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CSR Communication

A comparative analysis of

Bestseller & Gap Inc.’s

Rhetoricals strategies

Author: Rikke Hansen (280837)

Supervisor: Sinne Louise Brandt Jakobsen

Master thesis: Cand.ling.merc. Engelsk

ISEK Aarhus School of Business

December 2009

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

1 INTRODUCTION................................................................................................................1

1.1 AIM..................................................................................................................21.2 EMPIRICAL DATA ............................................................................................31.3 THEORY & METHODOLOGY.............................................................................41.4 STRUCTURE .....................................................................................................4

2 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY .......................................................................6 2.1 What is CSR......................................................................................................6

2.2 CSR Schools......................................................................................................8

2.2.1The dogmatic school...................................................................................... 8

2.2.2 The philanthropic school .............................................................................8

2.2.3 The international school ..............................................................................9

2.2.5 The Danish school ........................................................................................9

2.2.6 The ethical school ......................................................................................10

2.3 CSR communication .......................................................................................11

2.3.1 Implicit or explicit communication .............................................................11

2.3.2 CSR in a Danish context .............................................................................. 14

2.3.3 CSR in America ...........................................................................................15

2.4 Theory on CSR ...............................................................................................16

2.4.1 Carroll’s pyramid of CSR .............................................................................16

3 Theory and Method of Analysis ..........................................................................18

3.1 Method of Analysis .......................................................................................18

3.2 Appeal forms & Argumentation analysis .......................................................19

3.2.1 Appeal forms ...............................................................................................19

3.2.2 Ethos ...........................................................................................................19

3.2.3 Logos ...........................................................................................................20

3.2.4 Pathos ........................................................................................................20

3.3 Toulmin’s argumentation model ...................................................................20

3.3.1Types of arguments .....................................................................................23

4 Presentation of Bestseller ...................................................................................24

4.1 Introduction to Bestseller ..............................................................................24

4.2 Ethics & Code of Conduct ..............................................................................24

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4.2 Ethics & Code of Conduct .............................................................................24

4.3 Bestseller & DIEH ..........................................................................................25

4.4 The Bestseller Family ....................................................................................25

4.5 Presentation of Bestsellers webpage ............................................................27

5 Presentation of Gap Inc ......................................................................................285.1 (RED) ............................................................................................................. 29

5.2 Gap. Inc.’s Website ........................................................................................29

6 Analysis ...............................................................................................................31

6.1 Analysis of ‘Responsible Production’ .............................................................32

6.1.2 The Communication Situation ....................................................................32

6.1.3 The Purpose of the Text .............................................................................33

6.1.4 Language Functions ...................................................................................33

6.1.5 The text’s appeal forms ..............................................................................34

6.1.6 Arguments in the text .................................................................................35

6.1.6.1 Summary of Argumentation ...................................................................38

6.2 Analysis of ’Chemical Restrictions’ ................................................................38

6.2.1 The Communicative Situation ....................................................................38

6.2.2 The Communicative Purpose of the Text ...................................................40

6.2.3 Terminology ................................................................................................40

6.2.4 Language Functions ....................................................................................41

6.2.5 Personal Pronouns ......................................................................................41

6.2.6 Appeal types ...............................................................................................42

6.2.6.1 Summary of appeal types ..........................................................................44

6.2.7 Types of arguments in the text ....................................................................44

6.2.7.1 Summary of arguments .............................................................................48

6.4 Analysis of ‘Embracing our Responsibility – Product safety’ ………..………………48

6.4.1 The Communicative Situation ………………………………………………….………………...48

6.4.2 The Communicative Purpose ……………………………………………………………………49

6.4.3 Formality …………………………………………………………………………………………………..49

6.4.4 Language Function …………………………………………………………………………………….49

6.4.5 Personal Pronouns ……………………………………………………………………………………..49

6.4.6 Appeal types ……………………………………………………………………………………………..50

6.4.6.1 Summary of appeal types ……………………………………………………………………….53

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6.4.7 Arguments in the Text ………………………………………………………………………………….53

6.4.7.1 Summary of argumentation ……………………………………………………………………..58

7 Conclusion .............................................................................................................58

Abstract......................................................................................................................60

Bibliography

Articles

Appendices

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1 Introduction

In recent years Social Responsibility has become an important phenomenon in organisations

all over the world. The private sector as well as the public has increased the awareness of the

CSR activities and corporations of all sizes have incorporated it into their marketing strategy.

Consumers have now more than ever incorporated the concept of CSR into their consumer

habits and become more conscious of what is happening all over the world in connection with

issues such as child labour, social issues, human rights and animal welfare as well as climate

change, a rapidly growing population, extreme poverty and the AIDS epidemic. Due to the

present technological era, i.e. the internet it is easy to acquire knowledge about these ethical

issues from corporate websites and if consumers are not informed about specific issues,

groups such as NGOs, grass root groups and the media will help draw the consumer’s

attention to news, especially the rather negative news.

However, the concept of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is diffuse, as there are a large

number of definitions connected with CSR, and thus it is impossible to define it in a single

definition (Matten & Moon). CSR has become the new buzz word in corporate

communication and according to experts it will not disappear in the near future but is here to

stay. However, CSR is a phenomenon in constant change and in the coming years the

interpretation of CSR is likely to change from the current interpretation, especially in

Denmark (Morsing).

European and American corporations have different ways of communicating CSR to their

stakeholders (Matten & Moon 2008). In America, they practice the international school of

thought which is very explicit while the European, including the Danish, CSR communication

is implicit. Companies that follow the International School of Thought communicate their

CSR through Corporate Philanthropy, Community Volunteering and Socially Responsible

Business Practice as well as Corporate Cause Promotions and Cause-Related Marketing. In

Denmark, and Europe in general, companies have not communicated their CSR at all until

recently. They may have used Corporate Philanthropy and Community Volunteering but they

have not used it explicitly in their marketing strategy. However, during the past few years

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CSR in Europe has changed and continues to do so, to form its own platform and definition of

what it means in a European context (Matten & Moon 2008).

Claus Hjort Frederiksen, the former Danish Minister of Employment defined the Danish way

of communicating CSR very precisely;

‘There is a tradition of not talking too much about corporate social responsibility. This

is very sympathetic and very Danish, but when taking this stance it is difficult to see the

economic potential. One should ask oneself: What is it that we are doing and how can we use

it to improve our image?’

(Morsing & Beckmann; 2006).

According to many scholars (e.g. Matten & Moon) Danish companies have started to imitate

the way CSR is communicated internationally, meaning on an explicit level. The article

‘Catch 22’ (Morsing et al; 2008) claims that the Danish companies are moving from the

implicit way of communicating CSR to a more explicit way which also means towards the

International School of Thought.

The explicit CSR communication means that corporations communicate to their stakeholders

what they do, e.g. charity work for social welfare or codes of conduct which many

corporations have concerning their method of production.

1.1 Aim

It has been put forward by several scholars in research articles that Danish CSR

communication moves towards the explicit communication strategies, see e.g. Beckmann et

al, in ‘Strategic CSR Communication’ and Matten and Moon article ‘A conceptual

Framework for understanding CSR’.

However, even though Danish companies are turning more and more towards a complete

explicit communication form, this project works on the hypothesis that Danish and American

companies still differ greatly in their way of communicating to the their stakeholders in terms

of explicit communication, i.e. American companies will in general communicate more

explicit about their initiatives than Danish companies will ever do.

On the basis of these differences, this project will examine the following questions:

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If and how American and Danish companies differ in terms of CSR communication? More

specifically the problem statement of the project is:

How is CSR communicated online by Bestseller and Gap Inc. in terms of rhetorical

strategies, forms of appeal and argumentation?

This project works on the assumption that Gap Inc. operates with the international school of

thought’s explicit CSR while Danish Bestseller despite some openness about their CSR in

principal still employ the implicit CSR. To prove this thesis, the project will examine how

the two companies communicate their CSR to the stakeholders.

According to the article ‘The ‘Catch 22’ of communicating CSR: Findings from a Danish

study’ companies which are ‘most active within CSR are also the most criticised, whereas

companies doing the least are correspondingly the least criticised’ (Morsing et al: 2008, 97).

The companies are being tested on the timing of their publishing their initiatives, the media

and independent activist groups ‘test the validity of the corporate CSR claims; are these

companies as ‘good’ as they say they are?’ (Morsing et al: 2008, 97). ‘The challenge is for

companies to be perceived as socially responsible across stakeholders’ (Morsing et al: 2008

p.97).

1.2 Empirical data

In recent years, consumers have started to focus on particularly their health and the climate

changes the world is facing at the moment. Also we are more concerned with the image

behind the companies and not just the generic products i.e. consumers are particularly aware

of how they internally and externally influence their body. Thus consumers are very

conscious of what they wear, where it originates from, how it is produced e.g. employees’

working conditions, types of materials used to manufacture the clothes, etc. With that in mind,

the Danish clothing company Bestseller has been chosen as the Danish element of the analysis

and Gap Inc. has been chosen for the American counterpart. The two companies are very

similar with regards to their production assortment and also their target consumer / key

demographic. Definition of the consumer and assortment: the target consumer is young,

between the age of 0 – 40, and both men, women and children. The assortment the companies

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carry is; clothes, accessories and shoes. The price level of the products range from around 50

DDK up to 1000 DKK.

The analysis will focus on the Danish clothing company Bestseller’s English homepage and

the American clothing company Gap Inc’s homepage. Two texts with a common theme,

Social Responsibility, have been chosen for the analysis: Bestseller’s text Responsible

Production (Appendix 1) and Chemical Restriction (Appendix 2) and Gap Inc.’s Code of

vendor conduct (Appendix 3) and Product safety (Appendix 4). Seeing that communication to

the public i.e. the stakeholders is the focus of this project, the texts chosen for the analysis are

all available to the public on the companies’ respective websites1.

1.3 Theory & Methodology

The selected texts for this project have the single purpose of convincing the readers that the

companies are operating responsibly, hence the CSR section, and that they are communicating

this to the recipients. To analyse the four texts Toulmin’s theory of argumentation and types

of arguments combined with Aristotle’s classical appeal forms; Ethos, Pathos and Logos have

been selected. These different theories have been selected on the background of the thesis

mentioned above, viz the companies are trying to argue for the responsibility which they

themselves have established. These two theories are well acknowledged and useful in

analysis’ that concern rhetorical structure and argumentation in texts.

To determine if a company uses the implicit or explicit CSR communication, I have chosen to

define it as follows: If a company, Danish or American, communicates about their CSR

initiatives it is the explicit communication that is used, however if a company does not

mention anything about their initiatives or strategies it is the implicit way of communicating

that has been chosen.

Structure

The project will start with a thorough presentation of CSR history, the different schools of

CSR that are available in the communicative events in corporations and the concept behind

the phenomenon of CSR.

The next main section Theory and Method of Analysis will account for and thoroughly

discuss the theories applied on this project. As will become evident in the following chapters,

1 www.bestseller.com, www.gapinc.com

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http://www.gapinc.com/

http://www.bestseller.com/

the general theory I have chosen to apply on the analysis is Toulmin’s model of

Argumentation and Jørgensen & Onsberg’s appeal types based on Aristotle’s Ethos, Logos

and Pathos. Here after the two companies, Bestseller and Gap Inc. will be introduced both

regarding their corporate image / identity and their website structure.

Next the Analysis of the four texts will be made applying the theory of Toulmin and Aristotle.

Lastly a conclusion will be drawn from the analysis which will be discussed in details.

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2 Corporate Social ResponsibilityToday there is not a single definition that can adequately describe and present CSR. The CSR

term is defuse and one well acknowledged theory will not be sufficient to cover the large and

extensive view people have on CSR. This chapter will examine and determine the concept of

CSR and present a definition of CSR in Denmark and Europe and the USA.

2.1 What is CSR?Introduction

CSR is an ambiguous concept and there are almost as many opinions and definitions of CSR

as there are corporations around the world (Neergaard, 2006).

An initial brainstorm on CSR in a class of higher education reveals that there are several

definitions and perceptions of the CSR concept. One student describes it is ‘being socially

responsible in the community’, another ‘being environmental conscious’ and a third as ‘taking

care of your employees’. This is a good representation of how differently the concept of CSR

is used and applied in connection with corporate use.

The problem of identifying one specific approach to CSR was already on the rise 35 years ago

when Votaw wrote: ‘corporate social responsibility means something, but not always the

same thing to everybody. To some it conveys the idea of legal responsibility or liability; to

others, it means socially responsible behaviour in the ethical sense; ... many simply equate it

with a charitable contribution; some take it to mean socially conscious’ (Votaw 1972: 25).

Today the most common definition of CSR is: ‘…the actions of the company to act in a

socially responsible manner to protect and enhance the various stakeholders that have an

interest in the company, the community in which it operates, the environment which surrounds

it, and society.’ (West et al. 2006: 434).

In comparison with Votaw, the European Union’s definition of CSR in Green Paper from

2001 reveals a whole different view and approach to the phenomena: ‘A concept whereby

companies integrate social and environmental concerns in their business operations and in

their interaction with their stakeholders on a voluntary basis’ (Green Paper, European

Commission, 2001: 8).

The perception that this project will accept and use as the definition of CSR is along the lines

of both West and the European Union’s Green Paper. More specifically; CSR is the

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corporation’s conscience and moral obligation towards the local, national and global society

in which the corporation operates. It concerns taking responsibility for the society which

implies consideration for all the stakeholders who are affected by the corporation as well as

the community.

The above definitions reveal only a minor percentage of the big CSR umbrella. It might be

said that there are as many definitions of CSR as there are organisations and companies. Most

often there will be a minor variation among companies and their internal definition of the term

CSR.

