Development of the sustainability index for the ready-made garments sector in Bangladesh
Abstract
The aim of this research is to develop a simple and easily useable scale to assess sustainable development in the ready-made garments (RMG) sector in Bangladesh. A framework has been proposed where sustainable development dimensions, sub-dimensions (or variables) under dimensions, and items under sub-dimensions, are developed through an extensive literature review. This framework serves as the base for index development in this study. The proposed framework comes in the form of a questionnaire. After receiving satisfactory results from the pilot study, further information was gathered from the Tier 1 RMG factories in Bangladesh using the proposed questionnaire. Excluding the incomplete responses, a total of 238 responses were considered for further analysis. Following this, the collected data were passed through a number of statistical processes including item-total correlation and CFA (Confirmatory Factor Analysis). After rigorous analysis, only 30 items were shown to be model fit according to the proposed second-order sustainability index model. Finally, the results of factor loading showed that dimensions load very well on the proposed framework. Therefore, this study culminated in developing a 30-item valid and reliable sustainability index for three dimensions: economic, environmental, and social, for the Bangladeshi RMG sector.
Keyword : sustainability, index, ready-made garments, Bangladesh, economic dimension, social dimension, environmental dimension
How to Cite
Salam, M. A., & Senasu, K. (2019). Development of the sustainability index for the ready-made garments sector in Bangladesh. Business: Theory and Practice, 20, 329-341. https://doi.org/10.3846/btp.2019.31
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
References
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Tabachnick BG, Fidell LS (2001) Principal components and factor analysis. Using Multivariate Statistics 4: 582-633.
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Yunus M, Yamagata T (2012) The garment industry in Bangladesh. Takahiro Fukunishi (Eds). Dynamics of the garment industry in low-income countries: experience of Asia and Africa. IDE-JETRO, Chiba Japan.
Archel P, Fernández M, Larrinaga C (2008) The organizational and operational boundaries of triple bottom line reporting: A survey. Environmental management 41 (1): 106-117. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00267-007-9029-7
Bansal P (2005) Evolving sustainably: a longitudinal study of corporate sustainable development. Strategic Management Journal 26: 197-218. https://doi.org/10.1002/smj.441
Benn S, Dunphy D, Griffiths A (2014) Organizational change for corporate sustainability. Routledge, London. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315819181
Bentler PM, Chou CP (1987) Practical issues in structural modeling. Sociological Methods Research 16 (1): 78-117. https://doi.org/10.1177/0049124187016001004
Bhuiyan MI (2013) Reasonable wages for workers to eliminate unrest in Bangladesh’s ready-made garments (RMG) sector. BDRC, VA USA. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2271118
Bossel H (1999) Indicators for sustainable development: Theory method and application. IISD, Manitoba Canada.
Boston Consulting Group (BCG) (2009) The business of sustainability: imperatives advantages and actions. The Boston Consulting Group, Boston USA.
Caux Round Table (CRT) (2009) Principles for business http://www.cauxroundtable.org
Daizy, Sen M, Das N (2013) Corporate sustainability reporting: A review of initiatives and trends. The IUP Journal of Accounting Research Audit Practices 12 (2): 7-18.
Deng LF (2010) The city worker mental health scale: a validation study. Psychological and Health-Related Assessment Tools Developed in China (p. 34). https://doi.org/10.2174/978160805186111001010034
Dess GG, Robinson Jr RB (1984) Measuring organizational performance in the absence of objective measures: the case of the privately‐held firm and conglomerate business unit. Strategic Management Journal 5 (3): 265-73.
DIFE (2016) RMG Factories http://database.dife.gov.bd/factories
Docherty P, Forslin J, Shani AB (2002) Creating sustainable work systems: emerging perspectives and practice. Routledge, London. https://doi.org/10.4324/9780203995389
Doering DS, Cassara A, Layke C, Ranganathan J, Revenga C, Tunstall D, Vanasselt W (2002) Tomorrow’s markets: global trends and their implications for business. World Resources Institute, Baltimore.
Elkington J (1998) Cannibals with forks: The triple bottom line of 21st century business. New Society Publishers, Gabriola Island. https://doi.org/10.1002/tqem.3310080106
European Commission (EC) (2011) A renewed EU strategy 2011-14 for corporate social responsibility. European Commission, Brussels, Belgium.
Export Promotion Bureau Bangladesh (EPB) (2013) Export data analysis http://www.epb.gov.bd/exportdataanalysis.php
Field A (2005) Discovering statistics using SPSS (2nd ed). Sage, London UK.
Fletcher K (2008) Sustainable fashion and textiles: design journeys. Earthscan, London.
Global Reporting Initiative (2014) About GRI https://www.globalreporting.org/Information/about-gri/Pages/default.aspx
Goyal P, Rahman Z, Kazmi AA (2013) Corporate sustainability performance and firm performance research: Literature review and future research agenda. Management Decision 51 (2): 361-379. https://doi.org/10.1108/00251741311301867
Holmberg J, Sanbrook R (1992) Sustainable development: what is to be done? In: Holmberg J (Ed) Policies for Small Planet. Earthscan, London UK (p. 19-38).
