QUIZLET!!

THE CHANNEL OF DISTRIBUTION: The Supply Chain

the route that products take from the original source to the end user

The Soft Goods Chain:

The channel of distribution for apparel and home decorating products.

TEXTILE SEGMENT:

fiber production>yarn production>fabric manufacturing>fabric finishing

APPAREL SEGMENT:

apparel designing>apparel manufacturing>apparel sales

RETAIL SEGMENT:

quantity buying>single item selling

The Four Groups Approach:

PRIMARY GROUP: (raw materials)

textiles, leather, furs

SECONDARY GROUP: (manufacturing)

garments, accessories, other products

RETAIL GROUP: (final distribution)

stores, catalog, internet, TV

AUXILIARY GROUP: (fashion related)

consultants, models, marketers, publications, trade associations

VERTICAL INTEGRATION:

performing multiple steps on the channel of distribution

Supply Chain Management (SCM)

The Textile Industry

• pre-industrial
• industrial
• post industrial

In post industrial countries manufacturing shifts from local to global

Fast Fashion or Quick Response (QR) Models

The 4 r's - reliability, resilience, responsiveness and relationships - are essential for managing the supply chain.

An effective supply chain strategy should be market driven and customer focused with strong links between the buying and product development processes.

Key Points to review -
• cost
• speed to market
• reliability
• flexability
• responsiveness

(JIT) Just in Time - pioneered by the Japanese - it is the delivery of finished good in time to meet market needs with no excess

Global Sourcing

Drivers for Change

1. reduced labor costs
2. advances in technology
3. elimination of quotas

Cheaper imports open new markets and create high demand and new opportunities.

CHINA: Originally famous for silk, cashmere, fine tailoring and hand embellished goods
The ending of MFA (quotas) has opened this market and provides access to enormous skilled labor force. Often called "The factory of the world."

INDIA: The second fastest growing economy. Large scale textile production, esp. cotton and silk. Large labor force that speaks English

SRI LANKA: Now a world class manufacturer of fashion clothing.

TURKEY: Manufactures many European brands. esp. swimwear and nightwear - a fast fashion hub

MEXICO AND CENTRAL AMERICA: Manufacturing for American Brands, lower duties and import rates

ITALY: World class Textile and Leather

UK: Small, specialized. Knitwear

USA: Automated and labor efficient - based in 3 states, Georgi, California and North Carolina

Ethics in the supply Chain

Demand for Ethical goods

Ethical fashion strives to make the world a better place; it is:

Social Responsibility

Ethical fashion means providing workers with fair hours, wages, and rights, as well as a healthy work environment. Further it refers to practices that take into consideration all associated with apparel supply chains including management, designers, production workers, sales and even we the consumers. This includes, but is not limited to:
• Fair and living wages for workers
• Safe, clean working conditions
• Worker’s rights (For example, those outlined in the ILO conventions)
• Workers’ freedom of association and voice in the workplace
• Promote traditional skills
• Promote rural development
• Locally made

Environmental Responsibility

Ethical fashion ensures that the process of getting the product from raw materials to the consumer has as little negative impact on the environment as possible. This can be done in a number of ways, depending on the impacts identified and the design strategies applied:
• Use of environmentally responsible materials (organic fibers avoid chemical use in growing fiber, polyester fibers can be made of recycled materials and require less energy in washing and drying, for example)
• Minimizing negative environmental impact by employing sustainable best practices (shipping, office waste, etc.)
• Reusing, reassembling, and maintaining clothes in use for longer (vintage/used clothing stores, repair services, taking apart old clothes and sewing new finished products with them)
• Designing for disassembly and repurposing clothes so they have a second life (disassembling clothes and using the material to create new finished products)
• Employing energy and water efficient processes for dyes and finishes and using non-toxic substances.
• Does not use pesticides or harmful chemicals
• Use innovative textiles that minimize harm on the environment and follow the precautionary principle with new technologies (produced from recycled or newly engineered materials)
• Minimize load on landfills by using Biodegradable products (e.g., ones that could easily be broken down by the environment at the end of their life cycle. Embodies cradle to cradle concept that materials should protect the ecosystem and be free of waste.)
• Minimal waste in the production process
Innovative new businesses that are not based on the make, use waste principle, but are based on principles of cycles
• Animal products are ethically sourced and vegetable tanned

Has an Impact

Ethical fashion means working to impact the greatest number of people in as positive a way as possible. You as an individual can make a huge difference, small companies can make a big difference, and even the world’s largest companies can be motivated to shift toward more ethical practices.

Conventional Companies with a Social Mission

Using a percentage of sales and re-directing it to non-profit programs and projects around the world. While not always socially or environmentally responsible, these programs bring new values into commerce and make the world a better place.

Why “Ethical Fashion”…?

“Ethical Fashion” encompasses “Sustainable Fashion”, “Eco Fashion”, “Fair Trade Apparel”, animal rights, and cultural concerns. It goes a step beyond to include all fashion that is socially and environmentally conscious.