Greenwashing?

Being ethical is today's word. It applies as much to consumers as to retailers. Creating a "greenpicture" -was it either a person or a company / organization- of itself is very important nowadays. No one wants to appear as the bad guy because ethical issues really have weight these days.

Companies and organizations are putting loads of money to be green and more specifically TO LOOK GREEN. For example IKEA has many projects running for the sake of being green. One of the most important projects are forest projects. As we can all well imagine, IKEA uses tons of wood for its manufactures, so it most certainly needs to make an effort not to look like the bad guy.

Two of IKEA's distinguished forest projects are called "sow a seed" and "rainforest alliance". To read more you can visit this link: 

http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_GB/about_ikea/our_responsibility/ikea_forest_projects/index.html

The question is why are the companies like IKEA doing these acts? Is it because they really are very concerned about the future and the nature? Or is it only to make them look good, to get the prospective customers to forget the flipside of the coin (ie. who is using the wood so there is a need to plant more trees?!) Should the question of greenwash* need to be taken to consideration?

*read more about greenwash on this website! http://www.businessethics.ca/greenwashing/ 

What do you think about this one?

Life as a furniture

Nowadays people are becoming to be more and more aware of FairTrade and to be interested in the idea of ethical sourcing. Unfortunately very often people are only concentrating in food and clothes and how they are produced. There is still much more in the big picture. For example, have you ever thought about where are you living? In the middle of IKEA furnitures maybe? 

When it comes to buying furnitures, what is the most important thing to you? The price? The material? The brand? Or maybe the history of how did that specific furniture end up in the store?


If you answered yes to the last question, the next question is: do you also act on the knowledge? If you find out that the most beautiful and amazing piece of furniture you have finally found has been done in some shady sweatshop in not-so-amazing circumstances, will you still buy it? Or do you show your opinion and leave the furniture in the store?


And how about, do you ever think about what happens to furnitures afterwards -I mean when the furniture "dies"? Obviously it goes to the cemetery of furnitures, to the dump. Have you ever thought about how long does it stay there? When buying furniture, should people also think if you can recycle the furniture? 

I must admit I have not really paid attention in these things before. But now, as I am writing my essey from IKEA, I have become conscious about the ethical resourcing and furniture. If you are interested in what I have been reading about IKEA here is the link:
http://www.ikea.com/ms/en_GB/about_ikea/pdf/IKEA_SER_08_GB.pdf


It seems like I am in the mood of manyyy questions. Here is the final one: what do you think?

The Introduction and yes, WELCOME!

Why this blog was born? 


I'm taking this course called "Ethics, Issues and Crisis Management" and for the course we needed to start our own blog. We need to write an essey in specific topic and we should use the blog as a resource. So your comments are like construction blocks for my essey.


How does it work?

The blog should run with the following technique: I'm going to write down an issue. You are going to read it. The issues are very ethical, so I'm more than sure there could/should/would be many different opinions and ways to see the situation. After reading you will comment the issue, anonymously is cool also, and I will collect the answers. Then we will move on to the next issue. Basically your role is to play the part of an ethicist but don't take any roles. Be yourself and tell bravely what do you consider being right and what wrong.

I hope we will get good conversations to the blog. Can't wait for writing down the first issue... So, let's get it rocking ;)