Better Cotton Initiative at IKEA: Bringing Sustainability into the Textile Supply Chain

Abstract

The case is about Sweden-based furniture retail giant IKEA’s Better Cotton Initiative to bring sustainability into the cotton supply chain. The case discusses the factors that led to IKEA's active participation in social and environmental conservation and children’s welfare. The case also examines in detail IKEA's journey into becoming an environmentally responsible company. The case highlights the initiatives the company took to ensure improvements in cotton cultivation so as to produce more economically, environmentally, and socially sustainable cotton. It ends with a discussion on whether IKEA will be able to mainstream Better Cotton as a new market commodity.

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Issues

The case is structured to achieve the following teaching objectives:

• Understand a company's responsibility toward the community and the environment in which it operates
• Understand the issues and challenges related to the cotton supply chain and how companies like IKEA are trying to overcome these challenges
• Understand how environmentally friendly practices can contribute to enhancing the company's corporate image
• Study how IKEA went about implementing its Better Cotton Initiative across its supply chain
• Analyze the challenges IKEA could face while trying to mainstream Better Cotton as a new market commodity

Keywords

Sustainability; Supply chain management; Sustainable supply chain; Ethical supply chain; Textile supply chain; Cotton supply chain; Business ethics; The Natural Step Framework; Environmental policy; IKEA Sustainability Product Scorecard; IWAY; The e-Wheel method; Better Cotton Initiative; IKEA

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