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Central and regional governments in the UK employ mechanisms to promote ethical business behaviours through a combination of mandatory tools (regulations, directives, and laws) and voluntary approaches (including public interest promotion and funding for targeted initiatives). Focusing on the provision of government grants for voluntary corporate social responsibility (CSR) or sustainability-related initiatives, this research details a nationally funded project that harnesses the support of ‘industry-led’ employers, with an aim to enhance the employability skills of young people (Scottish Government, 2014). The ‘Developing the Young Workforce’ (DYW) initiative has an associated government-backed standard, ‘Investors in Young People’ (IiYP), which (when achieved) publically identifies an organisation with internationally recognised good practice (IiYP, undated) and provides a marketing tool by which companies can directly promote their ethical credibility. Highlighting the DYW initiative and associated IiYP standard as examples of government-backed targeted initiatives, the research explored theories related to CSR and sustainability and the perspectives they present in the debate regarding the relationship between business behaviour and society.

The increasing interest in the wider societal responsibilities of the business community has highlighted the call for the employment of transparent and accountable commercial practices (Initiative for Responsible Investment 2014). This pressure for transparency in business activities has resulted in a growth of information disclosure methods. The most recent addition in the approaches used to convey the responsibility message has centred on the disclosure of nonfinancial information, involving both mandatory and voluntary actions taken by companies (BIS 2013). This focus has now entered an increasingly monitored period, with laws, directives and regulations being introduced at an international level. According to research headed by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP et al. 2010), this is aimed at strengthening compliance and comparability of corporate social responsibility (CSR)-related initiatives.

The contemporary consumer's decision-making processes have been affected by two independent factors. Firstly, the difficult economic climate heightened their level of price sensitivity and, secondly, the emergence of online shopping provided them with a better means of information searching. These two factors have combined to produce new behaviours in the shopping process, involving purchasing across channels through show-rooming (viewing in store and buying online) and web-rooming (viewing online and buying in store). Using a quantitative methodology, this paper tested consumers' motivation and propensity to engage in 'show-rooming' and 'web-rooming'. It investigated their reasons for acceptance or avoidance of virtual and physical channels to identify the factors that promote cross-channel behaviour. The results indicated that 'show-rooming' behaviour prevailed when efficient price and product comparisons could not be conducted in physical channels; and 'web-rooming' was used when the consumer could not predict garment dimensions online. This demonstrates the need for retailers to acquire a deeper understanding of the information consumers require within each selling interface, with an aim to minimise the potential of lost sales that result when consumers switch to more proactive competitor brands.

There is increasing focus on sustainability in the production of garments. However, as the number of mandatory laws, regulations, standards, codes and stakeholders increases, a business must determine the extent of its sustainability focus and decide on the level of public disclosure. To enable comparative analysis, a framework is needed to identify and grade a company’s initiatives. An initial questionnaire identified five appropriate fashion brands for analysis. Subsequently, content analysis of the brands’ website disclosure of sustainability related information was undertaken over a three year period. The results showed that, whilst all the five brands surveyed published information by the final stage of the research, the extent of disclosure was highly variable. This makes assessing, measuring and comparing information quickly, difficult for the average consumer. This paper proposes a framework based on dividing a company’s disclosed information into three concentric circles, encompassing mandatory obligations, current social awareness and emerging trends.