Responsible Supply Management in the Textile and Apparel industry in Italy. A survey on Italian companies sourcing from emerging countries

The study is the first systematic analysis of responsible procurement practices in Italian companies in the textile and apparel industries sourcing from emerging countries. In particular it investigates the factors that drive the implementation of social and environmental policies, therefore including both organizational level and supply relationship characteristics. The analysis is based on separate binary logistic regressions for social and environmental dimensions of responsible procurement and includes a sample of 65 Italian companies across size range and ownership which purchase from overseas suppliers. Most of the supplier relationships are located in countries which have been associated with social and environmental concerns, mainly China and India. The methodology introduces an innovative technique for collecting and measuring responsible procurement and the results highlight interesting differences between social and environmental aspects. While the general engagement of Italian companies is low, support has been found for social responsible procurement model which suggests that corporate engagement can be explained by strategic factors and supply relationship characteristics. On the contrary, organizational aspects do not affect commitment to responsible procurement practices. No significant relationships have been found in the environmental responsible procurement model, suggesting that low importance is attached to this dimension.