Recommendations

To address this need for change and help improve both its corporate social and environmental responsibility, there are steps which Boohoo must take to transform its supply chain and ensure the brand image doesn’t become tarnished by past accusations and scandals, and to further reduce the impact fast fashion is having upon the planet.

Clothing companies are not yet required by legislation to take responsibility for end-of-life recovery of the products they sell, unlike electrical and electronic goods. However, some brands have introduced take-back schemes to encourage consumers to deposit old clothing in stores, which is then donated to a charity or recycled.

Financial incentives have been used to encourage consumers to take part in this scheme, through discount codes or vouchers, and these have been relatively successful (Parliment, 2019, p. 45).

Boohoo has begun to do this, partnering with the reGAIN, an app that allows users to recycle unwanted clothes in exchange for discounts and vouchers. The digital takeback scheme has been created as an effort to drive the fashion industry towards becoming a more circular economy and will allow anyone with the app to ship their unwanted clothing free of charge from more than 20,000 drop-off points across the UK (Stevens, 2018).

Founder and CEO of regain Jack Ostrowski stated that “we know that we can’t stop people from buying clothes, but we can incentivise them to change their buying habits. Our long-term goal is a world in which clothes never become waste.” The Regain app is providing a modern solution for fast fashion lovers by rewarding sustainable behaviour and is the first step towards transforming the fast fashion industry into a circular economy (Ostrowski, n.d.).

Although Boohoo is a part of this scheme and has been for multiple years, there is a lack of information about this incentive on its website, and the majority of consumers will be unaware of the app. This is something Boohoo must improve upon if it is to strengthen its supply chain and its relationship with customers, being more transparent is the first step to raising awareness of the current issues it faces in becoming more sustainable and ethical.

To encourage more consumers to take part in the scheme, Boohoo should make this a focal point on both its website and social media platforms, to improve the brand image and urge more consumers to recycle their unwanted clothing, as opposed to discarding them and sending more waste to landfill.

To break the cycle of continuously producing throwaway fashion and improve its overall ethics and CSR, Boohoo needs to be innovative and creative in all aspects of its supply chain. many brands are beginning to rethink and evolve their business practices to meet customer expectations.

Sustainability can become a marketing strategy, and as well as meeting customers’ expectations, a sustainable brand image can differentiate Boohoo from other fast-fashion companies, providing a competitive advantage (Franco, et al., 2019, p. 57).

The (Rogers, 1962) Diffusion of Innovation Theory explains how over time, a product or idea gains momentum and expands throughout society. The end result of this innovation diffusion is that this idea is adopted by civilisation and becomes a part of the social system (LaMorte, 2019). One fashion designer in particular who has become an innovator for sustainable fashion is Stella McCartney, whose personal commitment to sustainability has defined her.

The brand’s ethos is to operate as a responsible, honest, and modern company, with sustainability being the foundation of all aspects of its operations. (Radclyffe-Thomas & Varley, 2019). By disrupting the traditional and rigid supply chain, the brand has transformed the way fashion is produced and as a result, gained a reputation for pioneering the change needed within the industry.

If Boohoo wishes to rethink its supply chain to become more ethical and improve its CSR, it should consider becoming an early adopter of some of the practices Stella McCartney has introduced, such as the use of vegan and organic materials, and part-taking in a circular economy.

Historically, fashion diffusion was proposed through hierarchical or horizontal frameworks, such as the trickle-down, trickle-across, or trickle-up theories. These trickle theories demonstrate how fashion moves through society and why trends become popular with certain social groups (Mohr, et al., 2021). The changes luxury brands like Stella McCartney are making have already begun to trickle down to fast-fashion brands (Anon., 2016).

For example, Boohoo has recently introduced a “Ready For The Future” range, which uses 95% recycled polyester and 5% elastane made from plastic, which would have otherwise ended up in landfills (Jahshan, 2021). However, this is still a relatively new collection with limited products being a part of it, therefore Boohoo must continue to add to the range and slowly transition into producing all the clothing from recycled materials.

Be More Transparent with Consumers

Supply chain transparency requires a business to know what is happening in its supply chain and to communicate this knowledge both internally and externally (Bateman & Bonanni, 2019). A business is considered to be transparent when it publishes the names of suppliers, sustainability conditions, and relevant purchasing practices relating to each of them, ensuring this information is easily accessible to the public (Brun, et al., 2020).

Boohoo have already taken the first step in being more transparent by publishing its suppliers on its website, but more needs to be done to make this a real priority of the brand, rather than simply following the trends.

Be More Transparent with Consumers

Transparency within the fashion industry has become more prominent over the past few years, with increased consumer concern about brands’ supply chains and the way they treat workers involved in the production of the clothing. Many companies fear that being too transparent about their supply chain would undermine their competitive advantage or expose them to criticism (Bateman & Bonanni, 2019).

However, it is a great way to empower consumers and build a positive and engaging brand image which can result in greater consumer loyalty. This compensates for the added challenges that come with using a more complex and costly supply chain (Euromonitor, 2018).

Be More Transparent with Consumers

Consumers’ trust can only be regained through open communication and information, and transparency is becoming a fundamental issue within the fashion industry (Brun, et al., 2020). To achieve this Boohoo could join the transparency pledge, which is a commitment made by businesses within the fashion industry to publicly disclose all elements of their supply chains and publish its manufacturing sites (Anon., 2016).

Be More Transparent with Consumers

Competitors of Boohoo, such as ASOS Missguided have already aligned to the pledge, therefore Boohoo should consider doing the same, to not only improve its CSR and relationship with its customers but also remain competitive and not fall behind other businesses in the market.

Be More Transparent with Consumers

The (Fashion Transparency Index, 2021) has driven change by normalising the concept of transparency within the industry and making public disclosure of social and environmental practices the new norm. It measures what brands know and publicly shares about their human rights and environmental impacts across their supply chains.

The final score Boohoo achieved in this report is between 11-20%, meaning there is much more that needs to be done to improve its supply chain and transparency regarding this, as e-commerce rival ASOS scored 4150% (Fashion Transparency Index, 2021).

As a brand, Boohoo has a responsibility for determining the longevity of the clothing it produces. Although the test-and-repeat model Boohoo currently uses is highly successful, its long-term impacts on the planet mean it’s not sustainable long-term.

There are several ways Boohoo can ensure its products are designed to last, such as the physical quality and durability of the materials used, the way the garments are constructed as well as the accuracy of the clothing size and fit (Redress, 2019).

Extending the product lifecycle of half of all UK clothing by just 9 months would decrease the UK’s carbon footprint by 8%, water footprint by 10%, and textile waste footprint by 4%, per tonne of clothing (Redress, 2019).

Therefore, if Boohoo’s customers are fully satisfied with their garments and it fulfils their needs, the purchase of additional garments would no longer be necessary, thus avoiding overconsumption and reducing the number of resources used to produce new items (Redress, 2019).

A circular supply chain model will allow Boohoo to avoid the overbuying stock, wasting materials, or selling products cheaply just to make room for more. Instead, it will allow the brand to sustain a more efficient flow of materials through a circular system, where resources are kept in use for as long as possible (Ballie & Woods, 2018). By adopting this circular approach to its supply chain, it will allow Boohoo to slowly reduce the amount of fabric waste in the production process.