Department of Management, Economics & Industrial Engineering

Depart ment of Management, Economics & Industrial Engineering

Rethinking Sustainability in the Fashion Industry through

Indigenous Culture

(Sustainability in Textile & Fashion Supply Chain Management)

Supervisor: Prof. Alessandro Brun

Master Thesis Of: Tariq Tayaba 893147 Ojukwu Onyinye Assumpta 903363

1 Accademic Year 2019/2020 Table of Contents

List Of Figures………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………4

List of Tables………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..6

Aknowledgement…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………7

Abstract……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….8 1. INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………………………………………..9 2. LITERATURE REVIEW………………………………………………………………………………………..14 2.1 The concept of Fashion……………………………………………………………………………………………..15 2.1.1 Fashion & Culture…………………………………………………………………………………………16 2.1.2 Evolution from fashion to fast fashion………………………………………………………….17 3. THE CONCEPT OF SUSTAINBILITY ……………………………………………………………………..21 3.1 Sustainable Fashion ………………………………………………………………………………………………….23 3.1.1 Environment…………………………………………………………………………………………………24 3.1.2 Social…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….25 3.1.3 Cultural…………………………………………………………………………………………………………26 3.1.4 Economic………………………………………………………………………………………………………27 3.1.5 Corporate Social Responsibilty………………………………………………………………………28 3.2 Sustainable Fashion Throughout the Supply Chain…………………………………………………….29 3.2.1 Soucring………………………………………………………………………………………………………..32 3.2.2 Producing………………………………………………………………………………………………………33 3.2.3 Customer……………………………………………………………………………………………………….35 3.3 Sustainble Business Strategies .………………………………………………………………………………….37 3.3.1 Reconptualising the Supply Chain………………………………………………………………….39 3.3.2 Supplier Continuity………………………………………………………………………………………..39 3.3.3 Sourcing Management…………………………………………………………………………………..40 3.3.4 Human Capital Management………………………………………………………………………..41 3.3.5 Operations…………………………………………………………………………………………………….41 3.3.6 Measurement………………………………………………………………………………………………..41 4. TRADITIONAL TEXTILE CRAFTS ……………………………………………………………………….…42 4.1 Textile Heritage in Nigeria………………………………………………………………………………………….43 4.1.1 Adire……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..45 4.1.2 Aso-Oke…………………………………………………………………………………………………………52 4.1.3 Akiwete………………………………………………………………………………………………………...55 4.1.4 Hausa Indigo………………………………………………………………………………………………….57 4.2 Textile Heritage in Pakistan……………………………………………………………………………………....59 4.2.1 Dyeing Process…………………………………………………………………………………………..…60 4.2.2 Pakistan Apparel Handicrafts………………………………………………………………………..60 4.2.3 Embroidery……………………………………………………………………………………………………62 4.3 The challenges facing by indigenous textile………………………………………………………………..64 4.4 Opportunities for building Sustainable textile Artisanship………………………………………….65 4.5 Collaborative Partnership between Companies & Artisans…………………………………………67

2 5. RESEARCH QUESTIONS ……………………………………………………………………………………..69 6. METHEDOLOGY…………………………………………………………………………………………………71 6.1 Data Collection…………………………………………………………………………………………………………..73 6.2 Business Cases……………………………………………………………………………………………………………75 6.2.1 EmmyKasbit…………………………………………………………………………………………………..75 6.2.2 Nkwo……………………………………………………………………………………………………………..78 6.2.3 Mazeelle………………………………………………………………………………………………………..80 6.2.4 BaniThani………………………………………………………………………………………………………82 6.2.5 Mir Shawl House……………………………………………………………………………………………84 6.3 Survey with Individuals……………………………………………………………………………………………..85 7. FINDINGS & ANALYSIS……………………………………………………………………………………….92 7.1 Research Question 1…………………………………………………………………………………………………..93 7.2 Research Question 2…………………………………………………………………………………………………105 8. CONCLUSION…………………………………………………………………………………………………..108 8.1 Limitations & Future Research………………………………………………………………………………….110 8.2 Managerial Implications……………………………………………………………………………………………111 8.3 Theoratical Implications……………………………………………………………………………………………112 9. Reference & Appendix…………………………………………………………………………………….114

List of Figures:

Figure 1: Growth of clothing sales and decline in clothing utilization since 2000. Source: (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017)………………………………………………………………………………….17 Figure 2: Triple Bottom Line. Source: Elkington (1997)……………………………………………………….22 Figure 3: Emission reduction goals by action. Source: Quantis, 2018………………………………….25 Figure 4: A depiction of the four pillars of sustainability. Source: Leiff et al., 2017……………28 Figure 5: Example of a Supply chain with its many actors. Source: Mentzer et al. (2001)……30 Figure 6: Map of the Key processes, inputs and outputs in the textile production chain. Source: Fletcher (2008)………………………………………………………………………………………………………31 Figure 7: SCP cycle. Source: UNEP (2015)…………………………………………………………………………..38 Figure 8: Adire Oniko. Source: Victoria and Albert Museum……………………………………………….46 Figure 9: Adire eleko. Source: adireafricantextiles.com……………………………………………………..47 Figure 10: Adire Alabere. Source: Victoria and Albert Museum………………………………………….47 Figure 11: Some Adire motifs and their meanings. Source: Areo and Kalilu (2013)……………..49 Figure 12: Mapo Hall with four spoons. Source: National Museum of Africa Art, Smithsonian Institution…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………50 Figure 13: Ibadan dun. Source: National Museum of Africa Art, Smithsonian Institution….50 Figure 14: Olokun. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art…………………………………………..51 Figure 15: Sun Bebe Source: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution……51 Figure 16: Commemorative fabric for King George V and Queen Mary. Source: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution………………………………………………………………..52 Figure 17: Onikomu. Source: adireafricantextiles.com……………………………………………………….52 Figure 18: Aso-Oke Etu. Source: Olutayo and Akanle (2009)……………………………………………….53 Figure 19: Aso-Oke Alaaric. Source: Olutayo and Akanle (2009)………………………………………….54 Figure 20: Aso-Oke Sayan. Source: Mckinney and Eicher (2015)…………………………………………54

4 Figure 21: Aso-Oke openwork. Source: Adire African Trextile…………………………………………….55 Figure 22: Akwete fabric Source: Bellafricana (2019)…………………………………………………………57 Figure 23: Akwete weaver. Source: https://www.bolakoka.com/akwete/ (2019)………………57 Figure 24: A dyer dyeing a fabric. Source: Cara (2019)………………………………………………………58 Figure 25: Dye pits.Source: Katibi and Enaholo (2018)……………………………………………………….58 Figure 26: Circular patterned cotton design and Royal patterned raffia fabric. Source: Katib and Enaholo (2018)……………………………………………………………………………………………………………59 Figure 27: AJRAK .Source : P007Ajrakh (n.d.)……………………………………………………………………..60 Figure 28: kalash raw material and fabric preparation. Source : Goyal and Khan (n.d.)……..61

Figure 29: Ralli Quilt. Source: Ali (2019)……………………………………………………………………………61

Figure 30: Baluchi embroidery. Source: Ibrahim (2016)………………………………………………………62

Figure 31: Sindhi cap. Source: Husain (2014)………………………………………………………………………62

Figure 32: Phulkari embroidery. Source: Rond (2010)…………………………………………………………63

Figure 33: Chikan Embroidey. Source: Embroidery Viet (no date)……………………………………….63

Figure 34: Different patterns of Kashmiri Embroidery (Needle, Silver Gold, and Crewel Source: BestofKashmir.com (2020)…………………………………………………………………………………….63 Figure 35: Zari Embroidery. Source Utsavpedia (2016)……………………………………………………….64 Figure 36: Collaboration process proposed by Feng-Wu Tung. Source: Tung (2012)…………..67 Figure 37: Akwete pattern in Custom Ss19 by EmmyKasbit………………………………………………..75 Figure 38: Pagolin Coat by Nkwo………………………………………………………………………………………..78 Figure 39: IRAPADA Collection by Mazelle…………………………………………………………………………..80 Figure 40: Ajrak Trouser by BaniThani………………………………………………………………………………….82 Figure 41: Wool shawls by Mir Shawl House………………………………………………………………………..84 Figure 42: Awareness of the environmental and ethical impact of the textile and fashion industry (By authors)………………………………………………………………………………………………………….86 Figure 43: Attributes important when buying an apparel (By authors)……………………………….88 Figure 44: New clothes purchase (By authors)……………………………………………………………………89 Figure 45:Purchase of clothes made by traditional craftsmanship( By authors)………………….90 Figure 46: Percent of wardrobe use (By authors)……………………………………………………………….91

5 Figure 47: Discard of clothes no longer in use (By authors)…………………………………………………91 Figure 48: The four pillars of sustainability, with the right diagram showing cultural embedded in the other pillars of sustainability…………………………………………………………………..94

List of Tables

1. Key of Bundles of SSCM practices. Source ……………………………………………………………..39 2. summary of classification Adire motifs into natural and man-made sources.…………49 3. import of dyes and pigments in Pakistan…………………………………….…………………………60 4. import of organic chemicals in Pakistan...... 60

Aknowledgement

We wish to express our gratitude to our supervisor Prof. Alessandro Brun, who has provided us with advice, and feedback and critique. His fertile academic thoughts have guided us through this thesis research and have enhanced our research and project development capabilities.

We would also like to thank the focal companies, who have supported us with their experience and knowledge, for their openness and kindness as well as being a part of a movement that strives to make our world a better place to live. Also, our gratitude to all the individuals you’ve spent time filling out the survey providing insights and contributions.

Lastly, we would like to thank our family and friends for their constant love, support, prayers, and encouragement.

7 Abstract

Globalization and technological advancements have triggered a drastic change in world fashion production and consumption habits. Fast fashion fosters low-quality fashion products that are short-lived because of rapidly developing trends, thus generating waste. Sustainability has become a growing concern within the textile and fashion industries. However, meeting the eco-friendly and ethical attributes of a sustainable product is not sufficient as the product attachment needs to be considered, as it adds value to the product and deepens the customer connection to the product.

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate, describe and analyze how traditional textile craft techniques and methods could address sustainability concerns in the textile and fashion industries as a facilitator for sustainable fashion production, consumption, and value creations. The research method used was based on a case study approach of three Nigerian and two Pakistani sustainable fashion companies incorporating traditional textile crafts techniques and methods as well as a study on consumer behavior. Having a theoretical framework as a reference from the literature, a customer survey, and an open interview questionnaire was designed to answer the research questions.

The result showed that traditional textile craft techniques and methods contain elements expressed sustainably as they are produced with environmental and social responsibility in mind. Substantial time is also spent on developing products that last as quality and durable materials used. Designers and companies can develop ethical and environmentally sustainable thinking and solutions using traditional techniques having both aesthetic and functional features that are unique, beautiful, and the same time not lose the diversity of our world’s cultures. The traditional craft is medium that reinforce consumer product attachment and foster the consumer relationship with products leading to longer use of such fashion product.

In addition, the study demonstrated a potentially viable business model that interconnects cultural, environmental, social, and economic benefits for the success of the sustainable fashion industry. A collaborative sustainable fashion system between the artisans and designers & companies can be developed, providing opportunities for the creation of new design ideas, preserving cultural heritage, and establishment of sustainable business practices.

1 Introduction

9 The global textile and fashion industry have a far-reaching impact on people’s lives as well as on the environment. The fashion industry helps us fulfill the basic need for clothing. At the same time, it consumes resources like water and energy in huge amounts and releases huge amounts of toxic chemicals into the environment. It contributes more to carbon emissions and by extension, climate change than international aviation and shipping combined (Audit Committee, 2019). In addition, most production is carried out in countries with low pay, little trade union representation, and generally poor working standards. The supply chain of the fashion industry is fragmented, complicated, and global making its manufacturing processes less transparent (Niinimäki, 2010). For example, it is estimated that in Finland about 95% of sold garments are imported; this figure is by and large the same in all Western countries (Niinimäki, 2013). It is dominated by overconsumption, rapid changing trends, low quality, and low pricing that make consumers buy multiple clothes at once and dispose of them shortly, resulting in fashion waste. This overconsumption can be linked to fast manufacturing speed taking only several weeks from initial design to the delivery of finished goods to stores along with a high pace of change of today’s fashion trends (Fletcher, 2008; Jung and Jin, 2016), which in turn is made possible by the exploitation of natural resources and people. For instance, the American consumer disposes of 31% kilograms of textiles and clothing each year, about 85% ends up in landfills, and it is estimated that in the UK, over 900000 million items of clothing are disposed of each year (Browne et al., 2010).

For the textile and fashion industry to have a response commensurate with these issues, a new fashion system based on a paradigm of sustainability is needed. Kate Fletcher, author of the book ‘Sustainable Fashion and Textiles, Design Journeys’, argues that we cannot go on as before and that fashion, as usual, is no longer an option. A slowdown in production and consumption is required and an increase in product value addition needed, thus, there is a need in choosing quality over quantity. According to her, since the present modes of fashion consumption create an unstainable approach, fashion needs to play another role that identifies with sustainability concerns and cultivates new aspirations in consumers. Besides a functional aim, fashion needs to address the individual emotional connection that a consumer can have to the fashion product. This connection according to her can be built by producing fashion that is based on values and skills and are conscientious and sustainable. It is important

10 to understand how the current design, manufacturing, and business practices affect unstainable consumption patterns.

However, there is a growing awareness among consumers regarding the social and environmental impacts of fashion consumption. Despite this positive attitude towards sustainable products and caring about the behaviour of companies (Carrigan and Attalla, 2001; Joergens Heusenstamm, 2006), this care isn’t translated to purchasing as the market remains a niche. Joergens (2006), states that it is easier to purchase for example organic food than ethical fashion when making purchases as food directly affects one’s health, whereas unethical choice when purchasing clothes doesn’t affect the consumer’s health so directly. Additionally, consumers consider certain factors such as price, value, quality, durability before taking into account sustainability. Hence, sustainability concern must be translated into market requirements with companies finding ways to deepen consumers’ product attachment which in turn add value to the product, thus, creating longer product life spans and slowing the cycles of fashion.

A new value proposition is required which includes benefits that the current fast fashion cannot provide. The problem lies in how a company can be socially, environmentally and economically sustainable without compromising on style and quality with consumers willing to pay more money (Jung and Jin, 2016), that is, consumers maybe be willing to pay a premium price when they perceive superior value on the offering. Technological advancement has been looked upon as a solution to this quandary. However, the key to a sustainable textile and fashion industry stills lies with humans. One is by adopting sustainable methods of production and consumption which minimize harm to the environment by incorporating minimal waste and using environmentally friendly methods of production. This can be achieved by incorporating the use of traditional production techniques and methods into the textile and fashion process. Also, traditional crafts are one such medium that deepens consumer product attachment and encourage the emotional relationship of the consumer with the designed products. There is a developing interest by companies in artisanship as a resilient response to the increasing demand for flexible, customized, and reconnecting to local material culture and reaching global markets (Mazzarella et al., 2016). Additionally, consumers are increasingly interested in the provenance of their garment including the fabrics from which their clothing is made and textile makers such as Harris Tweed have seen

11 increases in demand for their heritage fabrics (Radclyffe-Thomas, 2016). Mcintyre (2010) observed that as the markets have evolved in response to changing economies, there is a new pattern and shift of consumption which places more relevance to contemporary design in craft. Personalized, exclusive, and originally designed products with a local connection are increasingly being valued as the narratives behind these create more appeal to consumers who are very much interested in stories, origin, who and how it was made, and what materials have been used. This also improves the livelihood of artisans through a deepened relationship between the artisans and brands while also preserving cultural heritage. This opens opportunities for employment in the craft sector and helps alleviate the poverty level in the rural community, and, in turn, address the environmental sustainability issues linked with the textile and fashion industry.

The objective of this thesis paper is to:

 Systematically, review the existing literature of sustainability in the fashion industry and customers behaviour towards sustainable fashion  Identify & evaluate the concepts in literature in relation to indigenous culture, that is, traditional textile craft technique and methods to be able to  answer the research questions using case study methodology of carefully selected companies and customer survey for analysis, to find and understand  if traditional textile crafts techniques and methods can contribute to sustainable fashion production and consumption  Finally, to determine how companies can leverage on this to create value that is fundamental for sustainable fashion.

The following diagram shows the steps to be taken along the course of the research study.

Chapter 1

Introduction

Chapter 2

The concept of fashion

Chapter 3 Chapter 4 The concept of Literature Review Traditiona textile

Sustainability Crafts

Chapter 5

Research Questions

Chapter 6

Methodology & Business Cases

Chapter 7

Findings & Analysis

Chapter 8

Conclusion

Literature Review

14 2.1 The Concept of Fashion

The term ‘Fashion’ in English or ‘La mode’ in French, both terms having Latin origin means the collective manner of dressing or making and doing things together(Aspers and Godart, 2013; Kawamura, 2005). The word fashion isn’t new to a modern man and has had a long history. As early as the fifteenth century, fashion was considered so important in France that Charles VII was asked to establish a separate ministry of fashion (Svendsen, 2006). As a matter of fact, fashion has been one of the most influential phenomena in Western civilization since the Renaissance (Svendsen, 2006), and may apply to almost any human activity in modern civilization.

Fashion is not restricted to the domain of clothing as it affects the fields of painting, sculpture, music, architecture, dancing et cetera. Nonetheless, it’s hard to find studies and records of fashion that are not related to clothing (Aspers and Godart, 2013). However, it is difficult to give a precise definition of fashion because it has had different connotations throughout history; the meaning and significance of the word have changed to suit the social customs and clothing habits of people in different social structures (Kawamura, 2005). Fashion and clothing tend to be used synonymously but while fashion conveys various social meanings, clothing is the generic raw material of what a person wears. Fashion does give extra added values to clothing which only exists in people’s imaginations and beliefs as such, fashion is an intangible element included in clothing. Hence, it’s almost impossible to dissociate fashion with clothing as long as the focus is on the material object.

Simmel (1957), one of the earliest philosophers who studied the general theory of fashion, believes that fashion is a universal rule that makes personal behaviour become a model and it’s a combination of social uniformity and individual difference. Brenninkmeyer considers fashion as a prevailing usage of dress adopted in society for the time being that is a result of the acceptance of certain cultural values which is open to relatively rapid influences of change (Kawamura, 2005). Fletcher (2014), defined fashion as how our clothes reflect and communicate our individual vision within a society, linking us to time and space. Fashion is a reflection of our times which is in constant change. What is fashion reflecting today, and what are the current influences in our society?

2.1.1 Fashion and culture No human society exists without the people within it having certain ideas, values, norms, beliefs, and ways of thinking; that is every society runs on the basis of and requires culture (Inglis, 2005). Culture differs from one society to another. According to UNESCO, culture is the set of distinctive spiritual, material, intellectual, and emotional features of a society or a social group, and it encompasses, in addition to art and literature, lifestyles, ways of living together, value systems, traditions and beliefs.

Early humans, used clothing to protect themselves from cold and harm (Pendergast et al., 2003), and this has gradually turned into a big industry. Clothing has always been used in the culture of every region as a way of expression and identification; making clothes more than a piece of fabric (Akdemİr, 2018). However, craftsmanship is a social construct representing the cultural heritage of every region (Angel et al., 2016). A group's ideas, beliefs, and values are usually embodied in symbols and artifacts that can form part of a written or pictorial language.

Fashion is as old as mankind as it was used as a signifier of social status. It’s doable to look at fashion as a sort of art that constitutes an important part of the cultural life of society that reflects the method of modification in society (Choudhary et al., 2016). Fashion makes up a certain part of our culture which is always changing, that is as features of culture change so do the fashion styles. For instance, the change from class-oriented to lifestyle-oriented as the variable that conveys fashion(Aspers and Godart, 2013; Kawamura, 2005).

Fashion change has always been a thing as we don’t wear the same clothes throughout the century. Fashion is historically related to glamour and elegance that today it corresponds to the foremost recent trends. The trend of fashion to novelty has step by step declined owing to the method of globalization, however, on the opposite hand, it reflects the historical trend to bound uniformity of society (Choudhary et al., 2016). In general, fashion is the product of its epoch and it reacts to the socio-cultural changes perpetually dynamically. The only difference is that today it is very fast, that is shorter fashion trends, which can be related to our digital world where everything goes fast. To date, fashion is still a means of social status or social group recognition in a way or another as it is still a way of expression of identity.

16 The intention of individuals to own a thing in common is also found in fashion which is a vital part of human life. Fashion also serves as a method of expressive style of people giving a chance to demonstrate an individual’s singularity.

2.1.2 The evolution from fashion to fast fashion

The fashion industry has evolved greatly in the last 50 years with the rise of global capitalism, new technology such as the sewing machine, and the proliferation of retail outlets. Before this, clothing was pretty much handmade for individuals, either as home production or on dressmakers' orders. The advancement in technology and industry has led to mass production of clothing at cheap prices, with increased consumerism and disposal. Companies compete on the speed of fashion cycles and frequent replacement of clothing inventories, symbolizing the notion of fast fashion or quick fashion (Barnes and Lea-Greenwood, 2006). Fast fashion is a linear system associated with a quicker turnaround of new styles, an increased number of collections offered per year, and often lower prices (EllenMacarthur Foundation, 2017), adopting the JIT approach.

According to the Ellen MacArthur Foundation in nearly 20 years, the number of new garments produced has doubled since 2000 (figure 1). This dizzying pace of apparel manufacturing has also accelerated consumption as the average person today buys 60% more clothing and also discard more as a result, with an average decrease of about 36% in the number of times a garment is worn before it is abandoned (World bank, 2019). The major reason for this decline in clothing utilization is mainly due to the fast-changing trend.

Figure 1: Growth of clothing sales and decline in clothing utilization since 2000. Source: (Ellen MacArthur Foundation, 2017)

17 In the past, creation was synonymous with luxury and the vision of a couturier, and fashion was guided mainly by norms of social status (Manlow, 2011). Towards the decades leading to the turn of the 21st century, the industry structure was disrupted by macro-factors mainly globalization, greater competition, changes in customer base (Manlow, 2011). Also, the fashion industry had followed a stable pace in forecasting season’s demand and trends (Bhardwaj and Fairhurst, 2010) to compete in the market using previous sales data (Guercini, 2001).

In today’s fashion market, there is an increase in the number of seasons as the product ranges within the stores are refreshed constantly, with companies in the fashion industry encouraging consumers to visit their stores more frequently with the idea of ‘Here Today, Gone Tomorrow’(Bhardwaj and Fairhurst, 2010). In a way, fast fashion represents a more democratic version of high fashion in which consumers are motivated with the desire to have variety and instant gratification with price mavenism.

Mass communication allows the consumer access to increased information surrounding the latest trend or styles (Barnes and Lea-Greenwood, 2006; Crane, 1999) Companies utilize this media and consumers obsession to buy things celebrities wear or trends they have seen from the catwalk (Manlow, 2011), to drive faster fashion and encouraging overconsumption with waste. According to the data from Hubbub Foundation, 17% of young people said they won’t wear an outfit again if it had been on Instagram (Audit Committee, 2019).

