Ιn the present report, which is the second interim deliverable of the EcoFashionEU project, Best Practices in business models of fashion SMEs are recorded, following the first interim deliverable of the project, which referred to the challenges and other issues faced by SMEs in the textile and fashion sector related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) and Sustainability.
The report focuses mainly on the clothing sub-sector, but it was considered appropriate to present Best practices from other fashion related sub-sectors such as footwear and fashion accessories, as these sub-sectors also make use of textile products, while Best practices were also recorded for enterprises operating simultaneously in two or more fashion sub-sectors (clothing/shoes, clothing/accessories, footwear/accessories).
The methodological tools used to evaluate each practice and record it as a Best Practice that strategically integrates the principles of Corporate Social Responsibility, Responsible Entrepreneurship and Sustainable Development in the operation and daily life of the specific enterprise are:
● Criteria selection, based on specific characteristics in terms of ESG issues of the practices applied – By ESG issues are defined according to the first letter of the words Environment, Social and Governance
● Field research among the enterprises of the fashion industry, participating in the EcoFashioEU project to identify and record Best Practices that they are already implementing. ● Stakeholders’ consultation meetings, which took place with the initiative of the Athens Chamber of Small and Medium Sized Industries (ACSMI), in its role as lead partner of the project, to record the material issues that these stakeholders consider as important. ● Desk research, to identify and record Best practices of fashion businesses for the operating models they apply, adequately covering the various sustainability issues of fashion businesses and based on the above-mentioned characteristics and criteria for the evaluation of Best Practices
● Analysis, assessment, and prioritisation of material issues for the industry and its stakeholders in relation to both the above-mentioned characteristics and criteria for the evaluation of Best Practices.
Subsequently a presentation and summary description of the case-by-case Best Practices is made in relation to one or more of their specific characteristics (see Table 1) in terms of their coverage of one or more of the ESG issues identified and leading to their assessment as Best Practices (see Table 2 for a correlation of enterprises with the characteristics of the criteria in Table 1).
The 12 ESG characteristics of criteria for Best practices were categorised into two broad categories, one for those that refer or are related and/or relevant to the external environment of the enterprise and a second for those that refer or are related and/or relevant to the internal environment of the enterprise. The ESG characteristics of the Best Practices criteria will contribute to the development of an advisory framework for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the fashion industry and a Guide for SMEs, as foreseen in the Task 2.3 of the EcoFashion Project.
A first step for the development of this Guide will be the creation of a simpler ETHOS tool (The Ethos fashion tool) particularly adapted both to the fashion sector and the size of these companies since they are micro or small enterprises.
The use of the Guide and the Ethos Fashion tool will give to every fashion company the possibility for a self-assessment on all sustainability aspects regarding its operations vis-à-vis both its external and internal environment.