Animal welfare in fashion: a typology of transparent, translucent and opaque supply chains

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to explore the transparency of animal welfare in fashion supply chains. Although a significant body of research has examined environmental and societal issues around sustainability in fashion supply chains, the welfare of animals in fashion supply chains has been largely neglected. Design/methodology/approach Through interviews with NGOs and in-depth fashion company report analysis, a transparency metaphor of clarity, translucency and opacity is evoked by the empirical example of disclosure of animal welfare in fashion supply chains. Findings The findings illuminate the issue of animal welfare in fashion supply chains through non-governmental organisations (NGO) and fashion company illustrations. The findings indicate that whilst some fashion companies are very transparent, others distort or obscure the state of animal welfare in their supply chains, thereby making these translucent or opaque rather than transparent. Practical implications Fashion companies should think beyond relying on supplier audits and compliance to partner with animal welfare stakeholders to better understand the constraints of ensuring animal welfare and transparency. The authors encourage companies to take radical and forward-thinking actions and to evolve a set of industry-wide guiding principles for the replacement of animal-derived materials in their supply chains. Rather than hiding from or antagonizing NGOs, fashion companies are advised to take a proactive approach to stakeholder partnering. The authors urge policymakers to include animal welfare in the mainstream transparency agenda commonly focused on environmental or human-related sustainability. Originality/value This research challenges the theory of supply chain transparency using metaphorical imagination to conceptualize modes of transparency based on the amount of light penetrating glass. A typology of clarity, translucency and opacity of animal welfare in fashion supply chains is proposed. Although this study focuses on animal welfare in fashion, the conceptualizations of types of transparency illustrated by the glass metaphor may be theoretically – but not empirically – extended to other contexts.