It is common knowledge that the textile and clothing industry has a sustainability problem and is in need of new approaches to solve it. It is equally well-known that consumers and consumer behaviour are crucial to the prospects of success for a sustainable approach. But how important is the individual employee in this process, and what part can staff play? And what action might be needed as a result? An empirical analysis of more than 100 international clothing companies sheds some light on this.

For three and a half years Marcus Adam has been intensively researching and working on his dissertation titled “Product-Service Systems (PSS) in the fashion industry – An analysis of intra-organizational factors”. In cooperation with the University of Ulm, the economist Adam has dealt with the sustainable transformation of the textile and clothing industry and with possible solutions for the reduction of the ecological footprint from a business management point of view.

Marcus Adam is a lecturer and researcher at the Faculty of Textiles and Design at Reutlingen University of Applied Sciences. His research deals with the topics of sustainability, innovation and entrepreneurship in the clothing industry. For his doctoral thesis, he analysed data from over 100 small, medium-sized and large clothing companies from a range of sectors and countries.

Marcus Adam would welcome enquiries and discussions – contact marcus.adam@reutlingen-university.de.

Read more in our print edition textile network 7-8/2019.