Aspects of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM): conceptual framework and empirical example

Purpose – The objective of this paper is to describe and illustrate aspects of sustainable supply chain management (SSCM).Design/methodology/approach – The terms of first‐, second‐ and n‐order supply chains are introduced. A first‐order supply chain denotes that a substantial part of it is based on the use of non‐renewable and non‐recycled resources, while the following n‐order ones (e.g. second‐order) are based on a larger share of renewable and/or recycled resources. The conceptual discussion goes across industries, but the empirical example is limited to the clothing industry.Findings – One aspect addressed is that first‐order supply chains of brand new clothing go beyond the traditional point of consumption. Another aspect raised is that second‐ and n‐order supply chains should be considered in business practices from the point of origin in the first‐order supply chains in order to enhance corporate efforts of SSCM.Research limitations/implications – The dilemma with most of the current research and l...