Below a thorough examination of some of the most common views on CSR will be made

including the different schools as accounted for by Peter Neergaard (2006).

During recent years, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has become a very popular and

much talked about topic in the corporate world. However, CSR is not a new phenomenon of

the 21st century but can be traced back to several centuries before our time (Carroll: 1999,

268).

‘Formal writing on social responsibility, however, is largely a product of the 20th century,

especially the past 50 years [...] formal writings have been most evident in the United States,

where a sizable body of literature has accumulated’(Op. Cit.)

Carroll points out that CSR has gained its strength and the corporate world has realised how

important a subject it is over the last 50 years. During the previous 10 years CSR has

developed and formed into the phenomenon most people associate with CSR today; being

socially responsible towards people and the environment.

Different countries, different cultures and different ways of using and communicating CSR.

The difference between the specific CSR issues very much varies according to how the

country in question is structured in terms of social laws and culture. Roughly speaking there

are two main approaches on CSR, the European and the International / American. These two

approaches reflect how the society and social structure are formed in the different countries

respectively. The European and International school will be explained and discussed

extensively later on in this chapter.

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Moreover there are other ways for corporations to use CSR in connection with developing a

business or marketing plan, which is also a representation of the two schools mentioned

above.

2.2 CSR SchoolsTo get a better overview of and be able to place the different perceptions of CSR in a more

systematic division, a list of different ‘schools’ will be accounted for and described below.

According to Neergaard (2006) there are 6 different schools of CSR that collectively make up

all the different approaches to CSR.

2.2.1The dogmatic school is best described with the quote from Milton Friedman

(Greenwood, 2001:29) ‘The Social Responsibility of Business is to increase Profit’. Another

quote from Jensen (2002:239) states: ‘social welfare is maximized when all firms in an

economy maximize total firm value’. Both give a good perspective on the thoughts behind

this school. Scholars say that if the companies concentrate on how to make money, jobs will

be created and income and welfare will thereby increase in general.

2.2.2 The philanthropic school

According to Carroll et al. (2002) characteristic for the philanthropic school is that

corporations are responsible for contributing financially to charitable causes. The bottom line

is close to the dogmatic school; corporations should focus on financial affairs, however, they

should also give parts of the profit back to society. According to Campell (2002), social

responsibility equals contributions to charities. In the 1970s in the USA the ‘5 percent club’

was established (Vogel 2005: 20) and consisted of corporations that donate at least five

percent of their income before tax to charitable purposes. This proportion has now changed

and today corporations can donated and at the same time withdraw five to ten percent in taxes.

It is primarily American corporations that donate money to e.g. schools in criminal areas in

the cities or aids to handicapped. This is an example of why the social safety network in the

USA is not as developed as e.g. in Denmark.

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2.2.3 The international school

The international school is the most common perception of CSR written about in books and

scholarly articles. This is a perception of CSR as being voluntary and concerning social and

environmental issues and in a close collaboration with stakeholders. Every activity that the

corporation within the field of CSR involves in is on a voluntary basis and reaches beyond the

legislation. The activities have to be within the areas of environmental or social character. The

social area is often divided into internal and external activity. The internal activity is

associated with legal activities such as the mental and physical working environment. The

external is connected with the working conditions at factories owned by the corporation’s

suppliers and partners e.g. in developing countries. According to Neergaard CSR is often

depicted as a trinity since the third element is the financial side of CSR. Finance, environment

and social areas are the elements referred to when corporations speak of the triple bottom line

and scholars argue that only profitable corporations can be responsible and sustainable which

will happen in dialogue with the their stakeholders.

2.2.4 The dialogue oriented school

‘CSR is defined as the obligations or duties of an organization to a specific system of

stakeholders’ (Vos 2003: 142). This is how Neergaard best defines the dialogue oriented

school. In this connection CSR is a matter of taking into account the expectations of those

stakeholders who influence or is influenced by the corporation’s actions. Morsing &

Beckmann defines it as a definition of CSR where the dialogue and the process are central

(2006: 115). The central point of this perception is CSR as an element of constant dialogue

with stakeholders as well as a matter of credibility and communicating the initiatives.

2.2.5 The Danish school

In Denmark the concept of CSR is different from that of other countries. The Danish view and

concept of CSR is called ‘an inclusive labour market’ (Morsing & Thyssen 2003:25). This

concept was introduced in 1994 by Karen Jespersen minister of social affairs from 1993 -

2000. She was the driving force and initiator of the Danish campaign for CSR. The model was

introduced in recognition of the Danish state’s inability to solve the problems of the Welfare

State which ‘supported almost a quarter of the able-bodied population’ financially (Op. Cit.)

The Danish state needed help from the private sector when realising that over the years to

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come a large part of the current Danish work force would retire from the job market leaving

relatively smaller generations to take over the jobs and lift the heavy load. The Danish CSR

concept – the inclusive labour market - represents two areas of CSR: unemployment

(Integration) and social exclusion (Fastholdelse). The unemployment model deals with

integration on the labour market for people who have not been on the job market for many

years e.g. due to long term unemployment, age, ethnic background than Danish, etc. The

social exclusion model tries to keep and maintain employees who have been facing illness,

aging, worn down bodies, etc. active on the job market.

The Danish school will be elaborated on further in the section CSR in a Danish Context in this

chapter.

2.2.6 The ethical school

‘The organisation voluntarily moves beyond basic economic, legal and ethical responsibilities

to provide leadership in advancing the well-being of individuals, communities and society as

a whole’ (Schermerhorn 2005:76). This quotation is what best describes the ethical school and

their perception of CSR. CSR is ethically correct according to Neergaard. It is a matter of

people’s conduct in relation to society. It is a perception of knowing what is right and wrong

and what is fair and not fair. According to Neergaard many people equal ethic and moral,

however, Fisher and Lovell (2003) do not completely agree with this. They differentiate the

two terms by saying: ‘The term ethics will be used to refer to doing good and morality will be

used to refer to avoidance of harm. Ethics deals with the good life of human mankind.

Morality in contract is a concern for justice ..’ (Op. Cit. 2003: 30). Schermerhorn devides

ethics into different types of responsibilities and express that corporations have a legal and

ethical responsibility. The legal responsibility consists of respecting the law and other

regulations. The ethical responsibility is doing something beyond what the law and

regulations require and what is expected.

CSR has many different facades and one definition that describes them all is difficult to find.

The six different schools defined by Neergaard give a good overview of how CSR is used in

different countries and cultures. These definitions can help differentiate the different

initiatives corporations take in connection with their individual social responsible programs

and agendas.

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However, a simple definition of CSR is corporations and individuals care for something or

someone whether it is people or the planet.

2.3 CSR communicationMany organisations are perplexed about how they should communicate their CSR activities as

well as how much to communicate about it to the stakeholders. On the other hand it is

desirable for the corporation to communicate about their CSR activities to show the

stakeholders that the corporation takes responsibility concerning the society and / or is

environmentally conscious. On the other hand, if the corporation is reluctant to communicate

it can easily be perceived as the communication solely for selfish reasons i.e. reaching the

financial goals set for the corporation. ‘The challenge is for companies to be perceived as

socially responsible across stakeholders’ (Morsing et al. 2008: 98). It is difficult for

corporations to find a path in between they are lead in opposite directions in their goal to

satisfy both their stakeholders and themselves. According to Morsing (Morsing & Thyssen

2003), Danish citizens ‘want companies to engage in social activities, they do not want

companies to communicate too much about it’ ( Op. Cit.: 146). However, research has

concluded that companies ‘most active within CSR are also the most criticised, whereas

companies doing the least are correspondingly the least criticised’ (Morsing et al. 2008:97).

This means that the corporations have to make a decision as to how much they want to

communicate about their CSR activities. On the one hand it can be profitable and on the other

it can lead to a crisis for the company if it is not as engaged in the social responsibility as it

claims to be and interest groups find a break in the communication and discover the company

does not live up to the social responsibility.

2.3.1 Implicit or explicit communication

As mentioned in the Introduction there is two important definitions of how countries and

companies communicate their CSR strategies to the stakeholders. They either use the explicit

or the implicit communication strategy i.e. they either communicate about the CSR initiatives

or not.

In Europe, the most common use of CSR communication has been the implicit strategy

meaning that there is none or very little communication from corporations on their CSR

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initiatives, whereas in North America it has been the explicit strategy that has been the most

dominant (Morsing & Beckmann 2006:27).

The implicit and explicit CSR strategy is explained by Matten & Moon as:

‘Explicit CSR refers to corporate policies that lead companies to assume responsibility for some interests of society. Explicit CSR would normally involve voluntary, self-interest driven

policies, programmes and strategies of corporations to address issues perceived by the company and/or its stakeholders as part of their social responsibility’ (2004:341).

‘Implicit CSR refers to a country’s formal and informal institutions through which the corporations’ responsibility for society’s interests are agreed and assigned to corporations.

Implicit CSR normally consists of values, norms and rules, which result in (mostly) mandatory requirements for corporations to address issues, which social, political and economic interests consider a proper and reasonable obligation upon corporate actors’

(2004:342)

From these two definitions it is possible to conclude on the Danish and American CSR

contexts respectively that it is the explicit CSR communication that is common in North

America and the implicit communication that is mostly used in Europe, including Denmark.

The reason behind this can be found in the business / government relation that is to be found

in Europe. Corporations are not practising social responsibility on a voluntary basis but rather

following the laws required by the government, whereas in North America the laws on social

responsibility are more dictated by the stakeholders and corporations themselves.

The model (Figure 1) below shows how the two terms are related to each other. They both

deal with the same social issues, however, one does not exclude the other and both are found

in various degrees in the respective countries.

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Figure 1: Implicit and explicit CSR. (Source Matten & Moon 2004)

According to Matten & Moon (2008) there has been a shift in the way that European

organisations communicate CSR to their stakeholders. Matten and Moon suggest that a move

from the implicit CSR strategy to the more explicit strategy (Ibid).

In the research article; ‘The ‘Catch 22’ of communicating CSR: Findings from a Danish

Study’ (2008) Morsing et al. have found that Danish companies and organisations have partly

changed their communication strategy from implicit to the more explicit way. In the article

they describe how this might have an influence on the consumers / stakeholders.

Corporate Citizenship is a new term that many corporations and organisations use when

referring to CSR today. They feel Corporate Citizenship covers their focus and what they do

in social terms better that the term CSR. (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2003) In this project however,

the term CSR will be used and there will not be any differentiations between the different

elements of CSR that corporations work with on a daily basis.

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Various CSR CSR issues addressed by explicit Issues corporate policies

CSR issues are addressed by

mechanisms implicit in the Strength of institutional framework for business institutional

framework US European Countries

2.3.2 CSR in a Danish context

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) is not a new phenomenon in a Danish context. It has

been an incorporated part of Danish business life and existence for many decades, however, it

is has up until now not been visible on the corporations’ agenda. (Djursø & Neergaard, 2006:

Chap. 6; Morsing & Thyssen 2003:147).

With reference to the Danish school mentioned above the Danish way of perceiving CSR is

very different from the way other countries operate with term CSR. Even though traditional

CSR has been incorporated in the Danish Corporate world it is the Danish school that

differentiates Denmark from other countries.

The Danish Corporate Social Responsibility is also known as ‘Virksomhedernes sociale

ansvar’ in Danish which corresponds to ‘the inclusive labour market’ (Thyssen in Morsing &

Thyssen 2003:25). Traditionally, the social issues in Denmark are taken care of by the state

through the high taxation of the population as well as corporations (Ibid), securing the Danish

citizens financial help in case of unemployment, sickness or dependency (appendix 9). This

has been practised for decades if not centuries in Denmark, however, in the mid 1990’s an

addition to this appeared and changed the perception of the government’s role in society and

introduced the term the inclusive labour market to the population. The campaign, ‘It concerns

us all’, was introduced by the Minister for Social Affairs, Karen Jespersen, and was a link

between the labour market and social issues as well as the private and public sectors (Op. Cit.

30). The plan was for corporations to help the government get more people active on the

labour market and away from financial help / social benefits from the government. This was a

massive success and the following years the unemployment rate dropped extensively and in

2008 the rate was as low as it had been in years.

Internationally the Danish model on the inclusive labour market has won great

acknowledgement and ‘the issue of social integration and unemployment has been a priority

on the European agenda’ (Op. Cit. 30) for many years now.

CSR in Denmark represents a ‘unique case’ according to Morsing et al. (2008). According to

Morsing et al (2008) ‘CSR is the most important driver of corporate reputation in Denmark

compared to other countries’, however, ‘the Danes emerge as the most sceptic citizens to the

question of whether companies should communicate their CSR initiatives or not’ (Ibid).

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The Danish CSR communication is little to non-existing or at least that has been the case.

In an article published in the Danish newspaper Jyllands Posten, ‘Danske Virksomheder er

tavse om social ansvar’ the International audit company KPMG has carried out a survey on

Corporate Responsibility Reporting that shows Denmark at the bottom of the list of countries

that we are normally compared to. The article also states that only 40 of the 100 biggest

corporations in Denmark communicate about their CSR activities. This could have fatal

consequences for Danish organisations since the expectations to communicate about ethic,

corporate management and risky areas which are not financially related are rising, according

to the article. Good manners in ethics and being socially responsible are becoming an

important element in a competitive world extending to hiring the top employees. According to

the management in Danish Industry (DI) the Danish corporations are not behind on CSR

initiatives only when it comes to the communicative part.

