De Gruyter Handbook of Fashion Supply Chains and Operations

The topic of fashion supply chains and operations is dynamic and contemporary. It is a rapidly growing field of research that inspires new debates, opinions and approaches. In consequence, a handbook that synthesizes, challenges and moves forward current discourses is essential in advancing knowledge and understanding of this crucial area of research and practice. Unlike other collections, the handbook goes beyond existing works that are situated solely in the operations and supply chain domain by drawing on an international inter-disciplinary authorship. In doing so, it curates a state-of-the-art collection of important contributions that provides direction to scholars and graduate students in both teaching and research. Fashion supply chains and operations is an area of research and practice that has long inspired debate, being a critical business function responsible for getting products to consumers but often related to the challenges of sustainability, globalization, configuration and ethics. This handbook offers leading research findings that contribute to these debates and furthers the research agenda.

Chapters feature conceptual and empirical debates on contemporary topics and pressing global challenges across fast, slow, and luxury fashion supply chains, from regenerative agriculture to post-consumer textile waste management. Focal areas include the use of technologies such as blockchain and artificial intelligence for supply chain transparency, efficiency and resilience, as well as relational capital and the lived experiences of workers in the supply chain. Perspectives relating to consumer behaviour, branding, entrepreneurship, collaboration, trend forecasting and product development are also discussed to offer important insights into how fashion supply chains are, and could be, operationalized. Critical debates around social and environmental sustainability, and crucial topics including modern slavery, circularity, policy and ethics, form the cornerstone of the handbook’s inter-disciplinary dialogue. The handbook offers an ambitious and stimulating range of chapters that include the works of leading international scholars, drawing on diverse expertise and perspectives across different global contexts.

• International and inter-disciplinary authorship
• Provides a comprehensive and holistic view of fashion supply chains and operations
• Covers timely topics, making them relevant and engaging for readers seeking up-to-date insights

Claire Hannibal (née Moxham) is Professor of Operations Management and Associate Dean Research and Knowledge Exchange at Robert Gordon University.

Claire’s overarching research focus is on process improvement in organisations and supply chains. Current research projects are focused on triple bottom line sustainability, textile supply chains and the role of labelling in assuring the social sustainability of multi-tier supply chains. Recent projects have examined humanitarian logics and strategies for implementing information sharing to manage supply chain risk.

Claire has published widely on the topic of operations and supply chain process improvement and her research features in the International Journal of Production Economics, International Journal of Operations and Production Management, Supply Chain Management: An International Journal and Journal of Business Research. In 2022 she won the Professor Ian Beardwell Prize awarded by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development for the best applied research paper, and the David Lepak Award from the International Journal of Human Resource Management

Prior to joining Robert Gordon University she has held Faculty positions at Liverpool John Moores University, Manchester Metropolitan University, University of Wolverhampton, University of Liverpool, University of Bradford and University of Manchester. Prior to joining academia in 2003, Claire worked for 3 years in Ethiopia with Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO) and has held managerial positions in manufacturing, textile processing and retail.

Dr Patsy Perry is a Reader in Fashion Marketing at Manchester Metropolitan University, UK. She holds a PhD in Corporate Social Responsibility in fashion supply chains from Heriot-Watt University, UK. She has published highly cited papers on fashion supply chains, sustainability, and luxury marketing in leading academic journals and contributed to textbooks. She is an Associate Editor for the Journal of Fashion Marketing and Management. Her expertise on fashion sustainability and supply chains has been featured widely in the national print and broadcast media as well as internationally, including BBC TV and radio, Sky News, The Independent, The Guardian, The Observer, The Telegraph, Financial Times, Thomson Reuters, South China Morning Post, PBS, CNN, CTGN, Vogue Business, Drapers, Harpers Bazaar, National Geographic. She is a Fellow of the Higher Education Academy and has been invited to teach internationally in China, Italy, Sweden, Croatia, The Netherlands, and the United Arab Emirates. She has also been invited as panel speaker at industry events and keynote speaker at academic conferences.

Amy Benstead is a Senior Lecturer in Fashion Management at The University of Manchester. She holds a PhD in Management Science from Lancaster University. Her research advances justice, transparency, and sustainability in global supply chains, with a particular focus on modern slavery and worker rights. Her work is published in leading academic journals, and she has served on the board of the European Operations Management Association (EurOMA). Drawing on a successful career in international sourcing, Amy brings real-world insight to her academic work, informing policy, shaping industry standards, and driving meaningful change across the fashion industry.