To research each company’s mission, values and ethics, and sustainability, begin by Googling the company to find its official web site. For example, if I want to find information on Stella McCartney's company, I search the company name, Stella McCartney. The first hit is www.stellamccartney.com. So far, so good.
To find the information on a company’s mission, values and ethics, look for a link, often either at the top of the page or the very bottom of the page, often labeled "company information" (Gucci, Ralph Lauren) or "corporate" (Versace, open menu>corporate) or "about" (Diane von Furstenberg, world of DVF>about). Sometimes designers' web sites get a little cryptic, and you have to click through the links to find the information. Clicking the link labeled "site map" will show you a list of every page on the web site, or at least the major pages.
Some companies, particularly if they are privately owned, don't put this information on the web. Expect to spend a fair amount of time locating a company that includes both its mission and values, and its position on sustainability.
To find examples of what the company is really doing, look for sections of their websites labeled "news" or "events". To get an outside perspective, Google the company name and sustainability, or a similar work. Then, on the results page, just under the search box, click news. For example, Googling Tory Burch sustainability reveals an interesting article in Fast Company.
Try these search terms:
| sustainability AND fashion |
"triple bottom line" | "social responsibility of business" |
| sustainability AND apparel |
sustainability AND "decision making" |
"social responsibility of business" AND "supply chain" |
| sustainability AND textiles | sustainability AND "clothing industry" | Recombine any of the foregoing terms |
Resources on sustainability for this assignment can be found in the following databases:
