POSSIBLE CSR ACTIVITIES IN APPAREL INDUSTRY.

Corporate Social
Responsibility
SUBMITTED TO - SUBMITTED BY -
PROF. ANANT PHANI SIR ANWESHA KALITA
BIPASHA NAYAK
NAINA KUMARI
 INTRODUCTION

IMPORTANCE OF CSR FOR THE APPAREL INDUSTRY

CSR INITIATIVES TAKEN IN THE APPAREL INDUSTRY

Table of WHY IS CSR NEEDED?

Contents CONDITIONS THAT PROPEL COMPANIES TO TAKE CSR

INITIATIVES

EXAMPLE OF A COMPANY

SUGGESTIONS

CONCLUSION
 INTRODUCTION
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to the action that
companies take as a part of their responsibility for their impact
on society. It provides numerous benefits like cost savings, risk
management, customer relationships, human resource
management and innovation capacity. It is the business
practice of joining environmental and social policies with a
business’ economic goals and operations. It is based on the
idea that businesses can reduce their adverse social and
environmental impact on the world.

By practicing Corporate Social Responsibility, companies need

to be economically viable, positively impact society, and
respect and preserve the environment. Apparel manufacturing
and retail industry are two such important segments where CSR
strategies play a major role.
Importance of CSR for Apparel Industry
The corporate social responsibility (CSR) concept describes that organizations should work in the best
interest of all the parties associated. CSR awareness among organizations is rising and organizations
are fairly accepting this concept. Therefore, the apparel industry is not an exception. These firms are
also realizing their responsibility towards the environment and society.
When done correctly, CSR is a highly powerful tool for communication professionals. Sustainable
fashion is a major topic and a well-known CSR tactic. Today, apparel industries are continually
promoting this through a variety of media platforms to further spread their message to as many people
as possible.

Not only is it powerful for brands to communicate how they are ethical and socially responsible, but it
also promotes a positive brand image and builds helps relationships with all consumers and
stakeholders. The success of the business depends on the trust built in the people through its market
offerings and through its social responsibility activities.
 CSR initiatives taken in
apparel industry.

Following the Companies Act 2013, textile companies are pursuing their
corporate social responsibilities (CSR) more professionally than earlier.
More and more companies are spending 2% or more of their net profits
on CSR activities. It is mandated that companies with a net worth of Rs
500 crore or more, or companies with a turnover of Rs 1000 crore or
more, or PAT of Rs 5 crore or more, will need to spend 2% of their
average net profits of preceding three years towards CSR activities.

A recent study by Technopak Advisors, commissioned by the Ministry of

Textiles, found that the number of textile companies adopting CSR
practices has increased over the last 3-4 years. Out of the 50 textile
companies under study, only 12 companies had a CSR policy in 2012-13
while all had a CSR policy in 2014-15.
 Only nine companies had a CSR committee in
2012-13 while all had a CSR Committee in 2014-
15. Sustainability reporting and communication
has gained enormous significance in the past
few years, with organisations across the world
establishing diverse social, economic, and

Why is sustainability footprints.

The lack of legal and political frameworks in

developing countries means that major players in
CSR needed? the textile and apparel industry need to take the
CSR initiatives a notch higher in order to cover
for the management gap created by such legal
and political inadequacies. After all, researchers
indicate that CSR operates outside the legal
entitlement of an organization, and is usually
voluntary in nature.
The need for CSR in the textile and apparel industry is underscored by the fact
that in view of the lacking political, social and legal guidelines, the organizations
operating in the industry have societal obligations that they need to meet.
Notably, the need for such organizations to deliver societal values amidst high
levels of poverty and insecurity where their business interests are located cannot
be overemphasized.

Besides, the CSR hype has alerted employees, government, consumers and
larger societies of the social responsibilities that organizations have towards
them. Hence, adopting CSR initiatives serves the strategic business interests of
organizations operating in the apparel and textile industry since it enables
organizations to forge good and beneficial relationships with not only the
employees, but also governments, non-government organizations and consumers.
 In literature, there are two basic reasons that propel
companies to take CSR into consideration:
(I) the need to look good in the eyes of the employees, the
consumers and other stakeholders; and
(II) A genuine need to do well, and contribute to the welfare
Conditions that of all stakeholders affected by what the organization does.

propel companies to In the first instance, organizations find adopting CSR

initiatives necessary due to the reputational risk that
take CSR comes with non-adoption. In the Nike case (explained
elsewhere) for example, the firm was criticized for the use

initiatives. of child labor in its value chain, and the effect of such
criticism in its sales volume in 2004 was far-reaching.

