Laila, RE Project

re Research Project

Ethical Companies

What does ethical mean?

What makes a company ethical?

Ethics: moral principles that govern a person's behaviour or the conducting of an activity.

Oxford dictionary

Examples of ethical actions

These QUALITIES in companies

• Recycling- this is ethical because you are thinking about the wider community and how your litter could impact others
• Buying sustainable items- this is also ethical because you're making a decision morally, thinking of others
• Honesty- it's morally correct, many philosophers such as Imanuel Kant claimed that the truth is correct no matter what the situation
• Respect- this is ethical because you treat everyone fairly
• Integrity- this is ethical because it builds good character and risks the probability of corruption

• Many companies recycle to improve the environment for example, Starbucks have introduced discounts if people bring their own cups
• Lush is sustainable because they do not use palm oil but use natural ingredients
• Honesty is important in workplaces to build trust between workers
• Respect is crucial in work places to avoid discrimination(morally incorrect)
• Integrity is important to ensure there's no corruption, there's fairness

Some Ethical Companies

Lush is a cosmetics and beauty shop founded by 6 co-owners (Mark Constantine, Rowena Bird, Helen Ambrosen, Mo Constantine, Liz Weir, Paul Greaves) in 1995 Poole. They're mostly known for their aromatic bath bombs and high quality handmade products. LUSH's mission is to make their products by hand with only vegetarian ingredients and little-to-no preservatives. They are staunchly against animal testing, even refusing to buy material from producers that test on animals.

Lush

Avon is also a cosmetics and beauty shop, however their selection is wider. They also have skin care and fragrance products. It was founded in 1886, New York by David H. McConnell. The Avon Foundation was established with the mission of promoting humanitarian efforts for women, and today focuses mostly on fighting breast cancer and domestic violence.

Avon

Info

However which is more ethical?

Lush or Avon?

Lush

Avon

The company only sells cruelty-free cosmetics. Their own products are not tested on animals and they will not buy any ingredient tested on animals since June 2007Lush supports Fair Trade and Community Trade initiatives. Lush works to buy as much as they can directly from the source and considerworker's rights, environmental safety, animal protection, and transport with the purchase of each ingredient Lush has stopped using approximately 250 tonnes of palm oil because in 2017 the company stated that their main aim is to remove palm oil in products in the uk Lush’s real ethical strength is in animal rights. They on,y sell cruelty-free products. Additionally, they enough that their suppliers are cruelty free too. Ethical Consumer collaborates with Lush on the Lush Prize. Lush awards £250,000 to researchers and campaigners in the non-animal testing sector to help end animal testing.

Avon does not conduct animal testingAvon is a strong advocate of both the ethical and humane treatment of animals and the protection of human health and safety Their aim is to make their packaging is 100% recyclable by 2025 They're working towards using more biodegradable formulas for their beauty products They're committed to using at least 90% renewable or natural ingredients, and 95% biodegradeable formulas by 2030. Avon are cautious about where they're receiving their ingredients for example they're using a small amount of palm oil, and are long-term committed members of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), and the Action for Sustainable Derivatives (ASD).

VS

They support HSI’s #BeCrueltyFree campaign calling to outlaw cosmetic animal testing in key global beauty markets..

Avon have a 'Speak Up Culture' in place. They expect all associates to report all violations of the law. This is ethical because it's fair, the same rules apply to everyone

Avon's Policies

Avon has been partnered with Fund for the Replacement of Animals in Medical Experiments (FRAME) for 30 years. FRAME is dedicated to the development of new, valid and ethical scientific methods that will replace the need for laboratory animals in medical and scientific research, education and testing

They have a confidential reporting system which ensures the workers' safety and gives them a right of speech

Avon has a global stand against animal testing.They don't test their products or ingredients on any animals and have been doing so for three decades. They're celebrated by PETA

https://youtu.be/6LseTRlU5Fk

Lush is known for being against animal testing. It was their ultimate aim to ban animal testing since they opened their company in 1995. As an alternative to animal testing 100% of testing is done on humans. They are recngonsied by The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for this. Their chain of supply doesn't do animal testing either.

Lush has always been quite active during charity events. Since 2013 they have raised £65m and from 2019-2020 they collected £275k.