Up until recently Danish companies and organisations have communicated their CSR after the

implicit structure (see above) but the communicative path has changed, and in December

2008 the Danish Government passed a bill forcing the 1100 biggest companies in Denmark to

declare their annual CSR activities including companies that do not have any activities within

the field.2 This however goes against the European Union’s definition of the term as it states

(see definition above in this chapter) that CSR and ‘their interaction with their stakeholders’

have to be ‘on a voluntary basis’ (European Union, Green paper). This new law then, could be

the end of Danish implicit CSR communication as we know it.

2.3.3 CSR in America

CSR in North America has also existed for many years, however, as opposed to the Danish

case there is extensive CSR communication in America.

Traditionally the focus is on philanthropy and the International school of CSR. Many

corporations donate large amounts to charitable organisations and fund local projects on a

voluntary basis. However, this is also an expectation raised in the community (Morsing &

Beckmann in Djursø & Neergaard 2006: 117). The corporations communicate explicitly about

these activities on their webpages and have extensive programs of social responsibility to help

charitable organisations and private people in need.

2 See appendix 5 from DIEH

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Social welfare in America is next to not existing. Far from all have Americans have social

security insurances to help them when they have medical problems or when they face

unemployment.

Many of the areas, which are classified as CSR in America, are already incorporated in the

Danish corporations’ legislations from the government i.e. environmental issues, human rights

etc. (Morsing & Beckmann in Djursø & Neergaard 2006: 118).

2.4 Theory on CSR

As stated earlier in this project CSR is not a new concept but has roots back to the 1960s and

before that time. During the 1960s focus was on maximising the financial return in order to

satisfy shareholders (Friedman in Zadek, 2004: 51). Today, focus has turned and companies

are trying to satisfy all stakeholders and hence economic responsibility is only a small part of

the broad corporate social responsibility concept. CSR as defined by Carroll and Buchholtz:

‘The social responsibility of business encompasses the economic, legal, ethical, and

discretionary (philanthropic) expectations that society has of organizations at a given point of

time’ (2003: 35).

According to this definition CSR can be divided into four areas of business-society relations;

economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic responsibility and relates to the expectations of the

external world.

Carroll has constructed a model shaped as a pyramid and has inserted the four elements of

CSR in it (see the model below). Matten & Moon (2008:337) defines Archie Carroll model

as: ‘probably the most widely accepted and referred to conceptualisation of CSR’.

2.4.1 Carroll’s pyramid of CSR

As mentioned above Carroll divides the model into four areas i.e.: economic, legal, ethical

and philanthropic responsibility.

The pyramid shape of the model emphasises that Economic Responsibility is more important

than Philanthropic Responsibility. This is somewhat true in the sense that without financial

responsibility the company will not survive long and cannot be philanthropicly responsible.

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However, being philanthropicly responsible will not necessarily lead to financial bankruptcy.

Thus, the elements in the pyramid should be seen as a whole and not as individual elements

that juxtapose each other (Caroll & Buchholtz, 2003:40).

Philanthropic ResponsibilitiesBe a good corporate citizen.

Contribute resources to the community;improve quality of life.

Ethical ResponsibilitiesBe ethical.

Obligation to do what is right, just, and fair. Avoid harm.

Legal ResponsibilitiesObey the law.

Law is society’s codification of right and wrong.Play by the rules of the game.

Economic ResponsibilitiesBe profitable

The foundation upon which all others rest.

Figure 2: The Pyramid of Corporate Social Responsibility; by Carroll (in Carroll & Buchholtz, 2003:40)

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3 Theory and Method of AnalysisIntroduction

In this section the theory of CSR will be explored as well as the Method used for the analysis

of the text in a later chapter will be explored and explained in details.

3.1 Method of AnalysisAs mentioned in section 2 CSR, the Danish CSR communication has changed in recent years

and seeing that the Danish Government has put down by law that companies and

organisations have to communicate to their stakeholder’s about their CSR initiatives it is

interesting to explore how the companies handle this challenge. Many companies have also

started to communicate more on their respective websites as it is ultimately the best way to

reach a broader audience i.e. stakeholders. (Pollach, 2005).

The Danish companies and organisations have automatically been forced to think more

abstractly and in new terms to comply with the new law i.e. change the discourse in their CSR

communication, yet they automatically look over each other’s shoulders to see how other

companies go about the situation both nationally and internationally.

The scholars Matten & Moon claim in the article “Implicit” and “Explicit” CSR: A

conceptual framework for a comparative understanding of corporate social responsibility that

‘corporations elsewhere in the world have recently begun to adopt the language and practice

of CSR- particularly in Europe ..’ (Moon & Matten, 2008:404).

These changes are taking place right now, however, corporations have already started to

communicate them to external stakeholders. Due to the obvious reason that society is

changing and people adapt to the changes it will be interesting to see how a Danish company

is communicating these changes to the stakeholders. Are there differences between Danish

and American communicating skills?

A central method in the textual analysis will be Anna Tronsborg’s classical analysis of Tenor,

Mode and Field. Tronsborg’s theory provides a good explanation of how the rhetorical

elements works in the texts.

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3.2 Appeal forms & Argumentation analysisIntroduction

In the analysis of the chosen texts from Bestseller and Gap Inc., it is presumed that both

companies will try to persuade the readers to believe they are both responsible companies

who take responsibility for their actions to increase the working conditions and production in

a positive way.

This means that Bestseller and Gap Inc. can present arguments that they are in fact doing

something to enhance conditions and hence their credibility and in the end the reader should

believe this.

To show how Bestseller and Gap Inc. are trying to convince the reader that each company are

socially responsible, the model of argumentation analysis will be one of the key theories in

the textual analysis. The overall areas for this will be: appeal forms, Toulmin’s model of

argumentation and Jørgensen & Onsberg’s appeal types.

3.2.1 Appeal forms

Since classical Antiquity rhetorical communication has been engaged with credibility, including how a

source / sender of a message can appear trustworthy. Aristotle built the rhetorical credibility element

pistis, also known as persuasio (convincing), on three appeal forms; Logos (appeal via rational sense

or argumentation), Pathos (appeal via emotions) and Ethos (appeal via personal character) (Jørgensen

& Onsberg 2008, p. 69-73; Lund & Petersen 2001, p. 122).

Aristotle’s classic rhetorical appeal forms Ethos, Logos and Pathos have been selected as the

basis for the analysis to determine which strategy the companies use to get the receivers of the

texts convinced of the truth of the arguments and their point of view.

The three appeal forms cover the entire text where there would normally be several of the

appeals present and not just the individual argument. Ethos, Pathos and Logos are closely

connected and they both can and must support each other.

3.2.2 Ethos

According to McCroskey Aristotle defines Ethos as ‘the means of persuasion’ (McCroskey,

2001: 7), meaning Ethos appeals to the receiver’s perception of the sender’s credibility and

integrity. Ethos appeal is thus based on the character of the speaker. Ethos appeal cannot stand

alone but must be supported by Logos appeal for the sender to appear credible to the receiver.

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3.2.3 Logos

The Logos appeal is about logic and reasoning. The sender appeals to the receiver’s intellect.

McCroskey defines this as ‘the nature of the message presented by the source to the audience’

(Ibid.). The sender tries to argue for the point of view in a rational way and appeals to the

receiver’s logical way of thinking. The sender often sticks to the facts in a document and tries

to be objective in the argumentation with neutral wording. Logos appeal can often be found in

academic and scholarly documents and writing.

3.2.4 Pathos

Pathos appeal is described by McCroskey as ‘the emotion of the audience’ (Ibid.). Here the

sender calls on the receivers of the text and base the arguments on their feelings and

immediate emotions towards the situation. Pathos is about the receiver’s spontaneous feelings

and is often found in live appearance such as speeches and advertisement. Pathos is easily

recognised through its value-laden expressions and strong adjectives both positive and

negative.

The three appeals take place on an overall level and afterwards it will be possible to find and

examine the single arguments in the specific text and go into dept with them.

3.3 Toulmin’s argumentation modelIn this chapter the model of Toulmin’s argumentation will be described followed by an

elaboration on how the arguments in a text are constructed.

In the 1950s The British philosopher Stephen Toulmin developed a model which describes the

structure of arguments (Jørgensen & Onsberg, 2008:15). During an argument the purpose is

either to establish or refute the validity of the argument in question.

In other words, when someone puts forward a claim he/she seeks for agreement and / or

approval. In order for the receiver to accept a claim he / she instinctively looks for the

arguments (claim) put forward by the sender to supports it and the sender must be able to

provide valid evidence that support the claim (Toulmin 2003:90). The model enables the

receiver to find elements in the argument that makes it either strong or weak. Hence,

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Toulmin’s model describes the structure of argumentation and is a universal model that can be

employed in most arguments.

When analysing the individual arguments and their structure in a text, it is highly

recommendable to use Toulmin’s model (Jørgensen & Onsberg, 2008) because it divides the

individual argument up in single fragments.

Toulmin presents six components in his argumentation model which an argument can consist

of. In his basis model of arguments Toulmin operates with three parts which are always

present either implicitly or explicitly: Claim, Data and Warrant (see model 3 below).

The Claim (C) is the conclusion of the argument i.e. the statement that is being argued for and

one can refer to the facts or evidence of the argument that supports the claim. The Data (D) is

the facts and evidence supporting the Claim, and the Data is always explicit in the argument.

If the claim is questioned further, it is necessary to provide a general hypothetical statement

which functions as a bridge between the Claim and Data. The statement and conclusion are

the Warrant (W) and are often implicit in the argument. The Warrant is the chain of reasoning

that connects the Ground to the Claim (Toulmin 2003; Jørgensen & Onsberg 2008:17 - 18).

Model 3: Toulmin’s model for argumentation analysis (Jørgensen & Onsberg, 2008: 27)

In some arguments it is not sufficient only to use the three elements mentioned above to prove

the argument. In those cases there are three additional elements that can be used to support the

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Data Qualifier Claim

RebuttalWarrant

Backing

claim further. In the extended version the three elements that are added consist of: Qualifier,

Rebuttal and Backing. These elements are optional and do not appear in all arguments

(Jørgensen & Onsberg 2008: 27).

The Qualifier (Q) is connected to the Claim in the argument and can be found when asking:

‘How sure of the Claim is the sender?’ (Op. Cit. 29).

The Rebuttal (R) is connected to the Qualifier and can be seen as reservation and insecurity

which goes from Claim to Warrant. Rebuttal indicates exceptions to the Warrant. The

Rebuttal can be found by asking: Under which circumstances is the Claim not valid?’ (Ibid).

The Rebuttal and Qualifier are implicitly commenting on the Warrants validity (Ibid).

Backing (B) is directly connected to the Warrant and is used when in doubt of whether or not

Warrant can be accepted. Backing is used when there is need for further documentation for

the rule in the Warrant to be established i.e. backing is used to determine whether a Warrant

can be used as a conclusion that combines Claim and Data (Ibid).

As mentioned above the elements in the extended version are all optional contrary to the basic

model where the elements are compulsory. All six are either implicit or explicit however, the

Warrant is almost always implicit contrary to the Grounds which is almost always explicit

with few exceptions. The elements in the extended version will also be considered in the

analysis of the texts although to a lesser degree than the elements in the basic model.

In this analysis it is most obvious to look at the Data and the Warrant which the companies

have used to convince the reader of the argument (Claim). Hence the main focus will be on

the basic model.

The model is often applied in textual analysis to examine whether or not the arguments in the

text are acceptable due to a strong support or if the arguments are weak with no data or

backing to support the claim.

Many scholars are still using Toulmin’s model and believe it to be an effective tool to analyse

arguments. However, sometimes the various implicit elements in the model make it difficult

to use, hence the user of the model is able conclude several different Warrants that can affect

the argument in a negative direction. Even if a Backing is present in the text it is still no

guarantee that different conclusions will not be made and this could affect the overall message

of the text.

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3.3.1Types of arguments

The final area in Toulmin’s argumentation model is: Types of arguments (Jørgensen &

Onsberg, 2008: 51). According to Jørgensen & Onsberg it is the Warrant of an argument that

decides which type of argument it is. Jørgensen & Onsberg defines seven different types of

Warrants (Op. Cit.: Chapter 3):

Sign or symptom – Warrant: based on the belief that Data is the sign or symptom of the

Claim.

Cause or effect – Warrant: based on the belief that Data causes Claim or that Data is the

consequence of Claim.

Classification – Warrant: based on the belief that if it is true in general is also true for the

particular subject.

Generalization – Warrant: based on the belief that what is true in one particular case is true in

general.

Analogy – Warrant: based on the belief that the Claim is similar to the Data.

Authority – Warrant: the sender bases the Warrant on the receiver’s trust in a source e.g. an

expert. The authority can be the sender or a third party.

Motivation – Warrant: based on emotions that the Claim draws on from the Data and vice

versa. It will motivate the receiver to feel sympathy, guilt, hope, compassion etc. The Claim

in motivational arguments will always be either advocative or evaluative.

The first five types of arguments, the Claim is based on the outside relations, the Authority

argument is based on the receiver’s trust and the last argument, Motivation, is based on the

receiver’s personal reasons. The first five types of arguments appeal to the receiver’s intellect

where as the last two appeal to the receiver’s emotions.

In the analysis it will be determined whether or not the two companies are trying to appeal to

the receivers via intellectual or emotional arguments. The general thought is that American

companies reason their arguments on emotional appeals while Danish companies will use

arguments via intellectual appeals.

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4 Presentation of Bestseller

4.1 Introduction to Bestseller

Bestseller is a family owned company founded in 1975 in West Jutland and is now managed

by the second generation of the Holch Povlsen family. Since its start, Bestseller has

experienced a rapid growth and today employs more than 39,000 people and is represented in

43 countries. At the headquarters in Denmark alone they employ around 800 people.

