Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability Issues Faced by River Island

This report discusses the corporate social responsibility and sustainability issues faced by River Island, including the use of toxic chemicals in their clothes and the company's response to the issue using relevant theories. It also compares the company with other retailers in the sector and discusses ethical standards in the UK.

Retailing Issues and Applications

CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION......................................................................................................................1
MAIN BODY.............................................................................................................................1
Important aspect of the chosen issue for retailers..................................................................1
Discussion on the ways chosen retailer is responding to the issue using relevant theories. . .4
Comparing it with other retailers in the sector.......................................................................6
CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS............................................................................7
REFERENCES...........................................................................................................................8

INTRODUCTION
Retailers are the person who sells goods to the public in small quantities for
consumption not for resale. The River Island is a retail company of United Kingdom dealing
in fashion and clothing worldwide. It is an international company and has many competitors
in the market with retail issues and competition which is to be resolved by the company to
survive in the market. This company is facing the issue of corporate social responsibility for
not following its ethical values in the domestic markets. In this report we will include retail
issues of Corporate Social Responsibility and Sustainability faced by the River Island and the
arguments about the unethical conducts by the company and various responses of the
company to the problems. Furthermore, it will include the ethical standards followed in the
United Kingdom for domestic retail market and the company evaluation of effective response
to the issues and responsibility towards the consumers. Lastly the comparison of current
business with other retail business is explained deeply with the relationship between the
theory and current retail activities.
MAIN BODY
Important aspect of the chosen issue for retailers
Corporate social responsibilty and Sustainability
Corporate social responsibilty is the sole responsibility of the company to do good for
the society (Glasser, 2021). This is an issue which is faced by most of the retail companies
due to United Kingdom domestic market strict rules and regulations for protecting the
consumers and environment. The River Island is facing this issue to due to changing taste and
preferences of the consumers due to modernisation and various alternatives available to them.
Corporate social responsibility is to be followed by each company due to consumer’s
awareness and for the environment safety.
Due to unethical conduct of corporate social responsibility by the River Island it
becomes an issue for the company to be resolved at urgent basis due to high competition in
the market. This company should check and compare all the activities by the competitors for
solving problems and planning strategies to solve the problems. The company who is
following all its social responsibility has wider scope in the market (Dal Mas, 2022).
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Corporate social responsibility issues faced by the River Island
The company River Island is facing the issues of social responsibility due to unethical
activities done by the company. For unethical conduct this company is losing its customers at
fast rate due to not providing environmentally friendly clothes to the customers.
Using toxic chemicals on the clothes by River Island
The customers of River Island are facing a lot of problems due to they are using more
toxic chemicals to the clothes for making their clothes look fancy. This company is also using
low quality products and with high prices to fraud the customers. These chemicals are
harmful for the health of the customers as well as the person who is making it. The customers
are very disappointed by companies products giving bad reviews on the websites of the
company. The customers are confused about the products because the websites are showing
different information and things and the reality is different. The River Island should follow
the strategies which the others company of retails for performing better in the present world
all the corporate social responsibility.
Corporate social responsibility and River Island
River Island is not doing its social responsibility because it’s not providing quality
products to the customers. The companies first and foremost policy should be providing
customer satisfaction by fulfilling their needs by providing eco-friendly products and services
(Kiff, 2020). This company is providing content on the websites about the ethical values by
their stores and offices and the corporate social responsibility by them. But they are not
actually acting on them in reality the customers are demotivated by their products and
services and they not even providing exchange policies for the customers. If the customers
found some clothes which are defected the company will not exchange the products and will
not pay back the money this loss to the society in general. The company has to provide
quality products with appropriate prices so that every consumer gets the benefits of the
company’s products.
Furthermore, this company is totally focusing on earning profits through fraudulent
activities. This company has many suppliers in the world with different branches worldwide.
Every supplier selling the same products with toxic chemicals on the clothes it affecting the
customer’s health and the government can take strict actions against them due to ethical
misconduct. River Island is providing fashion cloths to the customers for every new trend in
the market which leads to ignorance of the ethical values and corporate social responsibility.
They are focusing on providing bulk clothes with less quality to earn more profits for more
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demands. The corporate social responsibilities in United Kingdom is must and have to
followed by each retail company to have positive influence on the world (Latapí, 2019).
