Samantha Gonzalez

ENC1102

Kayla Cheung

30 March 2024

Annotated Bibliography

Bhardwaj, Vertica, and Ann Fairhurst. “Fast fashion: Response to changes in the fashion

industry.” The International Review of Retail, Distribution and Consumer Research, vol. 20, no.

1, Feb. 2010, pp. 165–173, https://doi.org/10.1080/09593960903498300.

This article concerns the shift from basic more utilitarian clothing manufacturing in the

United States to a fashion-based manufacturing system. According to the journal, this shift began

in the 1980’s, albeit on a smaller scale than the fashion oriented economy of today. The idea of

machinery only being able to manufacture particular types of clothing and being built for the sole

purpose of creating, for example, Levi’s 501 Jeans or plain men’s cut white shirts was

commonplace. These machines had been in use for decades and saw minimal strife until the

increased import of more non-standardized fashion garments.

For my research, it is essential to get to the basis of why machinery in clothing

manufacturing had to change to fit the demands of the American consumer. This source is one of

the few which provides a logical and historical basis for why the shift occurred. Cost efficiency

for manufacturing was thrown out in the 1980s-1990s in search of simply selling more items and

changing the way that seasons dictated fashion. The real beginning of fast fashion trends begins
during this time period as large retailers began focusing more on responsiveness to trends

through any means necessary than continuing to make standard garments.

Şen, Alper. “The US Fashion Industry: A supply chain review.” International Journal of

Production Economics, vol. 114, no. 2, Aug. 2008, pp. 571–593,

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijpe.2007.05.022.

Sen’s article focuses on supply chain management in the clothing industry, particularly

that which is inadequate for current supply and demand. It breaks down the manufacturing

process into steps also including the labor divisions within the industry. The article divulges how

the clothing manufacturing industry has ignored efficient supply chain management (SCM) in

search of simply producing as quickly as possible. Sen seeks to break down the issues within

supply chains in the aforementioned industry to produce research that people within the industry

or who are interested in studying it may use to better the field.

For my research this article is instrumental in informing me of how to consider the

machinery used in clothing manufacturing as part of a greater supply chain not individual pieces.

It is important as well in creating a network of systems in which clothing is manufactured, also

giving me more background on the retail market which is the driving force of a changing fashion

industry. Sen’s article creates a more profound image of how fast fashion works in terms of how

trends are spread in a manufacturing sense among buyers and manufacturers then followed by

systems used to transport the products internationally. Additionally, the article includes clothing

manufacturing behaviors internationally which is beneficial to understanding it on a domestic

scale as many processes are outsourced by American companies in search of lower labor and

material costs.

Severin, Giorgia. “Non-Financial Performance Measurement in the Fashion Industry: Opening

up the Reports.” DSpace Home, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, 9 Nov. 2020,

dspace.unive.it/handle/10579/18066.

Severin’s article is a study of sustainability in the clothing industry in Italy as it pertains

to manufacturing, marketing, and consumer behaviors. The spread of supply chain steps across

continents has diluted raw material and manufacturing quality due to the differing standards

across different places. Skilled labor still keeps a presence in the clothing industry but is

underused by everyday corporations due to costs. Severin seeks to implore the Italian

government to disclose more non-financial information on fashion companies which use Italy as

a step in the supply chain as well as Italian clothing retailers.

Despite my research taking America into the center of discussion I find it important to

explore the manufacturing standards and practices of other countries in my research as many

American corporations outsource things such as raw material production to Italy and other

European countries with similar standards, then send the raw materials to less developed

countries to make up for materials costs with low labor costs. Sustainability is also important to

mention as a background concept in my research as it is not the focus of my research paper but it

is one of the consequences of adopting a fast fashion business model. Reading this article was

helpful in understanding the international perception of sustainability in fashion and especially

greenwashing, which is the manipulation of statements and statistics to make a corporation seem

more environmentally friendly than in actuality.

Abdulgadir, Adil, and Imad Abdulgadir. "Strategic Proposals for Sustainable Supply Chains in

the Fast Fashion Industry: Exploring ways to incorporate concepts and methods to confront the

damaging effects of the industry." (2020).

This article provides insight into the industrial engineering background required to

successfully conduct a sustainable fashion supply chain using engineering vocabulary. This

source serves as a foundation of engineering knowledge that I experience throughout the classes

I’ve taken for my degree but focuses more closely on technology used uniquely within the

fashion industry while including business logistics such as the economic impact of fast fashion

on both highly and lowly socioeconomically developed nations. All the aforementioned data is

needed to make a conclusion on how slow fashion should be integrated back into the global

supply chain. The authors take a multifaceted approach to fixing the current gaps within the fast

fashion industry by citing poor work conditions and consumer behaviors.

My research is aided by this source as it takes the entire global supply chain into account,

including more fine data such as a breakdown of the approximately 52 fashion seasons assumed

by fast fashion businesses such as Fashion Nova as opposed to taking a nonspecific approach and

simply mentioning that fast fashion is bad due to its environmental consequences. Reading this

thesis was helpful for making me understand better the dynamic between consumer behavior and

the industrial engineering behind the fast fashion industry as the two are not mutually exclusive

but revolve around each other. I was surprised at the few mentions of materials processes,
however, it has become apparent that the materials used in fast fashion are not the largest

problem rather the quantity being produced.

Eddy, Elizabeth. "Fast fashion: Adjusting Nike's future in the apparel industry." (2022).

Eddy establishes the importance of understanding greenwashing within this thesis with

Nike being the focus of the research. As an international fashion conglomerate, Nike has a large

role in the global trend predictions when it comes to activewear and footwear as a whole through

their collaborations with sports figures and other lifestyle creators. Greenwashing is an important

consequence of an increasingly environmentally conscious consumer combined with widespread

overconsumption. Consumers can not seem to understand that the two feed into each other as

greenwashing creates a false sense of environmental and social consciousness in consumers with

false advertising such as the mention of “recycled” fibers used in garments. Nike, for instance,

hides behind social awareness while mistreating workers in less socioeconomically developed

nations. The thesis is comprehensive in its understanding of the social conditions under which

fast fashion has been allowed to thrive, citing the age range for most of the customers of fast

fashion websites and in-person stores as preferring to have a large variety of cheap clothes rather

than investing in less pieces, sacrificing quality for quantity and variety.

Rathore, Bharati. "Beyond Trends: Shaping the Future of Fashion Marketing with AI,

Sustainability and Machine Learning." Eduzone: International Peer Reviewed/Refereed

Multidisciplinary Journal 6.2 (2017): 16-24.

 In this article Rathore explores the possibilities of machine learning for the future of

sustainable fashion while also taking into account the issues associated with incorporating

artificial intelligence (AI) into traditionally human-run industries. AI can be used as a marketing

tool meant for the proliferation and creation of trends via the internet then in turn used in highly

developed data analytics for fashion companies to use as a means of heightening income.

Rathore explores the ethical issues within using these processes within the fashion industry as the

dangers of optimizing marketing within fast fashion exacerbate the issues of the industry in terms

of environmental consequences and consumer behaviors.

Supply chain transparency and eco-friendly materials are two fashion industry buzzwords

misused by brands to make themselves appear sustainable for younger consumers with increased

environmental consciousness. Most of these decisions are business-related as companies seek to

better or continue to have a decent reputation among consumers. This may involve running

campaigns centered around being “fair-trade” or including environment-focused rhetoric in their

physical products like through tagging. After reading this article I can identify more brands that

use this marketing as a means of increasing consumer interactions and brand loyalty; some

examples would be Aritzia, Garage, and Revolve.