Social Responsibility of Sourcing in the Fast Fashion Industry
Ala-Kantti, Eerika (2017-10-11)
Social Responsibility of Sourcing in the Fast Fashion Industry
Ala-Kantti, Eerika
(11.10.2017)
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Turun yliopisto
Tiivistelmä
Clothing business is one of the most internationalised industries in the world but its benefits have not been distributed equally. The purpose of this research is therefore to analyse the role of social responsibility in garment factories of the fast fashion industry. The literature review identifies and examines the challenges in fast fashion sourcing and the empirical research focuses on providing a holistic understanding of the actions the fast fashion retailers have taken to tackle those challenges.
H&M was chosen as a case company for this research as it is one of the first and largest fast fashion organisations and it has a global presence. It also represents a benchmark for other fast fashion retailers due to its responsibility actions and goals. The research question for this research is “How has H&M responded to the challenges of social responsibility in fast fashion sourcing?” Non-governmental organisations’ (NGO) and media’s publications have been used to reflect H&M’s statements.
This research uses a qualitative method. The research strategy is case study and the used data is secondary in its nature: written reports, film documentaries, speeches and panel discussions, as well as H&M’s own material provided from its websites: sustainability and financial reports, press releases as well as information pages. These documents are analysed with a content analysis that uses themes for organizing the data.
The findings indicate that H&M has completed a substantial amount of actions to improve its suppliers’ workers overall conditions. There have been some improvements in the general level, but what are still lacking are the measurable results of H&M’s actions on the social responsibility challenges. NGOs’ and media’s publications show that the conditions for the factory workers are still rather insufficient; wages are low, overtime hours are high and the facilities are not safe enough.
H&M’s own reporting shows discrepancies in regard to the workers conditions and more emphasis should be put on transparency. However, one company cannot change the overall situation on its own. Collaboration between the workers, factory management, retailers, as well as the government is an essential development target for resolving the social responsibility challenges in the developing countries.
H&M was chosen as a case company for this research as it is one of the first and largest fast fashion organisations and it has a global presence. It also represents a benchmark for other fast fashion retailers due to its responsibility actions and goals. The research question for this research is “How has H&M responded to the challenges of social responsibility in fast fashion sourcing?” Non-governmental organisations’ (NGO) and media’s publications have been used to reflect H&M’s statements.
This research uses a qualitative method. The research strategy is case study and the used data is secondary in its nature: written reports, film documentaries, speeches and panel discussions, as well as H&M’s own material provided from its websites: sustainability and financial reports, press releases as well as information pages. These documents are analysed with a content analysis that uses themes for organizing the data.
The findings indicate that H&M has completed a substantial amount of actions to improve its suppliers’ workers overall conditions. There have been some improvements in the general level, but what are still lacking are the measurable results of H&M’s actions on the social responsibility challenges. NGOs’ and media’s publications show that the conditions for the factory workers are still rather insufficient; wages are low, overtime hours are high and the facilities are not safe enough.
H&M’s own reporting shows discrepancies in regard to the workers conditions and more emphasis should be put on transparency. However, one company cannot change the overall situation on its own. Collaboration between the workers, factory management, retailers, as well as the government is an essential development target for resolving the social responsibility challenges in the developing countries.