3. Analysis of Nike’s the Supply Chain Majority of the garments found in landfills and incinerators are traditionally designed in a linear, cradle to grave model beginning with resource extraction, production, sales and eventually disposal (Gwilt and Rissanen, 2011). But these are very unsustainable models which impacts various resources, processes and people around the world. There is a requirement to move towards design strategies that not only focus on post purchase concepts of “Reduce, reuse and recycle” but also aim at lower resource utilization, and lower consumption of higher quality and durable goods at pre-manufacturing stage. One such approach could be through applying a cradle to cradle concept, which is a closed loop system inspired from nature. Here, products are classified as either biological components – which turn into food for the biological cycles or technical nutrients - that are absorbed into technical cycles for further production.(Sherratt, 2013) These cycles are illustrated in Figure 4 below and provide a guideline that could be used by Nike.
Figure 4. Cradle to Cradle cycle concept Image Source: (Wautelet, 2018)
Nike’s supply chain spans worldwide due to cost benefits. Majority of the manufacturing is outsourced to suppliers worldwide with most of the raw materials being sourced within the manufacturing host country by independent contractors. Therefore, embracing a robust supply chain management model would ensure standards of sustainability and quality of products are met. Navyasri Parasa – 31401627 Sustainability in Business and Design
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