critique

Cao, H., Scudder, C., & Dickson, M. A. (2017). Sustainability of Apparel Supply Chain in South Africa. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal,35(2), 81-97. doi:10.1177/0887302x16688560

This report written by Cao, Scudder, and Dickson takes an in-depth look in the three categories that make up the influencing factors of the supply chain in relation to sustainability. They identify the the three pillars as economy, equity, and ecology. In this article the farmers, producers, vendors, retailers, and consumers, are looked at individually to see how the relationship between the three pillars will ultimately change the actions they take for sustainability. The Triple Top Line Model (TTL) is not to be confused with the Triple Bottom Line model (TBL). TBL is focused on reducing the negative effects that having a business strategy that is focused on economy or profits have on the social and environmental components of the industry. TTL wants to utilize the economical choices to positively effect society and environment. (McDonough & Braungart, 2002b). The issue with the current approach is that these problems are identified individually and not looked at in relation to each other (Gereffi & Frederick, 2010). Knowing all of this information the study proceeded into an interview with small farms, a commercial farm, cotton gins, yarn, textile, and apparel manufacturers, retailer, merchant, and a nonprofit organization. The interview questions asked about each component of the TTL and the practices the companies implement. The researchers created a point system that gave points for sustainable practices within economy, equity, and ecology combined in pairs (economy/economy, economy/ecology, economy/equity). This way they can rank how they connect each pillar together. The researchers concluded that most stages of the supply chain focus on profits and don’t correlate profits into equity and ecology. They especially found that smaller businesses and farmers had issues with adopting sustainable methods and ethical methods because of cost. To simplify their findings, economy drives everything and ecology is the weakest. In order to improve the supply chain economic growth needs to happen in order to save enough to invest into better practices. Considering this study was done in developing areas, there are multiple steps that need to be taken to add financial stability in order to proceed with solving equity and ecology (Cao, Scudder, Dickson, 2017).

The amount of information that was given in order to set the reader up for the data collection and conclusions was very helpful. It is evident that the authors of this journal are knowledgeable in the field and explored many sources prior to the study. The authors did a good job of simplifying conceptual ideas like the TBL and TTL models. It is a sign of high intelligence when complex areas of study, much like sustainability and the apparel supply chain, can be presented in a manner understandable by the public. In addition to their explanations they also included visuals to aid the understanding of specific areas their study is targeting and the data itself was put into tables for appropriate organization (adapted from McDonough & Braungart, 2002a, 2002b). In order to get a deeper look at the individuals they interviewed, a chart was provided with the positions the individuals held at the company and important notes about the roles in the supply chain (Cao, Scudder, Dickson, 2017). I thought including that information helped me trust the data and increased credibility of the results. They added a discussion with a nonprofit organization who told them about the current standing of the South African cotton industry. Including the main themes of that interview helped support their conclusion and gave a first hand source for information.

A few sub-categories of this journal in the discussion and results section got a little bit confusing. It was hard to sift through the data to find main themes and the use of codes as a percentage threw me off. The authors did a great job of simplifying background information, but they didn’t do as good of a job presenting data in a straight forward manner. I would have liked to see more visual interpretations of the results such as bar graphs, pie charts, or line graphs. I found the introduction and literacy review where a bit too long in comparison to their results and solution suggestions. By the end of the study the sections where significantly shorter and more repetitive, it seemed as though no distinct conclusion was made. If anything, the conclusion was supporting evidence for all of the background information they gave the reader at the start. The solution they came up with was essentially, to apply the TTL model into the business models of the supply chain. Basically the data they got from their interviews showed that the only solution is to approach the problem with a different mindset, which doesn’t directly help anything. They said that further research needs to be done on specific practices deemed sustainable and the longevity of those practices (Cao, Scudder, Dickson, 2017). After skimming through the whole journal multiple times I got further and further from the underlining purpose of the study. It would have been beneficial to address some questions I had such as; how does one apply a TTL model to a supply chain? How would they strengthen the economic pillar? What are some examples of successful use of the TTL model? And lastly, how much stronger does the economy pillar need to be in order to help the other two pillars?

This journal is a great source if you want to learn about sustainability models in relation to a supply chain in a developing country. It is a very informative journal that brings light to apparel production and retailing issues that are currently holding the global industry back from reaching a fully sustainable consumption cycle. Although the results didn’t conclude in a direct solution, it gave data to prove the theory that economy is a driving force and therefore sustainable practices must first address profitability (Cao, Scudder, Dickson, 2017). The authors took a broad issue and narrowed it down to the roots and gave the reader a starting place to make solutions.

References

Cao, H., Scudder, C., & Dickson, M. A. (2017). Sustainability of Apparel Supply Chain in South

Africa. Clothing and Textiles Research Journal,35(2), 81-97. doi:10.1177/0887302x16688560

McDonough, W., & Braungart, M. (2002a). Cradle to cradle: Remaking the way we make things. New York, NY: North Point Press.

McDonough, W., & Braungart, M. (2002b). Design for the triple top line: New tools for

sustainable commerce. Corporate Environmental Strategy, 9, 251–258.

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