Little is known about SMEs’ perceptions of CSR, sustainability, and business ethics, particularly in the fashion industry. We have even less information on the relationship between SMEs’ CSR actions and employer branding. This important knowledge gap is addressed in this study. We intend to focus on how small and medium-sized enterprises that are operating and considered sustainable in the fashion industry interpret the concept of sustainability, corporate social responsibility (CSR), and business ethics, which CSR elements appear in relation to employees, and how they contribute to employer branding. In the course of our qualitative research, we conducted semistructured, in-depth interviews with the owners and managers of 10 European businesses, bearing sustainability in mind. Our results show that the organisational culture and the reputation perceived by a wide range of stakeholders are the most essential elements of employer branding, which promotes employees’ commitment to sustainable fashion enterprises.

The paper describes and evaluates how a higher education institution (Budapest Business School - BBS), aspiring for AACSB accreditation, co-created innovative tools, based on the UN's Sustainable Development Goals and the principles of sustainable development. The paper has two interrelated objectives: to present what sort of innovative, web-based tools can be used to promote sustainable practices at higher education institutions, and to highlight how such practices support institutional development processes in the context of candidacy for AACSB accreditation. Based on the academic literature on ethics and sustainability education, the respective accreditation standards and internal sources (databases and feedback from participants of events using the educational tools), these innovative tools were found useful for higher education institutions aspiring for AACSB accreditation in ensuring that their governance, faculty, staff and students not only understand sustainability, but also have the capacity to act sustainably and promote sustainable practices.

Kutatásunkban a körforgásosság divatipari megjelenésére fókuszáltunk, az üzleti modellt a fogyasztói elfogadottság irányából vizsgálva. Tanulmányunkban áttekintettük a körforgásos gazdasági modell szerepét a fenntartható üzleti modellek között, valamint a szabályozási kérdéseket. Primer kutatásunkban akciókutatási módszert alkalmaztunk a ruha cserebere, mint körforgásos modell vizsgálatánál. A divatipari körforgásos modell ismertségét és elfogadottságát szakértői interjúk segítségével vizsgáltuk. Kutatásunk konklúziója, hogy az egyéni és a vállalati körforgásos aktivitás a résztvevők számára nem kapcsolódik össze, a közvetlen érintettek is csak a folyamat egy részére látnak rá.

The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have been in place since 2015 to address global challenges at the social, economic, and environmental levels. Nowadays, the fashion industry plays a significant role in contributing to these issues. The study examines the SDGs’ importance and presence in the case of Hungarian fashion SMEs. This research used semi-structured in-depth interviews and investigated seven Hungarian fashion SMEs’ operation and business activities to reveal and understand the environment they function in, their CSR, and their interpretation of their responsibility. Although the analysed SMEs’ mission and vision involve specific elements of corporate social responsibility and ethical values, their day-to-day activities do not include impact assessment: they focus on value for money, maintaining and promoting quality products rather than running their internal audit systems or developing their reporting habits. The research focuses on the corporate sector’s interpretation of sustainability and corporate social responsibility concepts, specifically on SMEs, to help to understand the environment and circumstances and identify barriers and possible future ways to develop their sustainable and responsible operation. Based on the findings, the author suggests some practical recommendations to help businesses improve their CSR and SDGs engagement. Although SMEs are not expected to engage in CSR activities in Hungary, the European Union is constantly working on the future mandatory introduction of CSR. Preliminary research may make it easier to link CSR and the SME sector.

We have been hearing a lot about the sustainability of the fashion industry lately, it has become a fashionable research topic. Much of the research focuses on what information customers have, what influences their decision, and how they behave in a sustainable way when buying clothing or fashion items. The most conscious customers might be guided by the results of sustainability assessment systems for fashion companies. However, rating systems mostly focus on large companies. To our knowledge, there is no research that maps the views of small fashion companies on fashion rating systems. In this research, we used an interview method to examine how Hungarian fashion SMEs view sustainability assessment systems, how they would create their own system, and what future trends they expect in relation to these systems. The results show that SMEs consider good brand reputation more important than participating in a complex evaluation system.