• sustainable supply chain policy, strategy and roadmap

• human rights and environmental due diligence in supply chains through social and environmental risk management in accordance with OECD and UNGP Guidelines.

• sustainable business models (rental, resale, repair, remake), product service systems

• (sustainable) consumer behaviour and shifts.

 

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In 2019, Deniz achieved his doctoral degree in Management and Economics at the Institution for Sustainable Corporate Management at the Ulm University, Germany. During his PhD field research in Vietnam and Indonesia, he gained deep insights into complex and globally fragmented garment supply chains of global fashion brands and acquired critical know-how on the spot. Thereby he critically investigated social SSCM strategies in multi-tier supply chains and specialized on human and labour rights in Tier 1, Tier 2 and (hidden) subcontractor factories. Through 13 Supplier Case Studies, he examined the effectiveness of current sustainability initiatives and strategies of global fashion companies and immersed in the realities of garment factories.

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• investigated social compliance-, communication-, and supplier development strategies of global fashion brands,

• explored purchasing practices, goal conflicts, power imbalances, trust deficits, and incentive systems in buyer-supplier relationships,

• identified social hotspots and risks, and assessed social performance of suppliers

• analysed regulatory frameworks such as legislations, policies and (private) social accountability standards.

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For more than six years he was the Head of the Market Research Laboratory at the TEXOVERSUM, School of Textiles at Reutlingen University in Germany, and delivered various lectures including International Marketing, Import/Export  Processes, Market Research and Sustainable Supply Chain Management. During this time, he was in continuous collaboration with international fashion retailers, sourcing agents, suppliers, NGOs, academia, and media. This allowes him to adopt multifaceted stakeholder perspectives in any of his short- and long-term sustainability projects and deep dive into public and private sustainability regulations and frameworks, particularly in understanding and translating the implications of the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), EU Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), the German Supply Chain Act, EU Taxonomy, and EU Strategy for Sustainable and Circular Textiles. Therefore, EU wide regulations and latest developments in the standards landscape have always been crucial for his lectures, research, cooperations, and further public activities. As he believes that sustainable development in the World of Textiles and Fashion needs a holistic approach, he intensified his laboratory activities in understanding consumer behaviour and sustainable business models (such as Circularity) to connect the dots and provide meaningful implications for each fashion supply chain actor.

Building on his investigations and deep insights, he shares his knowledge, perspectives, and ideas on various international stages. As such, he has been a speaker and panelist at multiple sustainability events and fairs and interviewed for highly influential magazines such as Glamour or the Textilwirtschaft, Germany`s most renowned and important textile and apparel magazine. Moreover, he served as an expert for the EU Project “Fashion DIET” funded by the European Commission, where he contributed to the development of an educational program on social and environmental supply chain management incl. human rights, supplier development and assessment,  sustainability standards and certifications, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA), transparency and traceability in global supply chains.