Group “B”: Eniola, Khalida, Andrew, Steve and Jeanault
The ethical question we have taken under review will consider, “Is there a way to sustain Fast Fashion while maintaining ethical standards?” We had determined that there are a number of key pieces of important information we first need to understand when trying to answer this question. We would need to consider what are the ethical standards required and who determines these standards. We would want to understand what companies, if any, have factories that do meet these ethical standards currently. Also, it is important to consider what the financial cost would be for companies to upscale factories to meet these proposed ethical standards and what impact it would have on their profitability. As well, we would want to have a detailed list of who is in the supply chain of these Fast Fashion companies.
Our judgement on this is that if we improve health and safety we will have met a minimum obligation for the workers and stakeholders involved in the Fast Fashion chain.
There are two key ethical concepts we are looking at: First, we are acting out of concerns for the feelings of others. Second, we are acting out of concerns for behaving ethically.
We realize there are quite a number of assumptions we are using in reasoning through this ethical issue. We are assuming that if we invest more in improving ethical standards it will slow down Fast Fashion and reduce profitability. However, we need to determine if there is a way to both improve standards in the industry and maintain speed and profitability. Next, we assumed that if we improve health and safety it will improve workers output. However, we don’t know if better working standards will actually help to drive productivity of workers.
We are also assuming that consumers actually care about buying ethically sourced goods. It could very well be the case that consumers would rather not think about where their products come from and are content with the status quo. We are also applying the assumption that ethical health and safety standards in our society and culture should be the same across the world. It might be the case that current third-world cultures have a different outlook on what would be considered ethical working standards. Finally, we are assuming that the ‘sustainable’ in our initial question means ‘profitable’. In other words, the assumption that it is possible to maintain profits for Fast Fashion companies while maintaining an acceptable minimum of workers’ rights. The points of view we need to consider before coming to conclusions about this ethical issue are from each stakeholder: the consumer, manufacturer, shareholder, corporation (CEO), community, government, workers, and unions.
The main inferences and conclusions we have come to in reasoning through this ethical question are that we need to understand what countries, such as Bangladesh and China, would consider as a minimum ethically acceptable standard for their textile factories. We would then need to understand the costs involved in upscaling those factories to meet those minimum health and safety requirements. The cost of doing so would impact profitability of corporations such as Zara. So, would the stakeholders involved through the entire supply chain be willing to make such changes? And, would consumers care enough to pay more for the Fast Fashion they love?
The ethical question we have taken under review will consider, “Is there a way to sustain Fast Fashion while maintaining ethical standards?” We had determined that there are a number of key pieces of important information we first need to understand when trying to answer this question. We would need to consider what are the ethical standards required and who determines these standards. We would want to understand what companies, if any, have factories that do meet these ethical standards currently. Also, it is important to consider what the financial cost would be for companies to upscale factories to meet these proposed ethical standards and what impact it would have on their profitability. As well, we would want to have a detailed list of who is in the supply chain of these Fast Fashion companies.
Our judgement on this is that if we improve health and safety we will have met a minimum obligation for the workers and stakeholders involved in the Fast Fashion chain.
There are two key ethical concepts we are looking at: First, we are acting out of concerns for the feelings of others. Second, we are acting out of concerns for behaving ethically.
We realize there are quite a number of assumptions we are using in reasoning through this ethical issue. We are assuming that if we invest more in improving ethical standards it will slow down Fast Fashion and reduce profitability. However, we need to determine if there is a way to both improve standards in the industry and maintain speed and profitability. Next, we assumed that if we improve health and safety it will improve workers output. However, we don’t know if better working standards will actually help to drive productivity of workers.
We are also assuming that consumers actually care about buying ethically sourced goods. It could very well be the case that consumers would rather not think about where their products come from and are content with the status quo. We are also applying the assumption that ethical health and safety standards in our society and culture should be the same across the world. It might be the case that current third-world cultures have a different outlook on what would be considered ethical working standards. Finally, we are assuming that the ‘sustainable’ in our initial question means ‘profitable’. In other words, the assumption that it is possible to maintain profits for Fast Fashion companies while maintaining an acceptable minimum of workers’ rights. The points of view we need to consider before coming to conclusions about this ethical issue are from each stakeholder: the consumer, manufacturer, shareholder, corporation (CEO), community, government, workers, and unions.
The main inferences and conclusions we have come to in reasoning through this ethical question are that we need to understand what countries, such as Bangladesh and China, would consider as a minimum ethically acceptable standard for their textile factories. We would then need to understand the costs involved in upscaling those factories to meet those minimum health and safety requirements. The cost of doing so would impact profitability of corporations such as Zara. So, would the stakeholders involved through the entire supply chain be willing to make such changes? And, would consumers care enough to pay more for the Fast Fashion they love?
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