Making an e-difference: Ecommerce industry taking stock of its social responsibility

Corporate Social Responsibility is not new to corporate giants in India. Everyone knows about how Narayan Murthy’s Infosys does its bit for society via Infosys Foundation, which leads social development initiatives. That is just the tip of the Corporate Social Responsibility or CSR iceberg, with several multi-million Indian companies doing the same.

E-commerce is presently the hottest industry in India, with billions of rupees being brought in as profits. It seems as if this industry has decided to give back to society in its own special way, at least it seems so with Snapdeal’s latest initiatives.

Lights! Camera! Snapdeal!

Recently, Snapdeal tied- up with an international feature film about the Bhopal gas tragedy. This film is directed by Ravi Kumar and promises to bring forth the untold stories about the event that occurred thirty years ago.  The film is aptly titled Bhopal- a prayer for rain and the film publicity posters conspicuously display the Snapdeal logo.

In addition to supporting the film, Snapdeal will also offer its customers a special range of products which they can purchase. The proceeds from these sales would be donated to the survivors of the gas tragedy.

Expressing his optimism towards this tie-up, Sandeep Komaravelly, Snapdeal’s Senior Vice-President Marketing said, “We aim to support the filmmaker’s endeavour to share with younger people the untold events that led to one of the biggest industrial disasters of all time. We are glad to be associated with the film.”

Shop one, shop all

This is not the only noteworthy social initiative by Snapdeal. In an attempt to make its shopping platform more inclusive, Snapdeal has also launched a unique online Rehab and Support store for people with special needs. The store was inaugurated by Member of Parliament Dr. Shashi Tharoor and plans to offer more than 1100 products. These include products like wheelchairs and hearing aids. This is indeed a unique effort towards making the online shopping experience more accessible to everyone.

Give goodness the green signal

As recently the e-commerce industry has attracted the attention of government officials, it seems like India may soon have a legal guiding framework to direct the functioning of the industry. If this actually materialises, the government should also consider the possibility of e-commerce doing its share for society. Online marketplaces that more inclusive and that donate for good causes should be given tax incentives and public recognition.

After all, what goes around comes around!