Co-ordinating Sustainable Cotton Chains for the Mass Market

co-ordinating sustainable cotton chains for the mass market
The case provides evidence that sustainability in a supply chain cannot be viewed
merely as a technical matter, where products’ life-cycles are analysed and technical
measures are subsequently implemented to ensure that related goals are met. On the
contrary, the management of products’ environmental life-cycle within supply chains
(Seuring 2004a, 2004b) are first of all inter-organisational concepts, where much effort
has to be placed.
The overarching research question—how to manage the transition of supply chains
from conventional product to sustainable products and production processes—will need
further investigation.
References
Arrow, K.J. (1991) ‘The Economics of Agency’, in J.W. Pratt and R.J. Zeckhauser (eds.), Principals and
Agents: The Structure of Business (Boston, MA: Harvard Business School Press): 37-51.
Abernathy, F.H., J.T. Dunlop, J.H. Hammond and D. Weil (1999) A Stitch in Time. Retailing and the
Transformation of Manufacturing: Lessons from the Apparel and Textile Industry (New York/Oxford, UK:
Oxford University Press).
Chaudhry, M.R. (1996) ‘Cost of Producing a Kilogram of Cotton’, Proceedings from the 23rd International
Cotton Conference, Bremen, Germany.
Enquete-Kommission Schutz des Menschen und der Umwelt (1994) ‘Die Industriegesellschaft
gestalten: Perspektiven für einen nachhaltigen Umgang mit Stoff- und Materialströmen’ (‘Designing
Industrial Society: Perspectives for Sustainably Managing Substance and Material Flows’),
Economica (Bonn): 101-22.
Goldbach, M. (2001) ‘Managing the Costs of Greening: A Supply Chain Perspective’, The 2001 Business
Strategy and the Environment Conference, University of Leeds, UK, 10–11 September 2001: 109-18.
—— (2002) ‘Organizational Settings in Supply Chain Costing’, in S. Seuring and M. Goldbach (eds.),
Cost Management in Supply Chains (Heidelberg, Germany: Physica): 89-108.
—— (2003) ‘Coordinating Interaction in Supply Chains: The Example of Greening Textile Chains’, in
S. Seuring, M. Müller, M. Goldbach and U. Schneidewind (eds.), Strategy and Organization in Supply
Chains (Heidelberg, Germany: Physica): 47-63.
Handfield, R.B., and E.L. Nichols, Jr (1999) Introduction to Supply Chain Management (Upper Saddle
River, NJ: Prentice Hall).
Kogg, B. (2003) ‘Power and Incentives in Environmental Supply Chain Management’, in S. Seuring, M.
Müller, M. Goldbach and U. Schneidewind (eds.), Strategy and Organization in Supply Chains
(Heidelberg, Germany: Physica): 47-63.
Meyer, A. (2001) ‘What’s In It For The Customer? Successfully Marketing Green Clothes’, Business
Strategy and the Environment 10.5: 317-30.
—— and P. Hohmann (2000) ‘Other Thoughts; Other Results? Remei’s bioRe Organic Cotton on its
Way to the Mass Market’, Greener Management International 31 (Autumn 2000): 59-70.
Myers, D. (1999) ‘The Problems with Conventional Cotton’, in D. Myers and S. Stolton (eds.), Organic
Cotton: From Field to Final Product (London: Intermediate Technology Publications): 9-20.
—— and S. Stolton (eds.) (1999) Organic Cotton: From Field to Final Product (London: Intermediate
Technology Publications).
Pratt, J.W., and R.J. Zeckhauser (1991) ‘Principals and Agents: An Overview’, in J.W. Pratt and R.J.
Zeckhauser (eds.), Principals and Agents: The Structure of Business (Boston, MA: Harvard Business
School Press).
Seuring, S. (2001a): Green Supply Chain Costing: Joint Cost Management in the Polyester Linings
Supply Chain’, Greener Management International 33 (Spring 2001): 71-80.
—— (2001b) ‘A Framework for Green Supply Chain Costing: A Fashion Industry Example’, in J. Sarkis
(ed.), Greener Manufacturing and Operations: From Design to Delivery and Back (Sheffield, UK: Greenleaf
Publishing): 150-60.
—— (2004a) ‘Integrated Chain Management and Supply Chain Management: Comparative Analysis
and Illustrative Cases’, Journal of Cleaner Production 12.8–10: 1,059-71.
—— (2004b) ‘Industrial Ecology, Life-Cycles, Supply Chains: Differences and Interrelations’, Business
Strategy and the Environment 13.5: 306-19.
Skjoett-Larsen, T. (1999) ‘Supply Chain Management: A New Challenge for Researchers and Managers
in Logistics’, International Journal of Logistics Management 10.2: 41-53.
GMI 43 Autumn 2003 77