Bestseller is thus classified as an international organisation with over 5000 shops all over the

world. Bestseller has a large production of clothing and accessories and had a turnover last

year of DKK 10.8 billion.

Bestseller does not produce any of the clothes themselves but have sub-suppliers that

manufacture most of the products in the Middle East, Asia and Europe as well.

Bestseller has a wide range of clothing brands such as Vero Moda, Vila, Jack & Jones,

Selected and the new brand Name It that address both men, women and children.3

Bestseller has a large social responsibility feeling and communicates openly about the

company’s CSR activities and has initiatives such as Responsible Production and

Development Work.

4.2 Ethics & Code of Conduct

In 2002, the Danish consumer magazine Tænk published a news article revealing that

Bestseller did not have a written Code of Conduct.4 Afterwards Bestseller took on the

responsibility that any international company would and gathered a professional team to work

out the Code of Conduct that Bestseller now operates with and use as a guide line to conduct

control of the factories in which their products are produced.

Bestseller has an open communication concerning the company’s CSR activities, and the

company is very aware of what high profiled topics the media and NGOs are concerned with

at any given time. When Bestseller finds it necessary, they will produce a press release to

protect and defend the company’s actions the best way they can in order to preserve their

credibility and good reputation. If it turns out that Bestseller is doing something illegal and 3 http://www.bestseller.com/about/Pages/about.aspx 4 http://www.taenk.dk/?sid=1&cid=851

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http://www.taenk.dk/?sid=1&cid=851

http://www.bestseller.com/about/Pages/about.aspx

acting against activist groups or animal welfare groups, the company will most often make up

for its actions and try to correct it. E.g. when the media reported that the clothing industry was

using wool from Merino sheep that have been exposed to mulesing, or when it was reported

that the industry used feathers from live-plucked animals5, Bestseller took action straight

away. They released a press statement saying in no uncertain terms how they condemned

these actions, thus assuring the stakeholders that the company did not use any of the above

mentioned in the manufacturing of its products. Bestseller is constantly adding new segments

to its Code of Conduct to respect and follow the laws and the more demanding stakeholders.

4.3 Bestseller & DIEH

In February 2008, a new organisation DIEH (Danish Ethical Trading Initiative) was founded.

DIEH ‘is the first Danish multi-stakeholder initiative that brings together trade unions,

business associations, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and companies to promote

ethical trade and responsible supply chain management among Danish companies’ (see

appendix 7). DIEH ‘seeks to identify and promote good practices and develop practical

solutions to ethical dilemmas’ (Op. Cit.).

Bestseller was co-founder of DIEH and hence one of the first companies to join the

organization.

In 1992, the American counterpart to DIEH was formed, and a new organization Business for

Social Responsibility (BSR) came into practice. According to BSR it was formed with the

purpose to ‘fill an urgent need for a national business alliance that fosters socially responsible

corporate policies’ (Carroll & Buchholtz, 2003: 30).

4.4 The Bestseller Family

The family behind Bestseller lives a very anonymous existence and does not often appear in

the media or participate in public events. In a rare interview, published in Morgenavisen

Jyllands-Posten in January 2009 ‘Med Pligt till at hjælpe’, the founder Troels Holch Povlsen

says that contrary to other people in the corporate world, his family does not have any desire

to use themselves actively in profiling the company.

The family is behind the foundation ‘Bestsellerfonden’, an independent foundation which the

partner company Bestseller last year supported with 50 million DKK from their turnover. The

5 http://www.bestseller.com/press/Pages/animalwelfare.aspx

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foundation supports several projects in Tibet, China, Africa and India from school projects

and education to renovation of buildings in the old Danish colony of Trankebar. Some of the

projects have been mentioned on Bestseller’s webpage and are incorporated in Bestseller’s

Social Responsibility activities.

The Holch Povlsen family is also behind the investment company CSR Capital A/S, which is

a company that invest in entrepreneurship in parts of China, India, Africa, and Asia to speed

up the development process.

In the interview with the newspaper, Troels Holch Povlsen claims that everyone with the

power to help should be obligated to do so. Even in times like these, with the financial crisis

hitting hard in many corporations, he is convinced that the crisis is proof that there is a need

for a bigger social responsibility commitment. He is aware that the projects will only work

long term if the process is in collaboration with the locals at the scene of the project as

opposed to just providing financial aid without following up on the projects. For Troels Holch

Povlsen, the philanthropy that the foundation is doing would not be possible – without

financial profit the company could not be socially responsible.

Like other companies, Bestseller does not proclaim what they do for the local community here

in Denmark, such as other international companies do e.g. Gap Inc. However, going behind

the facade of the company, it is possible to find several initiatives by Bestseller. Bestseller has

several social initiatives in China, India and Africa where they are involved in building

schools and helping the local community in general but the interested reader will not find

many articles and texts in general on Bestsellers webpage about these initiatives.

The fact that Bestseller communicates about their CSR initiatives can already here be used to

determine that they use the explicit way of communicating CSR. However, there will still be

differences in how they communicate their CSR initiatives in comparison to Gap Inc.

Bestseller has to adapt to the demands that the stakeholders put forward regarding the clothing

industry e.g. child labour and chemicals used in the production of clothes and the increasing

demands for protecting the environment. For this purpose, they have created their Code of

Conduct. A Code of Conduct represents and includes the laws and regulations which the

specific organisation has written down and has to follow and live up to. A Code of Conduct

protects both the organisation and the employees. Normally, and in particular under Danish

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circumstances, the Code of Conduct includes partly the law and partly restrictions that have

been agreed upon by the Danish government. However, it also represents the organisation

itself and can be changed and added to it until it meets the organisation’s specific wishes and

requirements to make sure the organisation can live up to the stakeholders’ demands.

4.5 Presentation of Bestsellers webpage

When entering Bestseller’s webpage and clicking on Responsibilities in the top bar, you will

find 3 different themes which Bestseller has chosen to focus on in connection with CSR;

Responsible Production, Development Work and Bestseller Sponsorships.

To briefly mention the three groups of Corporate Responsibilities: Development Work

consists of a short introduction to whom, how and why Bestseller helps people in the third

world. Bestseller’s philosophy is that when you are able to help people you should do so

(Development Work text). Hence, the company has development projects in Africa, China,

and India reaching from funding children’s education to building villages in Yunnan, China.

In Bestseller’s Sponsorship the company presents their own guidance requirements to the

reader: ‘We try to support both local, national, and international projects and organisations

whenever we feel there is a need for support’ (Sponsorship text). The reader is introduced to

only one of their projects – The Olympic Partnership. Further down on the page, the reader

can find a reference to the application for sponsorship requests.

In the text Olympic Collection, Bestseller introduces the Olympic clothing collection which

they designed for the Olympic Games and the Paralympics in Beijing 2008.

On Bestseller’s website only one language occurs i.e. American English. This is not often

found when the company behind the site does not have the English language at its native

language. Normally, the mother language of the company, English, and perhaps a third

language will be found on the site. The fact that English is the only language available on

Bestseller’s website might suggest that Bestseller employs English as their corporate language

and assumes that all stakeholders read and understand English. However, under the topic

News in the menu bar, articles and press releases can be found in Danish without the English

counterpart. This gives a rather ambiguous impression of Bestseller’s ability to communicate,

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and one might ask if the press releases are meant only for the Danish speaking stakeholders,

and if the English speaking stakeholders are not given any information at all on the subject?

5 Presentation of Gap Inc

Gap Inc. is an American owned company founded in 1969 by Doris and Don Fischer in San

Francisco, California. Today the company produces five of the biggest brands in the clothing

industry in America viz: Gap, Banana Republic, Old Navy, Piperlime and Athleta. Gap Inc.

has a production of clothing, accessories and personal care products for men, women and

children. Today Gap Inc. has over 3.100 stores all over the world viz. the US, the UK,

Canada, France, Ireland and Japan. Gap Inc. had a turnover of $14.5 billion in 20086.

Like Bestseller, Gap Inc. does not own the factories in which the products are made. The

company operates with numerous subcontractors who are under strict surveillance to control

and ensure that the working conditions set out in Gap Inc.’s own Code of Vendor Conduct are

not violated in any way 7.

In recent years as well as in 2009, Gap Inc. has ranked on numerous top 50 and top 100 lists

for socially responsible behaviour8. However, as the apparel industry is kept under sharp

surveillance by interest groups and the media, so is Gap Inc. In 2007, the company was

accused of selling clothing made in sweatshops when the British newspaper, The Observer,

ran a story about a ten-year-old boy working sixteen hours a day in a Chinese factory sewing

clothes for Gap without being paid9. The boy was working for one of Gap Inc.’s

subcontractors and when the revealing article reached Gap Inc., the co-operation was

terminated immediately.

Every other year, Gap Inc. publishes a CSR rapport whose primary function is to keep Gap

Inc.’s stakeholders informed and up to date on the company’s focus and attitude towards CSR

and the activities that has been carried out to support this focus. This rapport is proof that Gap

Inc. cares for their employees, customers, suppliers, the environment etc. The most recent

published issue of the rapport is 2007/200810.

6 http://www.gapinc.com/public/About/about.shtml 7 http://www.gapinc.com/GapIncSubSites/csr/EmbracingOurResponsibility/Governance/Gov_COVC.shtml 8 http://www.gapinc.com/GapIncSubSites/csr/Utility/recognition.shtml 9 http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/oct/28/ethicalbusiness.india 10 http://www.gapinc.com/GapIncSubSites/csr/Utility/report_builder.shtml

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http://www.gapinc.com/GapIncSubSites/csr/Utility/report_builder.shtml

http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2007/oct/28/ethicalbusiness.india

http://www.gapinc.com/GapIncSubSites/csr/Utility/recognition.shtml

http://www.gapinc.com/GapIncSubSites/csr/EmbracingOurResponsibility/Governance/Gov_COVC.shtml

http://www.gapinc.com/public/About/about.shtml

The founder of the company, Don Fischer, had one goal with the company: ‘I created Gap

with a simple idea: to make it easier to find a pair of jeans. We remain committed to that basic

principle’ 11. This indicates that even though times have changed, the company still cares

about their production of simple clothing and sticks to the their first basic rule of principle.

5.1 (RED)

At Gap Inc.’s website under the menu Social Responsible the reader is presented with the

statement: ‘At Gap Inc., social responsibility is fundamental to how we do business’12.

The brand the Gap has probably one of Gap Inc. most well known and distinct corporate

partners – the brand (Red). (Red) is an economic initiative established in 2006 by two distinct

personalities within the philanthropic field; the lead singer of the Irish band U2, Bono, and the

fundraiser, Bobby Shriver. The main purpose of (RED) is to raise awareness and money for

the Global Fund to support the fight against HIV/AIDS in Africa. The Global Fund is the

world’s leading founder of programs to fight AIDS, tuberculosis, and malaria in developing

countries. Since 2002, the Global Fund has raised more than $10 billion which has been

donated to special life saving programs in 136 countries13.

Gap is contributing to (RED) with a product line ‘Gap (Product) RED’, and Gap contributes

half their profits from the clothing line to the Global Fund14. Other companies that support

(RED) are e.g. American Express, Armani, Microsoft, and Hallmark.

This initiative from Gap is only one of many that Gap Inc. presents on their website, and it

shows that Gap Inc. does make use of the statement ‘At Gap Inc., social responsibility is

fundamental to how we do business’, and this is visible in the products as well as in the

corporate governance.

5.2 Gap. Inc.’s Website

When first time users enter the website of the brand Gap (www.Gap.com) they will find next

to nothing concerning information about CSR. However, at the bottom of the page there is a

link to another page, Social Responsibility. Here the company behind all the brands, Gap Inc.,

has an entire website devoted to their social responsibility. However, if you enter the

company Gap Inc.’s website, you will be presented with a short introduction to the company’s 11 http://www.gapinc.com/public/About/about.shtml 12 http://www.gapinc.com/public/SocialResponsibility/socialres.shtml 13 http://www.joinred.com/Learn/AboutRed/FAQs.aspx (appendix 6) 14 http://www.gap.com/browse/home.do?cid=16591&mlink=5058,1538766,9&clink=1538766

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http://www.gap.com/browse/home.do?cid=16591&mlink=5058,1538766,9&clink=1538766

http://www.joinred.com/Learn/AboutRed/FAQs.aspx

http://www.gapinc.com/public/SocialResponsibility/socialres.shtml

http://www.gapinc.com/public/About/about.shtml

social responsibility initiatives and projects at the same site as mentioned above 15 where all

information about Gap Inc.’s social responsibility program can be acquired.

This site is a new initiative from Gap Inc. where all the information concerning the

company’s social responsibility activities and initiatives can be found.

Gap Inc. has four key areas within the social responsibility field; supply chain, environment,

employees, and community investment16. Three of these areas can be found on the front page

of Gap Inc.’s website where Supply chain is also to be found in the menu bar under Goals and

progress as well as in the category Our focus in Embracing our responsibility in the menu

bar.

On this site, which is devoted completely to Social Responsibility, the reader can find an

extensive amount of information. It is almost impossible to navigate through it all, and if the

reader is looking for an answer to a specific question there are several pages where it is

possible to find more or less the same information.

Gap Inc. uses the term Corporate Governance under the headline ‘Embracing our

responsibility’ and has divided the normal ‘Code of Conduct’ up into ‘Code of business

conduct’ and ‘Code of vendor conduct’.

6 Analysis 15 http://www.gapinc.com/socialresponsibility/ 16 http://www.gapinc.com/GapIncSubSites/csr/Goals/goals_and_progress.shtml

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http://www.gapinc.com/socialresponsibility/

Introduction

In this section, I shall analyse and compare how companies communicate their CSR activities

in Denmark and USA respectively in order to determine if there is a difference in the way

companies communicate and how significant the difference might be.