The governance structure of the fashion industry until the 1980s was dominated by several large retailers (Barnes and Lea-Greenwood, 2006). To survive competition, new entrants switched from product-driven to customer-driven strategies that were: highly responsive through reduced lead times, integrated information infrastructure (Bhardwaj and Fairhurst, 2010), and strategic links with manufacturers, along with maintaining low costs (Gereffi, 1999).

Fast fashion business model has witnessed much criticised in recent years in driving overconsumption, production of low-quality cheap clothes that are readily disposed of. Stella Claxton stated that the value of fast fashion was low, not only in financial but also in emotional terms.

18 “Fashion is dead” declared Li Edelkoort, a famous fashion trend forecaster. To her fashion has lost touch with what is going on in the world and what people want as fashion had now been replaced by an interest in clothes. This can be attributed to the fact that the craft that fashion once was, with its accompanying values of care, attention to beauty, knowledge, and socially inclusive aspirations of the buyer are at the risk of being nullified.

Same time, others have hailed the benefits of fast fashion like Dr. Sumner. In his words, fast fashion had democratised the benefit of fashion and has allowed all segments of society, irrespective of class, income, or background to engage in the hedonistic and psychogenic pleasures of fashion (Audit Committee, 2019). But this raises the question of should our lifestyle cost us the earth and values?

The way of operations of fast fashion has encouraged over-consumption and excessive waste with accumulating landfills and global resource scarcity, causing adverse societal and environmental impacts (EllenMacarthur Foundation, 2017; Mahajan, 2012; Niinimäki, 2015). Moreover, companies and consumers are becoming increasingly aware and sensitive to the negative impacts of this trend (Khandual and Pradhan, 2019).

According to the study of Niinimaki regarding ethical consumer behaviour, 20.8% agreed that they behave ethically as consumers and 57.1% agreed slightly to this (totaled 77.9% of all respondents) (Niinimaki, 2009). However, despite consumer’s ethical awareness being high and caring about the ethical behaviour of companies, they do not make ethical purchasing (that is, consumer’s words and doing don’t seem to match) and this can be attributed to the fact that they don’t want inconvenience such as through higher prices (Carrigan and Attalla, 2001; Joergens Heusenstamm, 2006).

The primary features by consumers defining sustainable fashion are high quality, durable products, followed by a pollution-free production process that doesn’t use hazardous chemicals according to the survey carried out by KPMG fashion summit (China kpmgcom, 2019), as the eco-aspect can only add value to the product when the product is attractive, and give the final reason to buy the garment (Niinimäki, 2010).

In summary, successful products must not only meet sustainable demands but must also fulfill market requirements (Berchicci and Bodewes, 2005) as companies must find new ways to

19 deepen consumers’ product attachment so doing add value to the product through sustainability.

Concept Of Sustaianbility

21 According to the report “Our Common Future” published by World Commission on Environment and Development (also known as Brundtland Commission) in 1987, sustainable development is “the development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs”. However, there has been a shift from sustainable development towards a broader term of sustainability.

In 1997, John Elkington published the book “Cannibals with Forks”, and stated how little idea companies had about the deeper logic of sustainable development after the publication of “Our Common Future”. He emphasized that companies were concerned about the “greening” as the basic challenge forgetting the main focus of equity issues which were at the very heart of the sustainability agenda, subsequently defined three pillars for sustainable development. This he depicted as triple bottom lines (TBL) which covers environmental, social, and economic performances. The triple bottom lines are integrated. Society depends on the economy and the economy depends on the global ecosystem (Elkington, 1997). Also, the three bottom lines are in constant flux due to the instability of the three dimensions as well as political pressure (Elkington, 1997).

Figure 2: Triple Bottom Line. Source: Elkington (1997)

Social perspective refers to people ( employees), environmental perspective refers to the planet (resource consumption, land usage) and economic perspective refers to profit (revenue, cost, growth). The TBL is also known as the 3Ps (people, planet, profit) and used as an accounting instrument in measuring and reporting on the company’s three-dimensional performance over time.

22 3.1 Sustainable Fashion

Linda Welters, in her work ‘the fashion of sustainability’ (2008), demonstrates the connection between sustainability and fashion. Welters explained that sustainability is not a new concept in the fashion industry it always been parts of its range. If we define fashion, it is the way to communicate our individual visions to society through our clothes, linking us to our time and space (Fletcher, 2008). Fashion always changes with time, but its meaning remains constant. Fashion is a deep cultural expression and presents who we are and from where we belong and how we communicate with other people.

Sustainability has to do with a long-term perspective. Fashion may even be an essential element toward sustainable ways of living because it has an important role in promoting sustainability (Walker 2016). According to Hethorn and Ulasewicz (2008), fashion is a process, expressed and worn by people, and as a material object that has a direct link to the environment. It is ingrained in daily life. So fashion sustainability means there will be no harm through the development and use of a thing or process and once putting that thing or process into action, it can enhance the wellbeing of people who interact with it and the environment it is developed and used within (Gardetti and Torres, 2017). Sustainable fashion often in synonyms with eco-fashion or green fashion or ethical fashion or slow fashion (Khandual and Pradhan, 2019), to describe the same concept making it complex to understand the scope of sustainability in the fashion industry (Shen et al., 2013). Hence a clearer definition of the sustainable fashion concept is needed.

Sustainable fashion can be defined as fashionable clothes that incorporate fair trade principles with sweatshop-free labour conditions while not harming the environment or workers by using biodegradable and organic cotton (Joergens, 2006), and designed for a longer lifetime use, that is produced in an ethical production system, perhaps even locally, that causes little or no environmental impact and makes use of eco-labeled or recycled materials (Fletcher, 2008; Shen et al., 2013). While green fashion focuses on the environment by promoting the use of recycled materials and biodegradable fibers, slow fashion capitalizes the use of local resources and prolongs the use of lifespan, by contrast, ethical fashion focuses more on the principles of fair trade and sweatshop-free production system. Together, these dimensions make the sustainable fashion definition more comprehensive and richer.

23 Sustainable fashion often encourage individuals to consider sustainability, whether they are final consumers of fashion product, designers, or any other important participant in the whole fashion supply chain. Value and ethics are the fundamentals of sustainable fashion. Papanek (1995) argued that ethics are the philosophical basis for making choices about morals and values. He further said that ‘to think dispassionately about what we design and why, and what the eventual consequences of our design intervention may be, it is the basis of ethical thinking. So, it is productive to review the value base in sustainable fashion and further consider the environmental consequences of our design practices and industrial manufacturing in the clothing sector, for example, how our current design, production practices affect unsustainable consumption patterns. Therefore, manufacturers, designers, and companies are not only liable for environmental impact but also for unsustainable consumption patterns of consumers and increment in waste of the fashion industry.

3.1.1 Environment

The global consumption of fibre material reached 11.4kg per capita. The United States is at first number with the highest demand for apparel fibres about 37.6 kg per capita, Europe at second position with 31.21 kg per capita demand and China is at third position with 1.08kg per capita demand (Quantis, 2018).

Environmental sustainability is becoming increasingly important in the fashion industry, both for its growth in the value proposition for established brands and also its role in providing new market opportunities to small companies. The usage of natural materials, resources, and processes having a low environmental impact that improves the environmental profile of the company and the real quality of the product. The sustainable approach can be described as a business opportunity for higher margins and cutting the cost of distribution (Caniato et al., 2012). The apparel industry’s production impact on climate change 35% increased from 2005 to 2016 and undeviating will increase in 2020 and 2030 (Quantis, 2018).

The chemical products and natural resources used in the production process and other stages of dyeing, drying, and finishing of fashion products generate intensive environmental impact (de Brito et al., 2008). Different practices have been used in the fashion industry to seek environmental sustainability both for a single company and for the whole supply chain. The practices are:

24  Use of organic fibre with no use of any pesticides e.g. organic cotton, silk, wool, etc.  Recycling and reuse of material like old clothes.  Use of new, old and clean technologies  Certification (Global organic textile standards, Ecolabel, Global organic initiative GRI)  Green production process, product design process, considering all the technologies used in the whole supply chain (Caniato et al., 2012)

Also, three emission reduction actions are assessed:

 Switching to renewable energy  Promoting energy efficiency  Implementing circular economy measures (Quantis, 2018)

Figure 3: Emission reduction goals by action. Source: Quantis, 2018

Based on the above graph, the apparel industry can achieve industry-wide emission by focusing on renewable energy and promoting energy efficiency across its supply chain with putting stress on the highest impacting life cycle stages: production, fibre preparation dyeing, and drying and assembly (Quantis, 2018).

3.1.2 Social

Social sustainability in the supply chain is addressing the social issues upstream and downstream of the focal company that is going beyond internal operations to suppliers and stakeholders such as society and community and consumers. Joergens (2006) and Gomes et

25 al., (2014) provided more understanding about social issues in the supply chain linking it to life cycle assessment to follow the Social Life Cycle Assessment (SALCA). They divided the social issues into 4 categories of impact aligned with GRI (Global Reporting Initiative), that is, human rights, work practices, fair working conditions, society, and product-related responsibility (Ciências et al., 2018).

Around 100 to 200 million children are working in sweatshops and the wages of garment workers are only 1 to 3% of the total cost of clothing with unfair and unsafe working conditions. Incident of RANA PLAZA that caused 1137 lives in 2013 raised a question on the transparency of the whole supply chain. Culture and standards are fundamental for successful transparency. Traceability and transparency treated as the most important pillar in the sustainable fashion supply chain (Tatzenko et al., 2019).

There are three theories stakeholder theory, behavioural theory, and contingency theory that can be used to make an understanding of how a focal company adapts and extend the social sustainability into their supply chain. The adoption of social sustainability would be related to pressures prioritized according to different stakeholder’s demands, classified in definitive, expectant, or latent (Ciências et al., 2018). Dramatic changes in customer demand and lifestyle in this era is putting pressure on the apparel supply chain.

3.1.3 Cultural

Initially considered as a component of social sustainability, cultural sustainability is now often seen as a distinct component of equal importance to other sustainability concerns (Loach et al., 2017). Nevertheless, several models of sustainable development now view culture as the 'fourth pillar' alongside social, economic, and environmental concerns (Hawkes, 2001). Culture refers to a society’s beliefs and practices, is part of its fabric, and shapes the way things are done and our understanding of it, thereby, making culture essential to a sustainable society. It is also through culture we learn about environmental, social, economic issues, and develop our ideas about how society should tackle them (Duxbury and Gillette, 2007). The protection of cultural heritage and the strengthening of cultural vitality is considered by UNESCO (2013) to be vital for cultural sustainability.

The relationship between cultural heritage and society has many similarities to the relationship between ecological resources and society (Loach et al., 2017), as both must be

26 equally be utilized for the benefit of the current and future generations. Moreover, just as the protection of ecological resources is central to environmental sustainability, so is cultural heritage to cultural sustainability. Cultural sustainability is needed to produce to eco/ organic product. It is an integrated approach to managing the design of the product sustainability concept by ensuring the four sustainability pillars environmental, social, economic, and cultural should exist in each product design (Pop, 2019). Cultural sustainability distinguishes the process and the inherent qualities, creativity, and the value-added in a garment. To build sustainable fashion industry fashion designers and companies need to take into account the sustainability dimensions and innovation levels all through their design process of fashion products. The cultural dimension has a transformative impact on resilient adaptable and circular innovation(Kozlowski et al., 2019).

3.1.4 Economic

It is the third dimension of sustainability, and also known as profit. These are economic variables that deal with the bottom line and the flow of money for economic measures (Slaper, 2013). Economic sustainability can be described as economic performance, market share, and indirect economic impacts by sustainable usage of natural dyes in textile (Elsahida et al, 2019). Economic aspect like cost, quality, on-time delivery, and the rejection rate is crucial part like other aspects of sustainability (environmental, social) in the selection of suppliers for fashion clothing production operations (Jia et al., 2015).

Fashion and apparel related industry employs professional workers with high technical education and skills, for instance, computer specialists, and computer-aided designs. These fashion designers, innovational force are the vital pillars of the fashion industry. It also includes traditional employees that are related to the apparel manufacturing sector like tailor, sewing machine operators, and patternmakers, etc. The speed of change in consumers’ tastes has rapidly increased as a result of social media which has a huge impact on this generation and also the fast delivery of goods and services. The social media and live broadcasts have brought influential change in the fashion industry by bringing new players in addition to traditional fashion players. While the traditional media outlet still contains massive transmission and influence. According to a study by McKinsey & Company (2019), 41 percent of young people mostly rely on influencers and bloggers, and 20 percent of people prefer the outlets. The fashion industry is a very cultivated industry that looks very different from the

27 last 20 years ago. Also, the companies that are responsive to current market conditions and able to meet the needs are growing vastly (Joint Economic Committee, 2015).

Figure 4: A depiction of the four pillars of sustainability. Source: Leiff et al., 2017

3.1.5 Corporate social responsibility

The main issue in the fragmented and globalized fashion supply chain is risk management. From the recent accidents and fires in Bangladeshi textile factories, it obvious that lack of awareness about the weak points in the supply chain creates a reputational risk, at the very least (Niinimäki, 2013). Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, addresses the issues of what enterprises’ responsibilities are regarding their impacts on society. By tackling their social responsibility, enterprises can build long-term employees, consumers, and citizens' trust as a basis for a sustainable business model (European Commission, 2011). With this trust, companies can create an environment that enables them to innovate and grow. CSR has been increasingly highlighted worldwide by governments, NGOs, enterprises, and consumers (Kim et al., 2014), and it is becoming a competitive advantage to have a strategic approach to CSR (European Commission, 2011).

To address sustainability issues in the supply chain, there is a great need for companies to demand good practices from suppliers and select accordingly. Code of conduct principles help companies in this process, and instruments like ISO 14001, ISO 26000, EMAS standards can be used when considering the environmental and social aspects of a company’s operations. Additionally, the UN defined ten principles called the “Global Compact” to set standards for suppliers. These principles take account of issues from human rights, labor issues,

28 environmental initiatives, and issues in anticorruption (Niinimäki, 2013). Several companies use these principles in their supplier requirement and arrangements such as Nike.

In developed countries, CSR strategies have been successfully implemented in the textile industry. On the other hand, in developing countries like South Asia, such strategies haven’t been successfully implemented because of various hidden factors. Applying an analytical hierarchy process, (Shen et al., 2015) tried determining the barriers of developing CSR in the textile companies using the Indian textile industry as a case study. Certain factors like financial constraint was discovered to be hurdling the implementation of CSR.

It is important to note that sustainability and CSR need constant evaluation, therefore it is a constant commitment and learning process for a company (Niinimäki, 2013). Also acting responsibly and promoting CSR doesn’t necessary mean direct revenues to a company, rather the motivation to act responsibly is based on values other than economic. These actions might also be or should be economically successful in the long run.

3.2 Sustainable Fashion throughout the Supply Chain

Mentzer et al. (2001) defined a supply chain as a set of entities (organizations and individuals) directly involved in the upstream and downstream flows of products, services, finances, and/or information from a source to a customer. It is important to note that a supply chain exist whether they are managed or not. In the business world, the supply chain is a core business process of major importance for the realization of business strategy (Fassoula, 2006), meeting customer needs (MacCarthy et al., 2016) and has a major impact in a company’s competitiveness and profitability. Several independent firms are involved in manufacturing a product and placing it in the hands of the end customer- raw material and component producers,product assemblers, manufacturers, distribution companies, wholesalers, retailers. All of these make the supply chain complex as it constitutes of both many actors and dimensions that should consistently manage activities.

Figure 5: Example of a Supply chain with its many actors. Source: Mentzer et al. (2001)

Hence, supply chain management is the systemic, strategic coordination of the traditional business functions and the tactics across these business functions within a particular company and across businesses within the supply chain for the purposes of improving the long term performance of the individual companies and the supply chain as a whole (Mentzer et al., 2001). In the textile and fashion industry, supply chains are a critical driver for the success of a company, their role is now more strategic than ever. Also because of its short product life cycle, volatile and unpredictable demand, tremendous product variety, etc., effective supply chain practices can make the difference between success and failure (Şen, 2008). It contains various actors that are interlinked and its processes include (Fletcher, 2008; Gardetti and Torres, 2017) :

 Obtaining and processing of raw materials i.e. textile fibres using natural or man-made materials. Natural fibres include cotton, silk, wool, hemp while manufactured fibres include fibres resulting from the transformation of natural polymers (cellulosic fibres such as viscose, lyocell) or synthetic polymers (fibres from organic material such as oil, i.e. nylon, polyester, acrylic) and fibres from inorganic materials (such as glass)  Production of yarns i.e. spinning  Production of fabrics i.e. weaving and knitting  Finishing activities such as dyeing, bleaching and printing

30  Transformation of textiles into garments i.e. cut-make-trim

INPUT OUTPUT Raw materials FABRIC FINISHING PRODUCT YARN Waste water Energy PRODUCTION Dyeing Cut PRODUCTION Solid waste Water Weaving Bleaching Make Spinning Emission to Chemical Knitting Printing Trim air Labour

Figure 6:Map of the Key processes, inputs and outputs in the textile production chain. Source: Fletcher (2008)

The textile and fashion industry is ever-changing and complex due to the dynamic environment it operates in. MacCarthy et al. (2016) argue that fundamental economic, technological changes can impact the configuration, operation, and coordination of a supply chain but also regulatory frameworks, political factors, and sustainability agendas. The trend of globalization has made traceability difficult for companies to give accurate accounts of sources of supplies as manufacturing has been moved to low-cost countries. Since the supply chain is global and has a fragmented structure, supply chain sustainability becomes complicated, and since it is less visual than, for example, food production (Niinimäki, 2010). Hence, sustainability in the fashion industry often assessed through a limited and very narrow lens, for example, the use of environmentally friendly material or production methods (Fletcher, 2008).

However, fashion companies can no longer ignore the environmental and social issues facing the world they operate in. Also, nowadays, consumers are demanding more transparency accountability about sourcing and manufacturing to assess if the supply chain activates are sustainable or not. Hence, focal companies need to ensure that their activities are not harmful to the environment, labour standards are met, and there are no social issues across the supply chain so as to gain a competitive advantage in the market (Shen, 2014). A company able to ensure an effective sustainable supply chain will enhance a good brand reputation since it has to take responsibility for its suppliers towards the public. As such, companies need to have a set of criteria for its supplier selection and evaluation as well as the realisation of social and environmental requirements with its compliance.

When talking about sustainability in the fashion industry, the most relevant way to tackle the issue is to consider the entire supply chain. In the following section, considering the

31 framework of the supply chain, three perspectives are reviewed for this thesis, i.e. to analyse the use and value of indigenous culture in the concept of sustainability in the fashion industry. The perspectives include Sourcing, Production, and Customers; and were chosen to assess the environmental, social, cultural and economic impact, as well as to assess the responsibilities of different actors that can be crucial to the future of sustainable businesses in the fashion sector.

3.2.1 Sourcing

Eco-material production is a fundamental part of the sustainable fashion supply chain (Shen, 2014) which starts with the sourcing of fibre as raw material. Fibre is central to what a textile or garment is as it is one amid many interconnected factors influencing overall fashion product sustainability (Fletcher, 2008). Sustainable fashion products are often made by organic fabrics that are produced by less water and harmful chemicals as well as a renewable resource. For instance, cotton that is one of the main materials for apparel production is grown largely with pesticides. However, this conventional cotton production can be replaced with organically grown cotton that doesn’t use pesticides or synthetic fertilizers, thus, reducing the negative impact on the environment and health of farmers. As such, organic production of cotton results in a dramatic change as the toxicity level of the conventional cultivated cotton phase of the lifecycle drops to zero and overall product toxicity is reduced by 93% (Fletcher, 2008).

To guarantee that the cotton farms produce is real organic cotton, there is a need for the company to provide better farming techniques and conditions to cotton farmers. For example, Esquel is a well-known Hong Kong based producer of organic cotton fabric. Esquel introduced sustainable farming and harvesting techniques as well as changed its supplier- customer relationship with independent farmers to be more like partners (Lee, 2010). This way, the farmers were able to invest in new techniques and also had an income increase. Some initiatives scheme such as Fair Trade movement which aims to improve the sustainability of cotton cultivation focusing on both environmental and social criteria ensuring producers receive a fair price for their product, acceptable working conditions, access to education and health care, minimize the use of agrochemicals and prohibit the use of hazardous pesticides (Fletcher, 2014). In turn, many of the synthetic fibres are derived from non-renewable resources such as oil (Gardetti and Torres, 2017), a shift away from the use of

32 this to a renewable and biodegradable material such as fibre produced from corn or soybean could also bring benefit, reducing the dependency on oil (Fletcher, 2008).

Traditional textile techniques (discussed further below) can be implemented which addresses and can be useful in tackling these issues. For instance, a shift to organic cotton is an old method that has been existing before the use of pesticides. Likewise, it will be easier for a focal company to give an account of the sustainability profile of its supply chain right from the raw material of its suppliers as it capitalizes on local culture or resources. Consequently, local orientation and transparent systems ensure community development which is the main component of social sustainability (Jung and Jin, 2016). Moreover, organic production has a strong social element and includes many fair trade and ethical production principles. Also, organic standards make recommendations to industry about the production with a view that it is not enough for the material to be produced organically and then processed in a conventional polluting system (Fletcher, 2014).

In addition, reuse and recycle of materials, such as old clothes, manufacturing scraps, and bottles also can be the material of sustainable fashion with the advantage of saving energy, water and lowering the greenhouse gas emission. Diversity is an important value in sustainable development as such it is important to have variety in textile fibres (Fletcher, 2008; Niinimäki, 2013). New fibres that are biodegradable and renewable are being developed such as poly (lactic acid) from corn starch. Same time, it will be interesting to look into traditional materials that have been existing for ages and are sustainable. For instance, ancient Uganda barkcloth made from Fig trees. The result would be the cultivation, processing, and promotion of several minority fibres which, when taken together amount to a majority. This has the potential to not only serve as material needs with reduced resource consumption, but also more varied and locally sensitive agriculture, more regional fibres, more local jobs, and healthier and socially robust environments.

3.2.2 Production

Considering the textile chain from spinning to finishing, some of the chemicals used contain toxins causing carcinogenic and neurological effects and even allergies on workers. A large amount of water and energy is used during the processes with non-biodegradable wastes being produced as well as poor labour conditions commonly witnessed. According to

33 Niinimäki (2013), chemical use in general is an increasing problem in the textile and fashion industry as production processes might include a lot of chemicals which are a risk not only for the workers, environment but also for the end-users. Traditional methods and its wide array of environmentally friendly techniques can be applied (Rusu, n.d.), since this stage is the chief cause of environmental impacts in the production phase (Fletcher, 2008). Traditional printing and dyeing techniques such as mud printing, block-printing, tie and dye and batik that have a low carbon footprint and negative impact can be used. Manual weaving technologies can also revitalize since it is low-energy driven and environmentally friendly.

Berchicci and Bodewes (2005) highlighted that it is not enough for green products to meet environmental concerns but also should be translated into product design. Niinimäki (2010) emphasized the need to deepen consumers’ product attachment and at the same time add value to the product through sustainability. Fletcher (2014) also argues that given the current fashion consumption patterns create an unsustainable approach, fashion needs to play another role that identifies with sustainability concerns and fosters new consumer aspirations. In addition to a functional aim, fashion needs to address the individual emotional connection that a consumer may have to a product. This connection, according to her can be built by producing fashion that is based on values and skills and that is conscientious and sustainable. That is design strategies that improve both physical and emotional durability (Fletcher, 2008).

