Increasing Transparency in Global Supply Chains: The Case of the Fast Fashion Industry

Eve Fraser and Hamish van der Ven ()
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Eve Fraser: Nature, Society and Environmental Governance Program, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 2JD, UK
Hamish van der Ven: Department of Wood Science, Faculty of Forestry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC V6T 1Z4, Canada

Sustainability, 2022, vol. 14, issue 18, 1-24

Abstract: The fast fashion industry is subject to growing calls for transparency, from civil society groups as well as consumers. Despite universal pressure on retailers to disclose information on supply chain practices, uptake of transparency policies and practices has been heterogenous amongst large fast fashion companies. In this paper, we explain variation in transparency practices through a comparison of the four largest fast fashion retailers: H&M, Inditex, Gap, and Fast Retailing. Drawing on cross-case comparison and within-case process tracing, we offer insights into why some retailers are more transparent than others. Our findings suggest that sustainability scandals are a necessary but insufficient condition for motivating firms to increase transparency in their supply chains. Scandals can be an important driver of increased transparency, but only when accompanied by support from senior management and alignment with domestic norms about appropriate corporate conduct. These findings contribute to the literature on transnational business governance, corporate transparency, and sustainable supply-chain management.

Keywords: transparency; fast fashion; private governance; corporate social responsibility; corporate scandals (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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