Contributions of psychological dimensions for environmental management in a jeans industry: a case study

Abstract

To reduce the impacts generated by the production of jeans, environmental management strategies emerge in industries that need the employees’s awareness. Thus, environmental psychology is evidenced, which offers instruments for analyzing person-en-vironment relationships, assisting in the process of environmental awareness. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the behavior and environmental beliefs of employees of the jeans industry and presents new perspectives for implementing environmental management initiatives. The industry, the object of this study, operates in the Private Label segment, producing approximately 300,000 pieces per month. In addition, it already has strategies to mitigate environmental impacts and some social and environmental responsibility certifications. For data collection, the following instruments were used: a semi-structured interview with the manager, an analysis of the documents provided by the company, and an application of the Ecological Behavior scales and Environmental Beliefs to the organization’s employees. The results indicate that although the industry proposes several sustainable strategies, the research participants do not effectively participate in these actions and have few behaviors related to activism and consumption. Thus, an environmental management proposal that includes the analysis of the general perception of the company’s employees, an environmental education program, cleaner production strategies, and the dissemination of practices is suggested.