For achieving sustainability, a new approach to thinking needs to be set in place for bringing about change, and especially life cycle thinking (Niinimäki, 2013). A new approach that aligns our needs to the natural world and create not only better designed products but overall experience which connect the consumer to the product. Traditional crafts are one such medium that encourages the emotional relationship of the consumers with the designed products. These provide a bridge between the modern and the traditional and are a powerful tool for cultural co-existence.

Sustainable fashion intends to prolong the lifespan of clothing from acquisition to discard so people buy less at a higher price and more durable quality and therefore reduce the impact of product replacement. High quality isn’t only about the physical garment but also about designs that are timeless and less influenced by fleeting fashion trends (Jung and Jin, 2016) as well as in aesthetically aging materials. Designers and producers are now encouraged to

34 design using cradle to cradle concept as it motivates to design and manufacture a product considering all stages of garment’s lifecycle including what happens to the clothing when it is no longer in use or discarded (Fletcher, 2014; Niinimäki, 2013; Pookulangara and Shephard, 2013). As such, there is a need to be aware of the impact of the choice of textile as this determines the lifespan and environmental impact of the product. For instance, research shows that synthetic fibres induce more sweating during use and need to be washed more often than garments made of natural fibres. They cause a bigger environmental impact as microplastics (tiny particles) come loose from washing machine wastewater when clothes made from synthetic fibres are being washed (Niinimäki, 2013).

Designers can develop ethical and environmentally sustainable thinking and solution using traditional craft and techniques having both aesthetic and functional features that are unique and beautiful, thus, creating value which is fundamental for sustainable fashion. This approach draws attention to the emergence of a global market for traditional crafts and techniques. Integration of sustainability into the design process and production methods that emphasize quality, craftsmanship, and experienced labour (Pookulangara and Shephard, 2013) enables items to be produced in slower cycles, reducing the amount of waste and transforming current practices towards more sustainable one. Even when technology provides us with new materials options such as milk or corn fibres, traditional craft techniques can be implemented to create strong and beautiful designs out of them.

3.2.3 Customer

The customer plays a vital role in making sustainable business feasible, determining the company’s profitability and lifetime of the product since it’s the actor of the supply chain who has the purchasing power and that the sustainable product is offered. Hence, it is interesting to study the perspective of the customer.

The consumer constructs an identity through clothing choices and often select an apparel that approximates the aesthetic ideal of their own society (Niinimäki, 2010). Previous researches show that customers are willing to pay more for a sustainable product, but this isn’t translated in a purchase decision. Hence there seems to be inconsistency with what is said and done. This inconsistency is called attitude-behaviour gap (Niinimäki, 2010) and research shows different reasons for this gap’s existence. Joergens (2006) argues that consumers don’t have

35 a real opportunity to choose ethical clothing as almost all garments are produced in cheap Asian countries. Shen and Richards (2013) argue that the attitude gap could be due to a lack of awareness of sustainable fashion by the customer, which puts restraints on the customer sustainable choice making. According to Niinimäki (2010), the attitude gap could be due to producers and designers not truly knowing what consumers want and expect, hence the present trends in sustainable fashion appeal only to a limited number of consumers. The study draws on the conclusion that designers have to find new ways to deepen consumers’ product attachment which in turn adds value to the product, creating longer product lifespans and better products. Just as Niinimäki (2013) stated, consumption and purchasing often involve a strong emotional experience for consumers, therefore, we should create systems that offer other kinds of emotional experiences and satisfaction than from buying new stuff.

Nowadays, there is an increasing need for uniqueness, customization, natural products by more customers (Angel et al., 2016) as such traditional crafts and textile techniques are gaining in value. There is a growing appreciation for the visible work involved in the making of the garments, handcrafted, and the expertise which make these products more appealing. Brands are seen sharing knowledge and techniques on platforms involving their customers more, thus creating emotional value and attachment to the product as such making customers keep them for a long time. Customer’s perceived value increases a consumer’s intention to buy and pay a higher price for a sustainable fashion product. Jung and Jin (2016) argue that consumers’ need for exclusive fashion products that promote individuality is a significant antecedent in creating customer value and Joy et al. (2012) posit that aesthetics and artisanal quality are critical in promoting sustainable fashion. Exclusivity contributes to creating emotional and social values while authenticity creates quality and price value. These attributes of exclusivity and authenticity can be derived from craftsmanship and traditional textiles which often reflect uniqueness, quality and durability. Just as Rod and Sue Mclean, the artisans behind Mclean & co brand stated “people appreciation of craftsmanship is growing as it’s not just the textiles they love but also the whole back story as such tend to purchase it because it’s something unique and they value the craftsmanship and quality of the product”. Hence, customer perceived value plays a vital role in purchasing sustainable products as customers often tend not to engage in ethical consumption if the ethical issue doesn’t directly impact them (Joergens, 2006; Jung and Jin, 2016).

36 Customers gaining adequate knowledge on sustainable fashion is appreciated to be a determinant factor in making purchase decisions as such communication and education from brands about the processes used in the creation of their apparel is crucial. It is argued that for consumers to make efficient decisions they must be fully informed since consumer demand for sustainable fashion (Pookulangara and Shephard, 2013). Consumers are looking for transparency today and this need for transparency is a key element within the concept of sustainable fashion. Brands can leverage on celebrities to promote sustainable fashion since celebrities have become powerful reference groups influencing consumer behaviour (Khandual and Pradhan, 2019; Pookulangara and Shephard, 2013). Obsession with celebrities has increasingly fuelled consumer demand to buy clothing that celebrities’ wear and brands can utilize the aspirational value of celebrities to sell fashion products. In the end, the success of sustainable fashion at the customer level is largely determined by how a company markets the idea and how customers connect to what they buy by hearing a story about the makers, materials, and processes.

3.3 Sustainable business strategies

Companies need to set sustainability principles as a core in their business strategy. This way they can source ethically and consider the ecological impact, the issues of wage inequity and waste, and the contamination of the environment can be greatly reduced. Hence, an alteration in the current business model from linear to circular is needed to incorporate sustainability strategies since the business drivers are no longer the same. This encourages companies to rethink the products’ end-of-life when they alter their business models with a focus on the production process from cradle to grave to cradle to cradle type of processes. It is essential to educate consumers, employees, and fashion businesses about their environmental responsibility regarding reuse, recycle, and disposal methods. Governments have an important role to play in promoting standards for sustainability policy and regulations, supported by a collaboration between different stakeholders (Niinimäki, 2013).

One of the tools that businesses can use to improve sustainability is the sustainable consumption and production (SCP) cycle which can be used as a guideline to create a strategy for sustainability to improve environmental performance as it is grounded in life-cycle thinking (UNEP, 2015). The SCP has nine key principles and it encourages a circular way of

37 thinking by supporting environmentally friendly consumption, with a focus on resource management, design for sustainability, cleaner production and research efficiency, eco- labelling and certification, sustainable marketing and lifestyle, and waste management (Thorisdottir and Johannsdottir, 2019).

Figure 7: SCP cycle. Source: UNEP (2015)

Hoffman (2000), identifies four elements as drivers when forming a strategy to tackle sustainability-related issues with the underlying driver addressing the organization’s economic success, social success, and their environmental activities.

1. Coercive drivers: Law and regulations, International regimes 2. Resource drivers: shareholders, investors, buyers, sellers, financial institutions 3. Market drivers: consumers, trade associations, competitors and consultants 4. Social drivers: Non-government organizations, press, religious institutions, community

Within the supply chain of the fashion industry, sustainability is a sensitive issue (Thorisdottir and Johannsdottir, 2019). However, Pagell and Wu (2009) propose a framework collected from case studies they analysed necessary in creating a set of sustainable supply chain management practices. These practices were rearranged into 5 key bundles as shown in table

38 Bundle 1 Commonalities, cognitions and orientations Bundle 2 Ensuring supplier continuity Bundle 3 Reconceptualise the chain Bundle 4 SCM practices – sourcing management SCM practices - operations SCM practices – invest in human capital Bundle 5 Measurement

Table 1: key bundles of SSCM practices.

From this framework, some areas of sustainable supply chain management are discussed in detail:

3.3.1 Reconceptualising the supply chain

Basic forms of supply chain reconceptualization are changing what the supply chain does, moving towards closed-loop systems, and reconceptualising who is in the supply chain. Nowadays, besides the focal company and its suppliers, the supply chain comprises of a broader set of entities such as NGOs, local communities, and governments. The collaboration between the firm and these entities are necessary as their feedback can be used to improve the supply chain. This can be achieved through vertical and/or horizontal collaboration across the supply chain network.

3.3.2 Supplier continuity

While the goal of supplier continuity may seem familiar, there is a need to ensure that all members of the chain may not only stay in business but that they do so in a way that allows them to thrive, reinvest, innovate and grow. Supplier development, in two forms, plays a significant role in continuity. First is the focus on DE-commoditization involving most likely organizations that are engaged in traditional supplier development. In this case, suppliers are taught how to meet the organization’s quality, environmental and labour standards. Suppliers who could meet these standards are guaranteed far above market prices. These behaviours directly benefit the buyer who invested to ensure that suppliers provided the desired inputs with the expected level of noneconomic performance while suppliers benefit because they get access to new customers who will pay above market process for what was generally seen

39 as commodity inputs. The second type of supplier development isn’t traditional rather one that the focal company help their suppliers to be better suppliers for other organizations. The development isn’t aimed at making the supplier a better provider for the focal chain, but rather on improving the supplier’s ability to serve others. This activity provides no direct benefits to the focal company, but significant benefits accrued to the supplier.

Supplier continuity is also focused on reducing supplier risk whereby the focal company shares the risk with the supplier. For instance, sharing the cost of investment for a new but highly speculative business that the focal company might want the supplier to venture into and also providing a guaranteed customer for the process. Continuity is also focused on transparency. Transparency provides insight into what is happening in the chain enabling improvement as well as ensuring social responsibility with regards to human rights- no one in the chain is being abused. A supplier is guaranteed a reasonable living in a fully transparent chain, ensuring that the supplier is available for future business and has the resources to make improvements that benefit the chain.

Hence, the major difference between the low and high-performance company is the strength of the relationship with its suppliers and partners as continuity benefits the focal company in guaranteeing a stable and capable supply base. A concern for supplier continuity that extends to the origins is also one of the more measurable social components of sustainable supply chain management.

3.3.3 Sourcing management

Sourcing practices carried out by companies include supplier selection based on sustainability goals, collaboration with suppliers to help achieve sustainability goals, certify suppliers on social and environmental actions and outcomes, and involvement in supplier development activities related to improving supplier performance on environmental and social outcomes that are important to the chain. Some companies also carry out traceability efforts with their suppliers. Information with regards to how products were made, the by-products of their production, material used (and often sources of materials) are often demanded. This way the focal company ensures that their own business was not put at risk by suppliers knowingly or inadvertently using material and processes that could harm people and/or the environment. Traceability increases the effectiveness of the sourcing portion of the chain and reduce risk

40 as the information gathered generally increases the knowledge about how processes are carried out and knowledge to improve the chain as a whole.

3.3.4 Human capital management

Human capital management underlines the internal human resources i.e. the employees within the firm. Empowerment, training, and other practices that increase employee wellbeing and commitment to the company. Companies need to build and maintain a culture that values people and the environment and ensuring that employees are committed to this.

3.3.5 Operations

Continuous improvement, Lean, JIT, TQM, and other philosophies could be possibly useful in making the existing supply chain more sustainable. But it is also possible that continuous improvement-based philosophies inhibit radical innovation. According to Pagell and Wu, these philosophies could be a barrier if a company truly wants to achieve sustainability by being unwilling or unable to disrupt existing processes.

3.3.6 Measurement

A key aspect of corporate social responsibility is the development of a sustainability performance measurement system. One formal tool used to capture the impacts of the chain is the use of life cycle analysis which generally captures the environmental impacts of the chain and not the social component. Hence, the need for a measurement system that measures TBL dimensions of sustainability simultaneously.

Traditional Textile Crafts

Traditional textile has a significant important social, cultural, and economic impact on individuals and communities (Ebert et al., 2018), embedding cultural narratives that are functional as well coded with meaning and purpose (Kuusk et al., 2016). A wide range of inherent skills and local techniques is used, providing a bridge to emotions and feeling through encoded values and aesthetics. They are often generally artistic and traditional in nature.

Since the industrialized production in the 1970s, traditional artisans and craftsmanship have struggled to survive. With their economic and social positions declined, some artisans have given up on their crafts while others live in penury. However, there seems to be hope with a shift in focus happening as concern for sustainability in the fashion industry rises, a new dynamic is emerging between traditional crafts and the modern fashion and creative industries (Ebert et al., 2018).

It is important to note the way the traditional artisans act towards their environment as they do not dominate or destroy it rather live sustainably and harmony within it (Cyprian Obiora, 2015). Traditional textiles are mostly produced in an ethical manner using techniques that are eco-friendly in the use of materials, processes, and design techniques. In this view, we analyse how indigenous culture could positively impact sustainability in the global fashion industry with designers and companies leveraging on it in creating additional value as they are produced in a contemporary way but without losing sight of traditions. Indigenous textiles of Nigeria and Pakistan are considered as both countries are developing countries that have rich craft tradition but also to show how a lot can be learned from our past and how this can shape the present and future of the fashion industry irrespective of the region.

4.1 Heritage textile in Nigeria

Heritage manufacturing techniques employ non-industrial and often historical techniques of manufacture. Hand-manufactured textiles and ornamentation hold major cultural significance to the Nigerian society. Nigeria is a heterogeneous nation with diverse cultural heritage ranging from traditions, languages, oral history, religious ceremonies, and traditional creative skills like arts and crafts. Among the indigenous arts and crafts are textiles which are the most visible cultural product among Nigeria’s various cultures with the skills often passed

43 from one generation to another. Different cultures of the country have tremendous varieties of materials, styles, designs, and patterns (both in color and qualities) which give an artistic expression of the history and culture of each ethnic group and society. For instance, Adire (indigo resist-dyed cloth) and Aso-Oke (woven fabric) are produced by the Yoruba, the Fulani for is known for the production of their woven cloth called Ukatt, the Hausa for known for their Danshiki fabric, the Igbo for Akwete and Ukara woven fabrics, Niger for Tatiko fabric. All other tribes in Nigeria both major and minor have different types of locally produced cloths by the indigenes. Available written and oral records show that the export trade of locally produced textiles were famous for their excellent indigenous cloth before the advent of the European explorers and traders (Modupe Adu et al., 2018). They also served the cottage industries and contributed to their growth which positively impacted the nation’s economy.

However, the indigenous textiles suffered a great depression in the twilight of colonization during which they were heavily taxed by the colonial policies to guarantee continuing importation of British made goods at the expense of the indigenous textile (Modupe Adu et al., 2018; Olutayo and Akanle, 2009) thus making the local textiles more expensive than the imported ones and discouraging the creativity of the local artisans (Agbadudu and Ogunrin, 2006). The introduction of European style garments also changed the consumption patterns and use of the indigenous textiles as they were seen as a cloth for the poor and rural dwellers. In addition, foreign yarns and synthetic dyes were introduced in the production of indigenous textiles techniques. This deviation from the use of locally grown hand-spun and natural dye technique caused a lack of sufficient patronage for the artisans resulting in some turning to other occupations. As well as the flooding of cheap mass-produced textiles from Asia and second-hand clothes from Europe which created stiff competition for the indigenous textiles.

Nigerian fashion followed western dress styles and trends, however, since the mid-'20s, fashion designers started to use indigenous inspirations in their collections consisting of both western dress influences and indigenous cultural inspiration. The collections are constructed using traditional materials, colours, patterns, and design techniques of the ancient art form. They combine old techniques with modern styles flirting with color and avant-garde patterns producing output that is organic, unique, and beautiful. These fashion products are being exported to the overseas market and becoming popular in the global fashion capitals. Currently, some early pioneers like Nike Okundaye and new generations among the Nigerian

44 fashion designers collaborate to develop innovative design ideas to promote Nigerian fashion in the global market. Also, there are institutions such as LagosFW which aim in promoting the fashion heritage of the nation to a global audience as well as creating a platform for artisans and emerging designers. We shall explore some common Nigeria heritage textiles and techniques and its influence in the global fashion.

4.1.1. Adire

This is a patterned indigo resist-dyed cotton textile produced by the Yoruba people of Southwestern Nigeria. Its name is coined from two Yoruba words; ‘Adi’ meaning to tie and’ meaning to dye. In concept, the name “adire” is descriptive of both the process of the cloth dyeing and its products. Adire is traditionally a generational art passed from mothers to daughters within the family (Margaret Olugbemisola Areo and Kalilu, 2013; Areo and Omisakin, 2016). The symbols of adire are greatly influenced by history, legends, myths, proverbs, folklores, deep observations of the environment, making it a meaningful part of the people’s day-to-day lives (Margaret Olugbemisola Areo and Kalilu, 2013). The creativity and designs in adire make it significant in the Yoruba world, and perhaps beyond, as a process and object of communication. Adire cloth, therefore, functions as a visual language (Margaret Olugbemisola Areo and Kalilu, 2013). The two most important materials of adire production are cloth and dye. The indigo dye was the most widespread and is extracted from many varieties of Indigofera plants, called “elu”, which are sometimes cultivated but often grow wild (Olugbemisolaareo, 2013). The preparation involves the breaking up and fermentation of indigo leaves to produce insoluble indigo dye balls, and the preparation of the alkali medium, the ashes which turns the indigo into its soluble state and act as a fixing agent (mordant) for the dye. Textiles for clothing are not new to the Yoruba people. Cotton is handwoven by women on the broadloom as the canvas for adire. Cotton was grown in large quantities and it was also of good quality.

Adire is grouped into two broad types: Adire Oniko and Adire Eleko. Adire Oniko, raffia (iko) is used as the resisting agent, and patterns are created by tying the raffia throughout the cloth strategically to produce patterned cloth. A great variety of patterns can be produced using this technique. For instance, small circles can be created by tying small stones or seeds and larger circles can be made by lifting a point of fabric and then binding the fabric beneath it

45 tightly. Patterns can also be created by folding the cloth from corner to corner like a concertina and then binding of very tightly at various points (figure 9).

Figure 8: Adire Oniko. Source: Victoria and Albert Museum

Adire Eleko, starch paste (eko) is used as its resisting agent, which is either painted or stencilled onto the cloth before dyeing. The paste is prepared by adding either corn or cassava flour to a quantity of boiling water to which alum has been added. The paste prevents dye penetration while the alum prevents the starch from peeling into the dye bath during the dying process (Margaret Oluwagbemisola Areo and Kalilu, 2013). For the painted (freehand) eleko, the fabric is first folded and pressed into distinct squares with the artist intermittently dipping her painting brush into the starch to make her drawings (Margaret Oluwagbemisola Areo and Kalilu, 2013). There are over four hundred patterns of adire eleko. Adire making has traditionally been a female vocation up until the 1930s. In the 1930s, the men devised a method of creating eleko motifs using mental stencils so as to increase production and save time due to a great demand of adire at the time. Flat metals were placed on wood and the pattern cut out with the aid of a chisel. The technique is to place the metal stencil on the fabric to be patterned and to force the starch through the holes to the fabric with a small flat metal. The first set of stencil designs copied the traditional freehand motifs and also from lead lining of boxes used to import materials such as tea, cigarettes and matches. In order to sustain the art in the dynamic environment, over the years, other stencils cut has been experimented and emerged such as floor linoleum, discarded x-ray films, transparent sheets, lacy floral patterns that is often gotten from second-hand cloth market.

Figure 9: Adire eleko. Source: adireafricantextiles.com

There is a third type of adire called Adire Alabere which uses sewing as a form of resist in which both hand sewing and machine sewing could be used to produce patterns. It is also known as batik and was introduced in the sixties. Wax is also used as its resist agent (Margaret Oluwagbemisola Areo and Kalilu, 2013) It is sometimes considered to be a derivative of adire oniko, for instance, if the sewing has been done with raffia. However, for clarity, it is treated separately in this study.

Figure 10: Adire Alabere. Source: Victoria and Albert Museum

Scholarly opinions on adire’s origin is unknown; this has given rise to several theories of accidental dyeing discovery that occurred centuries ago. From clothes being twisted in the dying process to kids tying their pebble toys in clothes while playing with no one noticing until the clothes were dyed (Polakoff, 1982). However, the theories of accidental discoveries aren’t supported by Yoruba philosophy and traditional history. According to legend, the origin of adire is attributed to Orunmila, the Yoruba deity of wisdom and divination and the Ifa exponent, who was believed to be divinely inspired to produce patterned dyed clothes prompted by the patterns found on certain birds; Agbe, Aluko, Akuko, Odidere, Agbufon, and Lekeleke. In Yoruba cosmology, these birds were divinely inspired and permitted to respectively use indigo, palm oil, camwood, chalk, and variegated colour pigments at the period of their creation. This implies that they used these materials to create their plumage

47 and this in turn translates to the textile printers themselves who emulate the birds’ brilliance (Margaret Olugbemisola Areo and Kalilu, 2013).

The traditional pattern layouts consist of 8″ x 8″ squares, or 8″ x 11″ squares, or approximately two by one and a half hands span. The squares are positioned in straight lines along and across the whole length of the cloth with each square separated from the next by lines or a grid drawn with starch resist. The layout formed along with the symbols used gives meaning to the cloth. Adire's patterns, contents, and sequence designs and motifs have evolved. According to a recent study carried out by Areo and Kalilu (2013), adire designs and motifs are classified into 5 broad groups, namely; geometric, figural, skeuomorphic, letters and celestiomorphic motifs. Geometric motifs are dots, lines of various forms, squares, triangles, circles, semi-circles, spiral lines, and rectangles. Figural motifs are of two types: Zoomorphic and Floral. Skeuomorphic motifs are a representation of man-made objects ranging from utensils to other objects. Letters which are particularly the alphabets of the Yoruba language. Celestiomorphic motifs are based on celestial bodies or planets such as the moon, stars. Table 2 shows the summary of the classification Adire motifs into natural and man-made sources. These motifs are sometimes symbolic, representational, or both, having various meanings and implications in usage.

Source Class Examples

Natural Animal Adaba (Red-eyed dove), Pepeye (duck), Etu (Guinea fowl), Adie (fowl), Odidere (African grey parrot), Tolotolo (Turkey), Opeere (Brown-eared bulbul), Ogongo (Ostrich), Alangba (Lizard), Ejo (snake), Alabahun (Tortoise), Omoole (Wall gecko), Oga (Chameleon), Adon (bat), Okere (Squirrel), Eerin (Elephant), Okun (Millipede), Akeeke (Scorpion), Ekolo (Earthworm), Igbin (African Gaint Snail), Opolo (Toad)

Plant Ewe Ege, Oye/Akoko (cassava and Markhamia tomentosa), Fulawa (Petals), Ogede (Banana), Ogede Agbagba (Plantain),

48 Koko (Cocoa pod), Koro Owu (Cottonseed), Odan (Fig tree), and Oka baba (Guinea corn plant).

Man- Irukere (horsetail), Aago owo (wristwatch), Walaa (slate), made Garawa (bucket), Isana (Matches), Opo Mapo (Mapo hall objects pillars), ese masini (sewing machine’s pedal), Orita (road junction), Amuga (Scissors), Igbako (Ladle), Abgo ile (house compound), Sugar (sugar cubes), Ilu gangan (Gangan talking drum), Opon Ifa (Ifa divination tray), Sekere (Ground rattle).