Lush launched the 'Lush Re:Fund' in 2018 to support regenerative design in areas of disaster & displacement, permaculture & agroecology, and rewilding & biodiversity. They're focused to work with groups to create solution to some of world's greatest challenges. They raised £631k and support 48 groups

Lush is also quite involved with the local communty. During the 2020 BLM, lush supported anti-police brutality and anti-racsim groups. Lush Germany hosted a workshop with Phoenix, an anti-racsist organistion run by Sybill Phoenix

Lush's policies

Lush is also conscious about the effect of global warming and have a self-imposed Carbon Tax funds, to bring awarness of their carbon footprint as a company. £4.2m was donated towards the cause

https://medium.com/@designforsustainability/sustainability-is-not-enough-we-need-regenerative-cultures-4abb3c78e68b

Negatives about Avon

Although avon has claimed to have stopped selling products in China, research shows they haven't stopped. This is after they claimed to stop selling in China because of China's animal testing policies.Avon is also though not to be PETA approved, but working towards it. It has officially been added to the PETA US “Working for Regulatory Change” list. Avon is making an effort to no longer test on animals and to ensure that none of its suppliers test on animals, either.

Negatives about Lush

Lush have used a lot of palm oil in their products and has a vast number of reports of poor working conditions by employees. After alot of campaigning lush has lowered the use of palm oil but still needs to work more on this issue. Lush states that they use these artificial dyes because the shades they use are simply not possible to create with natural dyes. Since lush may be using synthetic dyes, there is some concern that these artificial dyes can cause negative health effects on the human body.

timeline of Avon

They become the first company to bring Alpha Hydroxy Acid (AHA) anti-ageing technology to the mass market, with the launch of our ANEW skincare range in 1992. The Avon name and logo are first used on a cosmetics line in 1929. The California Perfume Company is renamed Avon in 1939. They are listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 1946.

David H. McConnell founds the California Perfume Company in 1886. He hires Mrs. P.F.E. Albee to be his first Representative.

They launch the iconic Skin-So-Soft brand in 1961. We start selling jewellery. By 1975 they became the biggest jewellery manufacturer in the world. The number of Representatives reaches one million, with sales totalling more than US$2 billion in 1978. They are the first to stabilise Retinol, with the patented BIOADVANCE skincare product in 1986.

They hold their first ever walk to raise funds for breast cancer in 1988. Avon Products, Inc. and New Avon LLC (US, Canada and Puerto Rico business) become two separate companies in 2016. They join the Natura &Co family; four purpose-led brands (Avon, Natura, The Body Shop and Aesop) building the best beauty company in 2020.

California Perfume Company issues the first brochure in 1896. Operations begin in Montreal, Canada, marking their first international expansion in 1914. Avon UK launches the Breast Cancer Crusade, selling a pin to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer in 1992.

We begin operations in Venezuela, marking our first overseas expansion in 1954. The Avon Foundation for Women is founded in the US. The first grant is a single US$400 scholarship in 1955. The number of Representatives grows to 100,000, and we break the US$100-million sales mark in 1957.

timeline of Lush

At the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Lush offered the public free handwashing in all its stores, as a means to help slow the spread of the virus. However, on 16 March 2020, Lush closed all North American stores but continued to pay staff, with stores in Australia closing four days later and those in the UK closing on 21 March.

Lush was founded in 1995 by six co-founders; Mo Constantine, Mark Constantine, Rowena Bird, Helen Ambrosen, Liz Bennett and Paul Greeves.

In 2010, Lush launched Gorilla Perfume, a collaboration between perfumers Mark Constantine and his son Simon Constantine. In December 2010, Mark and Mo Constantine were awarded the OBE in the New Year's Honours list, for services to the beauty industry.

In 2014, Gorilla perfume opened its own standalone store in Islington, London. In December 2018, Lush launched its Naked skincare range, which includes solid facial oils and cleansers and a seaweed gel eye mask, and opened a number of Naked shops, in Manchester, Milan and Berlin. In 2019, Lush opened its biggest store in the world in Liverpool.

"B Never Too Busy To Be Beautiful" was an experimental brand launched in 2003 by Lush. The first B Never store opened in 2003 and was located on Carnaby Street in London, before Lush expanded to opening 205 stores overseas. "B Never" closed its stores in 2009.

In 2021, Lush removed its Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat and TikTok accounts citing negative mental health and body image effects caused by such services.

Evaluation

Evaluate this statement, considering arguments for and against: "It is our duty to only support ethical companies/products."

