Tag Archives: Fast Fashion

Clothing related waste and possible solutions

Posted on December 10, 2017 by

A report by the Ellen MacArthur Foundation (https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/publications/A-New-Textiles-Economy_Full-Report_Updated_1-12-17.pdf) describes the global clothing sales increasing from 50 billion units in 2000 to 100 billion units in 2015 while the number of times clothese were worn on average before being discarded decreasing … Continue reading →

Posted in Air, Capacity, Collaboration, consumer, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues, Sustainability | Tagged , , , , | 63 Comments

Does “fast fashion” create safety problems for employees at global supplier factories ?

Posted on February 10, 2013 by

An article in Bloombergbusinessweek (February 7,2013) suggests that the fast (even two week) fashion cycles at Zara, Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) create stress on suppliers in Bangladesh who need to respond rapidly or lose the business. The corresponding stress shifts … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , | 48 Comments

Inditex’s supply chain as it goes global

Posted on March 28, 2012 by

An article in the Economist (March 24, 2012) describes the fact that future growth for the parent company of Zara will come from Asia and the US, rather than the current 70 % of sales in Europe. Zara, known for … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Adjusting Apparel features to balance margins with appeal

Posted on May 31, 2011 by

An article in BloombergBusinessweek (May 30, 2011 page 18) describes efforts by designers to balance the needs of designers, who want clothes to be appealing, with manufacturers who want to produce them and maintain margins. This tug-of-war has become even … Continue reading →

Posted in Collaboration, Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Opening a US plant to make candles

Posted on May 6, 2011 by

A Wall Street Journal article (May 5, 2011) describes the travails of Chesapeake Bay Candle as they tried to open a plant in the US. Candles face a 108.3 % inport duty and thus only 20 % of their volume … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

“Back to Basics” at Uniqlo Japan

Posted on January 13, 2011 by

Businessweek (Jan 10, 2011, page 16) describes the travails at Uniqlo, a division of Fast Retailing in Japan. The firm is repoted to be Asia’s largest retailer and is known for its low-priced casual “basic” apparel.  But competition from Zara and … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Operations Management, Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Temporary Stores by Toys R Us for the Holiday Season

Posted on January 12, 2011 by

A Wall Street Journal article (September 15,2009) describes a plan by Toys R Us to open 350 temporary stores that will stay open during the holiday season and then shut down.  The stores will be smaller and will carry the … Continue reading →

Posted in Service Operations, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Forever 21 and dual sourcing

Posted on October 10, 2010 by

The Oct 5 edition of the Wall Street Journal described “fast fashion” at Forever 21, a chain started by Korean immigrants in Los Angeles. The store was reported to have revenues of over $ 3 billion in 2010. The company … Continue reading →

Posted in Global Contexts, Supply Chain Issues | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment