Corporate responsibility in the fast fashion industry how media pressure affected corporate disclosure following the collapse of Rana Plaza

Abstract

The concept behind fast fashion is that of quickly-produced, low-priced, and short-lived fashion items and, for many, it constitutes the opposite of sustaina-bility. The collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in 2013 generated greater focus on corporate social responsibility (CSR) issues within the fast fashion in-dustry and raised important questions about whether the industry can be sus-tainable altogether. This research aims to explore the reasons for which compa-nies engage in CSR initiatives and whether global news media attention has an effect on companies CSR disclosure and initiatives. The study draws upon le-gitimacy theory and media agenda setting theory to explore the link between CSR disclosure and news coverage. The research shows that the CSR disclo-sures varied according to the companies CSR profiles, and that media cover-age differed according to the companies CSR initiatives and proactivity in re-lation to the collapse. This paper contributes to the literature by qualitatively exploring the relationship between media attention and corporate disclosure in the ready-made garment industry after a disaster.