Profits are a bad thing? Sustainable Development Enterprise Cases

Jackie Lewis, senior consultant at Alvanon, a garment size and fit expert, pointed out: Many companies are still trying to move towards sustainable development. From a business perspective, a motive is needed to stimulate industry change. Here she outlines 5 key steps.

Lewis explained: If you become a business leader today and encounter difficulties: you have to try to balance two things. One is profit. If you don’t make money, you will not be able to make money in the future. Wouldn’t be here. If you have achieved a sustainable business model, you have to make money. If you haven’t initiated sustainability efforts yet, weigh the business risks as well.

So I think we need to be aware that when we look at an industry that is focused on sustainability, there are numerous challenges that arise as companies evolve.

Lewis shared at the recent “Time for Change – Facing Sustainability and Ethical Challenges in the Fashion Industry” seminar hosted by the British Clothing Suppliers Association (ASBCI) Her take, she adds: Basically, if we continue to grow in the industry, sustainability issues will start to hit your business or your company’s bottom line. From a business perspective, a motivational motivation is needed. Businesses are so used to talking about roadmaps and financial KPIs and all that, we need to start changing the language of our communication a little bit.

Just because they are doing the right thing does not necessarily inspire companies to make changes. But if we start telling them now that in the future they will make more money, generate revenue, reduce waste, drive brand recognition and be more competitive, I think more businesses will stand up and listen.

Lewis focuses on “Caring about people and the earth-Where is the profit?” ”, she worries that between now and 2030, the global population is estimated to increase to 8.5 billion, with a population growth rate of 1%. However, clothing consumption is growing at a rate of more than 4%.

As the population grows, clothing consumption will naturally rise. But I think we have to look at the correlation between population growth and consumption, and in that context, we know we’re not executing very well.

A difficult balancing act

Another problem is that generally All claim that the industry’s traditional linear model is no longer viable in the future.

On “Is this the right direction of development?” “In terms of “production and then selling”, it is currently being challenged. Citing statistics from the “Pulse of the Fashion Industry 2017” report co-authored by the Global Fashion Agenda and the Boston Consulting Group, she pointed out that if fashion brands continue to operate in the current way, they may see interest and taxes by 2030 The previous profit margin fell by more than 3 percentage points.

Companies have become accustomed to talking about roadmaps and financial key performance indicators. All measures are actually based on money considerations. We need to start changing our communication language.

In this context, Lewis explained that she has been exploring how to make things simpler, how can we promote it together, and how can we help people move forward?

Does this strike me as really so complicated? Is sustainability just a new buzzword for efficiency?

She mentioned a report commissioned by ING in 2018, which pointed out that the three main reasons for companies to move forward and develop sustainably in the future are “This has nothing to do with legislation.” ”, it’s more about generating revenue and reducing costs.

This is key and perhaps supports where my argument comes from, especially in terms of sustainability and efficiency, which are closely linked and closely related.

We all have to find our own way through this problem. I think that so far I am still working in the industry, responsible for managing teams, leading teams, cultivating talents, and driving processes Improving, improving quality, digitally documenting color, and fabric consolidation plans that integrated quality, price, and profit, all of the above was accomplished, but I felt a complete disconnect.

Then I realized that I have been advocating for sustainable development for almost 30 years. If I define myself as an advocate of sustainable development, perhaps I will make greater progress on the results of sustainable development.

So I think it’s very important to find your sweet spot, and as a business, you have to take that into consideration, because the journey of sustainability for one business is very important for the next one. Businesses will not be the same.

Five pillars of sustainable development

Lewis believes that sustainability There are five major steps to growing your business.

(1) People

She said that “people” must be prioritized. It’s about jobs and securing evidence for the industry’s future. You can’t achieve sustainability without giving your employees the right training and education. Today’s new employees in this industry must receive basic training; but we find that there is a considerable distance from those in the industry, especially regarding sustainable development and digitalization. I will also consider some basic skills. Pay attention to your employees, train them, and enrich their expertise��Skills. The most important fact: If you don’t take care of your employees, it will cost you more.

(2) Transparency

In your sustainable development agenda, be committed to promoting sustainability Growth and transparency are big business, and that’s going to start to become something that consumers care about. Brands like Everlane not only refer consumers to the factories and workers who make the clothes, they also discuss with consumers how much it costs to produce the clothes. This is a completely different level of transparency than we know today.

(3) Community

Lewis said: The United Nations announced this year that we will start from the industry’s revenue We allocate less than 0.2% of our operating income back to the communities where we operate. I believe we can afford more.

(4) Efficiency

Lewis said: Efficiency is very important to me and pointed out that, If businesses are not operating as efficiently as possible, they are simply burning money. This matter is important. I think it’s pretty obvious, isn’t it? .

(5) Privacy

Lewis warns: This is a rising star. We must respect consumer privacy. Although we can obtain their personal data, we must respect it and not abuse it.

Where do we start?

Lewis said: Start from scratch. I know this sounds arrogant, but your designers and product developers hold the key. At this stage, the products you produce are defined to have up to 80% environmental impact. This is really important. Let’s get started right away. Equip employees with the right skills to understand sustainability and get started immediately.

Five key messages about pillars

First, do your designers have the skills? Do they understand the meaning of sustainability? Because this is the starting point.

Second, who made the dress? If you don’t know, you need to find out because consumers are going to start asking this question.

Third, what percentage of your income do you give back? 0.2%, or more? Or none? .

The fourth is the sample. Samples, samples and samples. 60% of all women’s collections developed do not even have their first cut. All the time wasted and sampling, your team may have touched each sample and each style sold four or five times before the consumer even gets the product. Let’s not blame the consumer. Let’s first understand what we do. This is what you need to start thinking about in your business if you will bring profit, efficiency and sustainability.

Finally: Have we learned anything from Facebook’s long-form stories? Respect consumers. Knowing their personal information is personal information. Does anyone in your organization think this is important? Because you need someone to take care of you.

Her conclusion: We need to rebuild the house, think about the foundations, and build it with the craftsmanship of the past, so that it can serve those who want to work in the industry in the future , to help them grasp the future of this industry. To me, this is sustainability.

AAA fabric network JYUIYFHGE

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