Paragraph 1

Most people would agree with this statement because they believe in ahimsa or that there is a right course of action to take in a moral dilemma. For example, Immanuel Kant states that "morality is absolute" therefore there should be no exception for a certain person, place or time. Immanuel Kant also says that one's duty is based on a deontological ethic. He believed that the morality of an action should be based on whether that action itself is right or wrong, rather than based on the consequences of the action. Consequences such as pain or pleasure are ruled out since they can affect your judgement as shown in the trolley problem when people changed their minds when the same situation changed it's solution. Based on Immanuel Kant's teachings, it would be our duty to only support ethical companies since it is morally correct and validates most philosophical views. In addition, in Hinduism and Buddhism, Hindus and Buddists believe in Ahimsa (ethical principle of not causing harm to other living things) and that we should not harm animals because of that. An ethical company does not harm animals therefore Buddhists and Hindus would be in favour of this statement. This is a strong argument because many religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism support this statement as do many philosophers such as Immanuel Kant. Therefore, most people would agree that it is our duty to only support ethical companies/ products’.

Paragraph 2

However, other people would disagree with this statement because it's very limited to extend a companies profit.. When most people open a company, their aim is to make money. That means having the lowest expenditure but having the highest possible profit. It's also very time-consuming to create good quality products. Our population is growing rapidly, natural and ethical ways to harvest food, manufacture clothes are too time-consuming, there's an enormous demand. On one hand, unethical companies are terrible to the environment and think in the now rather than into the future, however, without unethical companies, the demands would've never been met, This would've resulted a greater chaos, food shortages, strikes, petrol problems etc. Some unethical companies are Victoria’s Secret, GAP, Fashion Nova, Uniqlo, Forever 21, Nike, Adidas, Disney, H&M . These are all popular, successful companies, but why do people still support them? Most people, don't care about issues unless it directly effects them their wants take over the morally correct thing to do. In Utilitarianism, Bentham states that the better action is that which makes majority happy, in this situation everyone likes to buy from these unethical companies since nothing directly affects them negatively, These companies can keep up with the demand and they're cheaper than ethical companies. Thomas Hobbes justified in 1651, that humans are selfish, evil and wicked inheritly. He claimed that man is not naturally good "of the voluntary acts of every man, the object is some good to himself." Using, Hobbes' ideology, we could argue that unethical companies are evil and selfish, cunningly ambitious for money even if it puts many at risk. This is a justified argument since many are in favour of unethical companies. Therefore, some people may disagree to only support ethical companies as they simply don't care (according to Hobbes), can't afford the products or ethical companies cannot keep up with the demand and the variety of products people need, forcing people to buy from unethical companies. They also might follow bentham's ideology,

Evaluation

To conclude, I believe that we should support ethical companies only. However, it doesn't mean we should just leave unethcial companies. Instead we should strive to also make them ethical. Whether it's by sigining petitions, adding new laws or simply educating people on the matter. Ethical companies, are the most morally correct companies. An using Jermeny Benthem's concept of utilitarianism, he states that we should aim to "maximise pleasure and minimise pain". Ethical companies maximise pleasure, as workers are treated fairly, everything done in the supply chain is lawful, animals aren't put at risk, extra precautions are taken to enhance wellbeing and safety rather than making the most money. This makes it pleasant for the employees to go to work because they know that by working for their familys' expenditure they aren't exploiting off someone else's. There may be some negatives about ethcial companies like expensive products etc, but like Immanuel Kant states, "Morality is absolute" and we do things because it is our duty not just because it makes us happy. Ethical companies also give back a lot to the environment. As presented in the powerpoint, lush launched the 'Lush re:fund' organisation in 2018 to assist places that are at risk. Since 2013 they have raised 65m for charity projects. They've also held anti-racism workshops and maid it their main goal as a company to not use palm oil. Palm oil is mass produced and many forests are burnt to make space for the palm oil farms, burning the animals in it too or leaving them homeless. By supporting ethical companies we are able to ensure that we give back to nature which has fulled our existence. It is the most loving and least cruel thing to do. From all this evidence, I can conclude that supporting ethical companies is the right thing to do.

Lush vs Avon

Ethical Activities

Ethical Activities

Lush

Avon

Meet the creators

Ruqaya

Laila

Co-creator of this presentation

Co-creator of this presentation