Sustainability & Consumer Society

Corporate Social Responsibility & Transparency

1. Describe

My reflection on this topic was inspired by Corporate Social Responsibility and the watching of The True Cost documentary. When I first saw this film it highlighted my ignorance to what goes on behind the closed doors of the fast fashion industry and I realised that I had not given much thought to what happened in the early life of a garment or about who made it and the conditions they are working in before I began learning more about this topic. The film emphasised the problems that hide within the supply chain of the fashion industry and the poor ethics that companies overlook in order to attain cheap products.

One of the most shocking realisations I had is that this is an issue that may not have come into the spotlight so much if it had not been for the tragic collapse of Rana Plaza. It is a frightening thought, to think that most of the population still remains ignorant to this disaster and that some companies still add fuel to the fire (literally!) rather than work to improve the environments of their suppliers or opt elsewhere for their manufacturing needs if the used locations do not measure up to safe and moral standards any longer.

This film gave me insight into the fact that transparency is not a given throughout the supply chain and in today’s more sustainably-conscious world, companies need to do more to show their efforts to their consumers in order to retain regular custom and engagement. It was also surprising to learn that there are many benefits for the corporations that do practice Corporate Social Responsibility, so the question remains for me, why would they not take part?

2. Interpret

Understanding this topic further, I learned that not all companies enhance society and the communities that they take from, instead they continue to take natural resources to make a profit for their stakeholders. In order to do this they shop around different countries searching for the cheapest labour and materials they can find. This is all because of international trade restrictions and the fact that prices on general consumer goods are continuously rising but the price of our clothing in stores is decreasing which means we buy more, so the question is who pays the price for our clothing? This is the question that was asked in The True Cost documentary which delves into sustainability and ethics in the supply chain of the clothing industry and many of the concerns of others involved. “The people making our products, the planet that we live in and us as the end consumer” are those paying the price, (Woodyard, 2017).

From watching Woodyard’s Ted Talk I learned that Bangladesh keeps minimum wage at the lowest rate possible to attract big brands and companies to invest in their economy. Short term this allowed for the economy to thrive however it soon came to light that this was extremely unsustainable as the profits were not being invested back into workers environments. Instead, we sadly hear about the events of Rana Plaza and other disasters similar in the news. It cannot be denied that this is a result of the fast fashion industry squeezing their suppliers to work for cheaper and cheaper labour costs.

3. Evaluate

We in the western world are misled to think we are getting a bargain on the clothing we purchase when in reality we are paying a much bigger price when it comes to the people and the planet. Garment labour workers are being exploited and consumption of the earth’s resources are carelessly being used without any efforts to naturally replenish those that can be. Fast fashion production is contributing largely to the destruction of what we should be working to protect. Most of these garments are made in developing countries that rely on fossil fuels, which are polluting the environment for energy to make this cheap clothing that we buy at an equally cheap cost and throw away when it falls apart, rather than reselling, reusing or recycling the fabric.

It is for all of the reasons I have discussed above that transparency that is necessary from all retail companies in the industry and throughout the entire supply chain. Consumers deserve to know where their product is coming from in order to make an informed decision whether to purchase from these brands based on aligning with good moral values but also, to form an opinion on the company that will be long lasting. This will set brands apart from their competitors, cultivate new innovations and in turn save on costs in the long term. These are all things that if corporations do invest in CSR will contribute to turning a healthy profit and continuing to grow the business for their stakeholders.

4. Plan

In my opinion, behaving ethically is good for business, and there is more to business than just the bottom line. The people, the planet and the consumer are what matters today in the case of sustainability and every corporation should be actively involved in giving back to the producer of their product. Since broadening my understanding of CSR and transparency, I will actively be looking out for anything that may seem illegitimate during my career as a fashion buyer and will make efforts to find out more information about the manufacturers and suppliers I work with and their surrounding conditions. I do not know the answer to my earlier question of why companies would not actively take part in some form of CSR, I can only hope that those who are not yet, are working in the background to become more transparent in the future.

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Bibliography:

Morgan, A. (2015). The True Cost [Film]. United States: Life Is My Movie Entertainment Bullfrog Films.

Woodyard, P. (2017). Fast Fashion’s Effect on People, The Planet, & You | TEDxUniversityofMississippi [Video]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPM9lhackHw

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