Human Rights & Business Ethics news and comment CCB 104
March 25, 2009
News and commentary from the February/March edition of Corporate Citizenship Briefing, issue 104
A birth control pill that promised too much
Bayer HealthCare Pharmaceuticals has just introduced a new $20 million advertising campaign for Yaz, the most popular birth control pill in the United States. The revised campaign comes after the Food and Drug Administration and the attorneys general of 27 states ruled that recent advertising overstated the drug’s ability, while significantly playing down risks. Bayer agreed on February 9 to spend at least $20 million on the campaign, to comply with all changes suggested by the FDA and for the next six years to submit all Yaz ads for federal screening before they appear. Contact: Massachusetts Attorney General’s office www.mass.gov
Asda’s £2 roses create row not romance
Asda was criticised by War on Want on Valentines Day this year, over the sourcing of £2-a-dozen roses from Kenya, where Asda says employees earn a living wage of around £35 a month. The charity cited research from two years ago indicating that Kenyan workers regarded a living wage as £50 a month. The Kenyan Women Workers’ Organisation has warned that amid rising prices of maize, wheat and rice, workers need well above £50 a month to meet essential household bills and support their families. War on Want senior campaigns officer Simon McRae called on the UK Government to introduce regulation to ensure a living wage and decent work conditions for such workers. Contact: War on Want www.waronwant.org
South African wine workers paid less than £4 a day
A study carried out by War on Want, released on February 13, claims that thousands of employees working on wine-producing farms in South Africa face low pay and the threat of sudden dismissal as the pressure to produce cheap wine for the UK intensifies. The report, ‘Sour Grapes’, says that supermarkets and wine agents force suppliers to cut production costs by dominating markets and abusing their buyer power. This traps vineyard and fruit employees in low pay and insecure jobs, with farmers increasingly hiring seasonal employees who earn less and lack entitlements received by permanent workers, such as housing and sick pay. Contact: War on Want www.waronwant.org
Welfare system must be transformed to meet the meltdown, says nef
The New Economics Foundation (nef) is calling for a new social settlement to transform the way we live together and look after each other – a modern welfare system that can meet the challenges of environmental and economic meltdown. In a new pamphlet published on February 5, ‘Green, Well, Fair’ three economies for social justice, nef sets out how three economies – based on the resources of people, planet and markets – could work together to deliver sustainable social justice. The report opens up a major new programme of work on social policy at nef, which seeks a radical transformation of Britain’s welfare state. Contact: nef www.neweconomics.org
Experimental breast cancer drug unethically tested on Indian women
An Indian research report, published on February 5, shows several pharmaceutical companies’ disregard for ethical principles. The Indian Centre for Studies in Ethics and Rights has examined, among other things, the way GlaxoSmithKline tested a breast cancer drug on seriously ill women in India and how AstraZeneca conducted clinical trials in India that are not accepted by ethical review committees in Western Europe. A spokesperson from the study’s co-commissioner said “time after time we see that patients in developing countries are used to test drugs that are primarily intended for the European market. Contrary to the ethical guidelines, these patients do not benefit from the research results.” Contact: Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations http://somo.nl/
Retailers score poorly in ethical ranking
On February 23 a new report from Ethical Consumer magazine revealed that conditions for workers supplying 19 other clothes retailers could be even worse than at Primark supplier factories. “There’s a real gap between the best and the worst performers on the high street,” says Ethical Consumer editor and report author Rob Harrison. “They appear to have no policies in place to prevent abuses by suppliers.” The report also examines how poor ethical standards in the high street have led to an explosive growth of smaller, more ethical, brands. Companies specialising in Fairtrade and organic clothing have mushroomed from around 20 in 2006 to nearly 250 in 2009. Scoring best for ethics amongst the high street retailers are Monsoon and Marks & Spencer. Contact: Ethical Consumer www.ethicalconsumer.org
Comment
A lack of ethics in the supply chain can be seen as an issue for many businesses. The working conditions in factories supplying high street retailers described by Ethical Consumer provides more examples of businesses accused of neglecting ethical standards in the supply chain.Sooner or later, a company is bound to find itself part of a supply chain that experiences a significant ethics or compliance violation. When this happens, the chances are that the biggest brand in the chain will get stuck with most of the blame. Supply chain issues do appear to be slowly moving up the agenda as scrutiny of company performance in this area intensifies. High profile examples, such as the Mattel toy collection in 2007, have caused some companies to invest more on infrastructure to mitigate costly risks.
Others seem unaware of how effective supply chain ethics and compliance can help the business avoid costly recalls and brand damage. However, it appears the majority are simply still focusing on short term cost concerns rather than monitoring suppliers on issues related to reputation and risk.
So how are business ethics in the supply chain likely to develop in the foreseeable future? With a severe recession looming large across the globe, it would be easy to imagine that as companies look to cut costs and fight for survival, plans for tackling ethical issues in the supply chain will be put on the back burner. However, maybe this is just the time for businesses to really get to grips with their supply chain to root out any skeletons in the closet.
The sharp rise in ethical clothing companies highlighted in the Ethical Consumer article illustrates that ethics are increasingly playing a part in consumer purchasing decisions. With the current economic climate a catalyst for mistrust in business, savvy companies can actually use high ethical standards in the supply chain as a powerful message to gain competitive advantage.
COMMENTS