BEING FAIR: An ethical dilemma?
Our team has done all the work we need to inform you on whether or not the stores you love and cherish meet their codes of conducts and stick to the rules of fair and ethical trading.
Supply chain management is the movement of goods or information from the supplier, to the customer and then onto the consumer. A supply chain is a network of partners and involves converting raw materials into finished products. Without the supply chain, companies wouldn't have products to sell (yes, that means saying good bye to your Topshop skinnies!). Although having a production source is an important thing, considering the business ethics is much more significant in the process. Business ethics are concerned with ‘doing the right thing’ when considering the conduct, principles and patterns of behavior in business dealings.
A place in the fashion retail supply chain where business ethics are considered and fought for the most is in the sector of sourcing and production.
All companies have an ETI base code- this stands for Ethical Trading Initiative. Still confused? Keep reading.
An ETI base code can usually be found on a company’s corporate pages on their website; never seen it? It’s usually tucked away right at the bottom of your screen, sat comfortably next to their shipping policies and methods of contact. An ETI base code document will/should contain the
companies policies on different ethical issues- it will state how this particular company meets the universal ETI base code.
Some of these ethical points include child labour, worker’s rights and pay, working conditions and sustainability within production.
Now, ‘what’s in it for the brand to take on an ethical approach?’ you may ask. Well, if the company is a true and strong believer in the fair-treating of other humans, animals and the
environment then it is pretty self-explanatory. On the other hand, companies may take on an ethical approach to improve their reputation and image- think about how American Apparel is widely respected due to their sweatshop-free policy and sustainable production approach; now think about how many of your friends have stated ‘I won’t shop at Primark, they use child labour!’.
ASOS is just one of many popular brands which allegedly had no genuine knowledge that one of their factories had been sourcing through subcontractors