Table 2: summary of classification Adire motifs into natural and man-made sources Source: Areo and Kalilu (2013)

Figure 11: Some Adire motifs and their meanings. Source: Areo and Kalilu (2013)

Aside from naming the motifs and giving meanings to the motifs and their names, the art of adire interestingly has an overarching naming system by which already named motifs are grouped and the group is seen, recognized, and named as one entity. The naming system in this case is therefore not based on one single motif (Margaret Olugbemisola Areo and Kalilu, 2013). Therefore, the name of the entire fabric is determined by the collection of motifs that are peculiar to it or used thereon. Six of such predominant or group names are identified, namely, Ibadan dun, Olokun, Sumbebe, Eyepe, Ile-Iyalode, and Onikomu.

Ibadan Dun: this means Ibadan is sweet or pleasant. This pattern is the most complicated and detailed of all traditional Adire eleko – the starch resist Adire. The cloth is normally divided

49 into four rows of seven squares with none of the motifs in these twenty-eight squares appearing more than once. However, the square of Mapo Hall pillars alternating with spoons, three or four times (figure 13) gives the fabric its name, with the motif appearing several times on the cloth.

Figure 12: Mapo Hall with four spoons. Source: National Museum of Africa Art, Smithsonian Institution

The number of spoons determines the quality of the cloth, with the highest having five spoons, good quality ones four and the lowest quality have three spoons Carr (2001). Many of the other motifs mentioned earlier are used to fill the squares (figure 14). Ibadan dun expresses the mastery of an adire maker.

Figure 13: Ibadan dun. Source: National Museum of Africa Art, Smithsonian Institution

Olokun: This is known as the goddess of the sea, and is made up of two rows of five large squares with long rectangles at each end of the twelve smaller squares below. The large squares in olukun design cloth consist of abstract patterns, encasing, smaller rectangles, which contain creatures such as birds, lizards, crocodiles as well as mats and wire. Olokun's central square has the four-legged stool, and often has the O.K. motif on it.

Figure 14 : Olokun. Source: The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Sun bebe: means ‘lift up the bead’ and is an allusion to the sensuous raising of the beads by women. Sun bebe is the small flat waist beads favoured by Yoruba women. The design is a collection of abstract designs, with a background of tiny circles and represents the sounds of the beads shaking and rubbing together as a woman dances and has an erotic connotation. The dynamic design and concept of visually representing sounds in this way are of considerable interest. Notably, the designs of sun bebe is well executed with a good variety of designs that are neatly drawn. There is an unusual variation where the blocks of pattern are separated by a wide undecorated dark blue line, a framing effect that adds much to the graphic impact of the piece.

Figure 15: Sun Bebe Source: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution

Ile lyalode, “Iyalode’s compound”: this is an allusion to the place where it is made or the originator of the design. It is one of the designs made from cut metal stencils. The fabrics are commemorative and normally feature images of royals, kings, heroes, and master craftsmen with inscriptions of the name of the person, occasion, appellations, place, and year.

Figure 16: Commemorative fabric for King George V and Queen Mary. Source: National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution

Onikomu: Simply means “The -One-with-Comb”. The name portrays the name of the fabric and the process of making it. Starch paste is spread on the fabric with spiral lines being made on it by scratching through the starch with a comb. The starch is left to dry, and also the fabric then dyed.

Figure 17: Onikomu. Source: adireafricantextiles.com

4.1.2 Aso-oke

Aso-Oke means cloths from the “hinterland”. It is also known as Aso-ofi because of the process through which it is made particularly the implements, with Aso meaning clothe and ofi meaning loom with which this type of cloth is woven. Hence, Aso-Oke is a traditional handwoven textile common among the Yoruba that are made of spun yarn either derived from cotton or silk fiber, and usually woven on a loom (Adémúlèyá, 2015; Mckinney and Eicher, 2009; Olutayo and Akanle, 2009). Two types of the loom are used in its production namely; the upright single heddle loom (used by women) which is a fixed vertical frame in which a woven cloth of a predetermined length of about 30- 90cm width is produced. The second type is the double heddle loom (used by men) which is a horizontal loom that

52 produces strips of woven fabrics of about 14-15cm wide; the fabrics are cut and edge-stitched together to make a larger piece of cloth (Agbadudu and Ogunrin, 2006; Olutayo and Akanle, 2009). The design and weaving depends on three variables: the nature and colour of fibers used, kind of relationship between the warp and the weft which may be affected by the loom, and the likely methods of embellishing a fabric after manufacture (Olutayo and Akanle, 2009). In addition, aso-oke patterns are predetermined prior to the actual weaving using a calculated process in which the weaver knows what the final creation will look like. The strips of aso-oke are usually about 14-15cm inches and usually stitched together to make a garment. In ancient times, the common fashion styles of aso-oke for women was buba and iro (top and wrapper), gele (head gear) while for men was agbada (large gown) which often comes with embroideries, fila (cap) and buba and sokoto (top and trousers). While these common styles are still sewn till date with a touch of contemporary designs and style, but it is also used for other new varieties of styles.

There are three broad types of Aso-Oke: Etu, Alaari, and Sanyan. Etu (fowl), the strips are woven using local wild silk fiber which is dyed repeatedly in a traditional indigo blue dye brought out at interval for drying and stretching. It has a blue and white stripes in the warp direction with a light blue checkerboard with a pattern weave structure. Nowadays, it is also made of indigo dyed cotton.

Figure 18: Aso-Oke Etu. Source: Olutayo and Akanle (2009)

Alaari is crimson in colour and traditionally woven with locally spurned silk yarns dyed in red camwood solution, sometimes combined with dyed cotton of various colour.

Figure 19: Aso-Oke Alaaric. Source: Olutayo and Akanle (2009)

Sayan is made from fibres gotten from cocoons of the anaphe silk warm wherein the silk fibres are handspun into silk threads that are washed and soaked in corn starch to strengthen the yarn for fabric production. It is greyish-brown in colour, sometimes divided by a longitudinal white stripe running through the middle of the cloth. It’s regarded as the most expensive of all Aso-Oke fabric (Olutayo and Akanle, 2009).

Figure 20: Aso-Oke Sayan. Source: Mckinney and Eicher (2015)

Amid the negative social-cultural factors and maintaining a presence, aso-oke has evolved with new designs and production skills as well as coming in more varieties of colours. For example, the addition of stripes of lurex fiber to cotton warps, creation of holes & weft flow on the fabric with this aso-oke type referred to “open work”. Nowadays, aso-oke has motifs like diamond, ball, and other manufactured items on it which gives it a global representation. It is also important to note that in contrast to old heavy weaving, aso-oke fabric has shifted to very light weave styles.

Figure 21: Aso-Oke openwork. Source: Adire African Trextile

4.1.3 Akwete

Akwete is a handwoven fabric named after the town in the South-Eastern part of Nigeria from which it originates from. The origin of Akwete is believed to be as old as the Igboland while records say it can be traced from Dada Nwakata who is the acclaimed pioneer of the highly ornamented intricate woven patterns of Akwete fabric. The story has it that she unravelled threads of a woven cotton fabric locally known as achan which was brought into the area through trade with the Portuguese merchants, sometimes between 14th- 15th centuries. She was able to study the woven structure on the achan fabric due to her exceptional talent in weaving, and adopted a new style in her weaving. Traditionally, the production of Akwete is mostly done by women and it is a practice that is taught to the young girls at an early stage of their life by their mothers and handed down from generation to generation (Chukueggu and Ogu, 2013). The women of Akwete exhibit high weaving skills that have attracted much attention to the fabric in the past to date; this can be attributed to its sophistication both in aesthetics and quality.

The fabric is almost always playful with colours and the weavers have been able to adapt their weaving style to the changing times. Traditionally made with locally grown cotton spun, sisal- hemp, and raffia into a finished product on a vertical loom. They also used vegetable dyes for colouring. However, there has been some deviation from the use of locally grown cotton thread to imported cotton threads called yarns. Also, some modern brands of Akwete fabrics are designed in combination with cotton, rayon, and metallic yarns in brilliant warm and glittering colours with intricate geometric patterns achieved by the in-lay technique (Chukueggu and Ogu, 2013). Akwete fabric comes in different varieties of colours and designs with a name tag being given to every fabric which sometimes is named after the weaver or after the motif used for the design. Akwete weavers also make use of cultural oriented motifs

55 that combine with modern forms and concepts harmoniously (Chukueggu, 1998). Most motifs are found on one side but can also be reflected on both sides of the fabric. Designing is done by embroidery in the course of weaving through introducing some design features with matching colours diverse from the background of the fabric. Differently from Aso-Oke, Akwete is woven on a larger vertical single-heddle loom and usually produced in 78.74 inches by 59.06-inch dimensions that are ready for use as a wrapper upon completion rather than requiring selvage-to-selvage sewing as required by aso-oke. It is important to note that the weaving in the community is managed on a bigger scale by a co-operative society that ensures fabric quality, copyright ensuring a weaver doesn’t duplicate designs of another or credit is given to the original designer by way of naming the design after her in case other weavers intend to copy it (Bellafricana, 2019; Chukueggu and Ogu, 2013).

Akwete fabric comes in different patterns and motifs, with the patterns ranging from plain stripped to heavily patterned fabrics. The various popular designs in Akwete fabric range from motifs derived from nature, geometric shapes, and abstract which are both symbolic and expressive. Other motifs in use include symbols and logos of various organizations both social, religious, political as well as symbols of trending elements in the society as desired by the customer. All these designs are the latest fashion on Akwete fabric which is making high demand at present (Chukueggu and Ogu, 2013). The four main patterns of Akwete fabric include:

 Etirieti (a plain design that is made up of mostly stripes and square)  Ahia (complex design that its beauty is determined by the weaver’s skillful ability on the loom)  Akpukpa ( the most colourful/vibrant design that is most often purchased by people of other cultures)

56  Ogbanaonweya (an intricate design used mostly by the Akwete community itself).

Figure 22: Akwete fabric Figure 23: Akwete weaver Source: Bellafricana (2019) Source: https://www.bolakoka.com/akwete/ (2019)

In contemporary society, most of these fabrics are used aside in garment making which ranges from home furniture to make upholstery and other interior decorations such as room dividers, bedspread, pillows, bags, lampshades, and shoes, etc. Sometimes, they are also combined with other materials and accessories such as beads. It is also remarkable to note that the aesthetic nature of the fabrics alone, more than any other factor has greatly facilitated greater cross-cultural assimilation of traditional textiles as they are exported to other parts of the world showcasing the cultural heritage of the people that produce it. At the same time, the artisans, are steadily adapting to environmental changes. As technology changes, the artisans adopt new methods and materials in order to fit into the trend.

4.1.4 Hausa Indigo

In the North-west of Nigeria, the Hausa precisely Kofar Mata in Kano state make indigo-dyed fabrics in a 500 years old dyeing pits (over 100 oldest dyeing pits and the oldest pits in Africa), and some other parts of the north such as Zaria, Katsina. But today, only the Kofar Mata dyeing pits of Kano has survived but unfortunately, patronage has diminished and dyers seek other jobs. Kofar Mata dyeing pits were established in 1498 and have become the emblem of the age-old dyeing tradition in Northern Nigeria as well as now become a tourist site (Katibi and Enaholo, 2018).

Figure 24: A dyer dyeing a fabric Figure 25: dye pits Source: Cara (2019) Source: Katibi and Enaholo (2018)

The Hausa traditional dyers were renowned for their skill in indigo dyeing wherein the technique, equipment, and dyeing materials used were indigenous and simple. The ingredients used in the preparation of dye mixture are locally obtained and include baba (indigo plants), firewood ashes, potash, and katsi (dead remains of used indigo). The dyeing process beings with the stage where the fabric which can be of raffia (a woven cloth made from raffia palm leaves), silk, and cotton are tied into different patterns and then dipped into the already prepared fermented dye solution (Dutsenwai, 2016). The fabric is continuously dipped in the dye solution for a period depending on how deep the dyer want the colour to be with the colour ranging from light blue, navy blue, dark blue and blue-black. The patterns are divided into regular (circular) and royal (straight lines) patterns (figure 27). With an intended satisfied colour achieved, the dyer spread the fabric out to dry but also undergo bugu (a traditional form of pressing a dyed fabric with a big log of wood which makes the fabric shine while retaining its quality). The dye solution has a life span of a year during which they have to be mixed at least once i.e. dye baths are reused and exhausted. Also, the dye solution during this period can become inactive due to lack of use, and a brown powdery-like substance called Makhouba is applied to reactive it (Katibi and Enaholo, 2018). The Hausa blue indigo has been likened to the Adire of the Yoruba, and other indigo dye of the world such as the Japanese shibori or the Tagelmust of the Tuareg. However, the dyers at Kofar Mata elucidate that even though the processes may appear similar, the materials and methods employed are different.

Figure 26: Circular patterned cotton design and Royal patterned raffia fabric. Source: Katib and Enaholo (2018)

4.2 Textile heritage in Pakistan

Textile industry is known as the backbone of Pakistan’s economy and it is the fourth largest cotton producer all over the world. The use of pesticides in cotton production started during the 1980s, and since then, the sales of pesticides has dramatically increased as this helped in growing cotton very fast. However, due to excessive use of these pesticides, cotton pests such as American bollworm, whitefly, and leave curve has been observed, thus, increasing the cultivation cost of cotton (Banuri, 1998). At the same time, the use of such insecticides has also be related to causing diseases such as neuron development effects, cancer, headache, rashes, and also environmental issues. Around 1.7 million of formers are engaged in cotton cultivation and related activities. (Jarwar and Ma, 2018).

In recent times, the traditional ways for cotton cultivation that our ancestors followed for centuries before the introduction of chemical dyes have been witnessed in order to avoid negative effects. This includes insect-resistant varieties, changing the time of sowing and harvest, removal of hoe crop residues, and the use of botanic pesticides e.g. neem and tobacco extracts (Banuri, 1998). Textile industry is an important industrial sector of Pakistan as regard to export and labor force employment and accounts for more than 60% export of the country. There are around 1500 production units currently working in the country. Nowadays, consumers are getting more concerned about green products and prefer to choose the products that cause no harm to both humans and the environment. The eco- friendly trend has been enlarged to homemade textile and apparel products.

59 4.2.1 Dyeing process

The chemicals used in manufacturing processes cause environmental and job-related health problems. Environmental problems caused by the textile industry mostly associated with water pollution due to the discharge of untreated effluent and because of the use of toxic chemicals. Usage of natural dyes and colors for fabric dyeing has endorsed a great recovery. These natural dyes are eco-friendly, harmless, and not-toxic. The importation of pigments and dyes in Pakistan decreased in 2015-16 to 2016-17 in Table 3. On the other hand, the import of organic chemicals in Pakistan decreased by 5% in Table 4 (Memon, 2017).

Table 3: import of dyes and pigments in Pakistan Table 4: import of organic chemicals in Pakistan

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas (FATA) have distinct climate conditions that support the growth of a huge variety of plant species that can be used for natural dyes. Like Safflower, Indigo, Henna, Resaut, Turmeric, Pomegrante, Jangali Palak, Indian Madder, Sra Zeal, and Bishop wood (Technology times, 2013).

4.2.2 Pakistan Apparel handicrafts

4.2.2.1 Sindhi AJRAK

Famous fabric of Sindh region “AJRAK” whose production process is very complex and contains over 21 steps. The traditional craftsmen are using locally produced material and natural dyes for printing the AJRAK. For outlining the design using a paste of lime, acacia gum, and rice paste. They are doing printing

Figure 27: AJRAK .Source : P007Ajrakh (n.d.)

60 through a wooden block. Alizarin dye and indigo dye are used for dyeing the fabric (Dawn, 2010).

4.2.2.2 KALASH Textile

Kalach community is 4000 people and 100 are artisans. They are still practicing their ancient craft of backstrap weaving. In this tribe, people wear black gowns decorated with flowers made with neon threads and hand-woven belts. Raw material is obtained from sheep shearing which is done with hand shearing. They clean the wool by hand washing and drying. For dyeing, they use the traditional process of natural dyes extracted from walnuts, pomegranate, turmeric, henna (Goyal and Khan, n.d.).

Figure 28: kalash raw material and fabric preparation. Source : Goyal and Khan (n.d.)

4.2.2.3 RALLI

Ralli quilts are traditional blankets made by artisans In Sindh, Balochistan, Cholistan deserts, and also at the southern border of Pakistan. Ralli Is made from the old fabric like old AJRAK. It is the concept of recycling the fabric when people can’t afford new clothes. Stitching together old material and putting patchwork to hide imperfection Figure 29: Ralli Quilt. Source: Ali (2019) with women artisans doing fancy embroidery like beadwork, glasswork , etc. to make it more

61 beautiful. The production of ralli requires teamwork. BaghoDaro a place in Khairpur Mirs is famous for ralli. People often gift ralli on specific events (Ali, 2019).

4.2.3 Embroidery

Pakistan is blessed with a rich cultural heritage that includes textiles, embroidery, beadwork, block-printing, patchwork, wood crafts, pottery, etc. In Pakistan, every region represents a different culture, embroidery designs, and handicrafts. The handicraft from different part of the country has its specialty like Ajrak and Topi of Sindh Province “Embroidery of Baluchistan province Beadwork of KPK province and shadow and phulkari of Punjab province. Many non- profit organizations like AHAN (aik hunar air nagar), handicraft association other governmental associations are working to promote these traditional craft heritage by providing platform. According to recent statistics, 13.54% of all employees are related to the craft sector (Shafi et al., 2019).

4.2.3.1 Baluchi Embroidery

Baluchi embroidery is a very famous work and also known as “sheeshagi”. In this design, small pieces of mirror are coated on cloth with button-hole stitch. Baluchi women often carry out this embroidery in their homes. Baluchi “pushk” that is made in traditional seven colors: black, maroon, purple, dark blue, green, orange, and white

(Ibrahim, 2016). Figure 30: Baluchi embroidery. Source: Ibrahim (2016)

4.2.3.2 Sindhi Embroidery

Sindhi embroidery is coated with flowers and petals with colorful threads. Embroiders who are often women use beads, seashells, precious stones, and other pieces of peacock feature in this embroidery to heighten its beauty (Embroidery Viet, n.d.).

Figure 31: Sindhi cap. Source: Husain (2014)

62 4.2.3.3 Phulkari Embroidery Punjab region of Pakistan is very famous for this work. Phulkari embroidery is an imprinted work that is done on handwoven cotton clothes. Untwisted silk thread and floral designs are used in this embroidery. The center of this work is also in Hazara Pakistan (Rond, 2010). Figure 32: Phulkari embroidery. Source: Rond (2010)

4.2.3.4 Chikan Embroidery

Chikan embroidery is a needlecraft done by hand. It’s a white work embroidered by a white thread on white fabric. It is not very expensive. The tools are minimal. The fabric is dependent on customer demand, it may be white muslin and linen. Figure 33: Chikan Embroidey. Source: Embroidery Viet (no date) 4.2.3.5 Kashmiri Embroidery

Kashmiri Embroidery is a type of openwork. It’s a refined work and look like almost drawings and geometrical patterns. There are different type of embroidery are done Kashmiri artisans (crewel embroidery, Needle embroidery, silver and gold embroidery).

Figure 34: Different patterns of Kashmiri Embroidery (Needle, Silver Gold, and Crewel) Source: BestofKashmir.com (2020)

4.2.3.6 Zari Embroideries

Zari work is very famous in Punjab. It’s an art of weaving thread made of silver and golds. These threads are further used on fabrics. In Persian zari embroidery is known as Zardorzi (Utsavpedia, 2016)

Figure 35: Zari Embroidery. Source Utsavpedia (2016)

4.3 The Challenges Facing Indigenous textile

The traditional textile sector has been plagued with several challenges that have made it difficult for artisans to keep up with industrialized standards of the modern world. Due to exclusionary policies, lack of investment, poor infrastructure, rapid urbanisation and difficulty to connect with the modern market (Mazzarella et al., 2016), many struggle to earn a decent wage from their handmade craft with many artisans forced to give up heritage skills that may have been in their family for generations (Wood, 2012) taking up low-quality jobs that are not covered by social benefits or wage protection laws (International Labour Organization, 2018). Also, young artisans are less inspired and motivated in carrying on the production of traditional crafts as a result of a lack of innovation opportunities.

The importation of mass-produced cheap clothing has made it difficult also for artisans to compete in price as such replacing the once produced products by the artisans. These fast fashion trends do not take the environment, producers, and heritage into account. In addition, the importation of foreign materials such as yarns and industrial dyes for use in traditional textile production has negatively affected the social and economic of local technology (Makinde DOlajide Ajiboye et al., 2009; Olutayo and Akanle, 2009). Furthermore, luxury and non-luxury fashion brands have widely established the precedent of cultural appropriation disempowering these artisans who are already marginalized (Dominique, 2016). With cases such as Louis Vuitton stealing from Maasai tribes of Kenya and Tanzania, Isabel Marant vs Oaxaca Mexican community.

Governments, institutions, and NGOs implement aid policies to preserve traditional craftsmanship, but such top-down support often fails to set labour conditions and rights,

64 quality standards and competitive prices for crafts, as well as in recognising artisans’ needs and translating them into a strategic agenda (Mazzarella et al., 2016). Traditional textile and crafts need to be reinvigorated in order to promote the preserve cultural material and sustain the business activates of the artisans for economic prosperity because as a craft dies, a part of history and tradition dies also.

4.4 Opportunities for building Sustainable Textile Artisanship

As the link between consumption, and resource depletion, industrial production, and environmental degradation upsurge, crafts provides a framework for explorations of how ethical, sustainable, and environmental principles are manifested in, and through, particular materials, processes, and objects (Wood, 2012). Handcrafted products form an important part of the creative cultural industries and inherently represent the patron of sustainable practice, a connection, and concern with material and environment. This perceived connection between craft and sustainability has provided an opportunity for building a sustainable artisanship of local identity with universal value. Fashion brands can leverage on indigenous culture as a medium to fashion inspirations and differentiate their fashion products from the common fashion styles. Indigenous inspirations allow fashion designers to weave design ideas in cross-cultural approaches providing timeless and authentic values in clothing (Angel et al., 2016). Also design approaches that are eco-friendly, socially just, economically fair as well as culturally meaningful and enriching at a personal level can be adopted to develop clothing (Mazzarella et al., 2016). For instance, Kennethize, is a French- based Nigerian designer who uses indigenous textiles made by local artisans to create cross- cultural exotic styles, and timeless designs in its global runway collections.

