According to the 2018 Ethical Fashion Report, it has been revealed that the top Australian brands have achieved a C rating in terms of ethical considerations. This is due to the reason that these top brands have suddenly closed the gaps existing over their overseas counterparts in order to maintain transparency in the distribution global chains supply and the rights of the workers. The Baptist World Aid published a report in which it was stated that the Australian branding companies have failed to provide appropriate rights to their workers in terms of employment. In this process only few branding companies could prove that they have been providing an appropriate wage to their workers in order to live a normal life. However 70% of the companies do not provide adequate living wage and therefore significant steps has been taken by the government to improve living wages of the workers.
In this regard, it is worthwhile to refer to the legal implications involved in the case. Various arguments have been raised in relation to the labor rights management system of the company. In such process, researchers have conducted tests for the purpose of covering three stages of supply chain involved in the present case. These are raw materials, costs of input production and final manufacturing product (Knaus 2018). In this regard, the legal authorities clearly emphasized on the part that if these companies achieved higher grades in relation to labor rights management systems, then there would have been a reduction in worker exploitation to a large extent if the existing laws related to workers’ rights are properly implemented. However, by implementing the laws and maintaining transparency in wages, brands like Cotton On have received A in their report and have topped the list in terms of ethical standards. It is worth noting that, from the very begging Cotton On has developed ethical principles of its own and have provided adequate living wages to their workers. In relation to this, Cotton On has also taken care of the safety measures of the workers while they are on duty.
According to the evidences provided by the reports of the Baptist World Aid, it can be observed that at present Australian global brands is increasing pressure for the purpose of improving the conditions of the garment workers working in the developing countries to earn a living. It is worth mentioning that these global brands are associated with the manufacturing of the majority of the world’s clothing. Brands like Aldi, Avella, Calvin Klein and Capture has received a C grade for their ethical standards as well. In this regard, it is worth examining the fact that these reports have been collected based on the information provided by the general public as well as the information on the part of the workers. Therefore, the nature of the evidences are such that, it can be relied upon. It can be observed that most of the brands were not willing to disclose that what implementations they are applying for the purpose of ensuring the welfare of the workers. Therefore, it is important on the part of both the consumers and the general public to identify the fact that whether these brands are investing sufficiently for the purpose of mitigating risks.
The ethical issues raised in this article are related to Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The concept of Corporate Social Responsibility signifies the initiatives taken on the part of the corporation for the purpose of ensuring social wellbeing of the employees associated with it (Bhattacharya et al. 2017). In most of the cases, Corporate Social Responsibility is referred to as corporate citizenship because it helps in the promotion of positive, social and environmental change within the organization (Kolk 2016). It is worthwhile to refer here that, large branding companies are involved in the process of making large investments however; there is an obligation on their part to pay adequate working wages to the workers (Michaelson et al. 2014). It is evident that workers are the individuals who ensure smooth functioning of any organization (Michalos 2017). Without these workers, these branding companies are nothing. Workers are the ones who carry on the day to day business operations and if their minimum living wages are not paid regularly then it causes violations of their rights (Nga and Shamuganathan 2015). In order to maintain their ethical standards, it is important for Australian branding companies to maintain their CSR Policy (Pearson 2017). The concept of corporate social responsibility is concerned with the fact that, how the business operations are managed by the companies by ensuring an long-term positive impact upon the society and the general public as a whole (Quarshie, Salmi and Leuschner 2016). From the very beginning corporate social responsibility covers factors like sustainability and ethics (Ruggie 2017). In the present article, the main subject of concern is ethics and how the companies perform their business ethically. The corporate social responsibility is concerned with the fact that how companies should operate their businesses ethically by ensuring proper care to the employees involved in it.
Similarly, in the present article, it can be observed that the Australian branding companies has been graded C in terms of the ethical standards maintained by them. Most of these brands do not provide adequate living wages to the workers who are involved in day to day operations of the business. In spite of considerable increase in the price of clothing, these garment companies refuses to pay sufficient living wage which according to any reasonable person is unethical. In recent era, it has been found that the garment workers of the Australian branding companies have faced various difficulties in negotiating their rights related to wages in the developing countries. In spite of various improvements in the final stages of production in the last two years, nothing has been done on the part of the fashion branding companies to address the working conditions of the workers and the payment of their minimum living wages. The supply chains related to risk of child labors and forced labors within the garment industry has increased to a great extent as none of them were able to maintain an effective CSR policy of their own.
In this case, an appropriate ethical decision has not been made because most of the garment branding companies is not aware of the source of the raw materials. They do not even have appropriate knowledge regarding the source of other fabrics as well. Ethical decision would have been made in this regard, if these fashion branding companies carried out regular and detailed inspection about the matter in concern or ensures an efficient system for the workers so that they could raise their enquiries and complaints. As emphasized in the reports formulated by the 2018 Ethical Fashion, it has been stated that out of all the companies in Australia, only few companies have taken favorable steps to improve the living wages of the overseas workers.
In a recent ethical issue has been raised in case of the breakdown of Rana Plaza factory where thousands of workers died as a result of inadequate care on the part of the company towards the workers. In the absence of effective safety conditions such incident took place and in such process took thousands of life. After the collapse of the factory, it can be observed that the living wages offered to the workers was way below the actual rate and therefore as a result of which the workers have been exploited. The company was not even concerned about the fact that from where the raw materials were coming or whether any child or bonded labor was involved in it (the Guardian 2018) However, the legal implication involved in this case was of utmost importance. About 38 people were charged with murder by the Court. However, the main accused was the owner Sohel Rana who failed to comply with the safety conditions of working and in such process breached the rules of ethical standards. It was observed that the minimum living wages offered to the workers were relatively low as compared to those in the developing countries. As a result of the massacre, it prompted other branding companies to ensure safety measures for their workers and at the same time increase their minimum living wages.
