(10) the terms "chronic labor law violators" or "multiple labor law violators" have been used synonymously with the term "sweatshops."(Foo) Sweatshops became illegal in the United States with the passing of the Fair Labor Standards Act
Ethics audits are useful because they render, in objective and quantifiable terms, how ethical conduct is measured by a company and hold the company to specific benchmarks. It is often said that in the corporate world "what gets measured, matters" and that is also true of "corporate responsibility: when information and metrics are combined with disclosure and transparency, corporate posturing on issues that affect society can be quickly replaced with fact-based analysis and discussion" (Connor 2011)
Its philosophy of being the best one can be seemed to cohere with a particular ethical worldview that stressed personal empowerment. Thus, it was a great shock to the world when it was revealed that Nike products were manufactured under ethically questionable circumstances (Ferrell, Fraedrich, & Ferrell 2011: 217)
An ethical audit would have demonstrated the costs to the company of noncompliance. A similar problem was suffered by the toy manufacturer Mattel, when it was discovered that, because of its desire to price its toys as cheaply as possible, it had selected a Chinese subcontractor that used lead paint that was hazardous to children (Wisner & Gilbert 2010)
3). An article in The New York Times (Duhigg, et al
com. Apple preferred not to comment on the riot, Greene explains, but there have been "employee suicides…explosions at two plants…and reports of harsh working conditions" (Greene, 2012)
Meanwhile Apple joined the Fair Labor Association (FLA) in 2011; the FLA is a group that monitors factories in the supply chains of affiliated / international companies. The FLA staff conducted 3,000 hours of investigations into conditions in three of Apple's Chinese factories, and surveyed "more than 35,000" Foxconn workers over a 12-month period (Hyatt, 2012)
Cross-Cultural Perspectives - Apple's Sweatshop Plants in China The world that the Apple technology company enjoys "…could not be rosier and its future shiner," according to researcher Ajinkya Khedekar, writing in the Carnegie Council's publication -- Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs. The author goes on to assert that Apple has "reached the pinnacle of success in 15 short years" and its market capitalization ($500 billion) makes it one of the most "valuable and highly profitable companies in the world" (Khedekar, 2012, p
The publication that originally blew the whistle on Apple and Foxconn, London's Daily Mail, published an article six years after their original investigative piece. Journalist Simon Walters asserted that "Apple has failed to tackle the scandalous working conditions… in China" (Walters, 2012)
It may damage all apparel manufacturers, since they may be associated in the public mind with the offending company even if they have done nothing wrong themselves. Many companies in the apparel and retail business have responded by developing codes and policies regarding their own and suppliers' treatment of employees following media attention to overseas sweatshops (Miller, 1997, 1)
Lynn Sharp Paine of the Harvard University Graduate School of Business Administration notes that managers often claim that an ethical failure is an isolated incident and not reflective of management, though Paine disagrees: More typically, unethical business practice involves the tacit, if not explicit, cooperation of others and reflects the values, attitudes, beliefs, language, and behavioral patterns that define an organization's operating culture. Ethics, then, is as much an organizational as a personal issue (Paine, 1994, 106)
Some ethical issues are brought into the public eye when a scandal erupts, as occurred within the last few years over the issue of child labor in sweatshop conditions. It was reported in the news that Kathie Lee Gifford's line of clothing had been manufactured under such conditions (Razzi, 1995, 46)
Many companies in the apparel and retail business have responded by developing codes and policies regarding their own and suppliers' treatment of employees following media attention to overseas sweatshops (Miller, 1997, 1). A recent study shows that media attention directed toward a company's ethical failings will often have the result of prompting the company to engage in broader and more direct ethics management (Weaver, Trevi & Cochran, 1999, 41-57)
armed forces, which sold Chentex-made jeans in stores on military bases nationwide (Perrin Pp). The apparel industry is paradigmatic, in that it is completely globalized and notoriously exploitative (Ivins Pp)
, behind barbed wire, under threat of death if they tried to leave (Sweatshops Pp). The lack of restrictive and costly government regulations overseas is very attractive to businesses for it provides a favorable bottom line, however, this lack of regulation allows dangerous work environments to flourish (White Pp)
In 1999, after Verite audits revealed that the workers had been overcharged, owners of two Taiwanese factories forced labor brokers to return USD $38,000 to Thai workers (Verite Pp). Taiwan has long been famed for its transformation from a developing country to an industrial colossus, however, in recent years labor disputes at a Taiwanese-owned textile factory in impoverished Nicaragua has cast global attention on the island nation (Perrin Pp)
A detailed report, 108 pages long, was issued by the firm, wherein it revealed factory conditions and worker pay and acknowledged the widespread problems occurring in its factories, with particular emphasis on its manufacturing units in South Asia. Nike continues making its audit data, commitments, and standards known, via its CSR reports (Nisen, 2013)
Exclusive offers or lucrative sales can increase product value and desirability, further justifying labor practices employed in creating the product. Consumer loyalty and a brand's strength are also factors that influence reasoning, and customers may overlook corporations like Apple and Nike that outsource manufacturing to subsidiaries, and hence have no direct connection with labor conditions in manufacturing units (Paharia, 2013)