A red card for branded goods retailers and discounters? And a clean slate for the ‘king customer’?
“The customer is king!” – this is the motto that companies in a market economy should live by. Because customers are guided not least by price, the advertising slogan “Stinginess is cool” strikes a chord – and not just with customers whose wallets are empty. Bargains, on the one hand, make it possible to treat oneself to something expensive every now and then.
For cost reasons, even high-end brand manufacturers have their goods produced in low-wage countries. Environmental and social standards there are so low that manufacturers in this country can hardly compete. And discounters deliberately cultivate an image of providing their customers with low-priced goods. But at what cost are these bargain prices made possible? Who foots the bill? Is the ‘customer king’ prepared to take responsibility for social and environmental standards in global goods production?
International non-governmental organisations are bringing the abuses in the global supply chain to public attention. They are calling out renowned brand manufacturers and exerting pressure through targeted campaigns. The companies concerned fear for their reputation and respond by introducing codes of ethics. This ethos module addresses this ethical issue using the textile and clothing industry and the Clean Clothes Campaign as examples. It raises questions such as:
- On what grounds do NGOs call out brand manufacturers, even when their suppliers comply with the laws in the countries of production?
- How can a mere image campaign by brand and retail companies (‘greenwashing’) be distinguished from a genuine commitment to better environmental and social standards?
- Does the principle of manufacturing goods wherever it is cheapest lead to a higher standard of living for everyone in the world, or only for a select few?
- Does advocating for better protection of workers and higher wage levels in manufacturing countries deprive them of their competitive advantage in the global marketplace?
The lesson can begin with a self-critical look inside the wardrobe, but emphasises a cosmopolitan civic perspective. Current case studies in various media are intended to foster public awareness and a critical counter-public sphere. A classroom equipped with a smartboard is particularly well suited to this, as it can directly depict democratic public spheres of civil society within the learning environment. Through (optional) expert interviews or panel discussions, pupils can engage directly in civic dialogue.
Curriculum relevance: The possibilities and limitations of political and economic participation can be discussed, as can the ethical requirements for a global regulatory framework for economic activity and the existing shortcomings. In vocational training for the retail sector, references to economic and product ethics within the learning areas are even required by the framework curriculum.
Application: How can global ethical standards for goods be established when individual nation states have incentives to undercut them? The looming ‘race to the bottom’ is a prime example of this and enables the transfer of what has been learnt to similar issues, such as the taxation of corporate profits or standards for the financial sector.
Module: Anti-Corporate Campaigns
Title:
The ‘Clean’ Clothes Campaign – a legitimate and effective approach to improving social standards in textile production? Public pressure on companies through civil society campaigns
Author:
Christian Meyer-Heidemann
Editors:
Thomas Retzmann / Tilman Grammes
Book title:
Product Ethics in Economic and Political Education.
Selected teaching modules from the ethos project. Special
edition for the DSW – German Foundation for the Study of Commodities,
Schwalbach/Ts. 2014