Reducing the need to throw away and buy again is vital in a sustainable fashion. Generally, hand-crafted clothes last for a long time and can be mended if they experience slight wear and tear. Sustainable fashion is a response to fast fashion and artisanal craft is quite literally slowing down fast fashion. While fast fashion disconnects people from the supply chain behind a product, handcrafted products make people value their clothes as they are not just mere commodities that should be easily disposed of and replaced. Building links between designers and artisans as only through dialogue and creative interactions can we preserve the tenuous link between tradition and modernity and understand the vital contribution

65 artisanship can play in a sustainable fashion as well as improve the livelihood in artisanal communities. Just as Wood (2012) highlights that by developing of connection between designers and artisans, a great opportunity for employment in the craft sector would open up. As craft generates livelihood for many people in developing countries and therefore the connection between designers and artisans can take advantage of an expanding global market and address the problems of livelihood and employment in this sector, at the same time address the environmental issues facing the global fashion industry. Also need for the development of fair exchange between artisans and companies for a sustainable future of artisans. Certain organizations such as the World Fair Trade Organization (WFTO), Ethical Fashion Initiative aim on achieving this by training artisans in understanding social-cultural differences and how to build a sustainable business through microfinance. These organizations also help fashion brands to gain awareness of artisanal equality while ensuring that the techniques and traditions are respected (Littrell and Dickson, 2010).

However, Greenhalgh (2003) points out that traditional craft is been perceived as inferior in status to design because of its economic status since it’s been limited to the use and needs at the rural level. Hence, Education plays an important role in developing creative interaction aiming to restore the economic and social status of artisans as it needs a new expression and identity. Artisan skills need to be upgraded, promotional strategies and marketing needs to be addressed. Also, traditional techniques such as indigo dying offer opportunities to reduce the negative health impact chemical dyes have on the well-being of the artisans and the environmental impact of the fashion industry (Angel et al., 2016). Promotion and use of natural dyeing is being embraced by more fashion brands in their sustainable practices with research ongoing to develop contemporary natural dyeing methods adapted from traditional techniques, to enhance production efficiencies and dyeing qualities (Angel et al., 2016).

66 4.5 Collaborative Partnership between Companies and Artisans

In cultural and social contexts, Local crafts are an impression of the relationship between humans and their environment. Local artisans are the skilled craft peoples who use local materials and resources to produce products and generate income. There is a possibility to create collaboration between industrial designers and artisans to provoke the development and preservation of local crafts in a sustainable way (Tung, 2012). Organizations like United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), the World Crafts Council (WCC) and Aid of Artisans (ATA) are also making efforts to bring traditional crafts at spotlight by encouraging designers to work with artisans group for new product development as part of such efforts. In Asia a concept “One Village One Product”, started in Japan and then popularized in other Asian countries like in Pakistan “Aik Hunar Aik Nagar”, inspiring residents to produce a product to support their regional economic development by collaborating with experts in specific fields and also adding values to local resources (Cutaran, 2008).

By observing three cases Murray described different stages of collaboration between designers and artisans, differentiating straight commissioning, creative development, and business development. In the first case designers order from artisans, while in the second case, artisans are encouraged to introduce their own designs and in the third case, artisans are supported to develop their own business models. The development of the platform for the voice of artisans is a very important step in the craft world and for designers, it’s an opportunity to avail it and find creative solutions there (Murray, 2010). Feng-Wu Tung described the collaboration process for developing local crafts products. He proposed three stages in the collaboration process. Fuzzy front end, design development, and shared knowledge. This proposed collaboration process can facilitate an annual workshop and also help in attracting designers to join the collaboration (Tung, 2012).

Figure 36: Collaboration process proposed by Feng-Wu Tung. Source: Tung (2012)

67 :

Fashion collaborations are not new, however, the rise of corporate social responsibility has created a new type of collaboration (Ethical fashion forum). A win-win collaboration is needed where all actors of the supply chain, including the artisans who are the bottom of the pyramid, are fairly compensated and acknowledged. Mutual benefits of collaborative exchange can empower artisans to be more innovative and develop professional expertise. Also, this opens new avenues for product innovation that leads to the regeneration of urban and rural environments, thus paving a way for sustainable development.

Research Questions

In conclusion, from this literature review, we find that the cultural flavour of fashion has diminished as fashion became globalized and influenced by rapidly evolving trends with homogenous products being produced. Fast fashion has a low value not just in terms of financial but also in terms of emotions. Furthermore, eco-friendly and ethical attributes of a sustainable product are not enough as product attachment which leads to longer use is needed. However, the importance of traditional textile crafts techniques and methods has been underlined by limited research in terms of sustainable fashion. This creates an opportunity to explore how this can contribute towards a sustainable fashion industry. Thus, some research questions were generated:

RQs: How can traditional textile craft techniques and methods contribute to sustainable fashion production and consumption?

RQs: How companies can leverage on this to create value?

6 Methodology

This study is based on case study approach that investigates indigenous textiles and crafts contributions as a facilitator to sustainable fashion production and consumption, and its value creations. Case study allows an in-depth insight and understanding of phenomena that are new, ununderstood, or unexamined (Travers, 2001), using a single or small number of entities. Easton (2010), indicates that the case study offers the possibility of studying a problem defined situation in great detail. It allows researchers to understand how and why of problems and situations in ways that do not require control over these problems. It employs several different techniques for gathering data, and their design must be customized to each scenario. Yin (2008) presents a concise schematic approach for case study highlighting field procedures, case study questions, and a guide for final writing. This tool is designed to help the researcher perform a case study and increase research reliability. Similarly, Stake (1995) also suggested a range of steps required to complete the case study, including posing research questions, data collection, data analysis, and interpretation. Case studies are often criticised as they do not develop testable generalization, but it is argued that they provide more realistic responses than a purely statistical survey provided it has a precise language through the report and a thoughtful design (Gustafsson, 2017). It is also seen as a flexible research method (Meyer, 2001). Interview and survey questionnaires were made with five companies (three Nigerian and two Pakistani) and a sizable group of individuals to gather the needed information. Nigeria and Pakistan were considered because both countries are developing countries that have rich textiles and craft traditions but also to show how a lot can be learnt from our past and how this can shape the present and future of the global fashion industry irrespective of the region. The thesis research was mainly based upon qualitative data, where verbal analysis of textual content is to interpret and understand, for example, the underlying patterns that exist in a particular area of concern. But also, some quantitative data was used when collecting information of carried out surveys. The aim is to find various ways of collecting information and to gain a deeper and more thorough understanding of the phenomenon being studied.

72 6.1 Data Collection A collection of data is needed in order to conduct research. The data collected is divided into primary and secondary data and is preceded by how, when, and why the data was collected. A mixture of these two is often used in research. Information already available, for example, in journal articles, websites, books, government publications has been collected to gain a basic understanding of the research and to assess the problems; it is called secondary data. Such secondary data were compiled for a different purpose and context than the current research, but the collected information provided the basis for how the studies were developed for the theoretical framework. Primary data are first-hand data gathered by the researcher that is specific to the research problem at hand (Joop and Hennie, 2005). Primary data was needed for information about customers’ awareness and attitude to sustainable fashion and information about the motivation and reason(s) of brands incorporating indigenous textiles and crafts in their collection with the way their supply chain is structured. To collect primary data, a case study with appropriate companies that have sustainability at the core of its operations was carried out through an interview as well as a customer survey. There is a need for theoretical and empirical evidence, with empirical data providing the necessary depth to understand the concept and to draw conclusions. Most of the interviews were conducted on the social media platform, while interview questions were sent through email to a few companies as it was the only way to get responses from such companies. The interview (see Annex 1) was characterised by a low level of structuring to enable the interviewee to respond freely to the questions asked as our interest lied on their opinions and interpretations about the role and impact of indigenous textile and crafts in fashion sustainability where the aim was to evaluate its use, value and application as well as to understand the motivation for the incorporation of these textiles in their collection, interaction process with the suppliers, etc. The interview was conducted in English with the Nigerian interviewee and in Urdu for the Pakistani interviewee, with an average duration of 40 minutes. All interviews were digitally recorded and transcribed except in cases where the interviewee didn’t’ want to be recorded, hence note-taking was made. The survey questionnaire (see Annex 2) was performed using esurvey creator, an online free survey platform, and the link for the survey was sent to individuals through social networks (WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram). A semi-structured questionnaire containing both

73 open-ended and closed-ended questions was used to limit the researchers' control on the respondents’ answers. The closed-ended were used in questions that needed a fixed set of answers from the respondents. While the open-ended questions were used in questions in which respondents’ perceptions about sustainable fashion and behaviour around traditionally inspired fashion products were needed as such, given answers were interpreted and conclusions drawn by the researchers based on the context. One problem with surveys is a person's willingness to answer the questions, hence, it was important to state the reasons and benefits in responding to the survey. The researchers, therefore indicated that their inputs were important to achieve the aim and reach a conclusion on the research work. The survey questionnaire was also made anonymous so that the respondents could share their views.

For the survey used in this research, individuals between the ages of 20 and 40 were selected to be appropriate for the study with about 121 respondents. These individuals were selected because they are significant and fascinating customer target audience for a trend like sustainable fashion. The researchers also believe that they may get a skewed response from an older generation, given the possible impact of Covid-19 as fashion items would be one of the least in their minds due to cash constraints linked to essentials like food. The individuals selected are widely distributed in terms of income, geography, profession, and education. They were also a potential target group for sustainable fashion brands that were analysed. Five fashion brands incorporating indigenous textiles and crafts were selected (three Nigerian and two Pakistani). The aim of the research was explained to both companies and individuals. An illustrative approach was used to manage the gathered data. The approach was used for questionnaires or verbal input results interviews, where input was interpreted in relation to the theoretical context. The illustrative approach allowed for manageable verbal details, which results in soft data. This means that the responses were not reduced to numbers nor standard text interpretations, but instead explain the results obtained.

74 6.2 Business Cases

This section presents the case study of the business cases involved in the incorporation and use of indigenous textiles and crafts in their brands. Information is given on how these companies are organized, why they chose to use indigenous textiles, their view upon fast fashion and its trends, the industry in general, and the future role of such indigenous textile will play in the industry. The selected companies defined themselves as being a sustainable fashion brand. The study is reviewed based on the three perspectives of the theoretical framework where information was gathered through the website (secondary data), customer survey (primary data), and interview with founders (primary data). The findings are categorized together for each case covering the three perspectives of the supply chain discussed in the theoretical framework for better understanding and covey of the research work. Findings regarding the sourcing, design, production processes, customers perspective on the use of indigenous textiles and crafts as well as role such textiles play now and in the future of sustainable fashion are presented. Finally, the companies’ corporate social responsibility findings about social impacts on the artisans’ community is presented also. The first three companies are Nigerian while the following two are Pakistani.

6.2.1 Emmykasbit

Emmykasbit is a Nigerian fashion brand founded in 2014 with the sole aim of creating timeless pieces for the unconventional man who likes to think outside the box and is willing to defend his outfit as being deliberate and not accidental. As a brand, Emmykasbit cares about sustainability, culture, and the preservation of culture. The brand uses traditional Igbo textile ‘Akwete fabric’ in its collection and continually engage the women who weave the textiles used in creating its pieces, with the aim of creating revenue for them and showcasing their talent from Africa to the world. Their vision is to offer culturally inspired. Figure 37: Akwete pattern in Custom Ss19 by EmmyKasbit

75 fashion products made with a heart, which come at different affordable price ranges. The brand strives to be more sustainable from both environmental and ethical perspectives making sure they choose the right materials and fair wages are paid to their workers. With its design being clean and architectural cuts, the brand engages with local artisans in bringing traditional staples to the modern age with the use of indigenous fabrics mixed with sartorial classics to create timeless pieces (https://emmykasbit.com/). The brand has been well received and worn by Chimamanda Adichie, Theresa May, and various celebrities.

Result of interview with Emmykasbit

The interview was done with Okoro Emmanuel, the founder of the company Emmykasbit. When asked what sustainable fashion means to him, his response was it is a fashion that fosters change to the fashion system and its products towards ecological integrity and social justice. Its business idea is to integrate part of its cultural heritage by using local craftsmanship in producing garments that is conscious of its environmental and social impact. To him, these traditional textiles and crafts have been existing for ages and one thing associated with sustainability is durability which is possessed by these traditional textiles. Hence, while preserving culture and skills that are almost forgotten, the timeless of these textiles make it play a huge role in sustainable fashion now and in the future as a garment made from these textiles last for a long time. Also, with the sustainability movement that is ongoing around the world, some brands are beginning to look inward in search of a solution. As well as with the movement of production near-shore coupled with the ongoing pandemic (COVID-19) which is requiring brands to assess their risk especially for brands that have across the continent suppliers. The brand sources its fabrics locally where after the design of its collection, the patterns and colors are discussed with the artisans before a new season. Also, there is an inspection of the activities of these artisans to ensure its requirements are met. The brand is very much involved in every step of its supply chain from design, colour, and fabric selection to the finished garment to ensure the environmental and social aspects of the brand are met. Also, the brand has established a close relationship with the artisans’ community, in his words ‘we are more like a family’. And a win for one is a win for all because the brand is winning the artisans are also winning as they are getting more jobs, exposure, and more money. The brand also trains these artisans as they might have the skills, but they do not understand modern

76 patterned colours. Doing the designing process, the motifs and the message interpretation the brand intends to convey for a collection is discussed with the artisans. Moreover, given he is from Akwete, it is easy for him to relate with the artisans’ community in the local dialect, share ideas and understand each other making it a plus for everyone, hence, it is a joint effort. Similarly, with a growing demand in the use of traditional textiles, the younger generation is seen acquiring the skills given most of the artisans are old. To him, it is interesting to see the young ones learning these skills given it is a skill that should be passed from a generation to another, and also these skills could come handy for anyone making it a sort of empowerment. When asked on customers’ perception with regards to the use of traditional textiles given such textiles were once seen as local, not fashionable, and mostly used for specific events. In his response, the brand tends to give a modern twist to its pieces using akwete knowing there are styles the consumers desire. They also infuse some other indigenous textiles such as Ukara and modern fabrics like Tencel to give the modern twist and by so doing customers buy the idea of what they are doing and considering they want their clothes to appeal to the young generation as well. This has helped the brand in portraying its mission and message to the customers and they are willing to accept whatever the brand put out there. With regards to price, that is paying a premium price for these garments, the brand has various price range in that they have something for everyone depending on how the individual wants to own it. In the sense that, there are some of its products made completely with akwete which he called the high end while some others are not full akwete like some of its limited ready to wear collections. But one certain thing is that akwete is in the DNA of the brand as there is always a touch of akwete in almost all its collection. Considering the drivers that have pushed the brand in the adaptation of these traditional textiles aside the ethical and environmental sustainability impact of the textile which he mentioned several, was the preservation of cultural heritage. It aims to be one of the brands that put African fashion on the globe and the brand cannot be doing so if it is not using the indigenous textiles. As he said, these textiles are for us and by us, and putting it into what I do speaks more of the brand’s vision and where it is going to. Furthermore, the textiles are sustainable in every way as there is no technology involved because they are handwoven producing little or no waste. Even though it is labour intensive and takes time to produce but it is what sustainable fashion is all about, slowing down the process. This has also improved the livelihood of the artisans and as time goes on, more people will be involved. The interview was concluded with his view on the impact of the

77 pandemic (COVID-19) on the global fashion industry with regards to impacts on companies as well as consumers’ fashion consumption attitude towards a more sustainable purchase. According to him, much cannot be said from consumers' perspective as everyone is trying to spend wisely but one thing for certain is there is still that appetite by consumers to know what is going on in the market. And currently, sustainable fashion is more like the key thing now in fashion so more people might want to give it a try. Concerning companies, he believes that there might be more movement of production nearshore to keep things going and find ways to adapt to the new normal.

6.2.2 Nkwo Nkwo was initially founded in the UK in 2007, relaunched in 2012 as an artisanal brand in Nigeria. Nkwo is an artisanal brand at the forefront of the sustainable fashion movement in Nigeria with the conservation of natural resources and the environment as the core values of the brand. Conscious of the impact of the fashion industry on the environment, the brand focuses on the elimination of textile waste, the creation of artisanal and limited edition pieces from up-cycled denim, made in Nigeria cotton, aso-oke, end-of-line fabrics and cutting table waste. Its focus on waste reduction has led to the invention of a ‘new African fabric’ called Dakala cloth. The clothes are free-spirited and nomadic, inspired by the lives of the wandering people of the African deserts and great plains. Through exploration and experimentation with innovative techniques, the brand aims to leverage Figure 38: Pagolin Coat by Nkwo technology (both old and new) capabilities as a sustainable form of preserving traditional craftsmanship. To the brand, modern interpretations of early hand-crafting techniques, such as weaving, hand-dying, beading, and embroidery give new life to fabrics by transforming their traditional uses and making a transition from tradition to modernity. Nkwo works closely with artisans and local makers creating a meaningful unique interpretation of the rich history, culture, and traditions. It aims to involve the many parts of the expanding fashion eco-system in a new way of working that is more mindful as it celebrates and preserves the art of creation. The brand has a philosophy of ‘Less’, that is ‘what is the point in creating more than we can

78 use if it causes us to live less of a life’ (http://www.nkwo.design/). Nkwo won the coveted Phoenix Award (2007) presented by the Mayor of London’s office in conjunction with the V&A Museum and was also a Representative of Nigeria, Commonwealth Fashion Exchange Exhibition, Buckingham Palace (2018). Nkwo has featured in a number of high-profile fashion events around the world including Caribbean Fashion Week, Johannesburg Fashion Week, New York Fashion Week, Lagos Fashion Week, and the Pan African collection in Berlin.

Result of interview with Nkwo

The interview was conducted with Nkwo Onwuka, the founder of the company. Nkwo sees sustainable fashion as being mindful of the impact our practices have on the environment and our communities and sees traditional crafts as the other way round towards fashion sustainability. By understanding how our forebears lived, we can find a perfect balance with the way we live now. We must be us but we must be them. To her, everything is connected- our past, our present, our future, our actions, and our reactions. Also, we live in a society that is technologically advanced but not very mindful of the consequences of how much we produce and how much we consume, all in a bid to live a more convenient lifestyle. She believes sustainable fashion has brought more interest in traditional crafts as more designers understand how important it is to keep these traditions alive but also make sure that the artisan communities are able to elevate their crafts from simply a subsistence activity to a viable business. To her, traditional crafts have always played a great role in the fashion industry and will continue to do so. The technique and methods of traditional textile crafts are the same, only that it is brought into the 21st century by transforming their traditional uses and using them to create modern pieces. All their fabrics are locally sourced. The brand keeps a close relationship with the artisan’s community and the two things are very important to develop long term relationships with the artisans are understanding and trust. Furthermore, the brand observes a fair-trade practice as the economic growth of the communities they work with is very important to the brand. She stated that customers are willing to pay a higher price for its pieces as opposed to the homogenized fast fashion products as customers today are quite discerning and willing to buy into businesses that have a story and offer a unique point of view. She also added that it is a misconception that all sustainable fashion refers to traditional crafts with prohibitive prices. With regards to Covid- 19 impact on both the production and consumption ends of the fashion industry, her view

79 was she doesn’t think there will be immediate change on consumers’ fashion consumption attitude due to high availability of mass-produced items and it will take more than this pandemic to change their buying habits. However, this pandemic provides an opportunity for designers and companies to reflect on their offers and business practices and try looking inward to offer more sustainable products with meaning as they are to be blamed for the present consumption behaviour.

6.2.3 Mazelle Mariam Afolabi launched her brand in the year 2014 as a result of a long-standing passion for clothes and her innate sense of fashion. Her love for vintage with the rich culture of her society, she interprets her vintage aesthetic with a twist of authentic Nigeria touch on each outfit. By incorporating traditionally established textiles such as Adire and Aso-oke, her pieces exhibit an array of clean shapes, vintage peak, sequins, shimmer, femme inspired fabric, vibrant colours with timeless designs, and clever use of embellishments delicately hand-beaded unto the fabrics. Mazelle collection reincarnates old to new bringing a blend of indigenous, Victorian, and modern elements of contemporary garments. Mazelle as shown its collections on international platforms in Lagos, and Paris from Lagos Fashion & Design Week to Paris Fashion Week. Figure 39: IRAPADA Collection by Mazelle

Result of interview with Mazelle The interview was done with Mariam Afolabi, the founder of Mazelle Company. For the brand, the incorporation and use of indigenous textiles are not limited to being conscious of its processes and products' societal and environmental impact but also as a result of the desire to offer something unique to the market. For Mariam, a sustainable fashion brand should not only be concerned about its environmental ethical issues but also should be able to have something new that is valued, for its customers. She believes that indigenous textiles and crafts will play a great role on sustainability and new value creation for customers as the

80 production process of these textiles create no kind of waste or emission to the environment, are durable, high quality, reusable and can be used in creating unique, authentic products. To her, we need to look back at how things were done in the past if we want to be more sustainable as fast fashion makes everything fast by meeting up with demand or even creating more demand. She believes in the future, the local artisans all over the world will have more influence on fashion as fashion designers and brands will start to reach out to them more to source their fabrics because the customers will be expecting that every cloth is produced in a sustainable way which has started to happen now. Getting inspiration from vintage, she has been able to use these textiles to create garments that have contemporary interpretation. And customers are very much interested in unique things, crafts, arts that are expressed in a modern way as such the textiles are not seen as mere local fabric. Hence, the functionality of the fabrics has changed from being used in a specific way such as Owambe (ceremony events) to a more diverse use. In order to reduce the waste of fashion products, Mazelle uses a showroom model where sample varieties of clothes are displayed. If a customer likes a garment, an order is then placed. This takes between 1 – 2 months to be delivered if the fabric for such garment isn’t available or could be less if the fabric is in stock (1-2 weeks). However, some customers want to be able to buy and pick the garment when they come into the store. To serve such needs, capsule collections are made where a limited number of garments are made, and once sold out, the customer has to wait for the next capsule collection. This way the brand tries as such as possible not to have excess inventory and reduce fashion product waste. Most of its textiles are sourced locally while others from neighbouring countries like Senegal. The brand sources its indigenous textiles by working with a textile artist for its Adire textile and the community where such indigenous textiles are made like Aso-oke, Tatiko. But currently the brand is planning on also sourcing from the community for its Adire textiles. The brand also has bead artisans whom it provides accommodation for, given they are from Ivory Coast and provide the needed workers benefit such as health coverage, a fair wage, and even training. She also added that waste from garment making that is, cutting table is often used in making other things like accessories, patchwork which of course is possible due to the good quality of the fabrics used. The interview was concluded on her thoughts on the impact COVID-19 will have on the fashion industry both on the production and consumption sides. The response was there are a lot of uncertainties and a hard one for the global fashion industry. But one certain

81 thing is that companies and designers will need to change their value proposition to the customers and understand where customers will invest in as things will be slow. Rather companies and designers need to ask themselves what people want during this period. But obviously, some basic needs in fashion will still be doing well like intimates wear and accessories, in general, will still be important. Also, companies might start to look into athletic wear as more people are more concerned about their health now, lounge wears, etc things they will feel more comfortable and okay with. It will be about a thing of strategy for companies by giving people what they need otherwise, such a company will lose out.

6.2.4 Bani Thani

Bani Thani is an online Pakistani fashion brand founded in 2019 that deals with classic and traditional production of apparel products. The aim of Bani Thani is the preservation of culture and commitment to having full transparency. The brand uses hand embroidery, hand Aplic work, and Sheesha work style in its product ranges. The vision of the brand is to provide a culture-oriented product with a glimpse of modern styles that come in affordable price ranges. BaniThani is very focused on sustainability at every point of the entire supply chain, selecting the right raw material with the right quality, getting direct communication with local Figure:40 Ajrak Trouser by BaniThani craftsmen, and trying to be equitable in wages. BaniThani is dealing with local women at home who have specific traditional skills and providing employment opportunities.