River Island is decreasing its value by not following the ethical values due to earning more
profits without customer satisfaction.
Moreover, the suppliers of this company are spreading worldwide and using their own
price discrimination to gain profits and not obeying the rules of immigration laws. They all
are not using corporate social responsibility as their first responsibility and involving in
earning profits through pricing high prices. Through this the company is losing a lot of
customers due to bad reputation in the market and bad reviews by the customers. River Island
is indulging in various practices which are not good from the society point of views it should
start planning for corporate social responsibility by following ethical values. This company
should start comparing its strategies with other retail companies to know its position in the
market and start executing practices through customer satisfaction by providing quality
products with reasonable prices (Meseguer,2021).
Lastly, to be sustainability of corporate social responsibility the River Island should
indulge in business practices which lead to good competition and good for the society and the
company too. They should provide products without toxic chemicals to safeguard the health
of the employees. Must companies are following all the ethical values that other companies
are following to be competitive in the market of United Kingdom and worldwide (Carroll,
2018).
Ethical standards in the UK
Based on this, the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) launched an investigation in to this
unethical issue of utilization of toxic chemicals in the production of the clothes which has
harmed many of the citizens of UK and even their own employees. The allegations were
being made in the year 2018 in relation with the UK based factory of the company. When the
ETI has initiated its investigation than it was revealed that both the garments in which the
toxic chemicals were found out such as check pattern dress with faux pearl button and
sleeveless blouse with faux pearl button were being sold online as well as offline in stores
from the month of July 2018 (Dangelico and Pujari, 2021). It was explored in the study that
Cadmium which is a naturally appearing toxic heavy metal normally available in the
environment at low levels were present in these garments. It was also discovered that the faux
pearl button located on the collars of both the products contained cadmium more than what is
being permitted under the legal safety levels and those prescribed by the working conditions
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basic code defined by the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) body. It has also come into
attention that this chemical can present a serious number of risks to the health and well-being
of anyone who will wear or handle these products.
River Island is being regarded as one of the fast fashion retailers of high streets of UK
and this signifies that they are catering with the augmenting demand of becoming sustainable
in each and every aspect of their operations. Furthermore, the retailer also provides lot of data
on their operations and activities as reports on ethical trading as well as recycling, modern
slavery and CSR. Nevertheless, from this issue it can be said that the River Island’s words on
the matter is just the word on the matter and they are not doing anything for ensuring that
their products are produced in safe working conditions and that their employees are not
exposed to any chemicals which are being categorised as harmful and hazardous (Ueda and
et.al., 2019). Other than this, the retailer Reiver Island was claimed to be unaware of the
situation and present of such toxic chemicals in their products. The Ethical Trading Initiative
(ETI) advised that the affected products can be determined by the product determination
number printed on the garments wash label. Moreover, it was also stated by the retailer that
anyone who is owning the affected garments should not wear them again as and must stop
wearing them and they must be kept away from the reach of the children. They further stated
that, it is important on the part of the River Island to make sure that the products are returned
to the store and can be posted to Rive Island for full refund including the postage (Young,
2019).
Discussion on the ways chosen retailer is responding to the issue using relevant theories
River island is one of the most leading and popular high street trade name in UK
which is engaged into the supplying of fashionable apparels, however the most important
thing is that the financial values are low cost and the quality of the product is quite good. In
spite of these popularities the company faced the backlashes from the people of UK when
some of the customers found some unhealthy toxic chemicals on their clothes which was very
harmful. Many of the customers alleged that the firm is not committed towards protecting the
right of the consumers and employees, as some of the staff members of the firm was also
harmed die to these toxic chemicals (Why I Will No Longer Shop At River Island, 2018). In
response to these allegations, River Island pulled back some of their products from their
stores for the purpose of searching out the unhealthy degree of toxic chemicals on them. In
addition to these they even announced the recall of the garments over the fears that they
might contain some harmful chemicals that can be unhealthy and harm people who will wear
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the same. The clothes have already wounded many of the employees who have manufactured
these clothes.
