Using FAHP to determine the criteria for partner's selection within a green supply chain The case of hand tool industry in Taiwan

Purpose - The criteria selection of green suppliers is an interesting and practical research topic. With the development and consciousness of environmental management, this issue has received a significant consideration from academics, researchers and businessmen. The purpose of this paper is to study what factors are considered to be the most important when choosing partners/suppliers in a green supply chain, with reference to the Taiwanese hand tool industry, as this industry plays a major role in the Taiwanese economy. Design/methodology/approach - Inheriting from previous researches, the literature about green supplier selection that appeared in international journals from 1997 to 2009 was reviewed. Then, the integrating fuzzy analytical hierarchy process (FAHP) approach is proposed to select the most important criteria for green supplier selection in the Taiwanese hand tool industry. Findings - Ultimately, a list of criteria, along with their priority levels, is presented, not only to support Taiwanese hand-tool companies when selecting suppliers, but also to help the suppliers of these companies to improve their performance in order to meet customers' (hand-tool companies) requirements. Originality/value - The approach used in this paper to select green suppliers can be applied to other industrial or geographical settings.