Result of interview with Bani Thani

The interview was conducted with Muqadas Naseem the founder of Bani Thani. The interview started with the question “what sustainable fashion means”. To her sustainable fashion means making a unique and exclusive product which has less effects on the environment. As a company, we are using traditional techniques, natural resources in the production of garments that reduce the negative impact on the environment. Traditional

82 crafts are an important part of the fashion industry. If we follow our traditional ways and heritage that was followed by our ancestors and almost forgotten that can play a vital role in sustainable fashion and have positive environmental and social impact.

When asked about customers’ willingness to pay premium prices, she said it mostly depends on the bargaining with the customers which often they pay because they value what we offer as it’s seen as a fine piece of article. Our conventional craft can be an important part of the future fashion industry because customers nowadays, appreciate styles that are a mix of traditional designs and modern fashion, and can be seen developing more interest in traditional crafts. This is opening a new opportunity for designers and for local craftsmen that have been marginalized. The brand is using traditional symbols and sign (block printing, embroidery) in crafts and make a pattern of it. Its fabrics are locally sourced with cotton being its most used fabric. Other used fabrics are lawn and Khaddar fabrics. After material collection which is often plain, design, color, and style are discussed with the artisans. To maintain the quality standard the inspection process is also carried out.

The brand has a friendly relation with artisans. The brand pays a fair wage and always tries to pay on time while encouraging the artisans for new designs, to think out of the box especially in patterns and embroidery work. BaniThani works with the artisan communities providing employment opportunities for artisans especially women who stay at home with no jobs. BaniThani works with women with specific craft skills in the Jalalpur town. This way they can earn a living and manage their home at the same time. The BaniThani is working with women with specific craft skills in the (Jalalpur) Town. The drivers that have pushed Muqadas towards traditional crafts first is having an interest in history about old crafts, curiosity about how we can utilize it now and come up with something new. Muqadas believes that designers can use these traditional skills, culture, and come up with innovative ideas that serve the customer’s needs, preserve cultural heritage, and maintain a sustainable business practice. The interview was concluded with the impact of pandemic (COVIS-19) on production and on consumers fashion consumption attitude towards more sustainable purchase. According to her pandemic (Covid-19) has slowdown the production activities given its suppliers are from different regions while regards to the consumers, it’s an obvious consumer want to spend wisely, but in the current situation, it’s quite difficult to state the impact because it’s based on consumer preferences.

83 6.2.5 Mir Shawl House:

MIR SHAWL HOUSE is a family business of Mir family that is doing the conventional production of shawls. They are using traditional Handloom (Khadi) in the production of wool and pashmina products. Due to time-consuming steps in the whole process (from the selection of raw material to final product) production activities are carried out once a year to produce long-lasting products. Mir Shawl House uses the traditional technique in producing modern design styles that are appealing. The aim is to provide unique and long-lasting products to their customers and fertilize the heritage. Mir Shawl house has a local supply chain and work with local persons. As a company, transparency is a priority throughout the supply chain to maintain the quality standards. Figure 41: Wool shawls by Mir Shawl House

Result of Interview with Mir Shawl House

The interview was conducted with Mr. MIR, who is the owner of business MIR SHAWL HOUSE. For him sustainable fashion means sustainably making clothes by considering both environmental and socio-economic aspects. However, more emphasis was made on the socio-economic aspect given its production processes have a very low environmental impact. As a company, it aims at offering timeless and long-lasting products by following the traditional technique. Anyone can easily buy it because of reasonable prices and also can give as a gift to their loved ones. Traditional crafts have an impact on any economy. These crafts show the traditions of any society. People give them value. They are the symbol of nobleness of any society. In this modern era everyone is involved in the race of fashion. Brands are launching their new items every single day. According to him, the customer uniqueness of the product is very important. If your product is unique, the customer is willing to pay the premium price to win the race of fashion, everyone wants to look different than others. Conventional crafts will play a great role in the future fashion industry if you are able to create interest in your customers, as a company should know the interest of customers. As a company, we are using handloom techniques to preserve the purity and quality of the fabric because when you compare handloom made fabric and machine-made fabric, you will not

84 get the same softness, quality, and feeling from machine-made fabric that you get from handloom techniques. Also, using the handloom requires no gas emission and very little usage of energy as such causing no harm to the environment.

The company normally uses the local supply chain where the raw material is bought from the local market, then the spinning process is carried out to get the yarn, and at the end designing steps are followed through the handloom technique. we are making sure to have full visibility of the whole supply chain. From the selection of raw material to the final product quality standard are maintained. It is obvious we have to establish cooperation with our local artisan community. Mir shawl House works with artisans from Jalalpur that are known for that particular work. We are like a family because we have worked together for many years. We welcome everyone ideas. We put most likely ideas in a vote. Also, job creation opportunities have been witnessed. Young people are full of ideas and have new ideas to implement through following our conventional crafts. Many youngsters are working with a non-profit organization to promote indigenous culture. Mr. Mir said we are practicing traditional techniques that our forefathers were using and want to preserve the indigenous culture for our next generation. So, they can follow and use it. In this pandemic (COVIS-19), people will prefer to adopt fashion which is available at their door. And traditional crafts are usually local crafts and they have high availability in this situation.

6.3 Survey with Individuals The survey was designed to gain information on what people think of sustainable fashion is, awareness on sustainability issues in the fashion industry, if their awareness influenced their consumption, the behaviour of the clothing purchase, use and disposal as well as attitude towards fashion products made by artisans. There was a total of 121 participants which are widely distributed in terms of income, geography, profession, and education. The survey was performed using esurvey creator, an online free survey platform, and the link for the survey was sent to individuals through social networks (WhatsApp, Facebook, and Instagram). The survey was conducted between 16th April 2020 to 30th April 2020. Overall, the survey respondents had the following characteristics:  57% of the respondents were female and 43% men  64% were of African origin, 28% of Asian origin, 5% of European origin, 2% of South American origin, 1% of North American origin

85  Age between 20 – 40 years The result of the survey is presented as a soft data and managed through an illustrative approach where input was not reduced to numbers nor standard text interpretations but by an illustrative description of the collected information. Result of Survey 1) What is sustainable fashion to you?

Most of the respondents had a view of what it could be on this question of what sustainable fashion is, while some did not have a clue. The main ideas that people had are that it was about safeguarding the environment and social justice, durability and quality, long-lasting and timeless fashion. There were views that it is a fashion that does not change as quickly as the fashion we have today, but it is a movement and process of fostering change to fashion items and the whole fashion system. There have been thoughts such as garments that do not require much processing of raw materials, less chemicals. Redesign and reuse have also been mentioned as features that help to prolong the lifespan of clothing.

2) The textile and fashion industry has an increasing environmental impact on the planet (like carbon footprint, toxic chemicals) and has ethical complications in production considering worker exploitation. Are you aware of these issues?

Of the 121 respondents attending, 69% of the respondents were aware of the environmental and ethical impact of the fashion industry. Around, 31% of the respondents were unaware of the environmental and ethical impact of the fashion industry. It can be understood that a high percentage of people are aware of the unstainable practices of the textile and fashion Industry. Awareness of the environmental and ethical impact of the textile and fashion industry

31% Yes

69% No

Figure 42: Awareness of the environmental and ethical impact of the textile and fashion industry (By authors)

3) Do you consider these issues (question 2) when you make your purchases?

The majority of the respondents about 78 (64%) respondents said ‘No’, they do not consider the environmental and ethical impacts of the clothing when they make a purchase. Around 43(36%) mentioned ‘Yes’ to this question and which can be sometimes. From the result of questions 2 and 3, it can be concluded that even though the majority of the respondents know the ethical and environmental problems associated with the textile and fashion industry, they were not considering this while making purchases.

4) What are your reflections on the statement ‘less quantity but high quality’?

Most of the respondents agree on the statement and see it as opposed to mass production. They believe it stands for durability, timelessness, and buying less but of the best since it would enable the use of clothes for a longer period. They said that the statement is the best approach to sustainable fashion and sees it like the way we should consume. Some of them consume according to the statement, some are striving for it but the high price often associated with it makes it unattainable. However, look forward to buying affordable fashion items that are of quality that may last for long. Since clothes of poor quality wears out early and one ends up buying new ones to replace it while facing disposing of issues which is adds a burden on the environment. A respondent referred to fast fashion as a fashion of quantities in which the more you buy, the more bored you get, and the more you want to buy which eventually leads to getting rid of a large amount of fashion pieces. But a few quality ones at a time are good for the pocket, environment, and the people who in turn get them as a hand- me-down. The ones who consume according to the statement put more money on clothes that last and do not follow trends. Comments like quality should be the golden rule in the fashion industry to foster better client relationships were stated. 5) Which of these attributes do you consider most important when buying an apparel: Quality, Price, Uniqueness, Trendiness?

Most of the respondents preferred ‘Quality’ as their choice for the most important factor when buying an apparel. About 59% of the respondents selected quality as their important attribute when making a purchase. Next to quality 20% of the respondent selected uniqueness over quality in the deciding factor of purchase. Uniqueness here can be seen

87 concerning personal style as style influence what one sees to be unique. Price was in close selection to uniqueness, about 19%. Surprisingly, only 4% mentioned trendiness as a purchasing factor.

Attributes important when buying an apparel

Trend 4%

Uniquness 20%

Price 19%

Quality 59%

Figure 43: Attributes important when buying an apparel (By authors)

6) Do any of your clothing have a personal value to you? If yes, do you use it regularly?

About 25% of the respondent do not have clothing with personal value. However, 75% of the respondent have garments with a personal value to them, while some used them regularly, others did not. For some they were favourites in the wardrobe, for others they were inherited pieces or gifts from family and friends. For others, the one with a personal value was most used since it made them happy and special, for others since it is of high personal value, they are used occasionally like special events to avoid damaging them. Everything that has a value makes it difficult to discard them even if they are not used anymore and might just be waiting for another period when they will be worn again.

7) How often do you buy new clothes?

Around 34% of the respondent, 43 out of 121, make a purchase of new clothes every month. The second major response was the purchase of clothes every three months by 30% of the respondent (37). Very few of respondent made mentioned of buying yearly (12%) and occasionally like special occasions (5%).

New clothes purchase

Occasionally 5%

yearly 12%

6 months 18% 3 months 30%

monthly 34%

Figure 44: New clothes purchase (By authors)

8) How long do you use a cloth before you discard it or consider it out of fashion?

The most common response was 1-2 years, less than one year and 3-5years followed. This rarely happens for some since they use the clothes until it gets worn out, does not fit, or used as rags. It takes a long time for others because they buy timeless and unique pieces that do not go out of fashion. Some admit, however, that their drive to buy often results in them getting tired of wearing clothes only once or twice. The clothes, for some were worn for a period, then put aside in the closet for a while and later rediscovered and worn again. It was also mentioned that it depends on the quality of the cloth as some clothes tend to look fade out after just a few washes and lose their shape.

9) Would you buy clothing made by traditional craftsmanship of skilled artisans and locally produced raw materials that are ethical and eco-friendly?

Most of the respondents said they will purchase clothes made of traditional craftsmanship. Out of 121 respondents, 109 respondents (90%) mentioned they will buy clothes made by skilled artisans and locally produced. Some stated that such clothes are usually of unique design, timeless, and quality pieces. That it's something made with love and thought, and not one made without meaning, for a quick profit only. Some even went as far in saying this kind of fabrics are produced ethically and ecologically, hence, they know they are making a sustainable purchase while others said they could have some attachment to such clothes as the beauty and design is second to none. For some others, buying would also boost the livelihood of these artisans whom their work is not acknowledged often. Around 7% of the

89 respondents mentioned ‘Maybe’ depending on if it is affordable and in line with their style. However, 3% of the respondent said ‘No’ that they will not purchase such fashion items.

Purchase of clothes made by traditional craftmanship

7% 3%

Yes No

Maybe

90%

Figure 45: Purchase of clothes made by traditional craftsmanship By authors

10) Are you willing to pay a premium price for this (question 12) knowing you can wear it for a longer period?

The majority of the respondent, 79% said they would pay a premium price for clothes made with traditional craftsmanship. Some stated yes because they can wear it for a longer time but for others it was because of the quality, beauty, and uniqueness. 14% of the respondents mentioned that they do not want to pay extra money for the apparel as the price was a key factor in clothing for them while some said variety and options were key for them. It was also, noticed that most of those that said no considered price as the most important feature in question 5. Around 7% of the respondent said ‘Maybe’ as it depends on most considering cost if it is within their budget.

11) How many percent of your wardrobe do you use?

For this question, the most commonly mentioned was the use of 40-60% of the wardrobe by the respondent. Second to this was 60-80% use of wardrobe by the respondent followed by 80-100%, 20-40%, and 0-20% in that order. This shows most people have more clothes than they use.

90 . Percent of wardrobe use

80-100 21%

60-80 32%

40-60 35%

20-40 7%

0-20 5%

Figure 46: Percent of wardrobe use (By authors)

12) How do you deal with clothes you no longer use?

Among the respondents, the majority of them, around 59% of the respondent mentioned that they give the clothes they no longer use to family, friends, or the needy. About 21% of the respondent donate clothes they no longer use to charity. 11% of the respondent throw them away with most stating that they are often worn out and won’t be of any value to anyone while few just get tired of them then throw them in the waste bin. Surprisingly, around 6% said they redesign and use it for different purposes. 3% of the respondent keep clothes they no longer use sitting in the closet while 2% of the respondent sell them online or sell as thrift.

Discard of clothes no longer in use

sell 2%

throw away 11%

redesign/reuse 6% keep them 3% give out 59% donate to charity 21%

Figure 47: Discard of clothes no longer in use (By authors)

Findings & Analysis

This section discusses the case study findings on the roles of traditional textile crafts with its techniques and methods plays in the fashion industry sustainability across the supply chain, evaluating empirical findings based on the theoretical framework. The two research questions are if traditional textile crafts techniques and methods can contribute to sustainable fashion production and consumption, and how companies can leverage on this to create value for themselves, customers, and artisans. To answer these questions, a discussion is needed on what sustainable fashion stands for in relation to indigenous culture, what it implies for a company as well as the customer. A discussion is also needed on how a company can leverage the attributes of traditional crafts and heritage to create value for itself, customers, and better the livelihood of the artisans. One can say that traditional sustainable production techniques and methods are one concept with many different solutions where the key issues are the processes of sourcing, design, production, consumption, and use.

7.1 Research Question 1

What is sustainable fashion?

There are many different views on the concept of sustainable fashion, as stated in the theoretical framework, the case studies of companies, and the responses of individuals. From the theoretical framework, sustainable fashion was defined as fashionable clothing that incorporates fair trade principles with sweatshop-free labour conditions while not harming the environment or workers by using biodegradable and organic cotton (Joergens, 2006), and designed for a longer lifetime use, that is produced in an ethical production system, perhaps even locally, that causes little or no environmental impact and makes use of eco-labelled or recycled materials (Fletcher, 2008; Shen et al., 2013). The definitions overlap somewhat, and the keywords can be merged and compared. A more concise and summarised definition would be that sustainable fashion embodies the following keywords:

 Ethically produced (sweatshop-free, not harming the workers)  Eco-friendly materials (biodegradable, organic, recycled)

93  Designed for a longer lifetime use  Locally produced  Fairtrade

Case studies of companies and answers from the individuals also represented these key elements of sustainable fashion. Hence, this shows that traditional textile craft methods possess elements embodied in a sustainable fashion as they are produced with the environmental and social responsibility in mind. Significant time is spent to develop products that last as quality and durable materials used.

Culture can be seen as the belief and practices of a society, and shaping the way things are done and our understanding of why this should be so. We also learn about economic, social, and environmental issues through culture and develop our ideas on how society should address them. Culture can be seen as fundamental to the entire movement towards sustainability. culture is not only integral to the existence of a society or social group, but it is also what provides us with the means of 'comprehending' and 'implementing' the changes in our ideas about living that are necessary to enable a more sustainable society. We consider culture as something that impacts and is embedded in each pillar of sustainability (see fig 8). Awareness of the interconnectedness of the cultural, economic, social, and environmental system is also deemed necessary. If one component is not in equilibrium with the other, it leads to over-dominance of another component, creating an unstable balance. This, in turn,

Figure 48: The four pillars of sustainability, with the right diagram showing cultural embedded in the other pillars of sustainability

94 may lead to the disintegration of societal values and, in some cases, to the total erosion of the inherent culture. This erosion of culture can be found in fashion through the concept of craft.

A collaborative sustainable fashion system between artisans and designers & companies where the triple bottom line is interconnected to cultural sustainability. In addition it covers broader issues in every aspect, namely ecological balance in the Environmental aspect as it can be understood that the materials and processes of the indigenous textiles cause little or no harm to the environment as this is carried out with nature in mind. Innovative design twist and interpretation that is pleasing to today customer can be incorporated by designers to the fabric and garments. The economic viability aspect has a win-win situation for both the designers and artisans, as designers and companies stay profitable and the artisans make more money. The social equity aspect consists of engagement, poverty alleviation, employment and creativity, diversity, value creation, and cultural heritage perseveration in the cultural aspect. Fast fashion has affected culture in certain areas of the world as it has impacted the value of craft and art in fashion where today, homogenized fashion products are produced. Sustainable fashion is essentially about value creation which can be seen in indigenous culture. The knowledge, techniques, and skills of the artisans can be used by designers and companies towards a sustainable fashion that creates value, creativity, and diversity. Just as Orsola De Castro, founder of the Fashion Revolution said “I believe that the future of the fashion industry is restoring our crafts under the threat of extinction that has been passed down through generation”. A sustainable collaborative fashion system that includes preserving the innate culture of a society and its people today and for future generations to come. Moreover, the practice of cultural design in fashion is a sine qua non- condition for the originality of fashion products.

Current industry actions do not create sustainability but merely reduce unsustainability. The concentration for example, in recycling does not reduce production and consumption, as it tells consumers to maintain the current pattern of consumption. Hence, more investment will need to be made in the recycling economy. Therefore, in order for sustainable fashion to be more influential, it is necessary to focus on transforming the underlying beliefs and values that currently maintain unsustainable practices at the system level. Design, manufacturing, and business practices that are based on long-term sustainability and values as the current

95 one promotes unsustainable consumption patterns. Sustainable fashion is linked to the opposition and a reaction against the quantity of today’s fast fashion production and consumption. The key issue is the need to move from just in time production strategy where new items that are characterized by fast-changing fashion trends, low prices making customers buy more than they need, which in turn results in fashion waste to a shift towards quality. Quality in terms of physical garment and design that are less influenced by fleeting fashion trends as opposed to fast fashion. So an approach that goes from quantity to quality. With this strategy, more time will be spent to make durable quality fashion pieces that last prolonging the lifespan of clothing as well as people wearing timeless pieces for a long time. As a result, this longer product lifespan reduces fashion waste. Moreover, workers won’t have to work excessive hours to meet short lead times. By having more time, the actors in the supply chain could create a deeper relationship which would positively influence all levels of the supply chain. This agrees well on what the respondent said considering their operation as time is spent by the artisans in making the fabrics as well as in the design and production of the garments.

Fashion is said to address both physical and emotional needs where sustainable fashion is about combining those needs. Why, then, is fashion so important to us and how has it become unhealthy for us? We believe that the traditional craftsmanship of indigenous culture could be a sustainable approach that could make people consume sustainably. It does not say that fashion is not important or it’s bad, but rather that it recognizes the importance of fashion in our culture, social life and identity as individuals. Given that the current fashion consumption patterns create an unsustainable approach, fashion needs to play another role that identifies sustainability concerns, and deepen the product attachment of consumers. Besides a functional aim, fashion needs to address the individual emotional connection that a consumer can have to a product. This connection can be built by producing fashion that is based on values and skills and that is conscientious and sustainable which traditional crafts stands to represent. It shows that we need to start focusing on what individuals find beautiful and cherish, by that buy clothes made differently from the homogenized fast fashion products. This also spokes the need for diversity in fashion. Designers can develop ethical and environmentally sustainable thinking and solutions using traditional crafts and techniques having both aesthetic and functional features that are unique and beautiful, thus, creating

96 value that is fundamental for sustainable fashion, and the same time not lose the diversity of our world’s cultures. Valuing traditional manufacturing techniques add more creativity and value in a garment. In the survey, it was quite clear that the majority of the consumers find such value in clothing made of traditional craftsmanship as it is seen as something that is unique, beauty, durable quality, and also the story it offers. This results in appreciation of the garments and using them over a longer time. Similarly, the interviewed brands incorporating traditional textiles and working with skilled artisans do so in a bid to offer something new that is of value to the customers while also taking the environmental and social responsibilities in mind. Hence traditional textiles and crafts are usually made by skilled artisans which are often based on value, skill, and carefully produced fabrics that are long-lasting, and are often of small batches.

Unsustainability is linked to the large scale of production and consumption and resource utilization. High production volume and consumption means we buy and discard more than ever. Current short-lived fashion clothing consumption is resource-intensive and wasteful. Balance is a key feature of sustainable fashion, balancing consumption, taking time in design and production processes, and using resources. This balance can be achieved by designers and companies creating value-aside clothing with the sole aim of a quick profit. A healthier relationship is required which creates a connection between the wearer and the garment. It is also necessary to use what already exists to balance the new extraction of resources with the waste created by the fashion industry, thus extending the life of clothing. For example, nkwo uses waste materials and other waste to produce unique pieces by incorporating the skills of the artisans in this process. Sustainable fashion is about equilibrium, awareness, information, cultural diversity and identity that requires both a combination of fashion expression and long-term commitment. This way, it supports our need to form an identity and be creative through our clothes as well as our physical needs, to cover and keep us warm.

Customer perspective

Questions were designed to evaluate the customer’s knowledge of the ethical and environmental impact of the textile and fashion industry, what sustainable fashion means to the customer, regarding how they consume, use a garment, and dispose of their garments. Also what their view is on traditional craftsmanship of locally sourced materials and their willingness of paying a high price for such clothes. Sustainable fashion implies ethically and

97 ecologically produced timeless fashion products. It reflects durable quality both in physical material but also designs which are less influenced by fast fashion trends. The result obtained from the respondent regarding the awareness of the environmental and social impacts of the textile and fashion industry showed that the majority are aware of these issues but when the purchase comes into the picture, a contradiction was spotted in the behaviour of the customers. However, customers consider quality as an important feature when making a purchase as this was the most mentioned attribute (59%) when asked the most important attribute when buying a new apparel. This is further supported by the question on reflection of the statement of less quantity but high quality where it was mentioned that it is the best approach to sustainable fashion and sees it like the way we should consume. Since clothes of poor quality wears out early and one ends up buying new ones to replace it while facing disposing of issues which adds a burden on the environment. Some of the respondents consume according to the purchase of quality clothes while some strive to but the price often associated with quality products makes it unattainable but will buy the product if it is affordable. This shows that customers monitor products on the aspect of quality and consider it as a major factor for the long life of apparel product. However, some are constrained by certain factors such as price and availability of cheap items which fuels the desire to always buy as a respondent stated, the more you buy, the more you get bored and the more you want to buy.

