Abstract
Cubreme® is a small textile company created by designer Alejandra Gottelli whose purpose is to promote the use of organic and natural textiles by designing classical contemporary garments that transcend fashion trends. Therefore, the collections are not divided into 6-week “seasons” that change continuously, but rather they are featured in line with cold and warm seasons. The brand was conceived in response to the designer’s need to express creatively the culture of Argentine native communities. The fibers used by Alejandra Gottelli come from the shearing of domestic species, such as animals from the sheep, camel, and goat families from the Andean–Patagonian and Andean–Cuyo regions of Argentina, which are bred in their natural habitat. The fibers obtained from shearing animals from both the camel and sheep families, as well as the harvest of vegetable fibers are treated in premium spinning mills that develop highly refined products on a very small scale. Fabrics are developed using handlooms, and craft tailor shops are in charge of the final tailoring to give garments a haute couture finish; this helps keep a small production line, using renewable resources and contributing both actively and voluntarily to social, economic, and environmental improvement. This case study introduces Cubreme and then shows the model of sustainable value creation that integrates four elements: environment, innovation, stakeholder management, economic value and potential of growth (Hart, Harvard Bus Rev 75: 66–76, 1997; Capitalism at the Crossroads, 2005; Capitalism at the crossroads: capitalism at the crossroads—aligning business, earth, and humanity, 2007; Hart and Milstein, MIT Sloan Manag Rev 41:23–33,1999, Acad Manag Exec 17: 56–67, 2003) as a tool to diagnose the brand, ending with an analysis of the company in the light of the above model and a few conclusions.
The author would like to thank Mrs. Ana Laura Torres for her contributions to this chapter.
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Notes
- 1.
According to Cataldi et al. (2010), this term refers to the clothing industry focused on low-cost mass production where seasons change every 6 weeks instead of following the two traditional annual seasons. It is sold by retailers at very low prices and based on the latest trends, which encourage consumers to purchase more than they really need, thus resulting in both social and environmental impacts.
- 2.
The term McFashion—the textile equivalent of fast food—was coined making an allusion to the fast food restaurant chain to refer to this fact whereby it is possible to find the same garment in any of the major cities in the world.
- 3.
- 4.
As an example, a research study conducted by Cambridge University reveals that, on average, English consumers send 30 kg of garments and textiles per capita to landfills every year (Allwood et al. 2006).
- 5.
- 6.
Term that Vance Packard made popular in The Waste Makers (1963) to refer to manufacturers’ strategy to render products outdated, nonfunctional, or useless after a period of time, estimated in advance during the design phase. The purpose of planned obsolescence is to get quick economic profit.
- 7.
- 8.
- 9.
Worked with Cooperativa Agroecológica del Litoral Ltda., certified with the Fair Trade Label Organisation (FLO), Native dyeable Cotton.
- 10.
Finishing process which consists in “bonding” the fabrics to improve their structure.
- 11.
Process which results in a smooth, wrinkle-free, and soft finish for worsted or woolen yarn fabrics.
- 12.
This analysis has a limitation as it only uses the questions contained in Fig. 4 and some degree of bias from the author when each quadrant is evaluated.
- 13.
If we focus, with a holistic vision (as required by sustainability), on the food crisis that has afflicted humanity for many decades now, which is only looming larger, we should take into account that organic cotton production requires significantly more land (and more water?) than conventional cotton, as well as more work. This obviously results in higher costs, thus becoming a quasi-exclusive product, and restricting its access to a small population segment. This may seem morally questionable if we think that the areas where both types of (conventional and organic) cotton are grown are, generally, regions with high poverty rates and, sometimes abject poverty. Source: Reflexiones sobre el Algodón Orgánico, unpublished document, Gardetti MA and Torres AL, 2012.
- 14.
An unbalanced portfolio (model) is a sign of problems. A model tilted to the lower part suggests the brand is well positioned, but it may be vulnerable in the future. A portfolio tilted to the upper part indicates there is a sustainability vision, but it lacks the operating or analytical abilities for implementation. A model titled to the left quadrant indicates a concern about social and environmental challenge management with improved internal processes and technology development initiatives. Finally, a portfolio tilted to the right runs the risk of being considered socially and environmentally shallow, because the main operations still cause serious environmental damages (Hart 1997, 2005, 2007). An unbalanced portfolio also suggests missed opportunities and vulnerability. There are still few fashion labels that recognize sustainability strategic opportunities. These companies focus on and allocate their time to the lower half of the portfolio, which implies short-term solutions considering the existing products and the different stakeholder groups (Hart 1997, 2005, 2007).
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Gardetti, M.A. (2016). Cubreme® and Sustainable Value Creation: A Diagnosis. In: Muthu, S., Gardetti, M. (eds) Green Fashion. Environmental Footprints and Eco-design of Products and Processes. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-0111-6_1
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