A new book has been launched by UKFT Education Partner academics covering sustainability in the fashion supply chain, spanning everything from new business models and new technology through to new materials, logistics, audit and risk.

Fashion Supply Chain Management: Integrating Sustainability Through Fashion Supply Chain focuses on issues including sustainability, fast fashion, raw materials, logistics and reverse logistics, costing, lean and agile manufacture and other supply chain strategies, underpinned by the new technologies to support each area.

It has been written by Virginia Grose, Head of Fashion and Assistant to the Head of the School of Arts at the University of Westminster, and Senior Lecturer Nicola Mansfield. The book is aimed at students studying fashion supply chain, operations, and logistics as part of fashion management undergraduate and postgraduate degrees, offering both theoretical and practical insight.

Each chapter contains a case study to provide real-world insight, featuring interviews from Ross Barry of LMB Textiles, Diana Kakkar of MAES London, Ilishio Lovejoy, Henry Hales of Tu Pack and SIRPLUS, Sarah Watkinson of Yull Shoes, Niki Akrivou of Snag Hosiery and Annabel Humphries of Pursuit the Label.

“There has been a significant shift to online retailing that has impacted the way brands source and manufacture fashion, and the over-arching impact of the COVID-19 global pandemic and Brexit has impacted the way fashion brands do business and set up their supply chains,” the book explains.

It provides an overview of the contemporary 21st century fashion supply chain and provides insight through case study interviews into important areas such as: recycling textiles, CMT and UK manufacturing, zero waste and closed-loop manufacturing as well as in-depth explanations of costing fashion, risk management and the different type of relationships, with supply chain models applied in a fashion context.

The authors continue: “The disruption created by the pandemic has accelerated a need for change, and the fashion industry is under the spotlight in terms of waste and environmental and social impacts. This disruption means the need to move from a linear to a circular model in fashion supply chain management is not optional. A circular economy promotes the extended life of textiles and finished used goods, recycling and reuse to minimise waste and keep raw materials in circulation, if possible.

“We have underpinned this textbook with sustainability and our view is that all supply chains should be sustainable and ideally move to circular models to support the planet and people involved in this global industry. We also refer to the UN Sustainable Development Goals in the book and each chapter links to those most relevant. This framework supports the move to a circular supply chain model.”

FASHION SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT

The University of Westminster is a UKFT Education Partner. For more information about UKFT membership, click here.