Business Presentation on Social Sustainability in Apparel Industry

This presentation delves into the critical aspects of social sustainability within the apparel industry, focusing on the challenges and responsibilities of companies sourcing from developing countries. It examines the legal obligations of both governments and companies regarding labor laws, transparency in manufacturing locations, and the negative impacts of unauthorized subcontracting. The presentation emphasizes the importance of robust supply chain management to monitor subcontractors and address labor abuses. It evaluates how increased market competition, customer demands, and the absence of proper government regulations have exacerbated labor issues. The presentation's arguments are supported by references to academic literature, highlighting key issues in social sustainability, supply chain management, and the ethical responsibilities of businesses operating in the global apparel market.

Social sustainability

Argument
The government as well as the company that is sourcing finished products from the developing
countries are bound by the labor laws (Nichols,1993).

Argument
The companies must be transparent the factories and regions from where the products were
manufactured and it is often seen that companies often fail to do that (Oelze, 2017).

Argument
Unauthorized subcontracting is a big problem that impacts the apparel sector negatively
and the labor are the individuals that are worst affected (Nichols, 1993).

Argument
Companies must emphasize on the management of the supply chain that are located in the
developing countries. This will greatly track the activity of the bad and the good subcontractors
(Oelze, 2017).

Evaluation
The western apparel companies are highly reliant on the developing countries to reduce the
costs of the manufacture of the apparels. The increased market competition has led to the
change in the strategy of the apparel companies (Köksal, Strähle & Müller, 2018).

Evaluation
The customer pressure, change in style and taste of the customers, lack of proper government
labor laws, and the opportunistic western apparel companies have contributed to the increase in
labor abuse in the developing countries (Soundararajan & Brammer, 2018).

REFERENCE
Boström, M., & Micheletti, M. (2016). Introducing the sustainability challenge of textiles and
clothing. Journal of Consumer Policy, 39(4), 367-375.
Köksal, D., Strähle, J., & Müller, M. (2018). Social sustainability in apparel supply chains—the
role of the sourcing intermediary in a developing country. Sustainability, 10(4), 1039.
Köksal, D., Strähle, J., Müller, M., & Freise, M. (2017). Social sustainable supply chain
management in the textile and apparel industry—A literature review. Sustainability, 9(1),
100.
Nakamba, C. C., Chan, P. W., & Sharmina, M. (2017). How does social sustainability feature in
studies of supply chain management? A review and research agenda. Supply Chain
Management: An International Journal, 22(6), 522-541.
Nichols, M. (1993). Third-World Families at Work: Child Labor or Child Care?. Harvard Business
Review, 71(1), 12.
Oelze, N. (2017). Sustainable supply chain management implementation–enablers and barriers
in the textile industry. Sustainability, 9(8), 1435.
Soundararajan, V., & Brammer, S. (2018). Developing country sub-supplier responses to social
sustainability requirements of intermediaries: Exploring the influence of framing on
fairness perceptions and reciprocity. Journal of Operations Management, 58, 42-58.