Sustainable capitalism or ethical transnationalism: Offshore production and economic development

Abstract

Multinational firms are increasingly facing pressures from consumer groups and activists to become more socially responsible. These pressures include calls for more environmentally safe production, improved labor conditions, and fair trade among transnational subsidiaries. While some describe the effects of globalization and the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) movement as ratcheting up transnational social standards, others claim that these efforts merely serve as a legitimizing mechanism of global capitalism, which sustains unequal distributional effects under the rhetoric of human rights. By tracing CSR activism surrounding the apparel industry (focused on Nike) and the mass-retail industry (focusing on Wal-Mart), this article offers a more nuanced analysis of recent developments in the quest for socially and environmentally responsible global production.