Improving the Communication of CSR in the Clothing Industry - By evaluating different tools, message designs and senders to use in the communication towards consumers.

Abstract: The observed problem proceeds from the clothing companies' current hesitation towards communicating about their CSR initiatives, which implies an insufficient communication towards their target consumers. Meanwhile, it has been concluded that companies can reap many benefits from communicating their CSR engagements towards consumers. The purpose of this thesis is therefore to contribute to the improvement of the communication targeting consumers about clothing companies' CSR efforts. By conducting a qualitative study using a triangulation of findings from focus groups, literature and expert interviews, we focus on the consumers' demands and seek to explore how the different concepts of tools, message design and sender can be used to improve the communication. From our study, we conclude that most consumers know little about companies' CSR engagements and therefore need to be targeted with visible and comprehensible communication in stores. Additional tools outside of the stores should be used to satisfy the more interested consumers' need for information. We also find that it is essential that companies convey honest and transparent messages when communicating about their CSR initiatives and that the corporate communication can be further enhanced by other senders, such as media, as to address the legitimacy issues currently associated with corporate communication.