Aligning with Kenneth E. Goodpaster, social justice is typically about how costs and benefits are distributed. Are the decisions of a corporation imposing costs on people that they do not deserve, or that we judge to be unfair?
Furthermore, there is a human dignity that we must take into account. Human dignity: humans have value in themselves, they are not mere tools or instruments to further goals such as profits. We are capable of free choice, which requires full and accurate information.
This leads me to think about the corporations, nonprofits, and organizations from which I consume products. Sadly, I realize I am just a consumer, with little information about the products which I consume most frequently.
So- I am on a quest to know the origin of my purchases.
First: My purchase of coffee at Iowa State University.
FOUND: the Roasterie. http://www.theroasterie.com/
From where does the Roasterie purchase? I decided to email the company to ask about their procedures: Where do they buy? Who grows? Are the wages fair?
TBD.
I'm so proud that you've done even this tiny step of research to find your answers. I struggle with this question of who [makes my products] and where [do my purchases ultimately come from] for quite some time. It really hit me a few years ago when I was thinking about that verse in Micah [6:8?] that to live justly requires SO FREAKING MUCH effort nowadays: I want to be an informed consumer whose only purchases support people, not continue cycles of abuse, slavery, etc.
ReplyDeleteSo I did some research. What I found, at least in the clothing department, was not helpful:
Most clothing companies outsource the production of their products. They go through a chain of contractors. Some of these contractors are honest.... others are not so much. Companies can be told that their products are made in a fair way, but some contractors lie and are actually having the clothes made for cheaper [in sweatshops]. So the company names that we're familiar with: Gap, Nike, etc, don't even know how their own clothes are being made, which is why those companies have been involved in social justice scandals.
Emailing the companies wasn't of any help. They all referred me to their PR page on their website that assures readers that all products are made honestly and with good working conditions for the laborers.
F.
SO many more thoughts.... but that's all I have time for at the moment.
Good thinking, Jamie. What compels me is the company outsourcing. My curiosity is this: who are the chain of contractors for the Gap and for Nike.
ReplyDeleteHmm, I wonder if referring someone to a PR page is not enough. I wonder if someone could badger PR or the company enough to have them tell you.
Maybe a petition would do. Have 50 people sign a sheet saying they want to know from where these clothes are being contracted. Let me know if you have any more thoughts.