A garment that is ecologically and ethically produced is a key element of a sustainable fashion but this doesn’t guarantee a more sustainable garment if it is disposed of only after a couple of months as this could also contribute to over-consumption. Hence, the importance of having a relationship with the garment will make one value, care, and use it over a longer time. This was evident in the survey where 75% of the respondents, i.e. 75%of the total, stated that clothing that has personal value to them is cared for and used for a long time. It was mentioned that traditional garments are of durable quality and aesthetic. Around 90% out of the 121 respondents said they would buy one knowing they can use it for a long time and they also offer unique designs. Some even went as far in saying this kind of fabrics are produced ethically and ecologically, hence, they know they are making a sustainable purchase while others said they could have some attachment to such clothes considering they are clothes made with love and thought, and not one made without meaning. Looking at the

98 sustainable fashion companies, it fits well in how they see sustainable fashion and what is important for the respondents. Knowing price could probably be an issue since a premium price will be required compared to a fast fashion product, surprisingly, about 79% of the respondent said they would pay a premium price for clothes made of traditional craftsmanship. This shows that customers perceive a superior value on the offering and are willing to buy and pay more money. This value can be seen with the durable quality, timelessness, story behind the garments, uniqueness, and exclusivity. Furthermore, certain customers who said yes to purchase of clothes made by locally produced clothes made by artisans were not willing to pay extra for such garments were some stated they won’t want to be identified with a specific cloth for a long time. A possible solution could be a garment of modular style where a cloth can be worn in several different ways, creating room for diversity. This way such a customer will see more value to the garment and will be willing to pay extra. Sustainable consumption needs sustainable products to be consumed and sustainable fashion to be successful, an alternative that can satisfy our desires with products that we value and feel attached to will make us keep them longer. This should already be considered in the design process and should promote a shared responsibility for material upkeep and the associated reduction of the environmental impact between those who make the fabric, design it, and those who use it. This also includes those who make the machines and detergents which help keep clean clothes.

Looking at the percentage of the wardrobe used by people, the underlying answers indicate that it is a problem that needs to be addressed as this is a fashion waste. These clothes sit unused in people’s wardrobe as a waste of clothes that could be used by someone else. The empirical study showed that the majority of the people do not use 100% of their wardrobe. The most common was around 40-60% which indicates a lot of fashion waste. A sustainable approach to fashion would be to buy less but of the best, give or sell to someone else, redesign, and use for other purposes, leave for material recycling, or swap with others. This can spur the need we have for newness, rather than consuming new items and could be an alternative to satisfying our need for a new experience and the desire to always buy. Fashion waste can also be seen as clothes no longer used by people that might be further put in the closet for some time more before doing something about it. It was shown in the survey that when acting, it was in good ways according to a sustainable fashion approach. There was no

99 disposal of clothes that have not worn out but instead have been donated to charity, given to friends and family, etc. were mentioned for clothes no longer in use, thus prolonging the lifespan of the clothes. And of course, this can happen if the clothes are of good quality so as not to easily wear out.

Considering how often new clothes were bought, it was observed this was often while for some it was monthly or a few months interval, others it was out of the desire for something new. This indicates a problem of overconsumption. Fast fashion can be blamed for the way at which people consume, given that clothes are cheap and accessible with its fast-changing trend. Consumers are encouraged to buy fast, buy now or it is going to be gone, creating a sense of urgency that branding and marketing propagates. The homogenized fashion products offer little or no opportunity for self- expression and lead to boredom, promoting impulse buying. By saving and buying something that is of good quality and a need which gives a happier feeling, as well as buying second hand or cloth sharing could help in solving this issue. The respondents mostly specified that after 1-2years, a cloth is seen out of fashion. The clothes were worn for a while, then put aside for a while in the closet and later rediscovered and worn again before being finally put away and not worn again. Considering also, after some washing the clothes lose their colour and shape indicates the importance of a durable cloth in terms of quality.

Consumers play a crucial role when it comes to sustainable fashion. As to how to make people consume less, the answer to this lies in awareness, knowledge, and transparency in companies showing what they are doing and not. From the survey result, it can be understood that most of the respondents are aware of the ethical and environmental impact of the textile and fashion industry but only a few consider these issues during the purchase process. This may be due to the lack of knowledge of the consumer on the product or non-availability of the information on the product. This finding is in line with the attitude-behaviour gap found in the literature where (Shen and Richards, 2013) argue that the attitude gap could be due to lack of awareness of sustainable fashion by the customer which puts restraints on the customer sustainable choice making. There is a need to raise awareness and educate customers on the ethical and environmental effects of new clothing production, why clothes are very cheap, and the true cost of the low cost which is a high cost on the environment and the upstream supply chain of the workers involved. This means having people being to reflect

100 on these issues, upon their consumption behaviour and act accordingly. Sustainable fashion doesn’t mean giving up on fashion and consumption rather things should be done differently. In this context, companies and designers have to find new ways to deepen consumers’ product attachment which in turn adds value to the product, creating longer product lifespan. From the survey, it can be understood that consumers perceive such value and attachment from clothes made of traditional craftsmanship and are willing to pay a higher price. From the analysis of the website of the selected brands, it is evident that they clearly state what they stand for and also are seen sharing knowledge on their products and processes on Instagram platform involving the customers more.

A problem today, in our modern consumerist society is that people are not defined by what they do but by what we have and display. Fashion is motivated by the desire to appear unique or fit in. Consumption is a way for individuals to discover and exhibit the characteristics of their personality, taste, and individuality, and then the pursuit of fashion becomes an act of social reconciliation of their own identity. People consume fashion clothing because it is integrated into the culture to a certain extent. This confirms that wasteful consumption is a social, ethical, and ecological issue. Today, it is said that people shop addictively for clothes and are under pressure to constantly update their identity, which is activated by the fast- changing trends in fashion. Social media also aids in this behaviour as consumers tend to imitate celebrities and desire to act like them which feeds insecurity. However, companies can leverage on celebrities and social platform to market and educate customers. From the comments received from the survey, it showed some customers don’t feel good about this behaviour and desire to change it but at the same time are not able to as it has become an important part of their spare time. Therefore, an appealing strategy is needed that offers what the present fast fashion doesn’t offer. As fast fashion has become more and more affordable that people can afford to purchase numerous clothing where previously few clothes would have been enough. Hiring instead of owning can be an alternative in changing consumers’ attitudes in their quest to constantly reformulate their identity and experience of shopping. Mending of garments still in good shape and developing creative skills of sewing that would enable them to give personal touch and interaction with fashion symbolism can reduce also bored which often leads to impulse consumption.

101 Individuals need to be willingly engaged, thus becoming more likely to adopt sustainable practices and, more significantly, a pro-sustainability attitude while making purchase choices and creating of identity and style through consumption. Likewise, how they use the clothes in terms of washing and regularity of use before discarding it or stop using it. To be able to change an attitude, it is necessary to look at what is culturally and socially valued in society. By empowering consumers, driving demand for sustainable fashion can be gained, since both the purchase choices and the use of lies are in their hands.

Company’s perspective

Sustainable fashion companies and the ones in the case study have quite different approaches in facing the environmental and social impact of the fashion industry. Looking at the various companies in the case study, it can be noted that aside from being conscious of its ethical and environmental impact in the society, these companies are incorporating traditional textiles and crafts to create value for customers that which cannot be found in fast fashion but same time preserve cultural heritage. Their products are manufactured with a social and environmental responsibility in mind. One thing they have in common is that they have much slower processes where significant time is spent to develop long term fashion items as opposed to the short-lived easy to dispose of fast fashion.

They capitalize on local culture where fabrics are sourced locally and garments manufactured locally which enhance environmental sustainability by the reduction of the carbon footprints. The production processes incorporate traditional textile methods such as weaving, hand dyeing, and embroidery in which the produced fabrics are transforming from their traditional uses in creating modern pieces. Their manufacturing processes focus on achieving zero waste, thinking of the impact they have on the planet. Fabrics are mostly woven using handloom which is environmentally sustainable due to its low energy and resource use. Waste fabrics are also used as input in creating garments where artisans’ skills are applied in making unique products. For instance, by using recycled jeans and end of line denim waste, nkwo has been able to design and create unique artisanal pieces which is called Dakala cloth. Another textile reduction waste common in these brands is the use of waste fabrics generated from manufacturing processes in creating a range of products like accessories and patchwork products. This way waste is diverted from landfills and used to make something useful and marketable. Achieving product diversification using waste materials to design various

102 products such as accessories that can be introduced to a different market to that of their core products.

The companies are committed to fair-trade practices with a focus on community-centred sustainability through empowering the local artisans, especially women. For example, Bani Thani has been able to empower stay at home women who can earn at the comfort of their homes while making embroidery work. Training for skill development is also carried out with the local artisans. Emmykasbit trains the artisans the brands work with, in better understanding modern patterned colours and encourage them to be innovative in creating new designs. This has been able to alleviate poverty and the living standards in these rural communities. Long term relationship is often developed with these artisans which are often based on trust, respect, and effective communication as well as collaborative sharing of ideas.

Key features common among these brands can be summarized under the words: quality, culture, creativity, diversity, and balance. Quality is a common feature of all sustainable fashion companies. It includes quality in terms of material sourcing and how you produce considering the lifespan of the garments. Notably quality isn’t just about the physical garments but also the designs. Timeless designs are made of durable materials people can wear for a long time. The traditional textile craft and techniques provide durable quality materials that allow them to be laundered and used for a long time while retaining shape and colour. These are also the characteristics of what the respondents said has encouraged them in the use of these textiles by so doing prolonging the use of the garments.

Fashion is rooted inherently in the indigenous communities. Which makes culture the skin of fashion that is the visual layer. Culture is diverse and dynamic, and has once been so deeply embedded in our lives. There's a lot to learn out of our culture, heritage, and history. We can't go back to living the same way our ancestors did, but if we understand how and why they did, what they did with so little and managed to survive, then maybe it will lead us to a new way of thinking. This is something that many designers and brands are understanding and are seen drawing inspiration from this culture as they see it as the way around sustainable fashion. These traditional textile crafts are being reawakened and harnessed and elevated to modern interpretation. Creatives always seek new inspiration and inspiration has no frontiers. Designers historically till now have drawn inspiration from the indigenous culture. A common feature of these brands is their use of cultural inspiration in creating unique pieces with each

103 having a story behind. Mazelle in creating long-lasting clothes incorporates thoughtful innovative designs that are less influenced by short-lived fashion trends that can be worn in different ways. Nkwo again is using the strategy of re-design and re-use in creating beautiful pieces in conjunction with the local artisans. This spur diversity is an important value of sustainable development. Diversity is also seen in terms of designs opposition to the homogenized fast fashion but also in production in terms of how the organization and supply chain are constructed. This means using traditional handcraft, locally produced materials that are socially and environmentally friendly.

This serves as material needs with reduced resource consumption, but also more local jobs, poverty alleviation, and creating a balance. As fair wage is been paid to the artisans and their ideas being welcomed. Global fashion brands can also revalue the indigenous culture textiles and methods by partnering with the artisans' communities, so doing creating employment in such countries while offering sustainable fashion products. For example, Christian Dior 2020 cruise collection inspiration was drawn from Marrakesh, Morocco partnering with local artisans to create its unique products. This is commonly seen more with the luxury brands as artisan skills is often seen as a form of luxury considering the lead time, materials used, value and beauty, etc. however, high street chain stores can also leverage on this to produce unique quality products, cutting down on its collections and seasons as well as be able to stay profitable. This also has the potential of creating a balance both in the western society and the developing countries.

It was understood that customers are willing to pay a higher price for fashion pieces made with traditional craftsmanship, as this was confirmed by all of the respondents. Unique fashion pieces give the consumer a personalized feeling of wearing a quality product. They seek to build a strong emotional connection between themselves and the customers and the customers and their pieces by providing a transparent supply chain in which the customers are often inspired by the story behind a product. It can be said that this increases the customer perceived value. This also is in line with the answers gotten from the customers in the survey where the majority said they will pay a higher price as such garments are made of love and thought and not one made without meaning. It is interesting to say that not all sustainable fashion refers to traditional crafts with prohibitive prices as this was stated by the respondent of the interview. It can be said that while respecting the pillars of sustainability,

104 these companies are able to achieve business success while safeguarding cultural heritage and bridging tradition and modernity.

7.2 Research Question 2

How companies can leverage on traditional textiles and crafts to create value?

This section answers the second research question which is how companies can leverage on traditional textiles and crafts techniques and methods to create value for themselves, customers, and the artisans in general. The findings indicate that fashion brands can leverage indigenous culture as a medium for fashion inspiration to create unique fashion pieces and differentiate their fashion pieces in the light of the common homogenized fashion products. The cultural theme enables the fashion companies to incorporate design concepts into cross- cultural contexts that offer timeless and authentic values in clothing. Companies and designers are reigniting and exploring the traditional crafts and upgrading it to modern interpretation. This provides a bridge between modern and traditional and is a powerful tool for cultural co-existence. This can be seen from the interview of the various brands. For instance, Bani Thani reinterprets the traditional textiles incorporating contemporary designs beyond the traditional crimson with black and white color designs. Furthermore, it can promote sustainable fashion business practices as these textiles are eco-friendly as the materials used and manufacturing processes generate little or no harmful environmental impacts. As well, it can create a new niche market that admires traditional products through product innovation. Fashion brands can use these benefits to create a point of difference and differentiate their brand image and product in the global market. Traditional crafts are made of indigenous raw material and tools. As the demand for traditional crafts increases, the demand for indigenous raw material and tools such as natural dyes, organic fiber, wooden stamp, and handloom also increase. This creates a secondary market to supply these raw materials and tools. This demand generates the domino effect of economic growth for suppliers of such raw material and tools, and consecutively their suppliers.

The result of the survey showed that the majority of the participants appreciate clothes made by artisans and locally produced because of unique design, quality, timelessness, and affection with handmade products. This result is aligned with the study done by Hsu and Nguyen Ngoc (2016) who found that four factors love, creativity, quality, and environmental

105 friendly are positively effecting the high-involvement purchasing intention of a traditional handmade product. The findings indicated that because of the above-discussed attributes of traditional textiles and craft customers are willing to pay the premium price. A product with a story behind it is always more interesting than the generic item that anyone can pick up. The result showed that 75% of participants have personal value with their garments based on different reasons. The traditional craft is a medium that strengthens consumer product attachment and fosters the consumer’s emotional relationship with products hence leading to a longer use of such fashion products. Brands are seen sharing knowledge about their sourcing and production processes on platforms involving their consumers more, thus, leading to a more supply chain transparency affecting consumer confidence and behavior toward the brands. Seeing the question (how often new were bought) from the survey, it was detected that most of the participants mentioned it monthly and a few months interval. It indicates the overconsumption that is due to fast fashion because these clothes are affordable and accessible with its fast-changing trend. This problem can be solved by buying good quality, long-lasting products and happy feelings behind buying that product. Traditional crafts are gaining value in these attributes. Also, as a customer associating our purchasing with our values through the usage of buying power. This not only keeps the culture alive but it is a catalyst that generates communities and markets that are sustainable and vibrant.

For the artisan community, the result from interviews revealed that the incorporation of traditional crafts and techniques not only helps in restoring the economic and social status of the artisan community but also helps in preserving the skills and practices of cultural heritage. Traditional craft is an expression of history and very important for every culture that needs to be preserved. As empirical studies showed due to growing demand in the use of traditional crafts, the younger generation is getting more interested in learning the traditional skills. As demand increases, it also means more encouragement to learn these skills and keep it alive. This transmission of craft-related skills and practices from generation to generation leads to revive and preserve the cultural heritage. Traditional crafts generate livelihood for many people in developing countries and empowering the women artisans who are staying at home and have no other source of income. The sale of traditional textile crafts and techniques will be a great source of income for them as women with economic empowerment contribute to better societies. Just as Emmykasbit works with the Akwete community in which women

106 mostly are involved in weaving of fabrics. Likewise, Bani Thani works with women for embroidery work and most are providing their work from home. Wood (2012) points out that a great opportunity for jobs in the craft sector will open up through the establishment of a link between artisans and designers. This link is created through a collaboration program. The development of such a forum is a very significant step for artisans. That provokes the development and preservation of local crafts in a sustainable way.

The indigenous crafts give recognition to the artisan community to the bigger market for their creative work through cultural appreciation. It provides an opportunity for artisans to having win-win collaboration with designers and present their works at mainstream platforms that reflect their identity, values, and culture. This win-win collaboration empowers the artisans to be more innovative, develop professional expertise. Just like an Italian designer Stella Jeans collaborated with Chitral Women’s handicrafts Center in Pakistan for Milan Fashion Week 2019. She worked with women to preserve the culture and incorporated the indigenous colors, design elements, and embroidery techniques of Chitral, Kalash, and Hunza in her collection. The designer aimed to expose the Kalash craft at the international level and to provide their community with income.

107

8 Conclusion

108

In this research, the possible contribution of indigenous culture, that is, traditional textile crafts techniques and methods to the sustainability of the fashion industry were pointed out. The definition of sustainable fashion was determined after reviewing literature and taking companies' and customers’ perceptive of the concept into account. sustainable fashion was defined as fashionable clothing that incorporates fair trade principles with sweatshop-free labour conditions while not harming the environment or workers by using biodegradable and organic cotton (Joergens, 2006), and designed for a longer lifetime use, that is produced in an ethical production system, perhaps even locally, that causes little or no environmental impact and makes use of eco-labelled or recycled materials (Fletcher, 2008; Shen et al., 2013). It was found that traditional textile craft methods possess elements embodied in a sustainable fashion as they are produced with environmental and social responsibility in mind.

Consistently, it was also highlighted how traditional textiles deepen the product attachment and addressing the emotional connection consumers can have with a product aside its techniques and methods meeting sustainable requirements. Consumers play a vital role in sustainable fashion since it’s the actor of the supply chain whose sustainable product is offered to and determines the usage span of the garments. There is a need to make people consume differently given the current unstainable fashion consumption, and ways of doing this is through awareness by educating the customers in sustainable habits as well as proper communication and transparency by companies, showing both the good and bad of their processes. This would also help in diminishing the attitude-behaviour gap among customers. The customer focuses on quality as an aspect of fashion products that will make the garment long-lasting, and as such enable use for a long time. Traditional textile crafts were considered to be of durable quality but also offer unique designs. Moreover, the majority of the customers are willing to pay higher prices for such fashion products.

To achieve sustainability a new approach to thinking is needed that aligns our needs to the natural world and brings about change especially life cycle thinking. Designers and companies can develop this sustainable thinking using traditional textile crafts techniques and methods, having both functional and aesthetic features, thus creating value which is fundamental for

109 sustainable fashion. Aside from being ethical and environmentally conscious, it can be highlighted that the various companies in the case study leverage on traditional textiles and craftsmanship to create value by reawakening and harnessing these textiles and elevating it to modern interpretation while also working with waste strategies, as re-design and reuse in conjunction with local artisans. Thus, this provides a bridge between the modern and the traditional and a powerful tool for cultural co-existence. Key features found for these companies were summarized under the words: quality, creativity, culture, diversity, and balance.

As the global demand for sustainable fashion products surge, sustainability is soon changing from an option to a necessity. While achieving business success whilst respecting the pillars of sustainability is still a struggle for many businesses, this study, however, demonstrates a potentially viable business model that interlinks cultural, environmental, social, and economic benefits for the success of the sustainable fashion industry. Finally, a collaborative sustainable fashion system between the artisans and designers & companies. These collaborations for the artisans represent an opportunity to absorb new ideas for the contemporary design process while safeguarding cultural heritage and maintaining traditional techniques for fair recompense. This also uplift the quality of life of the community while empowering and providing employment opportunities. For designers and companies, the benefits lie in the opportunity to develop sustainable fashion business practices whilst sourcing sustainable raw materials and developing unique design concepts that offer timeless and authentic values in clothing as well as differentiating their fashion products from the homogenized fashion products.

8.1 Limitations and Future research This study is based investigation conducted on the contribution of traditional textile crafts techniques and method as a facilitator to the sustainable fashion industry. The authors only considered parts of the supply chain, that is, sourcing and production process from the focal companies’ perspective, and the customer perspective due to limitations in time. Therefore, research involving more stakeholders of the supply chain can be carried out. Furthermore, the interviewed companies are small and medium-sized companies which could be easy for them to operate in the manner they do. However, further research can be made on how global brands especially high fashion street brands can leverage these traditional

110 textile crafts techniques and methods in developing sustainable business practices at the same time staying profitable. Also, further research on salvaging and revaluing other indigenous cultures textile crafts practices could be interesting.

8.2 Managerial Implications

The sustainable fashion trend has certainly been growing for the last couple of years. There is growing awareness about how and where clothes are being manufactured. It has been a major factor in the preference of brands for more ethically and environmentally conscious fashion followers. An approach which goes from quantity to quality is needed with the actors involved in the supply chain creating a deeper relationship which would positively influence all levels of the supply chain.

Buyer-supplier relationships playing an important role in the sustainable supply chain. The manager should develop a system that promotes sustainability throughout the supply chain to avoid any negative association (Kumar and Rahman, 2015). Eco-material production is a fundamental part of a sustainable fashion supply chain which starts with the sourcing of fiber as raw material (Shen, 2014). The strength of the traditional ancient methods is having durable quality, uniqueness, timelessness, and exclusivity in their products. Managers can leverage on these attributes in producing authentic fashion products while also continually monitoring the output of their suppliers. Also, the supplier should be considered as a partner. Managers must develop a collaborative and long-term relationship with them based on trust, respect and effective communication as well as collaborative sharing of ideas to obtain strategic and operational objectives. This paper demonstrated that companies are relying on the supplier’s relationship to achieve their objectives while also gaining trust and good reputation from their customers. Fashion needs to address the individual emotional connection that consumer can have to a product. To develop this connection, Managers should develop sustainable business practices using traditional crafts and techniques having both aesthetic and functional features that are unique, and creative. This way customer will be willing to pay extra that will lead to the increment in the profitability of the company.

Ultimately, the managers need to speak with their suppliers and mutually establish ways to evaluate, react, and communicate both operational KPIs and sustainability objectives that

111 turn into effective implementation of sustainability. The adoption of sustainability is a continuous and ongoing operation, which requires continuous support from the supply chain partners (Kumar and Rahman, 2015).

8.3 Theoretical Implications.

Sustainability is a hot topic of study in various fields just as in the fashion industry and it is mostly studied taking into account three sustainability perspectives (social, environmental, economic).Subsequently these three pillars were discussed in the theoretical framework of sustainability .However, additional view was also incorporated in this thesis of which is cultural and is increasingly seen as the fourth pillar of sustainable development.

This research demonstrated that culture can be seen as vital to the entire movement toward sustainability. Cultural is something that can impact and be rooted in each pillar of sustainability. This study emphasized on interconnectedness of cultural, economic, social, and environmental systems in the textile and fashion industry as it demonstrated sustainability pillars dependence which is accountable for each other. That can create a collaborative sustainable fashion system between artisans and designers & companies which covers broader issues in every aspect of sustainability.

