Business Ethics: Case Studies and Selected Readings
Do you know what your SLAVERY FOOTPRINT is?
Think about it — where you live, the clothes you wear, the products you buy… much of it comes from overseas where business ethics and governmental oversights may not be as stringent as they are in America.
So answer some quick survey questions about your life:
- Your age and gender, number of children
- What your housing situation is, such as the number of bedrooms your house has, or whether you own a car
- What’s your average meal like, in terms of the types of foods that you eat
- Do you own any precious jewelry?
- How much electronics do you surround yourself with?
- How are you with sporting goods?
…and if you’ve ever paid for sex. Seriously.
So after fine-tuning your answer, you can get a rough idea of the number of slaves around the world who work to fulfill your material needs.
And don’t think “slave” in the traditional sense. Australia shows up on the list because the “Australian crimse syndicates traffic in labor throughout Asia and the Pacific”. In the US, “women and children are forced into the sex industry; raw materials from slavery include copper, corn, gold, nylon, soybeans, limestone, and propane.”
So go through the survey, you may be surprised at what you find out about yourself.