Date of Graduation
8-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelor of Science in Agricultural, Food and Life Sciences
Degree Level
Undergraduate
Department
Apparel Merchandising and Product Development
Advisor/Mentor
Cheramie, Lance
Committee Member
Apple, Laurie
Second Committee Member
Cox, Cassandra
Abstract
Abstract
The fashion industry is currently experiencing unsustainable rates of pollution within its supply chains. The rapid increase in demand for short lead times perpetrated by large-scale retailers has led to hazardous practices negatively affecting both the environmental conditions and working conditions of producing countries. With this increased pressure, relationships between brands and suppliers have become untenable. Limited transparency and imbalanced power dynamics at the hand of the industry’s leading retailers require restructuring in order to build more sustainable and equitable supply-chain practices. Further, governmental regulation is currently limited in its capacity to enforce sustainable business practices on a global scale. This analysis is applicable for the restructuring of the global supply chain and offers guidance to the necessary steps to build a truly circular fashion economy. Findings from this paper conclude that adoption of circular practices by fashion retailers must begin with investment in long-term sustainable production methods. These methods are shown to offer profitability when adopted through a diversified low-impact materials portfolio, more efficient energy sources, and improved utilization of excess materials created throughout the production process. Governmental bodies must enact more stringent regulatory measures to ensure the adoption of these practices while offering equitability to companies leading the charge in this transition, a process displayed by the efforts of the European Union. The results of this work show a feasible and profitable path towards outright sustainability within the fashion industry when encompassing all necessary measures.
Keywords
Corporate Social Responsibility; Environmental, Social, and Governance Risks; Global Supply Chain Management; Global Sourcing
Citation
Miller, R. (2025). Sustainability: Buzz Word or Future of Fashion? Measuring the Feasibility of Outright Sustainability among Fast Fashion’s Biggest Agents. Apparel Merchandising and Product Development Undergraduate Honors Theses Retrieved from https://scholarworks.uark.edu/ampduht/38
Included in
Business Law, Public Responsibility, and Ethics Commons, Environmental Health and Protection Commons, Environmental Indicators and Impact Assessment Commons, Environmental Studies Commons, Fashion Business Commons, Fashion Design Commons, International Economics Commons, Natural Resources and Conservation Commons, Operations and Supply Chain Management Commons, Other Life Sciences Commons, Sales and Merchandising Commons, Sustainability Commons, Water Resource Management Commons
