Sustainability and Social Responsibility

Transparency of Sustainability Disclosures among Luxury and Mass-market Fashion Brands: Longitudinal Approach

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Abstract

Longitudinal analysis of transparency among fashion brands is the first scholarly effort to investigate sustainability disclosures among the sample of 90 major brands over the period of six years (2017-2022). To overcome the limitations of the verifiability approach, which assumes transparency as a static disclosure, six consecutive public FashionTransparency Index (FTI) datasets were explored (Fashion Revolution, 2022). We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to account for the longitudinal nature of the data. The progress towards greater transparency among explored fashion brands is evident. The amount of disclosed information across explored areas significantly increased prior to the COVID-19 years, while the progress has been slower since then. Mass-market brands achieved higher transparency of supply chain disclosures. However, the median score for mass-market brands has not increased since 2019, while luxury brands have continued to improve transparency, especially in supply audits and negative impact reporting areas –hence the gap between both groups is narrowing. 

 

Keywords: Transparency, Sustainability Disclosures, Luxury, Mass-Market, Brands

How to Cite:

Jestratijevic, I. M., Uanhoro, J. O. & Islam Rana, M., (2024) “Transparency of Sustainability Disclosures among Luxury and Mass-market Fashion Brands: Longitudinal Approach”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 80(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.17160