In the similar way, the Swiss multinational Nestle has violated the ethical codes of conduct of marketing by misleading the nutritional value contained in baby milk products. In such process, Nestle advertised that the formula of the infant milk contains the same contents and the nutritional value same to that of human breast milk. In such process, it not only violated the rules of ethical conduct but also failed to comply with the safety measures (Neslen 2018). It is evident that sucrose is the main element contained in mother’s milk however; if such ingredient is not present in the artificial milk products then it is not nutritional. Furthermore, if artificial sucrose or its substitute has been added to the milk products then it is unsafe for consumption. It was claimed by the company that the products have been made by involving scientific research however; failed to provide scientific evidences to support their statements.
For the purpose of outlining ethical decision making it is important to take into consideration upon the seven moral philosophies of ethics. This are-
Virtue ethics.
The moral philosophy of teleology is concerned with the fact that an act can be considered to be ethically correct if it is done for the purpose of obtaining desired results like knowledge, self-interest and wealth. On the other hand, egoism is concerned with the question of what is right and acceptable. In order to maximize self-interest, an individual is at the liberty to make any decisions. However, the nature of such decision may not be ethical. In this regard, mention can be made of enlightened egoism which is concerned with the well-being of all the living beings. Therefore, it is noteworthy to mention here that, from the beginning, the enlightened egoists abide by the rules of professional codes of ethics (Spence and Rutherfoord 2014). The moral philosophy of utilitarianism also seeks to maintain the well-being of the individuals however; it is also concerned with the attainment of common good for the greatest number of people. It is worthwhile to refer here that, the decision making process of the utilitarian is concerned with process of calculating the costs and benefits of the individuals affected as a result of the consequences of the decision. On the other hand, the concept of Deontology, from the beginning refers to those moral philosophies which emphasize upon the rights of individuals as well the intentions associated with it. According to the moral theory of Deontology, it is wrong to kill any innocent person or causing harm to any individual no matter how much attainment of greater good is associated with it. The relativist however had different perspectives. The concept of relativist ethical theory is divided into normative, descriptive and meta-ethical theories. Descriptive theories are concerned with the observation of other cultures however; meta-ethical theory emphasizes upon the situation based on the personal opinion. Normative theory emphasizes on the part that, the opinion of an individual is as good as another’s. The concept of virtue ethics is concerned with the fact that the ethical behavior should not only adhere to the codes of ethical standards but also consider that the individual is mature enough to acquire a moral character. Lastly, justice provides fair treatment to the parties in distress by applying the ethical codes of legal standards.
In the present issue related to business ethics, the moral philosophies of Deontology and Utilitarianism can be applied. It is evident that, if the rights of the workers are not taken into consideration and is violated then it is a form of injustice towards them. The companies should follow professional code of business ethics in order to achieve the attainment of common good. Violating the rights of the workers by not providing them with adequate living wage is like depriving them from their rights.
Conclusion:
In the conclusion, it can be stated that, every company needs to follow the ethics code of standards and ensure that the employees are not mistreated in any way
References:
News Articles:
Knaus, C. (2018). Australian fashion brands rated C for ethics. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/fashion/2018/apr/18/australian-fashion-brands-rated-c-for-ethics [Accessed 23 May 2018].
Neslen, A. (2018). Nestlé under fire for marketing claims on baby milk formulas. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2018/feb/01/nestle-under-fire-for-marketing-claims-on-baby-milk-formulas [Accessed 23 May 2018].
The Guardian. (2018). Rana Plaza collapse: 38 charged with murder over garment factory disaster. [online] Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/jul/18/rana-plaza-collapse-murder-charges-garment-factory [Accessed 23 May 2018].
Journals:
Bhattacharya, C.B., Korschun, D., Sen, S. and Routledge, H., 2017. Corporate social responsibility. Journal of International Law, 26(2).
Kolk, A., 2016. The social responsibility of international business: From ethics and the environment to CSR and sustainable development. Journal of World Business, 51(1), pp.23-34.
Michaelson, C., Pratt, M.G., Grant, A.M. and Dunn, C.P., 2014. Meaningful work: Connecting business ethics and organization studies. Journal of Business Ethics, 121(1), pp.77-90.
Michalos, A.C., 2017. Issues for business ethics in the nineties and beyond. In How Good Policies and Business Ethics Enhance Good Quality of Life (pp. 197-212). Springer, Cham.
Nga, J.K.H. and Shamuganathan, G., 2015. The influence of personality traits and demographic factors on social entrepreneurship start up intentions. Journal of business ethics, 95(2), pp.259-282.
Pearson, R., 2017. Business ethics as communication ethics: Public relations practice and the idea of dialogue. In Public relations theory (pp. 111-131). Routledge.
Quarshie, A.M., Salmi, A. and Leuschner, R., 2016. Sustainability and corporate social responsibility in supply chains: The state of research in supply chain management and business ethics journals. Journal of Purchasing and Supply Management, 22(2), pp.82-97.
Ruggie, J.G., 2017. The theory and practice of learning networks: Corporate social responsibility and the Global Compact. In Learning To Talk (pp. 32-42). Routledge.
Spence, L.J. and Rutherfoord, R., 2014. Small business and empirical perspectives in business ethics. Journal of Business Ethics, 47(1), pp.1-5.
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