Nadira Lamrad presenting her research, “CSR Trends in China’s Apparel Supply Chain,” at the FEI conference on March 2nd in London.

1. Department of Asian & International Studies

2. *Strategic CSR Investment*
o is a focused strategy
o is related to business‟ values & strategies
o uses a company‟s expertise to affect
change
City University of Hong Kong 2010

3. City University of Hong Kong 2010

4. *Why should I care?*
1. It‟s the law!
Labour Contract Law
2008
City University of Hong Kong 2010

5. Programs managed by the Institute of
Contemporary Observation
o Migrant Worker
Community College
Courses include:
Civil education
Legal knowledge
o Migrant Workers
Support Center
Services include:
Legal consultation
Legal aid
City University of Hong Kong 2010

6. *Why should I care?*
2. A happy worker is a productive worker.
“...they said „yes, it paid, you know, we invested
for half a year, we invested for a year but it
paid off and it paid off quickly.‟”
Interview with Maggie
City University of Hong Kong 2010

7. 35% of annual salary
“over-capacity booking at the last minute, actually
has a negative impact on what we do and the
quality of the product and also our ability to
service our customers. So, we don‟t want to
be doing it anyway.”
Interview with Jenny
City University of Hong Kong 2010

8. *Why should I care?*
3. Moral imperative
Photo uploaded to facebook by Jim Pandp
City University of Hong Kong 2010

9. *What is driving exploitation?*
 Factory management
 Corporations
City University of Hong Kong 2010

10. *Factory management*
1. Lack of management skills
2. Management attitudes toward workers
City University of Hong Kong 2010

11. *Factory management*
“they started with a rice paddy…put a factory
on it and they don‟t really know about
management practices.”
Interview with Maggie
City University of Hong Kong 2010

12. *Factory management*
“They are not the commander; they are just
partners with everybody.”
Interview with Jacky
City University of Hong Kong 2010

13. *Factory management*
High competition
+
Small profit margins
+
Operating paycheck to paycheck
=
Palpable desperation
City University of Hong Kong 2010

14. *Corporations*
1. Unrealistic buyer expectations
2. Compliance expectations
City University of Hong Kong 2010

15. *Corporations*
Buyers:
“you can always find cheaper, cheaper
products. There is no end.”
Interview with Jacky
City University of Hong Kong 2010

16. *Corporations*
Variety of compliance expectations
Compliance costs
Factories hide violations to maintain business
& remain competitive
City University of Hong Kong 2010

17. *What leads to positive change?*
Increased collaboration
Brands & Factories
Ying Xie factory
City University of Hong Kong 2010

18. *What leads to positive change?*
Increased collaboration
Brands & other Brands
“…be more focused on getting the issue solved
than wondering whether or not [brand A] is
going to say something to [brand B].”
Interview with Jenny
City University of Hong Kong 2010

19. *What leads to positive change?*
Self-examination
Understanding brand-related root causes
City University of Hong Kong 2010

20. *What leads to positive change?*
Engage a variety of stakeholders
Local expectations match the law
Local capacity increases
Local solutions to local problems
City University of Hong Kong 2010

21. *Conclusions*
1. Focused strategy
2. Strategies are
related to business
Strategic CSR
values & strategies
Investment
3. Company expertise
is used to affect
change
City University of Hong Kong 2010

22. *Conclusions*
Strategic CSR Investment
1. Positive engagement for constructive
solutions
2. Financial & non-financial value
City University of Hong Kong 2010

23. *Thank you!*
Nadira Lamrad
PhD Candidate
City University of Hong Kong
Department of Asian & International Studies
nlamrad2@student.cityu.edu.hk
City University of Hong Kong 2010

24. *References*
Ma, M., 2009. The story of Ying Xie: Democratic workers‟ representation in China as a tool for better
business
www.cipe.org/publications/papers/pdf/SAI.pdf
NIKE, Inc., 2009. Corporate Responsibility Report FY07-09.
www.nikebiz.com/crreport/
The Institute for Contemporary Observation
ico-china.org
People & Planet
peopleandplanet.org
Handshake
handshakelabour.org
City University of Hong Kong 2010