Ethical Brand

Business Ethics Awards

What does a company have to do to gain recognition as being ethical? This article showcases three companies that apparently are so. Congratulations... but does anybody have any idea what this means?

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Celebrity Endorsement - Should They Be Liable?

This article raises an interesting question about the prospect of celebrities becoming liable for health / other issues arising from the products they endorse. Sounds crazy, but if the company that produces the product in question is found liable in a court of law then it is conceivable that a celebrity endorser could be considered an accomplice.

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The New Eco-Consciousness

Consumers are far more aware of the issues surrounding the environment that many companies realize. They're moving beyond recycling and arriving at conclusions about brands. They're developing new habits and preferences - consciously choosing alternatives to plastic and the flippant convenience of 'disposable this that and the next thing'

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The Secret Dialogue Between What We Buy and Who We Are

Som interesting insight into the interplay between marketeers and consumers - how brands are masters of perception and consumers have a tendency to service their consciences vicariously through selective and limited brand loyalty.

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New Zealand Dairy Fonterra Ebroiled in Chinese Nightmare

Even the New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark has stepped in to defend Fonterra - a darling of Kiwi industry - against the unfolding story of contaminated baby food produced distributed by it's joint venture with state-owned SanLu, which has reportedly been responsible for killing at least 3 babies and poisoning more than a 1,000 others.

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Queen's University - sporting an unethical approach

This news story highlights the fundamental issue facing commercial decision-makers the world over today. How to balance expedience with prudence. Queens University seems to be incapable of reconciling it's own lofty academic notions of commercial ethics, with it's very own commercial modus operandi.

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Clothing Industry Needs to work on its Ethical Approach

The Guardian reports that most of the workers employed to make clothing for some of the UK's best known fashion labels are living in poverty - on less than half of what they actually need. None of the brands surveyed are paying a living wage and only few have any concrete plans to address the issue. Shame on them. All of them.

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Just fu it - wake up to Nike

So much has been written about Nike and it's pitiless approach to manufacturing and yet so little appears to have changed. Here is another excellent summary of just how gullible and downright irresponsible the modern consumer market appears to be.

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Global Businesses Pledge Eco-Patents for Free Public Use

Bosch, Xerox, and DuPont recently pledged to publicly share eco-patents, joining an agreement with Sony, Nokia, and IBM. With now over 70 patents, the program's intention was to bring together a collection of patents covering new technologies, processes, and ideas to raise the level of environmental stewardship in business operations.

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Rowling wins book copyright claim - Greed Wins Again

What a shame it is that someone like JK Rawling with her incredible wealth, is so hell-bent on ensuring that nobody is legally able to pick up the crumbs that fall from her bountiful table. The BBC quotes, "Ms Rowling had originally supported the Lexicon website, but she said there was a difference between fans publishing information for free on the internet, and selling it in the form of a book." and then in another breath claims this was never about never about the money. Yeah right. Tell us another one.

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