My phone was made by Apple.
My shirt was made by H&M.
My bag was made by Nike.
All of these statements are true when you look at the products at face value. But what you do not see is the deeper truth of where and how your products are actually made.
Each company has a supply chain. A supply chain is the steps in a production process. Every item we own contains components and these components are supplied by humans all over the world. There are many steps in the production chain, and each product is made up of many raw materials produced by countless people. All of the materials are manufactured by still more people.
Some companies are using forced labor to acquire minerals or to manufacture clothing in sweatshops in order to keep the prices of their products low for us consumers. While the low cost benefits us, it takes advantage of those in adverse situations.
Many companies have a corporate social responsibility policy, which is a set of business practices that a company pledges to follow to benefit society. A company can improve their corporate social responsibility by committing to better supply chain management and making sure that the raw materials they acquire and the outsourced labor they use to make their products are not being done through forced labor.
Catholic Relief Services (CRS), the international development agency that Cabrini University partners with, is taking a stand against forced labor and urging companies to use fair labor to create goods. One of the benefits CRS outlines is improving product quality. A socially just supply chain can help produce more sustainable products. A more humane supply chain comes about by better communication between the company and their suppliers. This will lead to increased productivity and strengthen relationships with suppliers.
One problem when it comes to consumers is blissful ignorance. We like our products cheap because we can save our money while still getting the goods we want. But at what cost? Someone else’s freedom. Someone making a living wage.
If companies were more transparent about where they get their raw materials, where their products are manufactured and who is actually doing the labor then maybe we would think twice about what we buy and who we buy from.
KnowTheChain is an organization that holds companies responsible for poor supply chains and praises those who are acquiring their materials through more fair means. The organization rates companies based on their evaluation of a company’s efforts to protect workers in their supply chains from forced labor. The higher the number, the better the management.
Apple holds a ranking of 62 due to their high transparency rate to consumers and risk management when it comes to forced labor. Apple is a company that has a grown commitment to labor rights over the past five years. But 62 indicates it still has a way to go. Our knowledge and advocacy about supply chains tells a company we are concerned.
If companies become more transparent to consumers, then we can make more aware decisions about the companies we buy from and the products we purchase. We can hold the brands we are most loyal to accountable for their actions and how they treat their workers. Cutting corners to turn a profit should not be done at the expense of someone’s life.
For more information about how to advocate for better supply chains, please see CRS’s website here.
