Mapping Service-Based Retailing to Improve Sustainability Practices in the Fashion Industry

Tommaso Elli (), Alessandra Spagnoli and Valeria Maria Iannilli
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Tommaso Elli: Design Department, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
Alessandra Spagnoli: Design Department, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy
Valeria Maria Iannilli: Design Department, Politecnico di Milano, 20133 Milan, Italy

Sustainability, 2024, vol. 16, issue 17, 1-20

Abstract: The fashion industry is recognized among the most impactful industries in relation to environmental and social damage due to unsustainable models. While countless research studies focus on the supply chain and product innovation, the presented inquiry studies the fashion retail sector with the goal of systematizing existing sustainable practices based on service offerings. We present the results of an extensive case-study analysis conducted on 370 initiatives of different natures gathered among international companies and local actors in the European context that offer services oriented toward sustainability. As a result, we propose an ontology that encompasses three areas (services for environmental sustainability, culture of sustainability, and implementation of social sustainability) and comprehensively describes existing sustainability strategies for helping retailers preserve the environment, while promoting socially inclusive practices and disseminating the culture of sustainability. The innovation of retailing from a similar perspective aims at rendering businesses more resilient to survive market and social transformations, especially in consideration of the boost to sustainable and circular transformation advocated by recent European legislation.

Keywords: fashion retail; servitization; environmental sustainability; culture of sustainability; social sustainability (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
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