Ethical Businesses
It’s probably no surprise to hear that I come across a great many “Ethical Businesses” in the course of my day job running the Mundi Group. I have to say my experiences at their hands are mixed. In my view, a true ethical business is one where the ethics are core to the business - in every decision, it must be ethical, how we deal with staff, suppliers, and customers must be ethical, how we advertise and portray ourselves must be ethical - and yes, of course, the products we sell must be ethical. I see an increasing trend for businesses to move into the “ethical sector”, with a bit of greenwash, and usually a bit of hogwash, but often the way they interact with customers or suppliers leaves a great deal to be desired. I have been left disillusioned by so called “ethical organisations” unwilling to discuss matters when we have been unhappy with substandard services. Success of course can often undermine the basic premise - as businesses grow and take in outside investors, it becomes increasingly difficult to stick to principles in the face of management targets. And perhaps as more staff are taken on, the original owners philosophy can get watered down. Is it inevitable? I hope not! At Mundi Group we are committed to maintaining our ethics - its more than a business strategy, it’s our personal beliefs and philosophy.
Fair Trade Phil
Posted on November 27th, 2007 under Uncategorized • 
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November 29th, 2007 at 5:46 pm
Hi Phil,
Me and my fiance run an ethical website selling fairtrade and organic baby clothes etc. I think you have a strong point in what your saying. The problem is you have these large companies claiming green and ethical credentials by selling Faitrade products when often they are sat on the shelf next to some of the worst offenders for unethical practices.
Tesco recently started selling Ecover washing products but at the same time they launched their own brand which sits next to the ecover range on the shelf and claims to be ‘kind to the environment. The problem is you can’t compare the two, I’m almost certain that Tesco won’t be encouraging their staff to cycle to work or using an eco friendly factory to make their range.
Another good example is would be the recent trend for retailers to sell organic cotton clothing, these large chains are still using the same sweat shops they have always used to make the clothes which in my opinion defeats the point.
A truly ethical business thinks about every single detail involved in the day to running of the organisation. The use of recycled materials and biodegradable packaging not just the products that are sold.
Although we should be suspicious of some the ethical claims made by companies we shouldn’t take anything away from the truly ethical business currently trading, and there are lots of them.
Here’s the plug, our website is http://www.babipur.co.uk . We have worked hard ensuring everything is as ethical as possible. Some things are made locally using local materials and others are imported from Bangladesh and India carrying the fairtrade mark.
Peter