Technological and non-technological trends in fashion eco-innovations

Abstract

Purpose – The fashion industry is diverse and demands a high amount of resources and labor for itsoperation. It has powerful tools that can positively impact the environment and society as a whole. In this sense,it becomes necessary for fashion to adopt sustainable strategies quickly. One way would be the adoption of ecoinnovations by companies in the sector. The objective of this research is to identify the main eco-innovationinitiatives carried out by companies in the fashion sector and to verify what the trend is in the sector in relationto the types of eco-innovation, whether technological or non-technological in nature.Design/methodology/approach – To meet the objective, the sector’s sustainability reports are analyzedbased on the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) initiative. The method used to treat the data is content analysis.The authors chose to use the GRI-G4 and GRI-Standards versions of the GRI structure, as they include topicsrelevant to its stakeholders. The analysis based on these criteria considers 18 reports prepared by fourcompanies (Cia Hering, Grupo Malwee, Dudalina and Lojas Renner).Findings – From the data analysis, it was noticed that eco-innovations of technological trends prevail inBrazilian fashion, in the first place, those of process (24.56%), followed by eco-innovations of product (10.53%).The pressure exerted by internal or external stakeholders will be fueled by the current scenario of sustainabledevelopment, positively influencing the adoption of eco-innovation. This characteristic can be attributed to thefashion sector, since technological eco-innovations overlap with non-technological ones in all the years thatmake up the analysis.Research limitations/implications – As limitations of this research, it is worth mentioning the availabilityof GRIs in the fashion sector. Even considering it a step forward, noting that larger companies support theadoption of these reports, it is important to highlight that only four companies make up the available database(Cia Hering, Lojas Renner, Dudalina and Malwee). From the adoption of the dissemination of sustainabilityreports by other organizations, the base could be expanded.Practical implications – From this study, practical questions emerge that can contribute to managers andcompanies in the Brazilian fashion sector. Initially, the focus on eco-innovations is predominantly related to thetechnological component, with an emphasis on process eco-innovations. In this sense, business actions seek toresolve the accusations normally attributed to the sector, such as the adoption of unsustainable practices. Forexample, in cotton production, firms use large amounts of pesticides and water, despite the sector beingaccused of not taking proper responsibility regarding sustainability related issues.Social implications – Investment in eco-innovations indicates a positive attitude and change resulting frompressure and the need to return the market to society’s demands for more sustainable production technologieswith less environmental impact. Originality/value – The originality of the study lies in the systematization of a GRI analysis model applied tomeasure eco-innovations in fashion. Through the applied methodology, it is possible to emphasize that ecoinnovations of technological trend prevail in the industry, first in processes and then in product development