CSR Evolution in the Garment Sector of Bangladesh: The Challenges of Sustainability

Nika Salvetti () and André Nijhof ()
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Nika Salvetti: Nyenrode Business Universiteit
André Nijhof: Nyenrode Business Universiteit

A chapter in Corporate Social Responsibility in Rising Economies, 2020, pp 91-110 from Springer

Abstract: Abstract Many researchers believe that Bangladesh’s garment sector is at a crossroads, with its sustainability depending on its adequate and collective response to addressing the structural causes that provoked fatal accidents at the Tanzeer Factory (December 2012) and Rana Plaza (April 2013). These tragedies have placed Bangladesh’s garments industry under serious scrutiny by the international community as represented by institutional and nongovernmental organizations, buyers and consumers. Such additional pressure has led to the signing of multi-stakeholder agreements between buyers, United Nations (UN) agencies, local government and labour union organizations on the improvement of safety and fire conditions at work and the revision of the wage structure with an increase in the minimum wage. Besides and beyond such immediate actions, visionary garment industry leaders are taking the lead in ensuring an industrial transformation towards a more sustainable and responsible business environment. The garment sector of Bangladesh is the most significant revenues’ contributor to the Bangladeshi economy and its remarkable economic growth. However its economic growth is not necessarily progressing along the sustainability and social responsibility paths. This study analyses the Corporate Social Responsibility’s (CSR) evolution in the garment sector of Bangladesh by reviewing its institutional historical evolution and the gap in sustainability. It identifies relevant historical benchmarks that, according to primary and secondary sources of information, determined such evolution. At the same time it analyses the sustainability gaps from the demand and supply side. Even though the study is descriptive in nature, it uses qualitative research methods such as semi structured interviews with 25 experts and extensive review of secondary information of official documents, reports, and media articles. The findings reveal that there are still several structural problems that need to be solved to ensure progress in sustainability of the garment sector. And it is through concerted efforts of strategic alliances among several stakeholders along the supply chain, that such result can be achieved.

Keywords: CSR; Bangladesh; Garment sector; Sustainability challenges (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:spr:csrchp:978-3-030-53775-3_6

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DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-53775-3_6

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