A case study of sustainable business strategies among members of a major textile organization concerned with environmental issues

In response to the widespread popularity of "going green," many U.S. textile sourcing managers have reviewed and changed their trade and manufacturing practices to green their supply chains, and in effect are redefining the industry landscape. Sustainable initiatives are being pioneered by mills, manufacturers, designers, retailers, agencies, and individuals alike. The increased and continuing concern about our eco system is being demonstrated through progress in environmental practices, especially voluntary programs in the textile and apparel industry. This study was designed to examine strategies used by textile businesses to manage supply chains of sustainable textile products and to identify how sustainability is defined through the lens of the company's sustainable products and practices. Additionally, it was to provide a snapshot of green supply chain management by dedicated, environmentally focused businesses within the textile industry focused on: background (i.e., investment) in the sustainable textile market, selection of suppliers, some challenges and concerns that might occur in sourcing sustainable textile materials, and methods of developing, producing, and distributing sustainable products as well as reporting on sustainable activities to stockholders. Data for the study was collected through a self-administered mail survey. The study employed a nonprobability sample of members of a major textile association focused on environmental issues and another sample of nonmembers. For the comparison sample, a listing of textile companies in the Los Angeles Fabric District was obtained from the Yellow Pages online. The overall return rate was 42%. Since companies in the control group did not respond to the survey, an alternative measure of low versus high commitment to sustainable products had to be devised. Proportion of net sales coming from sustainable products was chosen for this purpose. High commitment was defined as having more than half of total sales coming from sustainable products whereas low denoted about half or less of the total sales from sustainable products. Using this system, 30% of the companies were classified as "low commitment to sustainability" and the remaining 70% were classified as "high commitment to sustainability." The independent variables investigated were: using green products as a competitive strategy, when the company entered into the sustainable market, outlets used to sell sustainable products, and from the background information, size of the company and whether the company is public or private. These variables were analyzed using the Fisher's Exact Test for categorical responses and the Mann Whitney Test for continuous data. The analyses indicated that the only significant predictor of commitment to sustainable products was how long ago the company ventured into the sustainable textile product market. The companies that had been in the market longer tended to have a greater proportion of their sales coming from sustainable products. Further analysis revealed that of those respondents who indicated they were "sustainable," 69.6% had "more than half" of their total net sales coming from sustainable textile products. Close to half of the respondents (47.8%) said their company had over 10 years of experience in the sustainable textile market with one respondent reporting over 30 years of experience. The primary factors that led to the respondents' decision to enter the sustainable market were: company missions and personal beliefs, environmental concerns, and market potential. Most companies (82%) do not report their environmental performance. Responses also revealed that the most utilized methods for developing new sustainable products were networking and company relationships with suppliers (35.7%). Regarding strategies for developing sustainable supply chains 5 companies attributed success to long-term commitment to suppliers and encouraging factories to have better sustainable practices and four (22.2%) said strategies that worked well included networking at trade shows, conferences, and through word of mouth. This study aims to demonstrate how sustainability can be an integral part of doing everyday business. Shared knowledge and resources across textile businesses, from this study, will encourage non sustainable businesses to understand the process and will provide a blueprint for other companies to model based on what strategies industry eco pioneers are using. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)...