Strategic Planning for Textile Supply Chain Challenges: A Report

This report addresses the challenges of integrating sustainability into textile supply chains, emphasizing the industry's significant environmental impact and the growing consumer demand for sustainable apparel. It highlights the need for textile and apparel companies to prioritize environmental and social performance alongside financial gains. The report suggests that companies collaborate with suppliers to mitigate social risks and adopt a triple bottom line approach, focusing on economic return, environmental protection, and social responsibility. Furthermore, it underscores the importance of fostering an ethical climate to improve employee attitudes and enhance organizational sustainability performance. The report also advocates for the development of closed-loop supply chains using recycled materials and providing consumers with sufficient sustainability information to promote environmentally conscious choices. Key measures before a panel discussion include recognizing the textile industry's pollution, while post-discussion measures involve collaboration with suppliers and educating consumers to inspire environmental awareness.

Challenges in the Textile Supply Chains
The integration of sustainability in the fabric supply chain is growing to become a significant
concern that should be given priority in apparel corporations (Shen, Li, Dong, & Perry,
2017). Indeed, the textile industry is among the leading global pollutant industries, which has
faced sustainability issues that have received much concern. As a result of the lengthy and
multifaceted geographical production systems in addition to the pilled burden for lead time
and expenses, it has implemented sustainability within the textile supply chain sector a
significant challenge. Certainly, the procedure of changing the raw material into finished
outfits has significant destructive ecological as well as social impacts such as water and air
pollution and not forgetting human resources particularly at the time of production that is
outsourced at lower labor cost nations.
Corporations are supposed to consider the environmental and social performance and
not just financial performance when it comes to their commercial operations. On the same
note, with the rise in awareness, it is evident that even a significant number of customers are
enthusiastic about paying extra for sustainable apparel and textile goods (Shen, Li, Dong, &
Perry, 2017). To realize the increasing shareholders' expectations and to decline the risk of
harmful environmental and social externalities, textile, and apparel companies across all
markets within Germany should hone their sustainability levels in their supply chain
management.
Strategic plan toward sustainability in the apparel and textile supply chain
The apparel and textile firms should work together with suppliers to bring down social risks.
To develop a sustainable fabric and apparel supply chain their companies should adhere to
the philosophy of triple bottom line that is based on three pillars that is return (economic),
planet (environment) and people (social). Therefore, textile and apparel companies should

foster an ethical climate as a strategy to improve the job attitude of employees by upholding
the three bottom-line dimensions in their supply chain. Research has found that
organizational performance in terms of sustainability can be enhanced both through
employees’ attitude toward their work and the existence of an ethical working surrounding
(Shen, 2014).
It is essential to develop a closed-loop supply chain as an indication of sustainability.
According to sustainable apparel production strategy research by De Brito, Carbone, &
Blanquart, (2018) it found that it is possible to produce apparel with recycled materials
partially. In this sense, the research considers two kind of regular customer customers and
environmentally conscious. The analytical results of the study found that once consumer
values products that support sustainability, the company would increase its sustainability
levels and gain higher returns (Fletcher, 2013). On the same note, converting regular
customers to becoming environmental conscious is not that costly. Therefore, companies
should offer sufficiently sustainability information to consumers to inspire all consumers to
become aware of the environment.
Important measures before and after the panel discussion
Before discussion
The integration of sustainability in the textile supply chain is growing to become a significant
concern that should be given priority in apparel corporations.
The textile industry is among the leading global pollutant industries
After discussion
The apparel and textile firms should work together with suppliers to bring down social and
environmental risks.

Textile and apparel companies should offer sufficiently sustainability information to
consumers to inspire all consumers to become conscious of the environment.
References
De Brito, M. P., Carbone, V., & Blanquart, C. M. (2018). Towards a sustainable fashion retail
supply chain in Europe: Organisation and performance. International journal of
production economics, 114(2), 534-553.
Fletcher, K., (2013). Sustainable fashion and textiles: design journeys. London: Routledge.
Shen, B., (2014). Sustainable fashion supply chain: Lessons from H&M. Sustainability, 6(9),
6236-6249.
Shen, B., Li, Q., Dong, C., & Perry, P. (2017). Sustainability issues in textile and apparel
supply chains.