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CSR in Pakistan: The Case of the Khaadi Controversy

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Corporate Responsibility and Digital Communities

Abstract

Pakistan, a developing country, is in the process of making its mark on the global CSR map despite various hurdles. Recently ‘Khaadi’ an apparel brand has faced an online backlash over their poor CSR practices in the country through a relatively small social media campaign supporting the rights of workers. Despite ‘low’ ranking in internet penetration (World Bank, World Bank Annual Report. Retrieved from https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/bitstream/.../WBAnnualReport2015EN.pdf, 2015), this is a unique case which has brought the matter of CSR in the garment industry back to the limelight after the infamous ‘Iqbal Masih’ case in 1990s. This study therefore aims to investigate the factors behind weak CSR practices in Pakistan from the stakeholders’ perspective and will propose some recommendations to overcome the challenges.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Bournemouth University, Poole, UK

    Samreen Ashraf

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  1. Samreen Ashraf
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Henley Business School, Greenlands Henley-on-Thames, UK

    Georgiana Grigore

  2. Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Bucharest, Romania

    Alin Stancu

  3. Bournemouth University, Poole, Dorset, UK

    David McQueen

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Ashraf, S. (2018). CSR in Pakistan: The Case of the Khaadi Controversy. In: Grigore, G., Stancu, A., McQueen, D. (eds) Corporate Responsibility and Digital Communities. Palgrave Studies in Governance, Leadership and Responsibility. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-63480-7_13

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