University, UKSophie Woodward, School of Social Sciences, University of Manchester, UKIndex

    Biography

    Gardetti, Miguel Angel; Torres, Ana Laura