Samenvatting

The fast-fashion industry consistently produces fashionable apparel that are sold at relatively low prices. In this dissertation, the social and environmental issues caused by the fast-fashion industry are explored. Moreover, three fast-fashion companies that use the fast-fashion business model are studied on their level of transparency on their environmental performance. The fast-fashion business model is focused on quickly producing and selling fashionable clothes at low prices. The objective of this research is to recommend fast-fashion companies how they can improve their transparency in regards to sustainability performance. It is not possible to research every company, therefore, this research has selected three companies. The companies researched on their level of transparency are H&M, Zara and Forever 21. This dissertation aims to answer the following central research question: How can fast-fashion companies improve their transparency on their sustainability performance?
To answer this research question secondary research was conducted. Desk research was needed to search for models that can help to measure transparency. Upon selecting measurement models, the main research method was selected which was benchmarking fast-fashion companies on their transparency performance. The benchmark was created with the themes Policy and Commitment, Environment, Monitoring & Reporting, Governance and Regulatory Information on Chemical Substances as central themes for measuring transparency. Results from the benchmark showed that the majority of the companies perform well in Policy and Commitment and Monitoring & Reporting. Most companies disclose information on their suppliers, environmental policies and initiatives. Moreover, the benchmark results showed that most companies scored the lowest on Environment, Governance and Regulatory Information on Chemical Substances. Companies fail to disclose sufficient information on the impact its practices have on the environment, how to contact them on sustainability related issues and which measures are taken to reduce chemical substance usage.
Based upon this information, it appeared that finding information was easier for some companies than others. Most companies seem to have established environmental policies and standards. However, research showed that the companies fail to provide insight into their implementation plans. Besides, it seems that although the companies are making efforts to improve their environmental performance, they fail to share any progress of their initiatives. Moreover, research indicates that companies would benefit from disclosing more data on the environmental impact of their practices and revealing the responsible parties within the companies. Overall, research has shown that companies could further improve their level of transparency concerning sustainability performance on all of the established themes.