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Fashion supply chain transparency: do as I say not as I do

Adriana Pigeard Muratore (Coppead Graduate School of Business, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
Leonardo Marques (Coppead Graduate School of Business, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)

International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management

ISSN: 1741-0401

Article publication date: 24 September 2021

Issue publication date: 24 June 2022

1878

Abstract

Purpose

Fashion brands are under heavy criticism for often exhibiting poor working conditions and producing environmental damage. Pressure comes from initiatives such as Fashion Transparency Index (FTI) by Fashion Revolution to assess fashion brands' transparency based on information publicly disclosed. But an understanding of how such movements reflect in a Global South country characterised by institutional voids is still absent.

Design/methodology/approach

While the FTI ranks individual brands, in this study the authors have analysed 305 documents extracted from the websites of 20 Brazilian fashion brands to unpack practices and re-bundle them according to three archetypes – opaque, translucent and transparent – that display a maturity curve.

Findings

The authors show that advancement is heterogeneous, and we complement previous research exposing the limits of an NGO in driving transparency by investigating a context embedded in institutional voids. The authors show that most fashion brands restrict transparency to tier-1 suppliers. Moreover, although fashion brands increasingly demand disclosure from their suppliers, they do not clarify their own purchasing practices such as cancellation and payment policies. On the positive note, the authors show that maturity for transparent brands can include the actionability concept by engaging with consumer via surveys and educative content.

Originality/value

The authors contribute to theory by offering a maturity curve of fashion supply chain transparency. The authors contribute to practice by offering the three archetypes – opaque, translucent and transparent. This study unveils heterogeneity and asymmetry between the levels of transparency that buying firms demand from their suppliers against what they provide about their own practices.

Keywords

Acknowledgements

Funding: The authors would like to acknowledge the support from the Carlos Chagas Filho Foundation for Research Support of the State of Rio de Janeiro (FAPERJ) code E-26/202.733/2019 and from the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior – Brasil (CAPES) finance code 001.

Citation

Muratore, A.P. and Marques, L. (2022), "Fashion supply chain transparency: do as I say not as I do", International Journal of Productivity and Performance Management, Vol. 71 No. 6, pp. 2459-2478. https://doi.org/10.1108/IJPPM-02-2021-0110

Publisher

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Emerald Publishing Limited

Copyright © 2021, Emerald Publishing Limited

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