International Labor Organization (ILO) (2013) Bangladesh: Seeking better employment conditions for better socioeconomic outcomes. International Institute for Labor Studies, Geneva.
ISO (2009) Risk Management – Vocabulary ISO Guide 73:2009. ISO, Geneva.
ISO (2014) Discovering ISO 26000. ISO, Geneva.
Jamali D (2006) Insights into triple bottom line integration from a learning organization perspective. Business Process Management Journal 12 (6): 809-821. https://doi.org/10.1108/14637150610710945
Jimenez-Herrero LM (2000) Sustainable development: Transition towards global evolution. Piramide, Madrid.
Joergens C (2006) Ethical fashion: Myth or future trend? Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management: An International Journal 10 (3): 369. https://doi.org/10.1108/13612020610679321
Labowitz S, Baumann-Pauly D (2015) Beyond the tip of the iceberg: Bangladesh’s forgotten apparel workers. NYU Stern Centre for Business and Human Rights, New York USA. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315735429
Lovins AB, Lovins LH, Hawken P (1999) A road map for natural capitalism. Harvard business review 77: 145-161.
Lozano R (2012) Towards better embedding sustainability into companies’ systems: an analysis of voluntary corporate initiatives. Journal of Cleaner Production 25: 14-26. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jclepro.2011.11.060
Meade AW, Craig SB (2012) Identifying careless responses in survey data. Psychological Methods 17 (3): 437-455. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0028085
Meadows D (1998) Indicators and information system for sustainable development. The Sustainability Institute, Vermont USA.
Melnyk SA, Sroufe RP, Calantone R (2003) Assessing the impact of environmental management systems on corporate and environmental performance. Journal of Operations Management 21: 329-351. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0272-6963(02)00109-2
Mentzer JT, DeWitt W, Keebler JS, Min S, Nix NW, Smith CD, Zacharia ZG (2001) Defining supply chain management. Journal of Business Logistics 22 (2): 1-25. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2158-1592.2001.tb00001.x
Niinimäki K (2010) Eco‐clothing consumer identity and ideology. Sustainable Development 18 (3): 150-162. https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.455
RobecoSAM (2013) Dow jones sustainability world index guide. McGrawHill Financial, Switzerland.
RobecoSAM (2014) Corporate sustainability assessment: Sample questionnaire. RobecoSAM, Zurich.
RobecoSAM (2016) RobecoSAM’s corporate sustainability assessment companion. RobecoSAM, Zurich.
SAC (2015) Introduction to Higg Index 2.0 http://www.apparelcoalition.org/higgindex/
Salam MA, McLean GN (2014) Minimum wage in Bangladesh’s ready-made garment sector: Impact of imbalanced rates on employee and organization development. In HRD: Reflecting upon the Past Shaping the Future. Edinburgh Scotland: UFHRD http://www.ufhrd.co.uk/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/Abdus-Salam.pdf
Salzmann O, Aileen Ionescu-somers, Ulrich S (2005) The business case for corporate sustainability: literature review and research options. European Management Journal 23 (1): 27-36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.emj.2004.12.007
Standard & Poor’s (2006) Global industry classification standards (GICS). New York: Standard & Poor’s.
Tabachnick BG, Fidell LS (2001) Principal components and factor analysis. Using Multivariate Statistics 4: 582-633.
Tibor T, Feldman I (1996) ISO 14000: A Guide to the New Environmental Management Standards Burr Ridge IL: Irwin Professional.
United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development (UNCSD) (2001) Indicators of sustainable development: Guidelines and methodologies. United Nations, Geneva.
Veleva V, Ellenbecker M (2000) A proposal for measuring business sustainability: Addressing shortcomings in existing frameworks. Greener Management International 31: 101-120. https://doi.org/10.9774/GLEAF.3062.2009.au.00010
Whitley R (1992) Societies firms and markets: the social structure of business system. In: Whitely R (Ed) European Business System. Firms and Markets in Their National Contexts. Sage, London, 5-45.World Bank (2014) Bangladesh overview http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/bangladesh/overview
World Bank Group (WBG) (Undated) Sanitation Hygiene and Wastewater Resource Guide http://water.worldbank.org/shw-resource-guide
World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) (1999) Corporate social responsibility: meeting changing expectations. WBCSD, Geneva.
World Commission on Environment and Development (WCED) (1987) Our common future. Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Yoshida H, Takahashi K, Takeda N, Sakai SI (2009) Japan’s waste management policies for dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management 11 (3): 229-243. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10163-008-0235-z
Yunus M, Yamagata T (2012) The garment industry in Bangladesh. Takahiro Fukunishi (Eds). Dynamics of the garment industry in low-income countries: experience of Asia and Africa. IDE-JETRO, Chiba Japan.