Conclusion

Sustainability is projected to drive an ongoing trend of green supply chains, with particular focus on the value-recovery processes of RL/CLSC, therefore adopting more eco-centric approaches to fashion is important.

Upon looking at the combination of dynamics addressed within the report, effective RL/CLSC arguably begins with the initial design and garment manufacture. Garments designed for disassembly or using monofilament technologies will be more easily processed within RL/CLSC systems. Therefore, ongoing communications across the whole supply chain network need to take place.

Limited research on small fashion retailers suggests that they are currently less economically attractive players within RL/CLSC, as volumes-sales orientated business models still dominate the fashion industry. Although often offering more sustainable, slow fashion services, financial and infrastructural restraints in the UK consistently prove to be the biggest hindrance preventing smaller retailers from implementing RL/CLSC. Encouraging government and industry incentives to implement RL/CLSC could bring more accessible systems within the capabilities of small UK retailers.

Internal industry competition to evolve fashion towards sustainability sees RL/CLSC strategies as competitive responses in addressing the issue within fashion supply chain management and logistics.

To drive sustainability into supply chains (Cernansky,2019:online), prioritising investments over profits as a short-term strategy, could advance technologies, infrastructures and collaborative systems, required to help formulate a network of smaller fashion retailers whom can share capacities to implement RL/CLSC and achieve a combined goal of increased sustainability and reduced post-consumer waste within fashion.

Although mounting environmental concerns, consumer pressures and CSR factors (Sood, 2017:online) will drive adoption of RL/CLSC practices as a part of eventually commercialised operation, further research specifically on smaller fashion retailers, is needed to truly understand the extent as to which RL/CLSC can make their operations substantially more sustainable.