Internally, companies with a good social responsibility

reputation are able to attract and retain employees more,
while investors are willing to invest in such firms. In the
second instance however, organizations adopt
CSR/sustainability simply because “it is the right thing to
do”.
Example of a
company
Arvind Mills is a leading Indian producer of textiles since 1931.
Founded by the Lalbhai Group, it is now a well-known firm all over
the world. It is also known for its shirting, knits, and khakis.
Arvind strongly believes that participating in the development of
society helps in its development. It has made valuable
contributions to society.
Arvind has been supporting initiatives of educational, social, and
cultural renewal much before the term ‘CSR’ – Corporate Social
Responsibility – was coined.
Arvind’s CSR activities so far have been carried out through
SHARDA Trust and NLRDF working in urban and rural settings
respectively. Arvind Foundation – a recently set up section 8
company will now lead the company’s CSR initiatives.
 Gyanda is Arvind’s flagship educational program under its Corporate
Social Responsibility (CSR) initiatives. The program attempts to do is
to mentor children from urban poor families, study in municipal
schools run by Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation, and provide them
with supplementary education.
Another important initiative undertaken by Arvind is a program to
empower tribal women.
CSR initiatives It helped in the establishment of the IIMA, ATIRA, and The Kasturbhai
Lalbhai Textile Training Centre in Ahmedabad.
It established the Narottambhai Lalbhai Rural Development Fund and
taken by Arvind The Lalbhai Group Rural Development Fund for the benefit of the
weaker sections of society. It also organizes nutritional programs
and food camps for rural people.
 Arvind helped in the establishment of SHARDA Trust, i.e. Strategic

CSR initiatives Help Alliance for Relief to Distressed Areas. This organization works
for providing a better quality of life to the people in urban areas.
SHARDA works in coordination with the Ahmedabad Municipal

taken by Arvind Corporation to provide basic infrastructure and clean water to

society. It coordinates with a number of hospitals to provide basic
medical facilities to the general public.
Arvind has developed an environmental policy with a view to
protecting the environment from the negative effects of its
operations. It strives for optimum utilization of energy, cotton, and
water. It takes steps to ensure minimum discharge of waste and for
the recycling of waste as far as possible.
It undertakes measures to ensure minimum pollution. It provides
training to its employees on environmental issues and encourages
its buyers and suppliers to be environmentally responsible. It takes
measures for increasing the greenery cover.
 SUGGESTIONS
Some CSR initiatives in the clothing and accessories industry can be:
Taking a stand against animal cruelty and not creating products derived from fur,
leather and the list can go on.
Treating the workers well (there are serious concerns when it comes to how
workers are treated and in what exploitative working conditions)
Banning child labor as it continues to occur worldwide in the fashion industry where
they are employed for the production of cotton seeds, yarn spinning, and putting
together garments at various phases.
Checking the material and product sources. For example, opting for more
sustainable fibres like organic cotton.
Repurposing old items and using pieces of them to re-create other products. There
is a real concern with items with the disposable nature of high-street fashion
Changing their packing to more sustainable solutions.
Taking a stand in helping the Planet and being overall more environmentally
conscious: generating less waste, reduction of CO2 emissions, and electricity
consumption, increasing the amount of recyclable material and decreasing useless
packaging materials.
Conclusion
The concept of social responsibility is gaining popularity in today’s times. Companies
are becoming increasingly aware of their responsibilities towards the various
stakeholders associated with them. More and more companies are trying to work in a
way so as to protect the interests of the employees, customers, suppliers and other
parties and the society at large. The concept of a business firm working only with the
motive of earning profit is gradually becoming outdated. Generally, CSR initiatives lead
to better working conditions for employees, cleaner production processes, energy
efficiency and enhanced employee and consumer loyalty. Hence, organizations not only
reap direct and indirect benefits from the CSR initiatives. Suppliers in the apparel
industry are for example able to attract big clients and even financiers who are keen to
protect their brand reputations. In the end, CSR becomes a business strategy, which
effectively increases the gross returns in firms in the apparel industry.
References
https://www.textileexcellence.com/news/industry-news/textile-companies-focus-on-csr-
but-still-fall-short-of-mandate/
http://www.revistaindustriatextila.ro/images/2019/4/007%20DRAGOLJUB%20Industria%20
Textila%2004_2019.pdf
https://ivypanda.com/essays/corporate-social-responsibility-and-apparel-industry-term-
paper/
https://www.bu.edu/prlab/2019/03/25/corporate-social-responsibility-in-the-fashion-
industry/
https://apparelresources.com/business-news/sustainability/5-industry-experts-share-
companys-csr-strategies/
Thank You.