Examining the structure of the fashion industry in Ghana in ensuring the successful adoption of sustainable approach

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Published: Aug 31, 2023
DOI: https://doi.org/10.22515/sustinere.jes.v7i2.304
Keywords:
Fashion Industry, Structure, Production Practices, Sustainability, Sustainable Strategies

Issue
Vol. 7 No. 2 (2023): pp 91-175 (August 2023)

Main Article Content

Akosua Mawuse Amankwah
Dept. of Industrial Art, Faculty of Art. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana
Edward Appiah
Dept. Communication Design, Faculty of Art. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana
Charles Frimpong
Dept. of Industrial Art, Faculty of Art. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana
Anthony Kent
School of Art & Design, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham United Kingdom

Abstract

The structure of the fashion industry in various geographical regions, along with its production history and practices, plays a pivotal role in shaping the adoption and implementation of sustainable strategies. This study examines the fashion industry’s structure in Ghana as a fundamental step in considering the adoption and implementation of sustainable strategies. To facilitate the selection of respondents for this preliminary study, we employed a Google survey, utilizing a snowball technique to identify participations in the two major cities in Ghana. The survey specifically targeted fashion producers operating within the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with retail outlets. Collected data from Google Forms were collated with Microsoft Excel and subsequently analyzed. The findings unveiled that young businesses often operate as sole proprietorship, with their founders serving as lead designers, primarily selling directly to end users. While previous studies have documented similar findings, this study connects these observations to the adoption of sustainable strategies in businesses where where owners, who also serve as creative heads, make significant decisions that can influence the practice of sustainable strategies. Furthermore, the study highlights that sustainability and sustainable practices are relatively new to SMEs in Ghana. It recommends further research to gauge the awareness and willingness to adopt circular strategies, given the industry towards industrialization.

Article Details

How to Cite
Amankwah, A. M., Appiah, E., Frimpong, C., & Kent, A. . (2023). Examining the structure of the fashion industry in Ghana in ensuring the successful adoption of sustainable approach. Sustinere: Journal of Environment and Sustainability, 7(2), 161–175. https://doi.org/10.22515/sustinere.jes.v7i2.304
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This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

Author Biographies

Edward Appiah, Dept. Communication Design, Faculty of Art. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana

Coming from Design background, Edward Appiah had his doctorate degree in Cape Peninsula University of Technology, Cape Town (South Africa), with a research in Technology in Education. He headed the Department of Communication Design, KNUST for four years; later as the Coordinator, Research and Postgraduate Studies in the department; Vice Dean, Faculty of Art, KNUST; currently the Africa Regional Coordinator for Design for Social Innovation and Sustainability  (DESIS) a network of design labs, based in design and design-oriented universities, involved in transforming education through design minds and design-oriented activities and also the Director-General, National Council for Curriculum and Assessment; a member of the Ghana Education Service Council and Board Member, National Teacher Council.

Charles Frimpong, Dept. of Industrial Art, Faculty of Art. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Ghana

Charles Frimpong is an Associate Professor in Textiles at the Department of Industrial Art of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology where he has taught for over 20years. His research interest and publications cover advances in Industrial Textile Production Methods, Indigenous Textiles and Fashion. In 2014, he was awarded the ITAA Janet Else Visiting Scholar Award in Charlotte, North Carolina for his dedication and excellence in the teaching and training of students in the area of Textiles and Fashion

Anthony Kent, School of Art & Design, Nottingham Trent University, Nottingham United Kingdom

Professor Kent holds a degree in Modern History from Oxford University, an MBA, and PhD from the University of the Arts London. He joined Nottingham Trent University in 2013 as Professor of Fashion Marketing. His current research interests are in the convergence between digital and physical environments with a focus on fashion retailing and his second area of interest is in sustainable fashion.

Professor Kent has delivered academic papers at a wide range of conferences including Fashion Colloquia, Design Management International, EURAM and the British Academy of Management. He is Chair of the Research Committee of the International Foundation for Fashion Technology Institutions. His most recent publication is “Understanding Personalisation†with Tom Fisher and Iryna Kuksa,  published by Elsevier in 2022.

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