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DA5. Fair Trade and Organizational Stakeholders

Statement

Please read the opinion articles from Chapter 9 of the Corporate Social Responsibility textbook that you find in the reading assignment.

Based on what you have learned in this unit, answer the following questions:

  1. When you buy clothing do you check the inside label to see where the item was manufactured? Would it matter to you to discover that an item was manufactured in Bangladesh?
  2. If you found an article of clothing that had a label stating that it was manufactured in the United States, would this make it more attractive to you? What if the item was 20% or 30% more expensive, would that keep you from buying it?
  3. What is the best way to make sure the workers in factories are treated fairly? Can you come up with one detailed proposal?

Answer

Fair Trade is a concept that emerged in the late 20th century; it was an initiative from the developed world to guarantee a minimum price for goods developed in the third world where the producers must meet some criteria regarding workers’ rights, environmental impact and some other social and environmental aspects (Jimenez, 2016). It started with coffee and other agricultural products, but it has been extended to other products like clothing.

When I buy clothing, I check the inside label to see where the item is manufactured. This is important because it affects items’ quality and price; usually, items manufactured in third-world countries (like Bangladesh) are less expensive but also less quality; these countries are known for their low wages, poor working conditions, low safety regulations, and child labor. Of course, it matters to me as I don’t want someone to lose an arm making my shirt; or a child to be forced to drop out of school to work in a factory.

If I found an article of clothing that had a label stating that it was manufactured in the United States, it would make it more attractive to me. This means the item is usually more expensive and its quality may or may not be better, but it also means that I’m supporting the national economy, and I’m more certain that no rights were exploited in the making of the item. I should notice though that this will always depend on my economic situation; if I’m having a rough time, I will always look for the cheapest option, although this may not be 100% ethical, it’s a reality for many people, and at the end of the day, it is not up to me to prevent such situations while these countries have governments that are supposed to enforce regulations and protect their citizens.

The best way to make sure the workers in factories are treated fairly is a collective effort between the governments of third-world countries, local companies that import such products, global and UN organizations, and the end consumers (including me). The problem is too big to be solved in a short time as it may take decades for it to be eliminated; the most challenging part is the culture of these countries, where people are less aware of their rights, governments are corrupt, and companies are greedy. My solution involves the following suggestions:

  • Local companies that import such products require transparent and detailed reports about the conditions in which the products are made, and they should cut ties with companies that don’t meet the criteria. This is the most powerful step as importing companies have the most power in this situation.
  • Governments of developed countries should reward companies that have a transparent fair trade policy by giving some tax benefits or other rewards.
  • Global Non-Governmental Organizations should work on raising workers’ awareness of their rights and health and safety practices.
  • Third-world governments should protect their citizens and drive more investment by enforcing regulations and supporting transparent reporting channels.
  • End consumers should reward companies that follow fair trade policies by buying their products and boycotting companies that don’t. This is only significant if enough people do it at once, so NGOs may work on this matter as well.

To conclude, outsourcing production to third-world countries has significant economic and social impacts on both worlds; it can not be just stopped; however, with collective efforts, humanity can solve the problem just like it did with smallpox and rinderpest in the past.

References

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