Sustainability-oriented innovation in the supply chain of the cosmetics industry

Abstract

The cosmetic industry has continued its strong growth and emerged as one of the industries with the highest prospective for further growth and development. Social media and new trends, the availability of sustainable and chemical-free products, and recent technological advancements and innovations have led to an increase in the demand for cosmetic products. This increase has put pressure on the cosmetics industry’s supply chain and created challenges due to its complex nature. Cosmetics companies are focusing and working on putting sustainable practices into their supply chains to minimize costs, reduce waste, and operate efficiently. Sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI) is the introduction or development of new or existing products, processes, and practices of an organization to achieve sustainability. Few studies exist tackling sustainable supply chain and innovation in the cosmetics industry. Also, there hasn’t been any evidence of research that addresses SOI in the supply chain of the cosmetics industry. This research fills the gap by proposing a SOI framework covering cosmetics industry’s supply chains. The main aim of this research is to develop a framework and identify and rank the criteria for achieving sustainability-oriented innovation (SOI) in the supply chain of the cosmetics industry. This work relied on collecting data from an extensive literature review, interviewing supply chain experts and managers, and conducting surveys to achieve the aim of this study. The main criteria and sub-criteria of the proposed framework were evaluated and ranked using multi-criteria decision-making (MCDM) methods to indicate their relative importance. Research results reveal that “Sustainable practices and initiatives”, “Joint effort, coordination, and commitment among supply chain partners” and “Top management support and commitment” are the top three most important criteria for achieving SOI in the supply chain of the cosmetics industry. Moreover, this research proposes a framework that acts as a guide for experts and managers in the supply chain of the cosmetics industry to assess their strategies and practices for achieving sustainable supply chains. Also, the framework establishes a path for future research on SOI within the cosmetics industry and its supply chains.