As mentioned in the introduction, the companies chosen for the comparative analysis are the

Danish clothing company, Bestseller and the American clothing company, Gap Inc. Both

companies have an extensive amount of information concerning their CSR initiatives on their

respective web pages, and the accessibility of information has been the determining reason for

choosing these two companies in particular for the analysis in this project.

The texts from the two companies have been selected in pairs so a comparative analysis

would be possible to conduct. The texts have been chosen based on the criteria that they

should be similar in length and concern the same topic.

In this section, an extensive analysis of the texts available on the web pages of Bestseller and

Gap Inc. respectively will be conducted and finally compared at the end of the chapter.

I should also mention that however the results may turn out this will not be a fact nor can it be

viewed as a general way of how other companies communicate their CSR. This is only a case

study and should not be taken as a fact but as a tentative suggestion on how companies

communicate their CSR activities.

This section will start out with an extensive analysis of two texts that have been chosen from

the category Responsible Production on Bestseller’s webpage.

6.1 Analysis of ‘Responsible Production’

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6.1.2 The Communication Situation

The text ‘Responsible Production’ (Appendix 1) is the first text the reader is presented with

when entering the section Responsible Production where all communication concerning the

productions from Bestseller can be found. It functions as an introduction to the other texts in

the section which are divided into specific themes which the reader will also find in

Bestseller’s Code of Conduct. The sections are easy to access and supply the reader with a

general idea of the sections.

The overall communicative purpose of the text is to give the reader a good impression of

Bestseller i.e. to appear trustworthy towards their stakeholders, and show that Bestseller is

taking initiatives to improve the working conditions of their employees at the production

facilities and make continual alterations to the use of chemicals in their products.

The text works as an introduction to Bestseller’s Code of Conduct (Appendix 5) by

representing the rest of the subcategories / sections which are also represented in the Code of

Conduct.

The target audience of this specific text is presumably Bestseller’s stakeholders who have an

interest in responsible production. Thus the target audience are not just suppliers and sub-

contractors who manufacture products for Bestseller, however, Bestseller’s the Code of

Conduct is directed towards them in particular. Other stakeholders could be interest groups

and the media i.e. journalists looking into how Bestseller operates, if the company claims to

have social responsibility and on what grounds the responsibility is supported. Another main

group of stakeholders are of course also Bestseller’s customers who also have an interest in

Bestseller’s Responsible Production.

What is interesting is that even though Bestseller is a Danish company no texts in Danish are

to be found on their website only texts in English. This is a sign that Bestseller considers itself

an international organisation, however, it is strange that Bestseller only communicates to an

international market and not specifically the Danish one. Normally, a company will have

information about the company in several languages and most definitely information in the

company’s native language. Bestseller might have selected a target audience consisting of

young people and believes that they are able to communicate in English. However, when

looking in the section Press in the menu bar, Bestseller actually has several press releases in

Danish. This sends mixed signals to the readers of the webpage.

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6.1.3 The Purpose of the Text

Seeing that we are dealing with a text from a company’s website, which is available to all

stakeholders with an interest in the company and/or in CSR, it is presumed that the main

purpose of all the texts are for the company to appear credible and trustworthy in the mind of

the readers, and to inform the readers about the company’s overall CSR-effort. In this specific

case the purpose is to argue that Bestseller has a responsible production.

Bestseller communicates to their target audience that they are taking initiative to improve

these specific issues – Responsible Production in other words that they care about the

supplier’s employees, their own employees, as well as their customers.

The text is written in a way that strives to make Bestseller appear as a company who is doing

something to improve conditions at the factories that produce their products, and that they are

not taking these conditions lightly.

6.1.4 Language Functions

The language in the text is informative; hence it lists information about Bestseller which is

given i.e. explicit. However, the text can also function as a directive text because implicitly it

ensures the reader that Bestseller has a production that is responsible, and that they are doing

everything in their power to improve the conditions regarding both the suppliers, employees

and working environment in the factories.

The language of Responsible Production is very formal. All six paragraphs in the text are well

structured and well planned. They support each other and are logical in their appearance. Line

2 - 4 introduce the overall topic ‘Responsibility’ and automatically lead to ‘working

environment’ (line 6) which again leads to a definition of ‘working environment’ (line 8).

‘Working conditions’ (line 12) and ‘Code of Conduct’ (line 14) point to the topic of

responsibility in the following paragraphs. The text ends with contact information of

Bestseller (line 17).

The language is academic and similar to the language found in legislation. There are no

contractions and it is difficult to misinterpret the meaning of the words. Also, in the text

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Bestseller does use personal pronouns such as ‘we’ and ‘our’ since these are normally not

found in formal language.

6.1.5 The text’s appeal forms

The first thing the analysis will look at is the appeal forms in the text. Aristotle’s three classic

appeal forms Ethos, Logos and Pathos are connected with the sender’s mode of expression

and appearance and apply to the entire text, not just the individual arguments.

This analysis will examine how Bestseller is communicating the arguments in the selected

texts and determine whether or not Bestseller appeals to the receivers’ emotions (Ethos and

Pathos) or their intellect (Logos).

The main point of the text is to convince the receivers that Bestseller has a responsible

method of production. To convince the receivers of this, Bestseller plays on the rational and

logic way of thinking.

In the first line of first paragraph, the text shows a classic Logos example by stating the fact

that Bestseller cooperates with ‘More than 900 factories’ (line 2).

In the 5th paragraph (line 14 – 16) the entire text is a Logos appeal. Here, Bestseller appeals to

the reader’s rational and logical mind. The company says that even though they have a team

that work exclusively with the code of conduct, it is not a guarantee that the suppliers, with

whom Bestseller cooperates, will comply with all the legal documents which have been

submitted by Bestseller at the time of signing the contract of production. This is also a double

safe insurance Bestseller is making. Had they said; we guarantee all the suppliers are

following our code of conduct at all times during the production, Bestseller would have been

in the media spot light every day because, as the company says indirectly, it is impossible to

keep track of all the suppliers when there are more than 900 around the world. This honesty

that Bestseller shows to the receivers of the text also reflects credibility from Bestseller and

Ethos is used to support that credibility. In general, the text reflects credibility in the way it is

set up, the different sections that relate to each other, and the correct and formal language

used in the text.

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Bestseller also makes use of Ethos in many of the paragraphs by using personal pronouns

such as ‘we’ and ‘our’. This shows that Bestseller is being personal and this contributes to

Bestseller’s attempt at strengthening credibility with the receivers.

Considering the current trend on Social Responsibility concerning human rights, Fair Trade,

animal welfare, and, the top priority right now, the climate, one would think that Bestseller

tries to play on the receivers’ emotions and use the Pathos appeal extensively, however, this is

not the case. In fact the Pathos appeal is not used at all in the text only the Ethos and Logos

appeals are used.

In the text Bestseller says ‘Our Code of Conduct work is no guarantee, but it helps us

contribute to improved conditions at the factories’ (line 14). This statement is a very honest

and very open massage to send to the stakeholders. However, as previously mentioned it is

also a signal of precaution that Bestseller takes by saying the company does not guarantee that

all laws and regulations are being kept, however, Bestseller is doing their best to live up to the

regulations. If Bestseller said: ‘We always live up to our regulations’, the company would

almost certainly be in the news quite often because it would be easy to find a misstep at one of

the many sub-suppliers Bestseller has.

6.1.5.1 Summary of Appeal Types

In the text ‘Responsible Production’, Bestseller mainly makes use of logical appeals to the

receivers and thus makes use of Logos. The arguments are clear and cannot be misinterpreted.

Ethos is also present in the text on an overall level which brings credibility to Bestseller’s

image and the text in general. The Pathos appeal, on the other hand, is not visible or used in

this text from Bestseller.

6.1.6 Arguments in the textThe text is centred around one main argument, viz responsible production which is also the

headline of this specific text. The entire text tries to support this claim and argues for this all

through the end.

The text is divided into five paragraphs, each having a different topic but all arguing for

responsible production. The last paragraph (line 17) is contact information for the reader on

how to get in contact with Bestseller’s Code of Conduct team.

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Argument 1

D C we believe that mutual trust, Bestseller has adialogue, training, and development responsible method of production.are important factors that can help createa common understanding of how a Wgood working environment should be’. (line 8 – 9)

Mutual trust, etc. create a responsible production.

In the argument above, the conclusion of the Data and the Claim is that these elements

specified by Bestseller viz. ‘trust, dialogue, training and, development’ provide a responsible

production. The Data support the Claim well in the argument and provide valid information to

the Claim. The terminology used in this argument uses the discourse of the Danish school (see

CSR schools section 2.2.5). This terminology reflects the values that the school has and is

used to either integrate or keep and maintain employees facing these conditions at the fabrics.

In this case Bestseller uses trust and dialogue etc. to develop and maintain the good working

environments at the fabrics. The Warrant in this argument belongs to the type Cause and

effect. The Warrant is obviously going from cause to effect since the Data is the cause and the

Claim is the effect of the cause.

Argument 2

D C

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Bestseller’s Code of Conduct Bestseller has clarifies to our colleagues, a responsible method of production. our suppliers, and our customers the expectations and demands for the working conditions in Bestseller’s W supply chain. (line 11 – 12)

Bestseller’s Code of Conduct ensures responsibility.

In argument 2, the Claim is the direct cause of the Data. Bestseller has a Code of Conduct in

which the company states which demands are necessary to obtain a responsible production.

The Data of the argument provides valid and sufficient information for the Claim in the

argument. The Warrant is a direct cause of the conclusion and is implicitly incorporated in the

argument. The Warrant in this argument can be classified as Cause or effect since it is the

direct cause of the Data and Claim as mentioned above.

Argument 3

D C

‘A team of Bestseller’s employees Bestseller has a work exclusively with our W responsible method of production. Code of Conduct in the countries where our products are produced ’. (line 12 – 13) Because Bestseller has an entire team

devoted to the Code of Conduct, the company must have a responsible production.

Combining the Data and the Claim in the third argument, it can be concluded that Bestseller

takes social responsibility very seriously and will do everything to provide the best standards

for the employees at the suppliers’ factories. The Data provide sufficient valid support for the

Claim and from that the receiver can conclude the Warrant.

In general, Bestseller says that they are doing everything they can to provide a responsible

production with a team that works exclusively with the code of conduct, however, this is not

always enough in those parts of the world that differ greatly from the Western concepts of

mentality and acceptable physical working conditions.

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The argument can be classified both as a Generalisation and a Cause. As the Warrant says,

because an entire team works exclusively with the Code of conduct, the company must be

responsible. The other type of argument, Cause, can be concluded if the receiver bases the

Claim on the Data.

6.1.6.1 Summary of Argumentation

Based on the findings of the arguments examined above, all of Bestseller’s arguments are

valid and provide good Data to support the Claim. Bestseller does display a tendency to use

Cause or effect as their preferred type of argument. This provides information and the text is

clear in language and cannot be misinterpreted.

6.2 Analysis of ’Chemical Restrictions’The second text which has been chosen for analysis is ‘Chemical Restrictions’ (Appendix 2).

This can be found under the category Responsible Production on Bestseller’s website.

6.2.1 The Communicative Situation

The text is part of the category Responsible Production on Bestseller’s website similar to the

text Responsible Production (Appendix 1). It constitutes one part of the collected category on

the website carrying the same name as the first text, Responsible Production.

Obviously all the different categories in Responsible Production have different target groups

because they all deal with different topics, and all the texts can be read individually since only

a few of them refer to one another. However, at the same time they are all aimed at one main

target audience, Bestseller’s stakeholders i.e. customer, interest groups, the media, and

politicians. The text in question has a target audience with an interest in the environment as

well as a concern for their own well-being, that of their next of kin’s and humanity in general.

The sender of the text is the company Bestseller A/S. This is evident both in the text and when

taking into consideration that the text is found on Bestseller’s web page under Responsible

Production. The visible signs, that Bestseller is the author of the text, are the repeated

statements such as: ‘In Bestseller we ..’ (line 6), and in several other places personal pronouns

are used to enhance the message that Bestseller is the sender.

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The typical reader of the text might very well be a customer who has just acquired a piece of

clothing or accessory from one of Bestseller’s numerous shops around the world, or someone

who has just read one of the few interviews with the Board of directors of Bestseller. Another

scenario might include one of the company’s regular customers who is curious and wishes to

obtain more information about the company after hearing similar information about another

brand or company which also has a sustainable production. The possibilities are many but

common for all of them is a target audience who are active and caring when it comes to

environmental issues and human health. A third target audience, who might also be interested

in Bestseller’s responsibilities in connection with production etc., are potential employees

who seek information about the company to find out who Bestseller is, and if the company’s

values are the same as those of the potential employee. Investors, both current and potential,

also have an interest in acquiring information about Bestseller to learn if the company

respects the current laws on the matter.

Similar for all of the receivers of the text is that they should posses some prior knowledge

within the field of chemicals and what the law dictates in that respect.

As mentioned in the section 4 Introduction of Bestseller, the Bestsellers primary demographic

are young people between the age of 0 and 35, both male and female. They have a middle

income and are fashion minded. The target audience of the text is probably somewhat

incongruous from these, taking into consideration that the parents buy the children’s clothes

so the age will presumably range from between 15 – 45 and with a majority of females.

It is difficult to pin down the nationality of the target group since there is only one language

on Bestseller’s website, American English. Taking into consideration that the entire website is

in English, receivers, whose native language is not English, will have to be well educated and

understand the English language in details to optain information and knowledge from the text.

