Leading fashion retailers discussed the importance of transparent supply chains at the 22nd India Fashion Forum in Bengaluru
Bengaluru: Supply chain transparency is critical to making it an industry norm. Consumers are worried about product quality, safety, ethics, and environmental impact and transparent supply chains can inspire more loyalty in consumer towards brands, business leaders said in a panel discussion titled ‘Brands with Purpose: Time to Walk the Talk’ on the second day of India Fashion Forum 2023.
Speaking about the significance of transparency in the supply chain Puneet Dudeja, director-business development, South Asia of trend-forecasting company WGSN said, “After 10 years, the driving force behind making a purchase decision will be Gen-Zs and Gen Alpha. The consumers from the future need transparency from brands and are thirsty to know about the environmental costs.”
Speaking about where brands can start their journey of transparency, Musan Bhakthul, director-marketing and communication, Industree Foundation and MotherEarth said, “First mind-shift a brand needs is that consumers are more conscious and hoping to know who made these products, whether they are getting paid fairly, whether these are ethically made whether the supply chain is sustainable and transparent”.
Transparency about supply chains is closely linked with sustainability as consumers are more conscious about buying responsibly sourced products. Many brands have now embarked on the path to being more sustainable along with being transparent. Dr. Naresh Tyagi, chief sustainability officer, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. (ABFRL) explained the vision behind ABFRL’s sustainability journey. In 2013, ABFRL launched a programme ‘ReEarth – For Our Tomorrow’.
“ReEarth was started with 10 missions such as carbon, energy, water, product, packaging, etc. in mind and with these missions we have gone through more responsibility and accountability and witnessed an increased KPIs and metrics year over year,” Tyagi said.
“Currently, we are working with many eco-conscious companies and are the first garment industrial manufacturing company to get True Zero Waste certification. Moreover, all our factories are Green Building certified (by U.S. Green Building Council),” he added.
The panelists included Dr. Naresh Tyagi, chief sustainability officer, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd; Bhavishya Dave, co-founder of Capsul; Shyam Patnaik, joint president – global head specialty business, Grasim Industries, Pulp&Fibre; Musan Bhakthul, director-marketing and communication, Industree Foundation and MotherEarth; Prasansha Saha, vice president of design, ReshaMandi; Puneet Dudeja, director-business development, South Asia, WGSN. The session was moderated by Devyani Hari, director of Centre for Responsible Business.
