Will markets bring social responsibility? Lessons from Fabindia Incident
By D Dhanuraj and Rahul V Kumar Among the top garment retailers in India, Fabindia outlet in Goa was in the limelight when an alleged instance of voyeurism was exposed by the Union HRD Minister Smriti Irani. At least four employees of the store was arrested immediately following the expose. The Goa police allegedly cracked the case in less than a week and the accused was arrested.The Fabindia incident gained immediate attention of the public primarily because it involved a Union Minister.It is very likely to fade immediately more or less due to the same reasons. However, there were other important aspects of the case that remained less explored. In the forefront of these aspects is how ‘markets’ take up responsibility in tiding a crisis. Unlike the case fading suddenly, market responsibility is likely to have beneficial long term consequences. A major lesson that could be learned from the Fabindia issue is that ‘markets could bargain social responsibility more quickly t...