6.2.2 The Communicative Purpose of the Text

The communicative purpose of the text is for Bestseller to appear responsible, similar to the

first text, Responsible Production (Appendix 1), however, with a new topic concerning

chemical restrictions thus the purpose is to act responsibly concerning the use of chemicals

and to act in accordance with the Danish law and beyond.

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Another underlying purpose of the text is to act and to be perceived as credible in the eyes of

the customers and / or other stakeholders such as interest groups and the media. Credibility is

closely related to CSR and it is something which companies strive to achieve (see section 3.2

on appeal types). If a company has credibility i.e. the stakeholders find the company

trustworthy, the company will also automatically have a bigger turnover and do well

financially.

Chemical Restriction is a written text meant for the receiver to read and is thus a simple

medium of communication. It is an informative text that speaks to the receivers and informs

them that Bestseller has a responsible production in connection with the chemical restrictions

that the company has follows.

6.2.3 Terminology

The language in Chemical Restrictions is very formal and focuses on the specific argument in

the text. The text is very direct and could almost pass for an act of law, hence it is a legislation

that Bestseller has written down and acts upon. It is not as specific as others legislations of its

kind, however, these can be found in the Code of Conduct which this text is a front runner for.

When a text has a specific purpose it also needs to demonstrate this by using terminology

specific for that particular subject / theme. In other words the text engages in different

language discourses to convince the reader of the argument, in this case of responsibility

within Chemical restrictions. The language classifies within e.g. technical discourse, CSR

discourse and sustainability discourse which is possible to see below.

Technical language discourse is seen in words such as:

‘Latest scientific research’ (Line 3)

‘the standards for products’ (Line 9)

‘random tests in international laboratories’ (Line 11-12)

‘in accordance with the Chemical Restrictions’ (Line 12)

‘products meet the standards set by’ (Line 19)

‘European Chemical Agency’ (Line 19)

‘restricted substance’ (Line 12 – 13)

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Sustainable language discourse:

‘damaging consequences’ (Line 4)

‘consequences to humans or the environment’ (Line 5)

CSR language discourse:

‘human health’ (Line 6)

6.2.4 Language Functions

The language of the text is informative, however, also directive. The informative language is

seen in the whole of the text since the text is information to the receiver from Bestseller on

what the company does to maintain a responsible production with chemicals. The informative

language is e.g. seen in line 10 – 14 where the company lists what is done for a responsible

production; ‘analysed’, ‘identified all areas of possible risk’, ‘random tests’, ‘in accordance

with the Chemical Restrictions’ and ‘terminated immediately’.

The text also uses directive language e.g. ‘Read more about Bestseller’s Chemical

Restrictions here’ (line 17). A directive sentence tells the reader to do something, in this case

to go to another web page and get more information.

Implicitly, the text can also function as directive in general. The main purpose of the text is

for Bestseller to appear responsible with regards to the chemical restrictions, so that

ultimately the readers, who are also customers, will buy the products from Bestseller.

6.2.5 Personal Pronouns

The text is full of first person plural pronouns that support the Ethos appeal which makes the

sender of the text appear more trustworthy. E.g.: ‘we’, ‘our’, however, the company also

refers to themselves in the third person singular: ‘Bestseller’ but supports it with first person

plural pronoun such as ‘In Bestseller we’ (Line 6). This is to remind the reader who the sender

of the text is since this could easily be forgotten if the text only presents the reader with first

person plural pronouns. However, the third person singular can also give the effect of distance

and is often used in legal documents.

The formality in the text is also something the reader should notice. The text appears very

formal in the use of terminology e.g. ‘all areas of possible risk’ (line 10), ‘regularly carries

out random tests’ (line 11), ‘majority of substances outlined’ (line 14). This makes Bestseller

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stand out and appear to the readers as an authority that can help Bestseller gain more

credibility from the stakeholders. See below in the section on appeal types for credibility.

The text makes use of very few adjectives ‘strict’, ‘various’ (line 7), ‘limited’ (line 8),

‘possible’ (line 10), ‘restricted’ (line 12), ‘scientific’ (line 16),

In the following it will be examined how Bestseller, in this article on the company’s website,

is trying to argue for and support the message of the text. It will be examined which appeal

types Bestseller is making use of and what kind of arguments are used to support the claim.

6.2.6 Appeal types

Looking through the text, Logos is the most visible appeal. The arguments that Bestseller

plays at for their responsible production with chemical restriction are mainly logical as they

produce a list of arguments concentrated around showing how Bestseller is responsible in

relation to chemicals.

The first rational Logos argument to prove Bestseller’s responsible chemical restrictions is

found in the introduction to the text, or the tone-setter as it is also called. The tone-setter sets

the topic for the remaining text i.e. it introduces the specific topic and the problem of using

chemicals.

‘Bestseller sat down demands on limitation and prohibition of chemicals in all products’

(Line 2).

The Logos appeal lies in limitation and prohibition since this is a logic argument that there are

restrictions on which chemicals to use in the production. These nouns are synonyms for

restrictions and their connotations

Another Logos appeal is found in the sentence:

‘If traces of a restricted substance are found in a product, the production of that item is

terminated immediately’ (Line 13).

This is an argument that is logical to everyone: production of the item in question will be

stopped if it does not live up to the regulations set by Bestseller. If production is not

terminated then Bestseller will look unreliable in the eyes of the stakeholders. The regulations

set by the company themselves are immensely important to follow, and any steps off the

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beaten path will suit the interest groups and the media well by drawing attention to the

existing problem.

Even though there are many Logos appeals there are also a few Ethos appeals in the text.

Ethos appeals are used to portray the sender, in this case Bestseller, as a credible source. In

this text Ethos is visible in the sentence e.g.: ‘Based on the latest scientific research’ (line 3).

This argument shows that Bestseller is up to date on the research of chemicals and it provides

the reader with a sense of tranquillity, making them feel safe in the knowledge that Bestseller

is up to date with the latest research.

Another Ethos appeal is found in the sentence: ‘confident that our products meet the

standards set by REACH’ (line 18 – 19) and in ‘European Chemical Agency’ (line 19). Here

the receiver of the text is introduced to an element of authority to which Bestseller refers

when trying to prove that the company has a responsible production with regards to

chemicals. An authority always signals credibility i.e. Ethos (see section ?? on appeal forms)

and when Bestseller uses authority in the text, it sends the reader a signal that Bestseller is

trustworthy.

Whenever a source uses adjectives such as ‘latest’ and ‘scientific’, the message will

automatically be true and credible in the eyes of the receiver due to the strong connotations of

these adjectives.

With regards to Danish modesty and keeping in mind that CSR in a Danish context has been

implicit and not communicated to the external as well as the internal stakeholders (See section

2 CSR), the Danish way of communicating is still not very outspoken and that is why the

assumption that there would only be few if any use of Pathos appeals in the text is correct.

There is, however, a hidden pathos effect in the entire text which is the argument of

responsible production. The argument of responsible production and chemicals is an appeal to

the emotions of protection that arises in parents when they want to protect their children as

well as themselves from chemicals in clothes.

One of the few Pathos appeals in the text that is explicitly described and plays on the

consumer’s feelings are:

‘.. damaging consequences to humans or the environment’ (Line 4).

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6.2.6.1 Summary of appeal types

Bestseller overall make use of Logos and Ethos in the text Chemical Restrictions. The

arguments appeal to the receiver’s logical side and Ethos also plays a great part referring to

Bestseller’s credibility. Pathos appeal is however more implicit but is used in the entire text as

the text appeals to the emotions of the receiver mentioning the damaging consequences

chemicals can have on humans.

6.2.7 Types of arguments in the text

On an overall level the main argument of this text is centred around one claim which the

reader is introduced to in the headline of the text: Chemical restrictions. One could argue that

there are two claims in the text seeing that this claim is a sub-headline of the overall headline

that characterise all the texts in this group – Responsible Production.

The headline functions as the explicit claim since Bestseller claims that the company has

chemical restrictions in their responsible production. Throughout the text there are arguments

that will support this claim and the claim will thus be the same in all six arguments.

In the tone-setter (line 2 – 5) Bestseller introduces what is done from the company’s

perspective on the matter of chemical restrictions and is a short introductory for the rest of the

text.

‘This means that our restrictions include substances that might have damaging consequences

to humans or environment, as well as those that have been proven to have a detrimental

effect’. (line 4 – 5)

Argument 1

D C

In Bestseller we take no chances Bestseller is responsible when it comes to human health with regards to chemicals or the sustainability of the environment (line 6 – 7) W Q therefore our demands on the

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content of certain chemicals often stricter than those

Chemicals can cause health problems and dictated by various laws contribute to the destruction of the environment (line 7).

In argument 1 the Claim is that Bestseller is responsible with regards to chemicals and the

Data found in the text is to some extend proof of the Claim, although it can be said that it is

only a statement from Bestseller. The Warrant that can be concluded from the Data and the

Claim is that chemicals can cause health problems and destruction of the environment.

Bestseller provides a further valid proof that it is a responsible company by adding a Qualifier

to the Claim that provides new information to strengthen the Claim. A Qualifier can be found

when asking ‘how sure are you of the Claim’ and in this case Bestseller wants to prove the

responsibility by adding more demands to the current laws. This Qualifier ensures that

Bestseller is Responsible. The overall type in argument 1 can be categorised as belonging to

Cause or effect. The reason for this is that the Warrant is the direct cause of the Data and the

Claim.

Argument 2

D C

The standards for products intended Bestseller is responsible for children below the age of 3 with regards to chemicals are even more stringent. (line 9) W

Children are more sensitive to chemicals

The second argument provides a good and valid Date for the Claim of responsibility.

Bestseller argues that the company is even more cautious when working with chemicals on

children’s clothes. This provides Bestseller with a even larger credibility because of the fact

that the company is aware that children are more sensitive to chemicals when exposed to them

than adults are. This provides hence the Warrant ‘Children are more sensitive to chemicals’.

This is an implicit conclusion of the Data and the Claim. The type of reason used in the

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warrant is Classification since it is all children below the age of 3 that are more sensitive to

chemicals than adults are.

Argument 3

D C We have carefully analysed all Bestseller is responsible stages in the process of making our with regards to chemicals products and have identified all areas of possible risk. (line 10) W

The various stages of production do not necessarily affect the customer but by analysing all stages of production Bestseller also ensures the health and working conditions of their employees.

The warrant can either be Cause or Classification

Argument 4

D C Bestseller regularly carries out Bestseller is responsible random tests in international with regards to chemicals laboratories to ensure that our products are in accordance with the Chemical Restrictions. (line 11 – 12) W

By using several international laboratories Bestseller insures third party, impartial analysis of the products under EU guide lines.

The Warrant can either be Classification or generalising when Bestseller’s products are under EU Legislation they are responsible.

Argument 5

D C If traces of a restricted substance are Bestseller is responsible found in a product, the production of with regards to chemicals

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that item is terminated immediately. (line 13)

W

Bestseller is willing to take a financial loss rather than risk exposing the consumer to dangerous chemicals.

In argument 5 Bestseller takes the chemical restrictions seriously. What could cause health risks to the consumer now affects Bestseller financially. The type of Warrant can be classified as a Cause

Argument 6

D C We have been working closely with Bestseller is responsible Chemical Restrictions for a number with regards to chemicals of years, and we are therefore confident that our products meet the standards set by REACH. W (line 18 – 19)

Bestseller works with an expert within the field of chemicals

In the last argument Bestseller are very specific in their Data and are extremely focused when

providing valid evidence for the Claim. By referring to REACH the company is ensured that

the receivers will accept the Data provided for the Claim i.e. responsible with chemicals. The

Warrant is the initial reaction and conclusion of Data and Claim. REACH is associated with

expertise within the field of chemicals. The Warrant can thus be classified as authority which

signals trust hence the receivers of the text will believe that Bestseller provides good and

credible arguments.

6.2.6.1 Summary of arguments

The different arguments that Bestseller sets up have various character but mostly Bestseller

uses the Warrant as a cause.

6.4 Analysis of ‘Embracing our Responsibility – Product safety’

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The second text from Gap Inc. is ‘Product safety’ (appendix 4) and it can be found in the

category Embracing our responsibility – Governance, at Gap Inc.’s webpage.

6.4.1 The Communicative Situation

The text ‘Product safety’ is part of the category ‘Governance’ on Gap Inc.’s website. It is

found as the very last text in this category which is a sub-category in the group ‘Embracing

our responsibility’.

The communicative purpose is to raise the reader’s awareness of the company and the

responsible initiatives they take in connection with their CSR activities. Moreover, it is to

point out that the company is aware of the threats the customers may face.

As mentioned in the introduction to the company, their website, Gap Inc., has an extensive

amount of topics and subjects that belong to the category Social Responsibility. This text is

just one of them and has not got any prominent role among the other texts or categories.

Seeing that the text does not distinguish itself from the other texts with a catchy topic or

prominent role, one is led to believe that the target audience is stakeholders who look for

information specifically about Gap Inc.’s product safety. Thus the target audience is

customers who are concerned with their health and well-being, and investors both current and

potential, who look into which restrictions the company has regarding specific topics such as

respecting the current laws and regulations within the company. The last potential target

audience are interest groups such as environmental and human right groups and journalists.

The information that Gap Inc. displays in this text could be of interest to them if they are

investigating a good news story.

The sender of the text is Gap Inc. The brand name only appears once in the text, in line 1, and

in the rest of the text it is implicitly implied that the sender is Gap Inc. by the use of personal

pronouns such as ‘we’ and ‘our’.

