MEC & Ethical Sourcing
Ethical sourcing is about the people who work in factories and who make just about everything you and I buy. It’s about workers who do the same task over and over for long hours and low pay. It’s about how brands rely on this economic reality to get products into their stores so as to make money. It’s about price sensitive consumers who benefit from this business arrangement by shopping for the best deals to save money. And finally, it’s about workers who participate in this reality to make money
The goal of this blog is to encourage an informed dialogue on what’s happening in factories everywhere and what the root causes are. For the longest time, we (NGOs, the press and everyone) held the simple algorithm that:
Greedy factory + Greedy brand/retailer + Brutal dictatorship (e.g., China) = Sweatshop
What a crock! Don’t get me wrong. Factories, retailers and governments are integral causes to factory conditions (and have an undeniable role in redressing them) but they alone are not the only causes. We all have a role, including you the consumer. This blog is to explore the larger drivers behind these conditions and to find ways you and I can make life better for the factory worker.
There is no one right answer. Just a lot greys and equally right views.
For more information on MEC and ethical sourcing, visit: mec.ca/sourcing
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