Case Study: Exploratory Assessment of Sustainability Capability of Textile and Apparel Corporations in China

Sustainability capability

The above results were used to assess the sustainability capability of Chinese T&A companies in the sample according to the MRCS framework. Each corporation was classified in one of the categories and the total number of corporations in each category is shown in Fig. 2.

Fig. 2

The number of Chinese T&A corporations in each category of sustainability capability in MRCS framework. The number in parentheses is the number and percentage of corporations. The results emerged from the study data

Among the 66 "perfect duty" corporations, 23 expressed clear goals in all four emerged sustainability areas in the reports, and 19 of them clearly illustrated their structures to achieve all these goals. These 19 were categorized as truly sustainable corporations. They account for 28.8% of 66 "perfect duty" corporations and 22.1% of 86 T&A companies in the sample. The 4 remaining companies in the 23 with clear sustainability goals in all four areas were categorized as occasionally unsustainable corporations due to providing no clear structures to achieve all these goals. These 4 firms comprise 6.0% of "perfect duty" companies, and 4.7% of the entire sample. Notably, 43 companies appeared as occasionally sustainable corporations in that, despite their expressed views on sustainability as a perfect duty, they did not show clear goals toward it. These 43 companies account for 65.2% of "perfect duty" companies and 50.0% of the entire sample. In addition, 11 corporations expressed sustainability as an imperfect duty. All of them presented themselves as consistently sustainable corporations in selective areas because they showed clear goals and structures in some sustainability areas, representing 12.8% of all 86 companies. The 9 companies that did not express their moral perceptions toward sustainability were left uncategorized. Overall, the results indeed showed a spectrum of sustainability capability, depending on the companies' views on sustainability from the moral responsibility perspective, and the presence of clear goals and structures.