Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
The Need for a More Radical
Apprehension of the Transition
pressure in the future, but there is little visibility
on this part, and is probably refrained by an over-
estimated concern of competitiveness erosion.
If companies have effectively endorsed some
eco-efficiency strategies at the corporate level, ac-
tions undertaken to impact the whole value-chain
only start to be initiated but no radical transforma-
tion has happened so far. Actions on supplier were
initiated through the requirements of eco-friendly
materials, and also through the diffusion of the pro-
cess of certification and logistics rationalisation.
However, a holistic approach through eco-design
to reorganise the whole value-chain is only at its
very early stage. These practices are likely to be
restricted, so far they apply to a small share of
products (e.g. Quiksilver is developing a specific
snow collection).
Hence, the industry environmental strategies
are mainly restricted to a very narrow part of the
product life-cycle impacts. Product lines managers
are locked into antagonist requirements: incorpo-
rating a larger amount of eco-friendly materials
in products that reduce the margin whereas they
need to achieve high level of profitability. The
fact that the market did not respond positively to
the eco-friendly products enlightens difficulties
to generalise these practices without a profound
reconfiguration of value creation among compa-
nies' leaders and shareholders.
The environmental reintegration in this in-
dustry seems to proceed smoothly, affixed on a
traditional conception of the industry business.
Whereas these strategies have not paid in the given
configuration, no rupture is seriously envisaged
by the industry to establish a more eco-friendly
model. As a matter of fact, these companies do
not envision themselves as natural first-movers on
environmental issues, whereas they are probably
in the best position to seize an advantage among
the textile industry, providing their close relation-
ship to nature. As a result of little receptivity of
the market, limited regulatory pressure, restricted
involvement on the supply chain reconfiguration
Environment is structural to the outdoor sports-
wear business, but there is still a loose link be-
tween the impacts of the industry on environment
and the need for environmental protection, that
is tributary to the industry evolution. Customers
have taken some distance with the original popula-
tion targeted by the outdoor sportswear industries
and with the values they initially conveyed. A
very structural feature of Quiksilver and Ripcurl
buyers lies in the fact they are torn between their
fascination for outdoor attitude and a strong ap-
peal for hedonism. As a result, their consumption
choices are little influenced by any predisposition
for environmental benefits. As a consequence,
buyers do not yet constitute a driver to move the
industry towards a reconfiguration of this business.
This illustrates the role that outdoor sportswear
companies can play in consumer's education,
and to this respect, they have actively started to
promote messages for responsible consumption or
work closely with associations on these topics. So
important the educational lever could be, it seems
limited to provide a short-termsolution to impact
consumptions patterns to reshape new markets for
the outdoor sportswear industry.
In this case, are the regulatory incentives more
likely to accelerate the transition to a low carbon
economy in the outdoor sportswear industry?
These industries are however little impacted by
direct regulation that would aim to transform their
production patterns, excepted for the REACH
directive
8
at the European level, and in France,
with the “Grenelle de l'environnement” (France's
Environment Round Table
9
). In 2011, it will be
indeed compulsory to inform consumers on the
environmental impacts linked to the purchase of
a product. This regulation will however have no
considerable impact on the way to conceive the
supply chain and reduce the impacts of the prod-
ucts, as it is only a labelling obligation. Tougher
