Breaking Boundaries Through Design:
Uniting Players Across the Value Chain in the Fashion and Textile Industry
A co-created production playbook is one of three main results for global logistics company Kuehne+Nagel after participating in our Resilient Fashion project. The playbook came to life during several design-driven workshops with a dedicated focus on the value chain in the fashion and textile industry. You can use our toolkit to get your journey started too
A global logistics company, a procurement company, and a designer walked into a bar… – no, wait, a workshop, of course (several, actually)! And magic happened: together, the two companies took steps to create a more circular value chain.
During several workshops in our project, Resilient Fashion, in 2023 and 2024 – which DDC – Danish Design Center run with strategic consultancy In futurum – a global fashion specialist and enthusiast from Kuehne+Nagel, teamed up with a like-minded professional from Imprint Consulting, formerly Sourcing House.
As the official logistics partner of Copenhagen Fashion Week, Kuehne+Nagel’s primary goal is to raise awareness among Danish fashion brands about circular supply chain solutions and promote sustainability in the fashion and textile industry.
Imprint Consulting takes a different position in the value chain, adding another perspective to the conversation.
The heart of Resilient Fashion is to bring together key players across the textile value chain. Collaboration among stakeholders is essential for creating collective, innovative solutions for a circular transition.
Jumpstart your circular transition
Ready to make your business more sustainable? Our Circular Value Chain Toolkit will guide your team in innovating and collaborating towards circularity.
Key methods:
- Exploring the problem space
- (Co)-creating circular solutions
- Making the future concrete
During the workshops, Kuehne+Nagel was able to transform its logistics approach by emphasizing new circular solutions and partnerships within the fashion and textile industry.
Download the Circular Value Chain Toolkit here.
The Results: A playbook for the players
Dorthe Kujawa, Global Tender and Project Manager at Kuehne+Nagel, participated in the project. One of Kujawa’s objectives with the program was to engage with individuals encountering similar challenges in working with sustainability but from varying perspectives.
“Our primary goal in Resilient Fashion is to emphasize the importance of building bridges across industries. It’s on these bridges that people connect most profoundly, coming together to tackle new challenges through collaboration,” she says.
The collaboration between Kuehne+Nagel and Imprint Consulting led to three primary results:
- New insights and enhanced understanding of challenges that companies face throughout the value chain and a new perspective on their role in the fashion and textile industry
- Extended network within the fashion and textile industry with who they can seek advice and share new insights with
- A production playbook for players across the textile value chain, offering guidelines and checklists on sustainability in their production process.
Participants from two companies collaborated to create the production playbook, gathering data and materials to develop a prototype for a circular value chain and test product circulation. The playbook compiles practical insights and will be digitally updated every six months to ensure its relevance.
“We’re continuously tweaking and testing our production playbook with customers to ensure it’s user-friendly and up-to-date,” Kujawa says.
Furthermore, an essential aspect of the production playbook is generating insights into the obstacles to circular transformation and dispelling the misconception that sustainability hurts the business’ competitiveness.
“We need to dispel this myth and engage in open, constructive dialogues about sustainable business practices with our customers that go beyond the traditional freight forwarder role. Resilient Fashion has been pivotal in helping us see our role in a new light. Moreover, the mission of the playbook is to emphasize that integrating sustainability into the business model is essential – it’s simply good business practice,” she explains.
"We're continuously tweaking and testing our production playbook with customers to ensure it's user-friendly and up-to-date"
Dorthe Kujawa
Global Tender and Project Manager, Kuehne+Nagel
The Challenge: A circular shift is a cultural shift
According to Kujawa, the transition of the fashion and textile industry from a linear to a circular industry also requires a cultural shift. Companies must reconsider their fundamental principles, leading to significant changes in their systems, processes, and practices.
She believes that fashion brands need to adopt more sustainable business strategies but are often hesitant to make the necessary changes:
“Cultural shifts in the industry are crucial, and our role is to inspire and educate Danish brands to facilitate transformation.”
Moreover, Kujawa’s experience shows that fashion brands typically reach out for expert advice only after they’ve already experienced roadblocks, highlighting the need for early intervention and proactive consultation to drive sustainable change:
“It’s essential for the brands to integrate logistics into their strategy early on, starting already at the design stage.”
The Solution: Connect and collaborate
Starting your sustainability journey can be overwhelming, and Kujawa has often felt misunderstood and alone in her efforts to make a positive impact. For companies that want to embark on their sustainability journey, she offers the following advice:
“Build networks, find like-minded sustainability-minded souls, talk to people, get inspired, and learn from them. Share your own experiences; other people have been through the same thing you have. You’re never alone, even when you feel like you are.”
"Resilient Fashion has been pivotal in helping us see our role in a new light"
Dorthe Kujawa
Global Tender and Project Manager, Kuehne+Nagel
About Kuehne+Nagel
Kuehne+Nagel is a global logistics company with an office in Denmark that provides innovative supply chain solutions to companies worldwide. With a history of over 130 years, Kuehne+Nagel works to provide innovative supply chain solutions while prioritizing environmental responsibility. Their extensive network and expertise make them a trusted partner for businesses across various industries.
| Founded: | 1890 in Bremen, Germany |
| Employees: | More than 81.000 |
About Resilient Fashion
The fashion industry’s linear ‘produce-to-waste’ system creates a significant environmental impact, accounting for 10 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. Resilient Fashion seeks to address challenges in the textile value chain by questioning norms, applying design methods, and implementing practical solutions for a circular transition.
By uniting critical players across the value chain, we aim to develop practical solutions for circular transition, rethinking systems and business models for a more sustainable future. We run the project in collaboration with the strategic consultancy In futurum.
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