ASSESSING THE BUYING FIRMS’ PERFORMANCE ON GREEN SUPPLIER SELECTION OF THE LARGE-SCALE APPAREL MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY IN SRI LANKA

Abstract

1. Introduction The manufacturing sector has shifted to long-term sustainability measures due to resource scarcity and environmental damage. Hence, businesses are adopting the concept of Green Supply Chain Management. Accordingly, companies select green suppliers that provide environmentally friendly materials. Previous studies have confirmed that the apparel industry emits 19.8 tons of carbon into the atmosphere. Green Supplier Selection will bring significant benefits to large-scale apparel industries by increasing brand image and profit while protecting the environment. However, the impact of GSS on the triple bottom line performance of buying firms in Sri Lanka's large-scale apparel manufacturing sector has not been assessed. 2. Research Methodology With GSS identified as an independent variable and environmental, economic, and social performance identified as dependent variables, this quantitative study adopted a positivist research philosophy and a deductive research approach to collect data through a structured questionnaire survey on large-scale apparel manufacturing in Sri Lanka. A sample of 169 companies was selected using purposive sampling. Multiple regression analysis was used to test the hypotheses using SPSS software. 3. Findings and Discussion The findings indicated that GSS significantly impacts the buying firms’ environmental, economic, and social performance in the large-scale apparel manufacturing industry in Sri Lanka. Moreover, findings emphasized that the highest impact of GSS is on social performance, while the second largest effect of GSS is on economic performance. 4. Conclusion and implications Although Sri Lanka's apparel industry contributes to environmental issues, adopting green practices such as GSS emphasizes its importance to triple-bottom-line performance. Thereby, findings encourage management to implement green practices to achieve corporate sustainability goals, sustainable development, significant profits, environmentally friendly policies, and improved brand image