6.4.2 The Communicative Purpose

The communicative purpose of the text is for Gap Inc. to appear responsible and convince the

reader that the products Gap Inc. produces are safe for the consumer. However, it also

contains an underlying purpose which is to communicate that the company also demonstrates

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responsibility in connection with chemicals in the products but this is implicitly incorporated

in the overall purpose i.e. safety. The text is divided into two paragraphs; ‘Safety’ and

‘Regulatory/chemicals’.

6.4.3 Formality

Looking at the formality in the text, it appears to be of formal character, however, with a twist

of consultative language. The language used in the text does not appear to be academic as

formal language tends to be with complex noun phrases and Latin vocabulary. But there is a

hint of formal language e.g. ‘will remain a critical part of our business’ (line 10 – 11) and

‘can withstand certain levels of force’ (line 9). The consultative language appears with words

such as ‘also’ (line 7).

6.4.4 Language Function

The language of ‘Product safety’ is informative. It informs the receiver about the initiatives

that Gap Inc. takes to keep the customers safe. This also ensures the receiver that the products

sold in the shops are safe to use. With that in mind, the text is also implicitly directive. Thus

by making all the statements about the safety of the products Gap Inc. implicitly directs the

stakeholders, who are also customers, to go and but the products because they are safe and

have been through many tests.

6.4.5 Personal Pronouns

The text is full of personal pronouns first person plural e.g. ‘we’ and ‘our’. This makes the

text and sender appear personal and makes the company seem as a whole i.e. all the

employees instead of just the top management. This consequent use of ‘we’ and ‘our’

demonstrates that Gap Inc. is present in the text and committed to the customers. The use of

the phrase ‘our customer’ in line 5 makes the customers a more specific group of people than

had Gap Inc. used the impersonal countable ‘the customers’ which indicates an anonymous

mass. Our customer sound almost familiar as though Gap Inc. is talking about a relative of the

family which implicitly can mean the big Gap Inc. family. The use of personal pronouns also

demonstrates that the company is committed to the topic and that they are ‘embracing their

responsibility’.

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6.4.6 Appeal typesThe argument that Gap Inc. uses in the text is mainly logical and serves to convince the target

audience that Gap Inc. is producing safe products both with respect to chemicals and

durability. Ethos and Pathos appeal also appear but not as widely as Logos.

The text can be divided into two parts. In the first paragraph (line 3 – 11) the main appeal is

Pathos and Ethos whereas the general appeal in the second paragraph (line 12 – 21) is Logos

and Ethos appeal.

Gap Inc. explicitly states the main argument for their product safety: ‘We strive to design and

sell clothing that does not pose any safety threat to our costumers’ (line 4 – 5). The Pathos

and Ethos appeal are both used in this first sentence to capture the reader by stating that the

company will ‘strive’ to keep the promise of product safety, and at the same time, the

language appeals to emotions by using the words ‘not pose any safety threat’. This might

implicitly be telling the receivers that other companies DO pose a safety threat to consumers.

The word ‘safety’ is used a number of times in the first paragraph, and Gap Inc. wants to

communicate to the receiver that it is, in fact, safe products which the customers buy in the

stores around the world. The word ‘safety’ has strong connotations to people’s emotions and

this is no doubt why Gap Inc. has used the word repeatedly throughout the first paragraph.

‘Safety’ (line 3) is used in the headline of the first paragraph as it sets the topic for the

following paragraph. The word is repeated six times throughout the short paragraph, and it is

used both as nouns and in a title of the company’s expert teams. Even though the word

‘safety’ is not used as an adjective in the paragraph, it still appeals to the receivers’ feelings

and affects them when reading the text. The readers would not notice the text if the sender

took out ‘safety’. In that case the text would be very anonymous and loose its appealing

character and of course loose the whole idea behind the topic ‘Safety’.

‘Safety is a top priority’ (line 4)

‘Safety threat’ (line 4)

‘Product Safety team’ (line 5)

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‘safety standards’ (line 6 - 7)

‘safety issues’ (line 7)

‘customer safety’ (line 10)

Gap Inc. uses the word ‘safety’ in positive way to enhance the message they are taking the

safety of their customers and their products very seriously. However, glancing over the words,

it might appear as though the words are used in a negative way and thus give off negative

connotations e.g. ‘potential safety issues’ (line 7) and ‘actual safety risk’ (line 21) when it is

taken out of context. When studying the text further, the reader will discover that Gap Inc. is

using the word ‘safety’ in positive terms and wants to establish that the company is taking the

customers’ safety seriously.

When a word is used repeatedly in a limited space, like ‘safety’ is here, it gives holds negative

connotations, and the text appears untrustworthy and this also reflects on the company. It

appears as if the company is trying too hard to convince the reader that it actually operates

responsibly and that the products are safe.

Ethos is also incorporated in the Safety paragraph when Gap Inc. refers to ‘corporate Product

Safety team’ (line 5) and the ‘global Product Integrity teams’ (line 5 – 6). By referring to

authorities within a specific field, it projects knowledge concerning the topic and that the

company is taking the responsibility seriously. This makes Gap Inc. look trustworthy in the

eyes of the receivers. However, referring to an internal authority instead of an external one

can mean that the authorities mentioned reflect less credibility than an authority from the

government would have.

The second paragraph with the heading ‘Regulatory/chemicals’ (line 12 – 21) Logos and

Ethos appeals are the most dominant ones.

The paragraph starts by appealing to the company’s credibility by using Ethos. Gap Inc. is

openly communicating that ‘chemicals are used throughout the entire production cycle of

most garments’ (line 13 – 14). The company is honest, saying that chemicals are used in the

production of clothes, however, it is not clear whether or not the company refers only to their

own production or to production in general.

In the following sentence Gap Inc. use the Logos appeal when saying ‘we have developed a

Restricted Substance List (RSL) that dictates which chemicals …’ (line 15 – 16). Here the

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company appeals to the receivers’ rational mind wanting them implicitly to think ‘yes, of

course they have developed a list that restricts chemicals’. It is logical to anyone that in order

to be responsible, Gap Inc. must have a list that restricts chemicals in the production of

clothing.

In the second section (line 18 – 21) Gap Inc. uses Logos in the entire text and appeals to the

readers’ rationality when stating ‘we initiated an RSL monitoring program that selectively

samples products for chemical testing’ (line 18 – 19). The company ensures the customers

that even though there is a list of chemicals, which the product suppliers probably have

received, the company still monitors the products and tests them further to make sure there are

not any chemicals in it that should not be there. However, the list referred to is not very

trustworthy because the reader is not told what the ‘RSL’ consists of.

The next sentence is also Logos appeal and relates to the previous sentence ‘products will not

be offered in any market if they pose a chemical safety risk to consumers’ (line 19 – 20). This

again is an appeal to logic: since Gap Inc. claims they have Product safety, they cannot

distribute products to a store anywhere in the world if the company is aware that the product

poses a safety risk to any human. The last sentence ‘or in markets where the chemical is

legally restricted regardless of actual safety risk’ (line 20 – 21) again appeals to the

credibility of the company because it signals to the reader that Gap Inc. is ready to take it just

a little step further by not allowing any of the restricted chemicals in any of the products no

matter where they are sold.

The text ends with ‘safety risk’ as it began with ‘safety’ this completes the text and ends it as

it started by implicitly stating that Gap Inc.’s products are safe.

6.4.6.1 Summary of appeal types

To sum up Gap Inc. makes use of all three appeals in the text. The text has been divided so

that the company mostly appeals to the receiver’s feelings (Pathos) by playing on the word

‘safety’ in the first section. In the next section both Ethos and Logos are used. The receiver’s

trust in the company can, however, suffer because Gap Inc. does not use any external

authority when referring to the expert sources but only refer to internal expert knowledge.

6.4.7Arguments in the Text

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In the following section the arguments that Gap Inc. puts forward in the text will be looked at

in detail by applying Toulmin’s argumentation model to determine whether or not valid facts

that support the claim can be found.

Each of the following arguments contains the same claim that Gap Inc. makes about the social

responsibility in production and products. The argumentation model is used to examine if any

explicit facts can be found in the text to support the claim. When the two pieces of

information is found in the text, i.e. the claim and the data, it is possible to make an implicit

conclusion i.e. the warrant.

Argument 1

D C

Our corporate Product Safety team Product Safety

and our global Product Integrity teams

ensure that our branded products W

are made to strict safety standards.

Various expert teams that work for

Gap Inc. ensure safe products.

In the above argument, the claim ‘Product safety’ is explicit seeing that it is the headline that

embraces the whole text. Gap Inc. is trying to argue throughout the entire text that the

company is ‘embracing their responsibility’ by having safe products in the stores.

The Warrant that can be concluded from the Data and Claim is that the two product teams,

which work for the company, ensure that every product made is safe because they are experts

and you can always trust experts. The Warrant is somehow implicit as the text does not state

that the teams are experts, however, it is implied that they are the authority and live up to the

regulations Gap Inc. has set for the production.

Gap Inc. argues that the products from the company ‘are made to strict safety standards’ (line

6 – 7) which in some situations would be enough for the receiver of the text to trust Gap Inc.

and not hesitate or doubt the company in the argument. However, the argument is weak

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because Gap Inc. does not specify what the strict safety standards are. The company could

follow just two regulations, it could be regulations set by the American government, or

perhaps a highly respected environmentalist group. Instead of specifying what the safety

standards, are Gap Inc. uses the adjective ‘strict’ (line 6) to emphasize that the company

standards are very high for Gap Inc.

Gap Inc. is the authority in this case because the authority referred to is an internal source. By

referring to an external authority the company could perhaps have had a strong argument for

the claim – product safety.

Regarding the overall type of argument 1 it can be classified as belonging to authorities since

Gap Inc. relies on the credibility of the ‘product teams’ expert knowledge in the argument.

Argument 2

D C

We also test our products for a variety Product Safety

of potential safety issues including:

flammability; physical/mechanical hazards W

(ensuring garment construction or trims

can withstand certain levels of force and

do not become hazards); durability; and

toxicity.

All of Gap Inc.’s products are tested

In argument 2, the Claim is again ‘Product safety’ and it is supported by the detailed Data that

explicitly states what is being done within the company and during production to ensure that

the customer is not harmed in any way when a product is purchased in one of their many

stores. Linking the Claim and the Data is the Warrant which implicitly argues that all products

from Gap Inc. are tested. It cannot be only one piece of the clothing, that the mentioned tests

concern, but it must be all of the products that Gap Inc. implicitly test before being set in

production.

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With relation to argument 1, the Data in argument 2 could be a Backing for argument 1 if Gap

Inc. had not added the adverb ‘also’ in line 7. This little word has a great importance for the

entire argument both number 1 and 2. Had Gap Inc. not added ‘also’ in the text, the Data in

argument 2 could easily be attached to the Warrant in argument 1 as a Backing since it

concerns safety issues such as ‘physical/mechanical hazards (ensuring garment

construction)’, ‘flammability’ and ‘durability’ (line 8 – 9). The discourse just mentioned

could be of design character and presumably the general customer would not notice that this

falls into the category of safety issues.

The overall type of argument regarding this specific argument could be classified as a

Generalization, referring to the Warrant.

Argument 3

D C

We have developed a Product safety regarding chemicals

Restricted Substance List (RSL)

that dictates which chemicals must not W

be used when producing our clothing.

Gap Inc. does not sell any products with harmful chemicals

B

We have based this list both on existing and developing legislations as well as toxicity

risk assessment

In the argument above, the character of the Claim has changed a bit since it does not concern

product safety in relation to chemicals. The Data in the argument again consists of a reference

to a list, ‘Restricted Substance List (RSL)’ that Gap Inc. implicitly sees as a guarantee that

helps the company to avoid the dangerous chemicals. Using the verb ‘dictate’ leads the reader

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to think of a law or a government i.e. authority and it implicitly indicates that the ‘RSL’ list

originates from an authority. The use of the modal ‘must’ combined with a negation

emphasizes the authority in the list even more.

Combining the Data and the Claim, the reader has an implicit Warrant which ensures that Gap

Inc. does not sell any products containing harmful chemicals. The Warrant is supported by the

explicit Backing which again refers to ‘legislations’ and ‘toxicity risk assessment’. In the

Backing, it is implicitly implied that the legislations have a power of authority, however, Gap

Inc. does not specify which legislations it refers to – internal or external – similar to argument

2. This can cause problems with the customers’ trust in the company.

Overall the argument could be classified as Cause or effect because the Claim is the effect of

the Data implying the Warrant. However, if the Backing could be classified as well, it would

be Authority seeing that the Backing could be referring to authority with the specific choice of

words: ‘existing and developing legislations’ which could both be internal and external

legislations.

Argument 4

D C

[..] we initiated an RSL monitoring Product safety regarding chemicals

Program that selectively samples

Products for chemical testing.

W

Monitoring and selectively picking samples

equal safety in Gap Inc.’s products

In argument 4 above, the Data provides a valid support for the Claim. The Data states that

Gap Inc. has a monitoring program that gathers samples from the production to test for any

prohibited chemicals that are included in the RSL which implicitly implies to the reader that

the products from Gap Inc. are safe to buy and wear. The Warrant is thus implicit saying that

monitoring the products gives safe products at Gap Inc.’s stores. Hence, the overall type of

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argument is Cause or effect based on the Data since it is a direct cause of the Claim and the

receivers of the text will presumably accept the Warrant as being true.

Argument 5

D C

[…] products will not be offered in any Product safety regarding chemicals

market if they pose a chemical safety risk

to consumers. W

If Gap Inc. finds dangerous products in the tests they will not be sold

The last argument in the text also consists of the Claim concerning chemicals. Here the Date

provides enough valid support for the Claim that a Backing is not needed. Gap Inc. tells the

receiver of the text that based on the previous argument ‘RSL monitoring programs’ in

argument 4 above, products will not find their way to the stores if they contain any of the

chemicals included in the RSL – list. Gap Inc. uses another modal verb ‘will’ followed by a

negation ‘not’ to clearly state that it is not possible to buy products that have been going

through the monitoring program.

