The supply chain.
It has been accepted a long-time ago: supply chain is a risk. Or better: a RISK in capital letters.
But also a word that sounds impersonal. Very akin to a factory being a cogwheel in a much larger clockwork. And while the definition of the term does list ‘people’, the focus is very clearly on the idea of it all being a neat system of seamless interactions.
In the last post I wrote about one of the most historic inter-governmental landmark decisions: At the ‘Biodiversity’ COP (COP15) 200 countries had agreed on 4 Goals and 23 Targets.
It goes without saying though that the interesting piece is the enforcement and implementation mechanisms of the mentioned agreement.
Hence, the focus of this article is: How exactly – if at all – will the goals and progress measures reached in December 2022 be enforced and tracked?
Fashion that has been produced by people who work reasonable hours in safe conditions and are paid a living wage.
The influence of decision bias is nothing new when scrutinising corporate governance. And yet: by and large businesses continue to fail to adjust their strategic decision-making processes to become more climate viable. At best they have just barely started on their journey. Why is that? As we look deeper into the corporate discourse on Climate Change, it becomes evident that one of the silent yet crucial culprits behind the climate change inertia lies in the cognitive biases at play in corporate decision making. What are those biases, what do they mean for boards in the context of strategic Climate Change decisions, and what can be done about it?
The jewellery industry still generally lacks clear certification standards. Here some definitions used to describe responsibly sourced & manufactured jewellery.
Ever heard of EMAS, the European Eco Management and Audit Schema? No? This is a brief introduction to what it is, with links to further resources.
Fall 2010, Summary: London Fashion Week, the dream destination of fashionistas. Insights from LFW about sustainability and commitment of fashion brands.
Where and how was 'ethical fashion' invented? Who played key roles in the past? And where are we at and where are we going? A retrospective analysis that also looks into the future.
Many of the most important resources our current civilisation depends on – all of them finite natural resources - form part of what historically would have been called ‘The Commons’. And yet, many of them are economically treated as 'income' and not the valuable and finite 'assets' they are. That again is the tragedy of the commons.
Sustainability for Fashion := "Creating desirable products guided by principles that consider sustainability as a core component of the process. [...]"
One of the challenges of sustainable fashion is the wording used to define it. We commonly associate adjectives like “sustainable”, “green”, “eco”, “responsible”, “conscious”, “ethical” with the word “fashion”. The question is: are certain words more popular than others? Or are some others nowadays outdated? How do consumer talk about sustainable fashion? And the industry?
When we talk about ethical fashion, we are talking about getting away from throwaway fashion; or, if we are going to throw it away, about how we recycle.
In this article a very brief run down of the main varieties of ‘better’ cotton that exist: Cotton made in Africa, Better Cotton Initiative, Organic and Fairtrade cotton, and 2 more generic good practise farming systems.
In the retail gazette’s article ‘Fashion retailers work towards green future’, dating from August 19th 2011, the following was quoted...
This post is part of a series where I look at and into the true cost of certain goods and services. This time I’d like to look into the True Cost of all types Transport and Mobility: road, rail, aviation and water. The question therefore is: What are the total costs – the True Cost, i.e. including what is commonly called ‘externalities’ – of the different types of transport we use globally, both for passengers and for freight? Or if you prefer: how do different types of transport compare to each other when it comes to ‘collateral damage’?
Spoiler alert: It is really quite complex and rather diverse. And: public infrastructure investments and maintenance costs play a significant role in it.
Interns are more often increasingly taken over account executive responsibilities. Yet - they do not get paid. A said story of labour rights abuses in UK, Europe
On February 9th 2011, the Fairtrade Labelling Organisation successfully launched the Fairtrade Gold Standard. The UK is the first market where FT gold is available.
Nearly a year ago I wrote about how the terminology we use abstracts from the fact that there are living and sentient human beings doing 'supply chain' work. Listening to a recent podcast it dawned on me that language can be just as useful to gloss over the seriousness and impact of scientific facts. And the resulting necessary actions. Climate Change vs Climate Emergency? Green energy vs renewable energy vs clean energy? Hence, some more thinking about the role of language.
Doughnut Economics = An economic system that respects the planetary boundaries as well as the societal attributes of welfare. To create an economic system that works for the humans and the environment around us.
The Founder Syndrome is probably the 2nd most frequent reasons why SMEs fail. The syndrome thereby refers to a steep power hierarchy in a small business, with the founder at its top.