ABSTRACT
This paper challenges one of the vital building blocks in the business model canvas, i.e. the ‘key resources’ that fashion enterprises need to be able to create value. Incumbent enterprises in the fashion industry tend to become more sustainable. In this movement towards sustainability, an important factor is the influence of pioneers in sustainable entrepreneurship. These pioneers are enterprises that have introduced sustainability in a way the market has not seen before. The text is inspired by Hockerts and Wüstenhagen (2010). They discuss the influence of small, sustainable start-ups on market incumbents; a process of co-evolution is emphasised. Hockerts and Wüstenhagen’s model is a theoretical framework not yet tested by case studies in the fashion industry, which is the goal of this paper. The five enterprises selected for this research are characterised by a strong engagement towards sustainability: Stanley & Stella, ProGarments, Orimpex, Mayerline, and Van de Velde. These sustainable fashion enterprises play an important role because of their leadership and precedent role in sustainable innovation. The focus of the paper is on the act of ‘influencing’ in the fashion industry. Fashion companies need to be innovative in a sustainable way. Sharing this novelty to make the entire fashion industry more sustainable is difficult and, therefore, a barrier towards a systemic change in the clothing industry.
