NGOs, corporate social responsibility, and social accountability: Inditex vs. Clean Clothes Chaime Marcuello Servos and Carmen Marcuello Markets and businesses are undergoing major changes as globalisation deepens. Pressure from diverse social groups, both environmental and economic, is changing the operating environ- ment. Many corporations are interested in devising social-responsibility strategies, both as a response to outside pressures and in their own interests. Against this background, this article considers the case of Inditex, a company based in Galicia, and the ‘harassment’ to which it was subjected by Setem, the Spanish chapter of the Clean Clothes Campaign (CCC). Reviewing Setem’s claims leads to a better understanding of the repercussions for social systems that are now increasingly informed by external actors. The authors argue that both corporations and non-government organisations must account for the social impact of their activities. KEY WORDS: Civil Society; Globalisation; Labour and Livelihoods; Methods; Western Europe Introduction The world order is undergoing rapid and profound change which affects all aspects of daily life, especially the dynamics of economic transactions. Markets and businesses are not what they used to be. Globalisation has transformed what it is possible for them to do. Consumer items are produced in settings that are totally removed from the places where production decisions are made and, in general, far away from where they are sold. Distribution networks are limited only by the prices that consumers are willing to pay. We seem to live in a world that is governed by the logic of the market economy. The market is no longer a social space, but the guiding principle of today’s society (Polanyi 1989). Pressure brought by diverse social forces, environmental and economic, have altered and continue to alter the landscape for socio-economic actors. Within the rules dictated by supply and demand, organised voices from the demand side are beginning to make themselves heard. Accordingly, ever more companies are trying to implement social-responsibility strat- egies, both as a response to these demands and in their own interests. Various types of non- government organisaton (NGO) are playing a fundamental role. The interaction between ISSN 0961-4524 Print/ISSN 1364-9213 Online 030393-11 # 2007 Oxfam GB 393 Routledge Publishing DOI: 10.1080/09614520701336972 Development in Practice, Volume 17, Number 3, June 2007