Seeking male shoppers, Chinese consumers value CSR, Luxe apparel spending lags, Green sneakers, Sewa success

Wanted: Guy Shoppers for Fashion Sites (WSJ)
"Online fashion shopping sites like Gilt Groupe and Rue La La have been a hit with women since launching over the last three years. A new push to get men to shop in these web boutiques is proving more difficult."

Foreign luxury companies take note: Chinese consumers favour CSR (FT)
"A new study points to a more powerful tool: promoting corporate social responsibility. More than two-thirds of Chinese consumers said a luxury brand's CSR would affect their decision to purchase decision."

Luxe Spending Rises, but Apparel Lags (WWD)
"The country's richest consumers will drive luxury spending up between 6 and 8 percent this year... but apparel is unlikely to benefit. Apparel spending by these consumers has recovered somewhat, but continues to slide."

How Green Is My Sneaker? (WSJ)
"A group of roughly 100 well-known apparel brands and retailers have developed a software tool to help them measure the environmental impact of their apparel and footwear, from raw material to garbage dump."

From Untouchable to Businesswoman (NY Times)
"Ms. Parmar's moment of liberation came roughly 20 years ago, when the not-for-profit Sewa Project formed a unit in her village to help preserve endangered handicrafts and, equally, to provide the people who make them a form of alternative employment."