The apparel industry has been criticized for its involvement in socially irresponsible practices around the world. Since buying/sourcing connects the production and the consumption of apparel products, socially responsible buying/sourcing (SRB) has been suggested as a solution to improve industry-wide social responsibility. Although apparel businesses have asked for suggestions to implement SRB, no study has examined SRB in the industry. This study examines how socially responsible buying/sourcing decisions are processed by individual buying/sourcing professionals and suggests effective ways to implement SRB in a business organization. Three areas of social responsibility considered in this study include environment, employment/human rights, and consumer safety.
An exploratory model of the socially responsible buying process was developed using key determinants identified from the literature review. One hundred fifty-eight responses from buying/sourcing professionals in US based apparel/shoe companies whose annual sales exceeded 100 million were analyzed. The model was analyzed using a Structural Equation Modeling approach. Since the model was exploratory, model modifications were conducted to suggest a better model for future research. Determinants of SRB included moral philosophies (idealism and relativism), attitudes toward ethics and social responsibility, personal environment, and organizational control systems. The results revealed that attitudes toward ethics and social responsibility were a strong predictor of SRB. Personal moral philosophies, idealism and relativism, influenced SRB through attitudes toward ethics and social responsibility. Idealism and relativism were found to be stable and were not affected by organizational variables. Organizational variables, personal environment and organizational control systems, were found to influence SRB differently. While organizational control systems influenced SRB through attitudes toward ethics and social responsibility, personal environments influenced SRB directly, as well as indirectly through attitudes toward ethics and social responsibility. The results are discussed in terms of attitude theories and organizational behaviors. Suggestions for the apparel industry and future research are also discussed.