The Role of the Sustainable Development Goals in Ethical Manufacturing in the Fast Fashion Industry: An Analysis of Inditex, Fast Retailing, and Gap Inc.

In 2015, the United Nations (UN) adopted Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to serve as a framework to collectively address the socioeconomic and environmental challenges the world is facing today. For years, the fashion industry has been under fire for the harm it does to people and planet - specifically, environmental harm has received a lot of attention in response by consumers and producers alike, making the industry an interesting sector to analyze the effectiveness of applying the SDG framework. Specifically, the fast fashion model which is based on fast production in high volumes at the lowest possible costs, has been revealed to have a much higher true cost, as seen in the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013. Since then, many brands have pledged to make changes and adopted the SDG framework after its implementation in 2015. Therefore, this thesis aims to answer the following question: How, if at all, has the implementation of the SDG framework in the...Show moreIn 2015, the United Nations (UN) adopted Agenda 2030 and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which aim to serve as a framework to collectively address the socioeconomic and environmental challenges the world is facing today. For years, the fashion industry has been under fire for the harm it does to people and planet - specifically, environmental harm has received a lot of attention in response by consumers and producers alike, making the industry an interesting sector to analyze the effectiveness of applying the SDG framework. Specifically, the fast fashion model which is based on fast production in high volumes at the lowest possible costs, has been revealed to have a much higher true cost, as seen in the Rana Plaza disaster in 2013. Since then, many brands have pledged to make changes and adopted the SDG framework after its implementation in 2015. Therefore, this thesis aims to answer the following question: How, if at all, has the implementation of the SDG framework in the business strategies of the fashion industry contributed effectively to improvements in the supply chain, as seen in the cases of fast fashion brands Inditex, Fast Retailing (FR), and Gap Inc?Show less

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The Role of the Sustainable Development Goals in Ethical Manufacturing in the Fast Fashion Industry: An Analysis of Inditex, Fast Retailing, and Gap Inc.