Made in the USA
Fido's has a clean conscience...do you?
So here is my deeper post inspired by a conversation I had with Joe. I think we would all agree that to "buy American" is a good thing. It's assumed that if you buy a product that's made in America the workers who produced that product are treated fairly, paid adequately, and have rights. I am sure this isn't always the case, but in comparison to the rest of the world, American business is a pretty regulated enterprise when it comes to the worker.
The truth is that while most of us would love to buy American Made products most of the day to day things we purchase come from overseas and from countries that have far, far, far less regulation and afford their workers fewer rights than our own. So what does it take to "buy American" with a clear conscience? One company allows you to experience that sense of guilt free consumption. The company is called American Apparel. Every worker from their cotton supplier to their sales person makes a livable wage and has health insurance. Their products are made in an environmentally responsible manner and I am sure their executives all drive Toyota Prius'! Other companies have followed this model as well, most notably Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream (click here to see their workplace contract).
As a result of these two companies admirable efforts to have proper business ethics (the link is the top 100 ethical companies in 2004) their products tend to cost more than the same products made outside of America's borders. The shirt on Fido up there costs $14, and one for a Human costs $18. The same shirts at Old Navy might be poorer quality, but for $18 bucks you can buy three shirts instead of one. For the most part Target, Wal-Mart, Old Navy, and other "big box" retailers are concerned with just providing low prices and pushing as much merchandise as possible.
What is our responsibility with regard to all of this? Is it realistic to take a "moral stand" in our purchases by buying products that are manufactured in an ethical manner? Can we ever really be sure about how or in what manner a product is made? Is this just a concern for people who have enough disposable income to buy organic, free-range, or politically conscientious products? Should we fault people who can't afford to shop anywhere else but Wal-Mart for going to Wal-Mart? Are big box stores like Target really that bad? Can businesses be expected to provide liveable wages and health insurance to ALL of it's employees? Given the information about American Apparel would you purchase your clothes from them instead of a place like Old Navy that uses products made overseas and out of reach of most regulation?
All of these questions are applicable to this discussion so feel free to just let your thoughts flow.
5 comments:
I think the anwser it two fold.
1)The employee has to be responsible for the way he or she spends their money. Yes, businesses can afford to provide a liveable wage. But businesses can't be expected to support a employee's desire for the greatest home theater system ever or a plush trip to Maui. Everyone needs to be a better spender of their money. Rent,Food, then maybe a dvd or something.
2) Businesses should not only be expected, but enforced to provide a liveable wage. I know enforcing sounds bad to those who believe that Captialism is a good thing. The reality, however, is that Captialism is a horrible practice and unChristian, that's right...unChristian. How can businesses provide all their employees with the necessary means to live? A recent study showed that as of 1999, the average CEO was earning 400% more than the average employee. So for every dollar a employee makes, the CEO is making four hundred dollars. And that was in 1999, who knows what is percentage is now? By reducing that canyon of difference businesses could easily provide a liveable wage and decent insurance.
This is a link to a friend's blog who writes on the subject of complicity. Are we at fault for buying SUVs or clothes made overseas where regulation is laughable? My friend thinks so and I do too.
http://afewvoices.com/index.php?id=30
As for the poor, they don't have any other choice because those of us who do have the money to make a difference don't. It should not be incumbent upon the poor to change the system for, as Kate says, there is more they have to deal with. We, on the other hand, can make a difference.
I totally agree with your comments about ethical business practices. One thing that I think is interesting is how these big box stores like Wal-Mart are putting other neighborhood grocery stores out of business. This is happening not only in the U.S. but also in Mexico. Additionally, their business practices are so cut throat that they are literally calling the shots for the majority of companies that supply Wal-Mart with their products. See this story for more:
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/77/walmart.html
Anyway, even though my wife and I are pretty close to being in the red at the end of each month, I refuse to support an organization with such an utter lack of ethics in their dealings with workers, women in leadership positions, and the very companies that make their existence possible. Do we realize the effect that these "superstores" are having on our culture and neighborhoods?
On a lighter note, Ben & Jerry's is a wonderful company dedicated to many social justice issues. In fact, Ben always makes a point to send a few boxes of Peace Pops to my dad whenever he is leading the Peace Walk for the International Pastoral Care Network for Social Responsibility at the yearly ACPE (Chaplaincy) National Conferences. Anyway, we could go on forever (check out how Starbucks is putting South American farmers out of business by paying them less than a living wage), but I will end my comments here. If it's not too late, also check out Pedro the Lion for your iTunes GC. Shalom!
Great question, Jason! Don't have much time to proliferate at the moment, but here's a thought...If we Americans scaled back on our obsession with buying things, we could probably afford to purchase an "ethically-correct" $20 t-shirt.
Jason,
You've presented yet another thought-provoking topic. Is i-tunes an ethically run division of Apple Corp? If not, I retract all of my previous comments regarding what to purchase from them.
There are at least two schools of thought on the "ethical business" dilemma. One, the Friedman camp (1976 Nobel economics winner), proposes that a company's only priority should be shareholder profit. They are assuming that the economy will produce rational forces that will protect our best interests as a society. The other camp, known as the Business Roundtable, is more proactive in trying to promote an ethical and sustainable society through their business practices and extra-mural activities (Ben and Jerry's ascribes to this thought). The rub occurs when companies use shareholder's money to promote social agendas (environmental, political, etc..) when the shareholders may not be fully aware of it. Friedman would say social organizations: government, church, charities, etc. should handle these activities in society.
Anyway, great topic for us to consider, as consumers and as business leaders.
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