Implementation of lean production and environmental sustainability in the Indian apparel manufacturing industry: a way to reach the triple bottom line

ABSTRACT

In response to global environmental issues and general business competition, the last few decades have seen a tremendous increase in the awareness of the environmental impact and the usage of production management systems such as lean production (LP). To examine these strategies in the Indian apparel manufacturing industry, this study examines the extent and impact of cost-of-production and waste management practices, as well as barriers in the implementation of LP and environmental sustainability (ES) practices. Research was conducted and a total of 51 respondents working in the Indian apparel manufacturing sector were surveyed. According to the results, there is room for improvement in the implementation of LP and ES practices in the Indian apparel manufacturing sector, which could be achieved by effectively tackling the barriers identified in the research. Common and divergent factors for LP and ES regarding cost of production and waste management were also found in the research.

KEYWORDS:

• Lean production
• apparel manufacturing
• environmental sustainability
• India
• waste management

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.