Strategic Sustainability Marketing and Social Responsibility in the Textile Industry

Abstract

The global social, economic, and ecological sustainability challenges are immense, particularly in Africa. Given the continent's specific characteristics, there is a strong need to either shape “traditional” business models or to consider alternative corporate strategies. Those should in particular foster social change and progress through economic development. Social entrepreneurship is regarded as such an alternative approach. In addition, stronger aligning firms' business models to CSR dimensions as laid out in international standards such as ISO 26000 might be a valuable trajectory. By using an exploratory comparative case design and qualitatively analyzing the websites of four African textile companies, this chapter illustrates how social sustainability is being pursued. The findings suggest that sustainability-oriented textile companies strongly emphasize social sustainability, in particular labor practices, community involvement, and development. This enables further research on drivers and implications for sustainability marketing strategies in global textile value chains.