In
a market based on supply and demand, consumers hold significant power. Organic,
free-range, hormone-free—companies use these terms to describe increasingly
popular products that cater to the changing demands of a rising generation of
responsible consumers. Today, consumers inform themselves about the origins of
their purchases and hold companies accountable for upholding certain ethical
standards. If consumers refuse to buy chicken from farms with cages, why would
they purchase anything produced through human forced labor? Many recognizable
global corporations can trace their supply chains to farms, factories, or other
industries that use forced labor. If consumers recognize their responsibility
to use their purchasing power in the global market to act against human
trafficking, the loss of consumer demand for forced labor products will affect
the trafficking cycle.
Until consumers make a conscious
effort to avoid products of slave labor, companies will not change their
business practices. However, as consumers voice their concerns about a
product’s origin to companies while threatening to take their business elsewhere,
companies respond by addressing slavery in their supply chains and by educating
employees to recognize the signs of trafficking. Due to the powerful influence
of conscientious consumers, many global corporations including Microsoft, Ford,
and Coca-Cola came together to form The Global Business Coalition Against Human
Trafficking, an organization working “to mobilize the power, resources andthought leadership of the business community to end human trafficking,”
according to the organization’s mission statement. Without the pressure from
consumers who do not support forced labor, these large companies would not
invest time or resources into investigating their complex world wide supply
chains to guarantee forced labor free products. Because of this shift in
thinking in corporations like those included in gBCAT, a new standard of
ethical responsibility to end human trafficking is expected from all
businesses. Because these dramatic changes began with consumers, individual
consumers can confidently work to end slavery every day by using their purchasing
power with responsibility.
This sounds like corporate social responsibility. Companies definitely have the ability to know when they are buying from suppliers using forced labor and STOP buying from these companies. It is sad that many major companies have not put in the effort they could to end human trafficking.
ReplyDeleteWhile corporations have an obligation to social responsibility, the key aspect is using our purchasing power to incentivize that. At the end of the day, would any corporation put in the additional time and effort to investigate their suppliers if there was no conscious pressure from consumers to do so?
ReplyDeleteThis is really interesting, and I'm hoping your presentation goes into detail on how consumers can become more involved in this issue. For example, is there an easy way to find the supply chain even if the company is not being transparent? In past cases, what was the most effective way of getting a company to eliminate forced labor? I'm anxious to learn more from your presentation, as I'm always curious if something I'm buying has been made with forced labor.
ReplyDeleteHow do you suggest we inform the public about the roots of slavery to create products and motivate them to voice their opinion against these practices?
ReplyDelete