River Island’s response to the issue
As a response to these allegations, the River Island performed their own set of
investigations into the factor of the United Kingdom where the products are being
manufactured. they have independently audited the whole factory and have found out that
Cadmium which is a naturally appearing toxic heavy metal normally available in the
environment at low levels were present in these garments. It was also discovered that the faux
pearl button located on the collars of both the products contained cadmium more than what is
being permitted under the legal safety levels and those prescribed by the working conditions
basic code defined by the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) body (River Island sustainability
strategy, 2021). Considering this, they have established a strict programme concerning to the
code of conduct which have not been followed. They have developed a restricted substances
list which has been communicated to all the suppliers and it has been made strict by the
company that they all have to follow this as the sub-section of the chemical policy. In
addition to this, they have also installed independent laboratories for verifying their products
and to ensure that they are obeying with the standards related to chemicals. Additionally, as a
sub-section of the internal due diligence process, they have also implemented different test
for restricted heavy metal on their products in their distribution centre. Here, the company
makes use of XRF analyser for checking the elements of clothing, footwear, bags and many
other products. moving further, the company is also planning to execute a manufacturing
restricted substance list within their supply base and this procedure is above the needs of the
regulations (Boutillier, 2017). with this procedure in place, River Island will be able to regain
their position as an ethical retailer.
As per the Utilitarian theory of ethics, a behaviour is considered as the moral if it
helps in bringing happiness and is not morally right if the actions foster unhappiness or harm.
Thus, mistakenly the company has broken their code of conduct and caused harm to their
workers and employees due to the use of toxic chemicals in their clothes, the behaviour and
the action of the River Island is considered as morally incorrect. As per the utilitarianism,
when the firm is directed in regards with making social, political and economic decisions
then they should aim for the betterment of the overall community. furthermore, in the context
of the business, the most ethical choices are being referred as the one which helps in
producing the greatest good for the greatest number of people. as such it is defined as the
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only ethical agenda that can make justification for war and military force (Myneni, 2013). It
is also regarded as the most common strategy towards the ethics of the business as it accounts
for advantages and costs. In context of the River Island’s CSR issue, the presence of toxic
chemicals in the clothes which was quite harmful and dangerous was not resulted into
happiness of some of the customers and workers or in other words, it has not produced the
greatest good for greatest number of people and thus, it is was not morally correct.
Underpinning the discussion further, according to the stakeholder theory, there are
many stakeholders of the business and for the purpose of attaining the objectives of the firm it
is important that the interest of all the stakeholders must be take into account and not just the
shareholders. thus, from this theory it can be inferred that River Island has inter-connected
association with its suppliers, customers, employees and communities and thus value should
be created for these stakeholders. if one of them are not satisfied then it becomes difficult for
the company to survive. the retailer in the current case has also ignored two important
stakeholders that is the workers and the customers by making use of harmful chemicals which
as harmful for their health and well-being (Bansal, 2015).
Comparing it with other retailers in the sector
At this stage it is crucial for the retailer to compare itself with the other giant players
in the market who are performing well and attaining higher growth share and profitability.
There are two important players through which River Island can make comparison and these
are New Look and Next, they are the leading retail players which have adopted different
strategies and policies to remain ahead from the competitors. this analysis and comparison
can be performed through seeking help from benchmarking (Bansal, 2015). It is being
referred as the recognition of the best approach in the industry or in relation with this current
research work that is the best approach for the ethical behaviour. In addition to this, this is
being regarded as central to the management of corporate social responsibility because it
supports in helping the business to make improvement in its operations. Next and New Look
are suggested as another fashion retailers that River Island could benchmark itself against it.
For example, Next plc has established different regulations for the health and safety such as
suppliers training being conducted by the team prior auditing for making sure that their
factories are aware about the standards. further, the firm also have different audits teams who
regularly monitors if there is any use of chemicals in the manufacturing of the products or
not. they have also adopted close loop manufacturing system through adoption of Viscose
and Modal Fibre Manufacturing for the purpose of minimizing the impact of the harmful
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chemicals (Our approach to corporate responsibility, 2021). Other than this, they also have a
chemical management policy in which they have involved three main points that is restricted
substance standards, chemical management standards, ZDHC programme for managing the
chemicals being utilized in the supply chain. on the other hand, New look retailer of UK has
also adopted different regulations and practices towards CSR and sustainability. the company
make use of the raw-materials which are sustainable cotton and viscose and recycled fabrics
which does not harm to the customers when they wear them. Besides, they are have also
included and established guiding principles along with different reporting frameworks for
making sure modern slavery (Positive local impact, 2021). As per the standards being led by
the European Union, the company is practicing their chemical management policy.
