Green Supply Chain Management Enablers and Barriers in Textile Supply Chains : What factors enable or aggravate the implementation of a GSCM strategy for textile and fashion companies?

Abstract: Purpose of this paper: The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the factors that enable or aggravate the implementation of a GSCM strategy for textile and fashion companies. Moreover, it shall be investigated how textile and fashion companies perceive their incentives of implementing GSCM and what their organizational responses regarding the perceived barriers and enablers look like. Design/methodology/approach: The report combines a literature study on previous research in the field of supply chain management, Green Supply Chain Management and the drivers and barriers of implementing a GSCM strategy, with an empirical study consisting of an online survey, a semi-structured interview and two case studies that are based on literature review. In order to analyze the survey results, a method to calculate a company’s GSCM incentive score has been developed. Findings: The factors that have been identified as the strongest or most important ones by many companies of the survey, as well as the interviewee and the case studies are supplier collaboration, the lack of supplier commitment, customer demand for more sustainability, customer desire for lower prices and top management commitment. Some companies also perceived the alignment of their company’s strategy as strong GSCM enabler. However, the calculation shows that the overall incentive score of most participants is in the neutral level; meaning that they in total perceive neither significant incentives nor barriers to implement GSCM. With mostly internal enablers and external barriers, more than half of the survey participants can be categorized as Agenda Setters. Research limitations: Due to the low response rate, the sample size of this study is very small. Moreover, the results strongly depend on the personal opinion and experiences of the interviewee and the individual situations of the companies. This means that the results of this study give an indication, but are not generalizable. Therefore, another study with a different sampling method and a larger sample size is needed. Practical implications: The outcomes of this study show that GSCM concerns every aspect of a supply chain. A company that wants to engage in GSCM needs to have good relationships with and control over its suppliers in order to ensure that they fulfill the sustainability requirements, and deal with pressure from NGOs. Additionally, the company needs to balance customer demands for low prices and sustainability, expect some (one-time) investments and sacrifice short-term profit in order to ensure sustainable production. Originality/value: This report identifies the most important GSCM barriers and enablers for textile companies. By evaluating how companies within the textile and fashion sector perceive their incentives of implementing GSCM and investigating their organizational behavior towards barriers and enablers of GSCM, this study indicates what the current situation in the textile industry looks like; shows where improvements are necessary and gives insight for companies that aim to engage in green practices. The development of the so called GSCM incentive score; a method to calculate a company’s perceived incentives to implement a GSCM strategy, can be useful for future studies within this field.