Delivery Outline: Hahn, Becoming a Socially Conscious Consumer

Jacob Hahn, Becoming a Socially Conscious Consumer

1. It started with a few cracks in the wall. April 24, 2013. BBC News, the Rana Plaza garment factory in Dhaka, Bangladesh, collapsed. (Look at audience; serious expression)
2. Who is to blame?
   1. Emran Hossain and Dave Jamieson, May 2, 2013, Huffington Post, garment industry insiders partially blame Western retailers.
   2. Demand for low-priced labor
3. Tragedies seem far away and not real. But what if they are not? What if, by purchasing the products these companies make, individuals such as you and me are also somewhat responsible for what happened? (scan room)
4. Speech Thesis: I encourage all of you to become socially conscious consumers and help convince companies to adopt ethical manufacturing standards.

1. Unethical standards exist due to relationship between profit margins and production costs.
   1. Cheap production equals more money for corporation.
   2. Consumers want low price products(Transition: But there is a way to break cycle of cheap labor)
2. Consumers must be willing to step up and take action.
   1. Pressure companies to improve working conditions
   2. Pay fairer prices (pause)(Transition: Some consumer groups are now signaling their willingness to do this, and corporations are responding.)
3. New consumer partnership ”cause-related marketing.”
   1. Financial Times: ”cause-related marketing is when a company and a charity (or a consumer group) tackle a social or an environmental problem and create business value for the company at the same time.”
   2. Some evidence suggests consumers respond to cause marketing favorably.
      1. Nielsen study in March 2012 found 2/3 of consumers prefer to buy products and services from companies that give back to society.
      2. Nearly 50 percent said ”willing to pay more for goods and services from companies that are giving back,” (Nielsen, 2012).
   3. Socially conscious consumers addresses concerns of ethical manufacturing.(Transition: Can cause marketing actually work?)
4. Call for changes in food and apparel industry led to non-profit- Fair Trade (smile)
   1. Fair Trade USA. Web site quote ”to inspire the rise of the [socially] Conscious Consumer and eliminate exploitation” worldwide.
   2. Fair Trade logo symbolizes fair treatment compensation through international standards.
   3. Fair Trade USA started in coffee production in third-world nations and had success with Starbucks and Whole Foods.
   4. By appealing to the high ethical standards of socially conscious consumers, they will pay more for your product.
5. High ethical standards can lead to change.
6. Criticism after the Bangladesh collapse focused on garment companies’ labor practices.
7. Companies are now trying to meet socially conscious consumer standards.
8. Jason Burke, Saad Hammadi, and Simon Neville, the Guardian, May 13, 2013.
9. Major fashion chains like H&M, Zara, C&A, Tesco, and Primark have pledged to help raise the standards for working conditions.
10. According to the article, they will ”finance fire safety and building improvements in the factories they use in Bangladesh.”

1. Two steps for ethical labor:
   1. Become informed.
      1. Web sites: fairtradeusa.org, thirdworldtraveler.com, and tenthousandvillages.com
      2. Support ethical companies to be a socially conscious consumer
   2. Ask questions.
   3. Where are your products made? Do you have proof of fair-trade practices? Where can I find this information before I make my purchase?
   4. These ensure that you do not contribute to unsafe and unfair labor practices.
2. Become a socially conscious consumer. “By being informed and asking questions, you, too, can make a difference in the lives of workers around the world.”