CONCLUSION & RECOMMENDATIONS
Thus, from the findings being presented in the report it can be attributed that the River
Island retailer of UK has been the feature of lot of negative press in relation with their
approach to corporate social responsibility and sustainability. It has been originated that
behind the scene the company has been proactively involved in the practices of making
improvement in the standards and are also stating different policies being considered by them
for protecting the rights of their employees and customers by offering their workers safe
working conditions. Nevertheless, River Island’s words on the matter is just the word on the
matter and they are not doing anything for ensuring that their products are produced in safe
working conditions. Thus, it is highly recommended that the River Island should make use of
Next as a benchmark for making further enhancements in their ethical practices. In addition
to this, the strong suggestion for the Reiver Island retailer of UK would be that at the time of
planning about their business decisions in future, it is crucial that the firm should take into
account the influence of assortment of stakeholders particularly their customers as well as
employees. Clients are being considered as the main stakeholder group and thus, their needs
should be met effectively. Furthermore, it is also recommended to the company to
communicate their restricted item list to all their suppliers so that they can also comply with
this as a part of the chemical policy of the firm.
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REFERENCES
Books and journals
Bansal, P., 2015. Evolving sustainability: A longitudinal study of corporate sustainable
development. Strategic Management Journal, 26, pp.197-218.
Boutillier, R.G., 2017. Social capital in firm-stakeholder networks. Journal of Corporate
Citizenship, 26, pp.121-134.
Carroll, A.B. and Brown, J.A., 2018. Corporate social responsibility: A review of current
concepts, research, and issues. Corporate social responsibility.
Dal Mas, F. And et.al., 2022. Corporate social responsibility in the retail business: A case
study. Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management, 29(1),
pp.223-232.
Dangelico, R.M. and Pujari, D., 2021. Mainstreaming green product innovation: Why and
how companies integrate environmental sustainability. J. Bus. Ethics. 95. pp.471–486.
Glasser, A.M. and Roberts, M.E., 2021. Retailer density reduction approaches to tobacco
control: a review. Health & place, 67, p.102342.
Kiff, and et.al.,2020. A survey of research on retail central bank digital currency.
Latapí Agudelo, and et.al.,2019. A literature review of the history and evolution of corporate
social responsibility. International Journal of Corporate Social Responsibility, 4(1),
pp.1-23.
Meseguer-Sánchez, and et.al., 2021. Corporate social responsibility and sustainability. A
bibliometric analysis of their interrelations. Sustainability, 13(4), p.1636.
Myneni, S.R., 2013. Jurisprudence (Legal Theory). 2nded. Asia Law House.
Ueda, K., Takenaka, T., Vancza, J. and Monostori, L., 2019. Value creation and decision-
making in sustainable society. CIRP Ann. Manuf. 58. pp.681–700.
Online references
Our approach to corporate responsibility. 2021. [Online]. Available through:
<https://www.nextplc.co.uk/~/media/Files/N/Next-PLC-V2/documents/corporate-
responsibility/our-approach-2021.pdf?#page=18> . [Accessed on 13thApril 2022].
Positive local impact. 2021. [Online]. Available through:
https://www.newlook.com/uk/sustainability/charity-circularity-partners>. [Accessed on
13thApril 2022].
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River Island sustainability strategy. 2021. [Online]. Available through:
<https://images.riverisland.com/is/content/RiverIsland/RiverIsland_Sustainability_Rep
ort_2021_Update-20.04-update1> . [Accessed on 13thApril 2022].
Why I Will No Longer Shop At River Island. 2018. [Online]. Available through:
https://outlandishblog.com/why-i-no-longer-shop-river-island/>. [Accessed on 13thApril
2022].
Young, S., 2019. River island recalls clothes over fears they contain harmful levels of
dangerous chemicals. [Online]. Available through: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-
style/fashion/river-island-product-recall-lead-cadmium-clothes-harmful-
a8992946.html>. [Accessed on 13thApril 2022].
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