Sustainability in the Global Supply Chain: Perspectives from the Cotton Product Life Cycle

Sustainability is a complex concept to teach and research. Since the United Nation’s proclamation of the sustainable development initiative in 1987, sustainability has been one of the core foci for many businesses, organizations, and consumers. Yet our initiative on sustainability is still in its infancy, and teaching our students about sustainability is not easy. SUSTAINABILITY IN THE GLOBAL SUPPLY CHAIN: PERSPECTIVES FROM THE COTTON PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE is intended to help educators provide their students with a wide and holistic view of sustainability throughout the entire cotton product life cycle and supply chain. Although the four modules focus on cotton products, given the fact that cotton meets over half of the entire world’s demand for apparel, an understanding of cotton and its sustainability throughout its life cycle would help students better understand the complex dynamics of sustainability in today’s marketplace.

For this purpose, four learning modules were created:

Module I provides an overview of sustainability in the global cotton supply chain
Module II focuses on cotton production systems
Module III explains sustainability in cotton product distribution systems
Module IV centers on sustainability in cotton product consumption.

These modules are designed to be used as supplemental resources rather than replacements for existing curricula. Each educator would have an option to adopt all or a selected number of the modules to meet specific instruction needs they may have for different courses. Through this à la carte format, avilable through the Pearson Custom Library, the author hopes more students will be exposed to various issues and perspectives of sustainability throughout the supply chain and gain a comprehensive view of sustainability beyond raw material manufacturing.