Examples of CSR initiatives in Fashion

In this section, we will review some practical examples and recommendations that contribute to increasing CSR in fashion business.

• Be aware of the origin of the products you sell – a good traceability

Everything is not just about low prices. Consumers are every day more attached to the quality of the products, and the way they were manufactured. Yet, traceability (knowing where the product comes from) and transparency (publication of information about the origin of the product) is still scarce in the fashion industry. In 2021,  the Fashion Transparency Index revealed that 47% of surveyed brands published a list of their first-tier manufacturers, only 27% published info on factories beyond the first tier, and a paltry 11% of brands published anything about who is supplying their raw materials at all.

ASKET is a Swedish fashion brand that works since 2018 in making full traceability of its products. Nowadays, it claims to be 93% traceable overall. This brand is certified by the Global Organic Textile Standard and the Global Recycled Standard. It uses a medium proportion of eco-friendly materials including organic cotton. It produces seasonless and long-lasting products. Its use of eco-friendly materials limits the amount of chemicals, water and wastewater used in production.

One key element of CSR is traceability. You should make sure that your fashion products are manufactured in a fair way, and in case of any doubt, talk with your suppliers and request information to make sure that the material (fabrics, pearls, leather, accessories…) were produced under decent conditions, with no child workforce, etc. If you remain unsure, you might reconsider your choice of supplier. Take care about traceability, you should be able to tell where your products were done and in which condition.

• Take care of your workforce

As CSR is about taking care of your environment, you might start with what is closer to you: your staff. The fashion sector is often characterised by difficult workloads and low wages, even child and forced labour. Organisations such as IJM denounce that millions of people live unprotected from modern slavery and abuse in garment factories, not only in the far east but everywhere in the world.

Many fashion brands claim that workers who made their clothing are paid “at least the minimum legal wage”. However, associations show the difference between the minimum wage and the living wage, which is the minimum that a family requires to fulfil basic needs. In most manufacturing countries, the minimum wage represents between half to a fifth of the living wage. This means that these brands still pay their employees 5 times less than what they actually need to live with dignity.

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In addition, the spinning, weaving, dyeing printing and finishing operations cause major health and safety issues due to the exposure to cotton dust, chemicals, and noises, but also ergonomic issues positions and gestures, etc.

As a decision-maker, you might try another strategy: share profits and offer decent wages to employees, it will motivate them and make them more productive, which will be in the end profitable for all. Also, you might take care of general working conditions besides wages, take care of individual contexts to offer better conciliation, propose continuous training, promote diversity (you can for instance consider recruiting staff with disability), offering opportunities to all. An example is the UK brand People Tree, which collaborates with groups such as the Bombolulu workshop which empowers physically disabled people.

• Dedicate products to charity

While developing new products or designs, you might develop a specific collection for charity. First, you should choose a cause and discuss it with an organisation specialised in this cause to know what their needs are. Then, you should take care about developing an agreement with this organisation, so to have a framework for your action. Finally, you should advertise the charity action. The proceeds from the sales of these products will go directly to your charity partners.

During the campaign, you can also motivate and congratulate the customers with periodical announcements on the money that you have collected and reversed to the charity thanks to this action. More generally, you can also promote solidarity and giving, for instance with a money box placed next to the counter of your retailers’ shops for a cause, or by participating in solidarity or recollection events.

In the same line, some companies opt for the development of products that are aimed at promoting a good cause or defend ethical ideas, working in partnership with other specialised organisation in the framework of business collaborations.

• Donate or sponsor

In a similar way, you might simply choose to donate part of your revenue to a charitable organisation. This can be a percentage of the sale of a specific product, or a global amount that you would donate periodically. This is one of the most common ways to engage in CSR. For this, you just have to look for a cause you believe in, and again, contact this organisation to establish how you can support them. You can also choose to sponsor community initiatives that might be organised in your neighbourhood. Donation and sponsor are not just about money, you might also directly donate products. You can think about unsold products that can still be used by charities.

For instance, the Italian brand Miomojo, which is a cruelty-free brand that makes contemporary functional bags, backpacks, and small accessories. Miomojo is a little more expensive than the other bag brands, but they donate 10% of every purchase to animal welfare causes.

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• Going further: creating your own foundation or charity

The next level of CSR might be to reinvest your benefits in your own charity organisation that will work for the cause that you decide. This solution offers the benefit of entirely controlling the actions undertaken thanks to your donation. However, this also requires higher investment, this is why this solution is mostly chosen by large firms.

For instance, the H&M Foundation is a non-profit foundation whose advertised mission is to co-create, fund, and share solutions for the world’s most urgent challenges, to help safeguard the welfare of humanity, usher the fashion industry to become planet positive and accelerate the development of inclusive society.

Those are only a few examples of applications, but the number of possibilities is unlimited, and you might develop your own ideas to contribute to CSR. Think about your internal and external environment, and you will probably think of many other possible actions. Don’t be afraid to be creative and generous, it will pay. Finally, as we have seen before that CSR engagement was a determinant for the decision of purchase of the customer, you should not forget to advertise your efforts. You should mention it on your packaging, but also consider decals, posters, information in newsletters and social media, etc. reminding your cause.