Social Responsibility in the Global Apparel Industry

Social responsibility in the global apparel industry by Marsha A. Dickson, Suzanne Loker and Molly Eckman is a new book that has come into the Learning Centre and is now available for loan.

Contents:

1. What Is Social Responsibility? -- Why Talk about Social Responsibility in the Global Apparel Industry? -- Social Responsibility in Design, Production, and Sourcing -- Historical Problems with Labor Standards and Working Conditions -- Contemporary Problems with Labor Standards and Working Conditions -- Global Context of Problems with Labor Standards and Working Conditions -- Environmental Responsibility -- The Triple Bottom Line -- Now Is the Right Time to Increase Social Responsibility -- The Challenge That Lies Ahead
2. Social Responsibility, Human Rights, Sustainability, and the Responsibilities of Companies -- Definitions of Social Responsibility -- Definitions by Apparel Educators -- Perspectives of Industry and Nongovernmental Organizations -- Social Responsibility and the Environment -- Social Responsibility and Sustainability -- Social Responsibility and Human Rights -- Guiding Principles -- Underlying Theoretical Framework: Total Responsibility Management -- Inspiration: Vision Setting and Leadership Commitment -- Integration: Changes in Strategies and Management Practices -- Innovation: Assessment, Improvement, and Learning Systems -- The Challenge That Lies Ahead
3. Cultural, Economic, and Political Dimensions of Social Responsibility -- Cultural Dimensions of Social Responsibility -- Definitions of Culture -- Impacts of Culture on Practices in the Work Environment -- Impact of Migration on Cultural Aspects of the Workplace and Issues of Social Responsibility -- Economic Dimensions of Social Responsibility -- Vicious Circle -- Virtuous Circle -- Political Dimensions of Social Responsibility -- Subsidies -- Financial Incentives -- Trade Policies -- The Impact of Businesses and Executives on Policy That Affects Social Responsibility -- The Challenge That Lies Ahead
4. Stakeholder Theory and Social Responsibility -- Stakeholder Theory -- Who Are the Stakeholder Groups? -- Stakeholder Engagement: Prioritizing Diverse and Conflicting Needs -- How Stakeholders Judge Social Responsibility -- The Challenge That Lies Ahead
5. Key Stakeholders for Social Responsibility -- Who Are the Key Stakeholders? -- Workers -- Labor Unions -- Governments and Intergovernmental Organizations -- Advocacy Organizations -- Consumer and Pressure Groups -- Colleges and Universities -- Financial Markets and Investors -- The Challenge That Lies Ahead
6. Codes of Conduct and Monitoring -- The Path to Social Responsibility -- The Defensive Stage -- The Compliance Stage -- The Managerial Stage -- The Strategic Stage -- The Civil Stage -- Codes of Conduct -- Codes of Conduct in the 1990s -- Adoption of Codes of Conduct in the Apparel Industry -- Monitoring for Compliance -- What Monitors Look For -- Who Conducts the Monitoring? -- Remediation of Problems -- Positive Outcomes of Monitoring -- Shortcomings of Monitoring -- Effectiveness of Codes of Conduct and Monitoring -- Monitoring Processes -- Quality of Monitoring -- Fraudulent Practices of Factory Management -- Workers' Limited Knowledge of Their Rights -- The Challenge That Lies Ahead
7. How Manufacturers and Retailers Organize for Social Responsibility: Internally, Collaboratively, and Strategically -- Organizing Business for Social Responsibility -- Labor Compliance Departments -- Structure of Programs -- Centralized versus Decentralized Approaches -- Socially Responsible Practices beyond Monitoring -- Public Reporting and Transparency -- Incorporating Labor Compliance into Sourcing Decisions -- Collective Effors for Labor Compliance and Social Responsibility -- Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives for Labor Compliance and Social Responsibility -- Business Initiatives to Improve Labor Standards and Working Conditions -- Business Initiatives to Improve the Environment -- The Challenge That Lies Ahead -- Power, Responsibility, and Accountability -- Civil Learning Tool
8. Strategies for Environmental Responsibility -- Background: Environmental Responsibility -- Codes of Conduct and Monitoring Compliance -- Life Cycle Assessment -- Product Design -- Materials Selection -- Production and Sourcing -- Distribution -- Product Maintenance -- End-of-Use Management -- Quantitative Analyses of Environmental Impacts -- Corporate Strategies for Environmental Responsibility -- Facilities, Procurement, and Operation -- Community Involvement -- Philanthropy -- Strategic Environmental Approach -- Generic Social Issues -- Value Chain Social Impacts and Dimensions of Competitiveness -- The Challenge That Lies Ahead
9. The Future of Social Responsibility in the Apparel Industry -- Shifting Contexts Affecting Social Responsibility -- Social Responsibility after the MFA Phaseout -- Central America-Dominican Republic-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) -- Global Warming, the Energy Crisis, and Environmental Responsibility -- Identifying New Problems and Solutions -- Purchasing Practices -- Supplier Ownership -- Worker Empowerment -- Public Policy Framework -- Involvement of Consumers -- Involvement of Investors -- Expanded Participation of Apparel Brands and Retailers -- The Challenge That Lies Ahead

Appendix: Acronyms -- Notes -- Credits -- Index