Title: Green manufacturing practices in the fashion supply chain: lessons from Italian case studies

Authors: Barbara Bigliardi; Eleonora Bottani

Addresses: Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Parma, Viale G.P. Usberti 181/A – 43124 Parma, Italy. ' Department of Industrial Engineering, University of Parma, Viale G.P. Usberti 181/A – 43124 Parma, Italy

Abstract: Companies are forced to undertake initiatives fitting within the scope of a green strategy, notwithstanding only a few of them dedicate their attention to environmental issues. The paper aims at exploring green manufacturing practices in the Italian fashion industry, by answering these research questions: to what extent are green manufacturing practices implemented among Italian fashion companies? Which are the reasons for embracing environmentally friendly practices? Are stakeholders conscious of environmental issues? A questionnaire was designed and used as a guideline for 15 case studies. From the analysis of the case studies, the main reasons why there is still a limited attention paid to environmental issues and some key guidelines for the implementation of green manufacturing practices in the fashion industry were identified. Findings provide managers with a picture of the adoption of environmental friendly practices, as well as with some useful guidelines for companies wishing to undertake environmental initiatives.

Keywords: green manufacturing; fashion supply chains; environmental manufacturing; case studies; supply chain management; SCM; Italy; fashion industry.

DOI: 10.1504/IJASM.2012.045898

International Journal of Agile Systems and Management, 2012 Vol.5 No.1, pp.4 - 28

Received: 05 Mar 2011
Accepted: 05 Dec 2011
Published online: 31 Jul 2014 *

Full-text access for editors Full-text access for subscribers Purchase this article Comment on this article