The Warrant is fairly explicit in an implicit way resulting from the Data and the Claim.

Determining the type of argument based on the Warrant, it can be argued that it belongs to the

Cause or effect category because the warrant is concluded on the basis of the Data which is a

cause of the Claim.

6.4.7.1 Summary of argumentation

Overall Gap Inc. has succeeded in producing a text that provides valid Data for the overall

claim i.e. Product safety. However, in some situations the credibility in the argument is fairly

weak because Gap Inc. refers to authorities such as ‘Product Safety team’ and ‘Product

Integrity team’ without actually providing documentation for the teams’ efficiency. Gap Inc.

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also refers to standards and lists without specifying what these consist of and on what grounds

they base their knowledge and restricted contents of the lists.

7 ConclusionThe purpose of this project was to examine how the Danish company, Bestseller, and the

America company, Gap Inc. communicate their CSR activities online in terms of rhetorical

strategies, forms of appeal and argumentation. Two texts from each of the companies were

chosen for the analysis.

Having analysed the four texts for the two companies it can be concluded that both companies

use the explicit way of communicating to their stakeholders, however, there is a difference in

how explicitly they communicate their CSR activities. The conclusion that Bestseller

communicates explicitly and not implicitly as it is customary to do in a Danish CSR context

can be seen as a sign that the Danish CSR communication are turning towards the more

explicit way as both Matten & Moon have been writing extensively on and which Morsing et

al. stated in the ‘Catch 22’ article on CSR.

However, there is still a difference in how much these two analysed companies communicate

about their CSR activities but moving closer and closer together in communicative aspects.

Bestseller’s two texts appear to have been formulated better in terms of lexical choices and

rhetorical strategy. The Danish company uses authoritative sources explicitly when verifying

their responsibilities whereas the American company Gap Inc. seems to focus on their own

experience and their own expert knowledge when trying to argue for their responsibility.

Bestseller was trying to establish credibility through appeals of honesty which was clearly

expressed e.g. in Chemical Restrictions, where the company says that it is impossible to

control all their suppliers but they are doing the best they can and trying to improve the

conditions every day.

Similar argument was found in the analysed text Code of Vendor Conduct from Gap Inc.

In this text Gap Inc. says that they do the best they can to monitor the factories. It is implicit

implied that they too admit they cannot control the suppliers.

Bestseller explicitly specified what their regulations concerning chemicals included and

combined that with external expert knowledge. This was only explained in one of the

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American text Code of Vendor Conduct but created empty arguments for their responsibility

with self reliance sources and this resulted in some unreliability in the text Product safety.

Gap Inc. uses all three appeals in both texts, however, the company is the only one to use

visibly more Pathos appeal which is dominated by emotional appeals, however, this was also

expected before the analysis was carried out.

Even though the analysis proved that Bestseller has adapted the explicit communication

strategy when communicating the company’s CSR activities it does not mean that Bestseller

cannot follow the Danish school of thought and still be a part of the ‘all inclusive labour

market’ that characterises the Danish CSR strategy.

Abstract(Total numbers of character: 2300)

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In recent years Corporate Social Responsibility has become an important phenomenon in both

small and large corporations all over the world. Consumers have

There are different ways of communicating a corporation’s CSR activities to the stakeholders.

This is particular visible when comparing the European and American companies. In America

the International school of thought is used which explicitly communicate to stakeholders

where as in Europe, including Denmark, the implicit way of communicating CSR activities is

mostly common.

According to several scholars (Matten & Moon and Morsing et al.) a shift in communicating

CSR activities is under way in Europe and Denmark as well.

Corporations have started to communicate more explicitly imitating the American way of

communicating. The explicit CSR communication means that corporations communicate to

their stakeholders what they do, e.g. charity work for social welfare or codes of conduct

which many corporations have concerning their method of production.

The project examines how the Danish clothing company Bestseller and the American apparel

Gap Inc. communicate rhetorically about their CSR activities. Two texts from each company

that are available on their website have been chosen for the analysis. Both companies have

information concerning their CSR activities on their respectively websites. Bestseller only has

minor communication of the CSR activities in the company, at least compared to Gap Inc. that

has an entire website devoted to Corporate Social Responsibility. However, seen in the light

of the Danish corporations normal implicit CSR communication Bestseller has a substantial

amount of information to stakeholders.

For the analysis of this project the theory of Aristotle’s appeal types Ethos, Logos and Pathos

has been used as well as Toulmin’s model of argumentation and types of argumentation.

The results of the analysis carried out in this project proved that the Danish company

Bestseller has to some extend adapted the explicit form of communicating the CSR activities.

The two companies have more or less the same types of arguments, although it appears that

Bestseller has the most credible and honest communication.

However, the use of appeal types differ to some extend seeing that Gap Inc. uses Pathos

appeal as an overall type of appeal in one of the texts analysed. Whereas Bestseller mainly

uses Ethos and Logos both implicitly and explicitly, only once does Bestseller use Pathos.

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This conclusion was expected before the analysis was carried out seeing that on an overall

level American corporations appeal to the consumer’s emotions, whereas Danish companies

mostly appeal to the rational side of the consumer’s mind.

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Matten, Dirk; Moon, Jeremy (2008): "Implicit" and "Explicit" CSR: A Conceptual Framework for a Comparative understanding of Corporate social responsibility.In: Academy of Management Review, Vol. 33, Iss. 2, pp. 404-424.

McCroskey, James C (2001): An introduction to rhetorical communication, Allyn & Bacon, Massachusetts

Morsing, Mette; Thyssen, Christina (eds.) (2003): Corporate values and responsibility The Case of Denmark. Samfundslitteratur.

Morsing, Mette; Beckmann, Susanne C (2006): Strategic CSR Communication, DDØF Publishing Copenhagen

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Toulmin, S. E. (2003). ‘The uses of argument’, Updated edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press

Vogel, D. J. (2005): Is there a Market for Virtue? The Business Case for Corporate Social Responsibility, California Management Review, 47, 19 – 45.

Votaw, D. (1972): ‘Genius Became Rare: A Comment on the Doctrine of Social Responsibility Pt 1’, California Management Review 15(2), 25 – 31.

West, Douglas; Ford, John; Ibrahim, Essam (2006): Strategic Marketing: Creating Competitive Advantage. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Zadek, Simon (2004): The civil corporation the new economy of corporate citizenship. Earthscan publications Ltd.

ArticlesChild sweatshop shame threatens Gap's ethical image:http://www . guardian.co.uk/business/2007/oct/28/ethicalbusiness.india

Danske virksombeder er tavse om socialt ansvar:Jyllandsposten - Erhverv & Økonomi, 27-11-08

Etisk test af cowboybukser:http://www.taenk.dk/?cid=851

Med pligt til at hjælpe Jyllands Posten 25.01.2009http://www.infomedia.dk.www.baser.dk/ms/GetArticleFull.aspx?outputFormat=Full&Duid=e160be51

Appendices

Appendix 1: Responsible Production, Bestseller

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http://www.infomedia.dk.www.baser.dk/ms/GetArticleFull.aspx?outputFormat=Full&Duid=e160be51

http://www.infomedia.dk.www.baser.dk/ms/GetArticleFull.aspx?outputFormat=Full&Duid=e160be51

Appendix 2: Chemical Restrictions, Bestseller

Appendix 3: Code of Vendor Conduct, Gap Inc.

Appendix 4: Product Safety, Gap Inc.

Appendix 5: Ny lov om rapportering, DIEH

Appendix 6: The Global Fund (RED)

Characters: 98765

Appendix 1

RESPONSIBLE PRODUCTION

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More than 900 factories around the world produce products for Bestseller every day. At Bestseller, we are aware of the fact that

we can have an important influence – especially on the suppliers who produce a large quantity of our clothes. It is our

responsibility to use that influence the best way possible.

5 Bestseller operates in different countries where the basic values and attitudes are very different from our way of thinking. For

that reason there may be different understandings of what a good working environment should be like, and societal problems

also affect the conditions at the factories.

At Bestseller, we believe that mutual trust, dialogue, training, and development are important factors that can help create a

common understanding of how a good working environment should be. If we are not able to create that understanding, the

10 effort is only superficial and unimportant.

Bestseller’s Code of Conduct clarifies to our colleagues, our suppliers, and our customers the expectations and demands for the

working conditions in Bestseller’s supply chain. A team of Bestseller employees work exclusively with our Code of Conduct in

the countries where our products are produced.

Our Code of Conduct work is no guarantee, but it helps us contribute to improved conditions at the factories. However, it is an

15ongoing process which will never end. The important thing for us is that we experience continuous development. As long as

this is the case, we continue the cooperation with our suppliers.

If you have any questions regarding Bestseller’s Code of Conduct, please contact: [email protected]

Appendix 1.2

Responsible production (Original)

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http://www.bestseller.com/responsibility/responsible-production/Pages/responsible-production.aspx

Appendix 2

CHEMICAL RESTRICTIONS

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In September 2005, Bestseller set down demands on the limitation and prohibition of chemicals in all products manufactured for

the company. Bestseller’s Chemical Restrictions are based on the latest scientific research and are formed according to a

principle of caution. This means that our restrictions include substances that might have damaging consequences to humans or

5 the environment, as well as those which are proven to have a detrimental effect.

In Bestseller we take no chances when it comes to human health or the sustainability of the environment, and therefore our

demands on the content of certain chemicals is often stricter than those dictated by various laws.

Bestseller’s restrictions are a list of chemicals that are either not allowed in our products, or are only allowed in limited amounts.

The standards for products intended for children below the age of 3 are even more stringent.

10 We have carefully analysed all stages in the process of making our products and have identified all areas of possible risk.

Our suppliers are fully aware of our demands and those of our customers. Bestseller regularly carries out random tests in

international laboratories to ensure that our products are in accordance with the Chemical Restrictions. If traces of a restricted

substance are found in a product, the production of that item is terminated immediately.

Although there are no legal requirements on the majority of substances outlined in our Chemical Restrictions, the Restrictions

15 were formed voluntarily by Bestseller as it is important to us that our products contain no substances which, according to

scientific research, can be damaging to humans and the environment.

Read more about Bestseller's Chemical Restrictions here

We have been working closely with the Chemical Restrictions for a number of years, and we are therefore confident that our

products meet the standards set by REACH. REACH is a regulation set by the European Chemical Agency to effectively control

20 the entrance of chemicals into the EU. For more information please click here

Appendix 2.1

Chemical Restrictions (Original)

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http://www.bestseller.com/responsibility/responsible-production/Pages/REACH.aspx

http://www.bestseller.com/responsibility/Documents/BestsellerChemicalRestrictionsFebruary%5B1%5D.pdf

http://www.bestseller.com/responsibility/responsible-production/Pages/Chemicalrestrictions.aspx

Appendix 3

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http://www.bestseller.com/responsibility/responsible-production/Pages/Chemicalrestrictions.aspx

Embracing our responsibility

Governance | Code of Vendor Conduct

Gap Inc.’s Code of Vendor Conduct (COVC) establishes the legal, social and environmental requirements that all manufacturers and factories must meet in order to do business with our 5company.

Our code is designed to ensure that garment workers are paid fairly, work a reasonable number of hours, and do their work in a safe, healthy environment. It is based on conventions established by the International Labor Organization (ILO) and aligned with the policies of Social Accountability International (SAI) and the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI). It spells out 10our expectations for compliance with four main principles: laws, environment, labor, and working conditions.

We do our best to monitor factory compliance with our code together with applicable laws. Our code states that factories must abide by all applicable laws and regulations.

We developed our first sourcing guidelines for suppliers in 1992 and established our first 15COVC in 1996. Since then, our Code has enabled us to better evaluate working conditions in the factories that produce our clothes, make meaningful improvements and share the results with our diverse world of stakeholders.

Appendix 3.1

Code of Vendor Conduct (Original)

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http://www.gapinc.com/GapIncSubSites/csr/documents/COVC_070909.pdf

http://www.gapinc.com/GapIncSubSites/csr/EmbracingOurResponsibility/Governance/Gov_COVC.shtml

Appendix 4

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Embracing our responsibility

Governance | Product safety

Safety Safety is a top priority for Gap Inc. We strive to design and sell clothing that does not pose 5any safety threat to our customers. Our corporate Product Safety team and our global Product Integrity teams ensure that our branded products are made to strict safety standards. We also test our products for a variety of potential safety issues, including: flammability; physical/mechanical hazards (ensuring garment construction or trims can withstand certain levels of force and do not become hazards); durability; and toxicity.

10We take customer safety very seriously, and these testing procedures will remain a critical part of our business.

Regulatory/chemicals From fabric dyeing to creating unique garment finishes, chemicals are used throughout the entire production cycle of most garments. Knowing that certain chemicals can prove 15harmful to consumers, we have developed a Restricted Substance List (RSL) that dictates which chemicals must not be used when producing our clothing. We have based this list both on existing and developing legislation as well as toxicity risk assessments.

At the end of 2008, we initiated an RSL monitoring program that selectively samples products for chemical testing. Based on test results, products will not be offered in any 20market if they pose a chemical safety risk to consumers — or in markets where the chemical is legally restricted regardless of actual safety risk.

Appendix 4.1

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Product safety (Original)

http://www.gapinc.com/GapIncSubSites/csr/EmbracingOurResponsibility/Governance/Gov_Product_Safety.shtml

Appendix 5

DIEH

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Appendix 6

RED (Original)

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http://www.joinred.com/Learn/AboutRed/FAQs.aspx

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