Author and CSR specialist Rajesh Chhabara recently discussed his new book Social Accountability: A Handbook for Apparel, Textile, Footwear & Toy Industries on an online discussion forum hosted by Skypecast.
In the interview, Chhabara discussed the growing importance that supply chain accountability has taken since the early 1990s and what suppliers – large and small – can do to meet the demands of these increasingly complex standards covering labour, wages, safety, and the environment. He also spoke on the difficulties of creating a comprehensive code of conduct in a field whose standards are still being debated. As an example of this, check out the MFA Forum, concerning the sourcing of garments, here.
Nonetheless, Chhabara expects CSR programmes to continue to take root in suppliers’ core practice the same way that quality assurance systems became standard practice twenty years ago. The Skypecast that he used for the interview (ours had listeners from 13 different countries on 6 continents, ages 14 and up) also proves that accountability pundits are finding novel approaches to communicate these concerns down the supply chain to consumer groups.