Attitude-behavior gap of customer while doing purchase which several studies have related to lack of lack of proper communication and awareness of sustainable fashion by the customers (Shen and Richards, 2013). Results showed transparency of whole sourcing and production process can reduce the gap and increase the confidence of customers towards the brands and also make the customers act sustainably.

The findings also contribute to providing better insights into the collaboration between artisans and companies & designers. Findings showed that this collaboration provides a win- win situation for both actors and gives recognition to the artisan community to the bigger market through cultural appreciation and preserves cultural skills and practices. Designers & companies can create a point of difference and differentiate their brand image through reigniting and upgrading traditional crafts to modern interpretation.

Although previous studies have discussed about sustainable fashion products going beyond ethical and environmental requirements to products that create value of product attachment

112 by customers to prolong its use (Niinimäki, 2013). However, with no specific direction on how this can be achieved. Our findings showed that such value of product attachment can be seen with incorporation of artisans’ skills and craftsmanship while also achieving sustainability concerns by the companies.

113

References & Appendix

114

Adémúlèyá, B.A., 2015. Society and Development www.iiste.org ISSN, An International Peer reviewed Journal.

Agbadudu, A.B., Ogunrin, F.O., 2006. Aso-oke: A Nigerian classic style and fashion fabric. J. Fash. Mark. Manag. 10, 97–113. https://doi.org/10.1108/13612020610651150

Akdemİr, N., 2018. Visible Expression of Social Identity : the Clothing and Fashion Sosyal Kimliğin Görünür Temsili : Giyim ve Moda 17, 1389–1397.

Ali, S., 2019. The art of creating traditional ralli quilts - Daily Times [WWW Document]. URL https://dailytimes.com.pk/370061/the-art-of-creating-traditional-ralli-quilts/ (accessed 5.31.20).

Angel, M., Subramanian, G., Muthu, S., 2016. Environmental Footprints and Eco-design of Products and Processes Ethnic Fashion.

Angel, M., Subramanian, G., Muthu, S., n.d. Environmental Footprints and Eco-design of Products and Processes Ethnic Fashion.

Areo, Margaret Olugbemisola, Kalilu, R.O.R., 2013. Origin of and Visual Semiotics in Yoruba Textile of Adire 12, 22–35.

Areo, Margaret Oluwagbemisola, Kalilu, R.O.R., 2013. Paradigmatic Appraisal of Techniques and Technology of Adire in the Last Five Decades. Online.

Areo, M.O., Omisakin, F., 2016. OLD WINE IN NEW BOTTLE: ANALYSIS OF THE MOTIFS OF OSOGBO BATIK.

Aspers, P., Godart, F., 2013. Sociology of Fashion: Order and Change. Annu. Rev. Sociol. 39, 171–192. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-soc-071811-145526

Audit Committee, E., 2019. Fixing fashion: clothing consumption and sustainability Sixteenth Report of Session 2017-19 FIXING FASHION: clothing consumption and sustainability.

Banuri, T., 1998. Pakistan: Environmental Impact of Cotton Production and Trade.

Barnes, L., Lea-Greenwood, G., 2006. Fast fashioning the supply chain: Shaping the research agenda. J. Fash. Mark. Manag. An Int. J. 10, 259–271. https://doi.org/10.1108/13612020610679259

Bellafricana, 2019. Traditional Igbo Textile Akwete [WWW Document]. URL https://bellafricana.com/traditional-igbo-textile-akwete/ (accessed 3.19.20).

Berchicci, L., Bodewes, W., 2005. Bridging environmental issues with new product development. Bus. Strateg. Environ. 14, 272–285. https://doi.org/10.1002/bse.488

BestofKashmir.com, 2020. Kashmiri Embroidery Types [WWW Document]. URL

115 https://www.bestofkashmir.com/blogs/handicrafts-blog/kashmiri-embroidery-types (accessed 5.31.20).

Bhardwaj, V., Fairhurst, A., 2010. Fast fashion: Response to changes in the fashion industry. Int. Rev. Retail. Distrib. Consum. Res. 20, 165–173. https://doi.org/10.1080/09593960903498300

Browne, M.A., Crump, P., Niven, S.J., Teuten, E.L., Tonkin, A., Galloway, T., Thompson, R.C., 2011. Accumulations of microplastic on shorelines worldwide: sources and sinks. https://doi.org/10.1021/es201811s

Caniato, F., Caridi, M., Crippa, L., Moretto, A., 2012. Environmental sustainability in fashion supply chains: An exploratory case based research. Int. J. Prod. Econ. 135, 659–670. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2011.06.001

Cara, A., 2019. Indigo, ash and time mark Nigeria’s centuries-old dye pits [WWW Document]. URL https://apnews.com/899524e016af4d4ab81f3f07d306c70c (accessed 3.30.20).

Carrigan, M., Attalla, A., 2001. The myth of the ethical consumer-do ethics matter in purchase behaviour? J. Consum. Mark. 18, 560–578. https://doi.org/10.1108/07363760110410263

China kpmgcom, K., 2019. Sustai nabl e fashi on A survey on global perspectives.

Choudhary, A.S., Singh Choudhary, A., Pandey, D., 2016. The Culture of Fashion: Identity and Globalization Adoption of green production technology in Indian Garment Industry View project THE CULTURE OF FASHION: IDENTITY AND GLOBALIZATION.

Chukueggu, C.C., 1998. Contemporary Nigerian art and its classifications. Delsu Consult Pub. House in association with Virochy International Press.

Chukueggu, C.C., Ogu, J.C., 2013. Akwete Weaving in the Secondary Schools Curriculum in Imo State: A Proposal, The Crab: Journal of Theatre and Media Arts.

Ciências, R., Oliveira, D., De Morais, C., Barbieri, J.C., 2018. Social sustainability in supply chains: clarifications and insights Social sustainability in supply chains: clarifications and insights Sustentabilidade social na cadeia de suprimentos: esclarecimentos e novas direções. Rev. Ciênc. Admin 1–15. https://doi.org/10.5020/2318-0722.2018.6614

Crane, D., 1999. Diffusion Models and Fashion: A Reassessment.

Cutaran, E.R., 2008. Sustainable Local Development through One Town One Product (OTOP): The Case of Mindanao, Philippines rediscovery of indigenous products Sustainable Local Development through One Town One Product (OTOP): The Case of Mindanao, Philippines-90.

Cyprian Obiora, A., 2015. African Indigenous Knowledge System and Environmental Sustainability. Int. J. Environ. Prot. Policy 3, 88. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ijepp.20150304.12

Dawn, 2010. Craftsmanship: The making of Ajrak - DAWN.COM [WWW Document]. URL

116 https://www.dawn.com/news/882907/craftsmanship-the-making-of-ajrak (accessed 5.31.20). de Brito, M.P., Carbone, V., Blanquart, C.M., 2008. Towards a sustainable fashion retail supply chain in Europe: Organisation and performance. Int. J. Prod. Econ. 114, 534–553. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2007.06.012

Dominique, D., 2016. Future of Fashion Industry.

Dutsenwai, S.A., 2016. INDIGENOUS HAUSA INDIGO DYEING IN NORTHERN NIGERIA.

Duxbury, N., Gillette, E., 2007. Culture as a Key Dimension of Sustainability: Exploring Concepts, Themes, and Models Creative City Network of Canada School of Communication and Centre for Sustainable Community Development. © Centre of Expertise on Culture and Communities CREATIVE CITY NETWORK OF CANADA-CENTRE OF EXPERTISE ON CULTURE AND COMMUNITIES Culture as a Key Dimension of Sustainability: Exploring Concepts, Themes, and Models.

Easton, G., 2010. Critical realism in case study research. Ind. Mark. Manag. 39, 118–128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indmarman.2008.06.004

Ebert, C., Frisch, S., Harlow, M., Andersson Strand, E., Bjerregaard, L., 2018. Traditional_Textile_Craft_2nd_edition_20.

Elkington, J., 1997. Cannibals_with_Forks.

EllenMacarthur Foundation, 2017. A NEW TEXTILES ECONOMY: REDESIGNING FASHION’S FUTURE.

Elsahida et al, 2019. IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science Sustainability of the use of natural dyes in the textile industry. https://doi.org/10.1088/1755 1315/399/1/012065

Embroidery Viet, n.d. Embroidery Work Cultural [WWW Document]. 2020. URL https://embroideryviet.com/embroidery-work-cultural/ (accessed 5.31.20).

European Commission, 2011. COMMITTEE AND THE COMMITTEE OF THE REGIONS A renewed EU strategy 2011-14 for Corporate Social Responsibility.

Fassoula, E.D., 2006. Transforming the supply chain. J. Manuf. Technol. Manag. 17, 848–860. https://doi.org/10.1108/17410380610678837

Fletcher, K., 2014. Sustainable fashion and textiles : design journeys, 2nd edition. ed. New York.

Fletcher, K., 2008. Sustainable Fashion and Textiles Design Journeys.

Gardetti, M.A., Torres, A.L., 2017. Sustainability in Fashion and Textiles Values, Design, Production and Consumption.

117 Gereffi, G., 1999. International trade and industrial upgrading in the apparel commodity chain. J. Int. Econ. 48, 37–70. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0022-1996(98)00075-0

Goyal, S., Khan, Z.A., n.d. Culture of: Kalash Textile, Pakistan-Afghanistan Border — The Textile Atlas [WWW Document]. URL https://www.thetextileatlas.com/craft-stories/kalash-textile pakistan-afghanistan-border (accessed 5.31.20).

Greenhalgh, P., 2003. Design History Society Review Reviewed Work(s): The Persistence of Craft: The Applied Arts Today by Paul Greenhalgh Review by: Martina Margetts.

Guercini, S., 2001. Relation between branding and growth of the firm in new quick fashion formulas: Analysis of an Italian case. J. Fash. Mark. Manag. 5, 69–79. https://doi.org/10.1108/EUM0000000007280

Gustafsson, J., 2017. Single case studies vs. multiple case studies: A comparative study.

Hawkes, J. (1946-), 2001. The fourth pillar of sustainability : culture’s essential role in public planning. Cultural Development Network.

Hethorn, J., Ulasewicz, C., 2008. Sustainable Fashion: Why Now? a Conversation About Issues, Practices, and Possibilities: A Conversation Exploring Issues, Practices, and Possibilities.

Hsu, Y., Nguyen Ngoc, A., 2016. The Handmade Effect: What is Special about Buying Handmade?, International Review of Management and Business Research.

Husain, H., 2014. Sindhi Embroidery Motifs For Beautiful and Elegant Dresses - House of Pakistan [WWW Document]. URL https://www.houseofpakistan.com/2014/08/sindhi embroidery-motifs/ (accessed 5.31.20).

Ibrahim, A., 2016. Balochi Embroidery: A Colour Of Barrenness [WWW Document]. URL https://www.gounesco.com/resubmitting-balochi-embroidery/ (accessed 5.31.20). Inglis, D., n.d. Culture and Everyday Life.

International Labour Organization, 2018. Informal economy: More than 60 per cent of the world’s employed population are in the informal economy [WWW Document]. URL https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_627189/lang- en/index.htm (accessed 3.6.20).

Jarwar, H.A., Ma, Q., 2018. Overview of the Cotton in Pakistan and its Future Prospects. Pakistan J. Agric. Res. 31. https://doi.org/10.17582/journal.pjar/2018/31.4.396.407

Jia, P., Govindan, K., Choi, T.-M., Rajendran, S., 2015. Supplier Selection Problems in Fashion Business Operations with Sustainability Considerations. Sustainability 7, 1603–1619. https://doi.org/10.3390/su7021603

Joergens, C., 2006. Ethical fashion: Myth or future trend? J. Fash. Mark. Manag. 10, 360–371. https://doi.org/10.1108/13612020610679321

118 Joergens Heusenstamm, C., 2006. Ethical fashion: myth or future trend?

Joint Economic Committee, 2015. The Economic Impact of the Fashion Industry.

Joop, H.J., Hennie, B.R., 2005. Data collection,primary versus secondary.

Joy, A., Sherry, J.F., Venkatesh, A., Wang, J., Chan, R., 2012. Fast Fashion, Sustainability, and the Ethical Appeal of Luxury Brands, Fashion Theory 16, 273–295. https://doi.org/10.2752/175174112X13340749707123

Jung, S., Jin, B., 2016. Sustainable development of slow fashion businesses: Customer value approach. Sustain. 8. https://doi.org/10.3390/su8060540

Katibi, K., Enaholo, P., 2018. 500 Years of Tie and Dye Production - The Centenary Project — Google Arts & Culture [WWW Document]. URL https://artsandculture.google.com/exhibit/500-years-of-tie-and-dye-production-pan atlantic-university/sQJShbHix5iuLA?hl=en (accessed 3.19.20).

Kawamura, Y., 2005. Fashion-ology: An Introduction to Fashion Studies.

Khandual, A., Pradhan, S., 2019. Fashion Brands and Consumers Approach Towards Sustainable Fashion. pp. 37–54. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-13-1268-7_3

Kim, M.S., Kim, D.T., Kim, J. Il, 2014. CSR for sustainable development: CSR beneficiary positioning and impression management motivation. Corp. Soc. Responsib. Environ. Manag. 21, 14–27. https://doi.org/10.1002/csr.1300

Kozlowski, A., Bardecki, M., Searcy, C., 2019. Tools for sustainable fashion design: An analysis of their fitness for purpose. Sustain. 11. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11133581

Kuusk, K., Wensveen, S., Tomico, O., 2016. Craft Qualities Translated From Traditional Crafts to Smart Textile Services.

Lee, H., 2010. Don’t Tweak Your Supply Chain—Rethink It End to End [WWW Document]. Harv. Bus. Rev. URL https://hbr.org/2010/10/dont-tweak-your-supply-chain-rethink-it-end to-end (accessed 3.26.20).

Leiff, P.:, Toqqortat, J., Facchini, N., Martikainen, J., Raivio, P., Brekne, C., Grodzs, D., Hagstrøm, A., 2017. Culture and sustainability.

Littrell, M.A., Dickson, M.A., 2010. Artisans and fair trade : crafting development. Kumarian Press.

Loach, K., Rowley, J., Griffiths, J., 2017. Cultural sustainability as a strategy for the survival of museums and libraries. Int. J. Cult. Policy 23, 186–198. https://doi.org/10.1080/10286632.2016.1184657

MacCarthy, B.L., Blome, C., Olhager, J., Srai, J.S., Zhao, X., 2016. Supply chain evolution – theory, concepts and science. Int. J. Oper. Prod. Manag. 36, 1696–1718.

119 https://doi.org/10.1108/IJOPM-02-2016-0080

Mahajan, S., 2012. SUSTAINABILITY OF GREEN FASHION.

Makinde DOlajide Ajiboye, by, Jide, O., Babatunde Joseph, A., 2009. Aso-Oke Production and Use Among the Yoruba of Southwestern Nigeria.

Manlow, V., 2011. Fashion_Industry_In_the_Encyclopedia_of consumer culture.

Mazzarella, F., Escobar-•-Tello, C., Mitchell, V., 2016. Moving Textile Artisans’ Communities towards a Sustainable Future-A Theoretical Framework.

Mcintyre, M.H., 2010. Consuming Craft the contemporary craft market in a changing economy.

Mckinney, E., Eicher, J.B., 2009. Unexpected luxury: Wild silk textile production among the Yoruba of Nigeria. Text. J. Cloth Cult. 7, 40–55. https://doi.org/10.2752/175183509X411753

McKinsey & Company, 2019. The State of Fashion 2019.

Memon, A.N., 2017. Textile dyeing, printing and processing sector of Pakistan.

Mentzer, J.T., DeWitt, W., Keebler, J.S., Min, S., Nix, N.W., Smith, C.D., Zacharia, Z.G., 2001.

DEFINING SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT. J. Bus. Logist. 22, 1–25. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2158-1592.2001.tb00001.x

Meyer, C.B., 2001. A Case in Case Study Methodology, CASE STUDY METHODOLOGY Field Methods.

Modupe Adu, F., Thereza Ajayi, A., Olaosebikan Aremu, J., 2018. Textile Industry In Yorubaland: Indigenous Knowledge And Modernity In The Era Of Globalisation. Adv. Soc. Sci. Res. J. 5. https://doi.org/10.14738/assrj.54.4476

Murray, K., 2010. Outsourcing the hand: An analysis of craft-design collaborations across the global divide.

Niinimaki, K., 2009. consumer values and eco-fashion in the future. Tampere, Finland.

Niinimäki, K., 2015. Ethical foundations in sustainable fashion. Text. Cloth. Sustain. 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40689-015-0002-1

Niinimäki, K., 2013. Sustainable fashion: new approaches. Aalto ARTS Books.

Niinimäki, K., 2010. Eco-Clothing, consumer identity and ideology. Sustain. Dev. 18, 150–162. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.455

Niinimäki, K., n.d. sustainable fashion: New approaches.

Olugbemisolaareo, M., 2013. UlliBeier; a Beacon in the Post-Colonial Renascence of Adire. Olutayo, A.O., Akanle, O., 2009. Aso-oke (Yoruba’s hand woven textiles) usage among the

120 youths in Lagos, Southwestern Nigeria, International Journal of Sociology and Anthropology.

P007Ajrakh, n.d. AJRAK PRINTING.

Pagell, M., Wu, Z., 2009. BUILDING A MORE COMPLETE THEORY OF SUSTAINABLE SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT USING CASE STUDIES OF 10 EXEMPLARS.

Papanek, V.J., 1995. The green imperative : natural design for the real world. Thames and Hudson.

Pendergast, S., Pendergast, T., Hermsen, S., 2003. Clothing, Headwear, Body Decorations, and

Footwear through the Ages Fashion, Costume, and Culture.

Polakoff, C., 1982. African textiles and dyeing techniques. Routledge & K. Paul.

Pookulangara, S., Shephard, A., 2013. Slow fashion movement: Understanding consumer perceptions-An exploratory study. J. Retail. Consum. Serv. 20, 200–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jretconser.2012.12.002

Pop, M., 2019. Cultural Sustainability in the Creative Surface Design of Fashion Products of Eco-Textile and Eco-Leather Material Structures. https://doi.org/10.33552/JTSFT.2019.03.000574

Quantis, 2018. MEASURING FASHION 2018 Environmental Impact of the Global Apparel and

Footwear Industries Study Full report and methodological considerations.

Radclyffe-Thomas, N., 2016. Intangible cultural heritage in fashion marketing: from number 1

Savile Row to the world, Annual Conference.

Rond, F., 2010. Phulkari- Ancient Textile of Punjab.

Rusu, A., n.d. Patterns of sustainability in textile design use of traditional technologies.

Şen, A., 2008. The US fashion industry: A supply chain review. Int. J. Prod. Econ. 114, 571–593. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2007.05.022

Shafi, M., Yang, Y., Khan, Z., Yu, A., 2019. Vertical Co-operation in Creative Micro-Enterprises: A Case Study of Textile Crafts of Matiari District, Pakistan. Sustainability 11, 920. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11030920

Shen, B., 2014. Sustainable fashion supply chain: Lessons from H&M. Sustain. 6, 6236–6249. https://doi.org/10.3390/su6096236

Shen, D., Richards, J., 2013. CONSUMERS’ AWARENESS OF SUSTAINABLE FASHION.

Shen, D., Richards, J., Liu, F., 2013. Consumers’ Awareness of Sustainable Fashion.

Shen, L., Govindan, K., Shankar, M., 2015. Evaluation of Barriers of Corporate Social

121 Responsibility Using an Analytical Hierarchy Process under a Fuzzy Environment—A Textile Case. Sustainability 7, 3493–3514. https://doi.org/10.3390/su7033493

Simmel, G., 1957. Fashion.

Slaper, T.F., 2013. The Triple Bottom Line: What Is It and How Does It Work? The Triple Bottom Line Defined.

Stake, R., 1995. The art of case study research.

Svendsen, L., 2006. Fashion: A Philosophy.

Tatzenko, J., Hart, C., Hollister-Jones, A., 2019. The 2019 Ethical Fashion Report THE TRUTH BEHIND THE BARCODE 2.

Technology times, 2013. Plant-based natural dye resources of KPK - Technology Times [WWW Document]. URL https://www.technologytimes.pk/2013/10/11/plant-based-natural-dye resources-of-kpk/ (accessed 5.31.20).

Thorisdottir, T.S., Johannsdottir, L., 2019. Sustainability within fashion business models: A systematic literature review. Sustain. https://doi.org/10.3390/su11082233

Travers, M., 2001. Qualitative_research_through_case_studies.

Tung, F.-W., 2012. Weaving with Rush: Exploring Craft-Design Collaborations in Revitalizing a Local Craft.

UNEP, 2015. Sustainable Consumption and Production.

UNESCO, 2013. Introducing Cultural Heritage into the Sustainable Development Agenda.

Utsavpedia, 2016. Zari Work: The Art of Zari Work on Textiles and Fabrics | Utsavpedia [WWW Document]. URL https://www.utsavpedia.com/motifs-embroideries/zari-the-ultimate precious-metal-weaving-art/ (accessed 5.31.20).

Wood, S., 2012. Sustaining crafts and livelihoods: handmade in India.

World bank, n.d. How Much Do Our Wardrobes Cost to the Environment? [WWW Document]. URL https://www.worldbank.org/en/news/feature/2019/09/23/costo-moda-medio ambiente (accessed 3.1.20).

122

Annex 1

Interview guide for companies

1. What does sustainable fashion mean to you? 2. What impact do you think traditional crafts have on sustainable fashion? 3. How have you been able to achieve sustainable fashion influencing the customers’ perception and how welcoming have customers being in accepting it? (willingness to pay the premium price) 4. Do you think traditional crafts will play a great role in the future fashion industry? 5. How do you use these traditional textile crafts in the designing styles that are fashionable to customers? 6. How do you source for your fabric and what visibility do you have on your supply chain? 7. What kind of relationship do you establish with your Artisans? 8. Using local crafts in your fashion brand has impacted the Artisan community and society at large (such as creating job opportunities, attracting the young people)? 9. Which are the drivers pushing you towards the adaptation of traditional textile crafts and its techniques? 10. Do you think this pandemic (coronavirus) will affect consumers’ fashion consumption attitude by pushing them towards a more sustainable fashion purchase, also its impact on brands?

123

Annex 2 Customer survey 1) Gender: Male / Female 2) Age : 3) Origin: Africa/ Asia/ Europe/ America/ South America 4) What is sustainable fashion to you? 5) The fashion industry has an increasing environmental impact on the plant (like carbon footprint, toxic chemicals) and has ethical complications in production considering worker exploitation. Are you aware of these issues? 6) Do you consider these issues (question 5) when you make your purchases? 7) What are your reflections on the statement ‘less quantity but high quality’? 8) Which of these attributes do you consider most important when buying an apparel: Quality, Price, Uniqueness, or Trendiness? 9) Do any of your clothing have a personal value to you? If yes, do you use it regularly? 10) How often do you buy new clothes? 11) How long do you use a cloth before you discard it or consider it out of fashion? 12) Would you buy clothing made by traditional craftsmanship of skilled artisans and locally produced raw materials that are ethical and eco-friendly? 13) Are you willing to pay a premium price for this (question 12) knowing you can wear it for a longer period? 14) How many percent of your wardrobe do you use? 15) How do you deal with clothes you no longer use or that is worn out?

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR YOUR TIME!!!

124