CSR in personal products

The Household and Personal products industry generally has a greater pressure than most other industries for Corporate Social Responsibility, specifically in the Environmental, Health, and Safety concerns area. A window cleaner company will not have good CSR if there is a questionable chemical in their product. A make-up manufacturer will not have good CSR if their product causes skin cancer later in life. But some businesses go above and beyond good CSR, and as a result it makes them more successful. For example, L'OREAL, a skin care and makeup manufacturer, is a participant in the UN Global Compact program. The goal of this program is to standardize good practice in CSR throughout the world in regards to Labour, Human Rights, Environment, and Anti-Corruption. L'OREAL has been a member of this program since 2003, and has been actively following the principles of the program since it's entrance. This is an example of a multi-national corporation which is focused on good CSR and Business Ethics.
I was looking at Mission Statements for some of the Fortune 500 companies, and came across Avon's statement, which I found to be quite interesting. It is filled with ambition and confidence, and it is to a certain extent very self-assured. I'm not exactly sure whether I like it or not. Even so, the entire second half of the mission statement is devoted to Corporate Social Responsibility. It also places a big emphasis on the empowerment of women and the ability to climb the corporate ladder.

UN Global Compact- L'OREAL page
http://www.unglobalcompact.org/participant/5978-L-OREAL

Fortune 500 Mission Statements
http://www.missionstatements.com/fortune_500_mission_statements.html

Everyone can shine with Pantene

Pantene’s latest advertisement is presented as an inspirational story that promotes to the public that they can shine from within just as disadvantaged people can overcome physical handicap and achieve success. The ad shows a disadvantaged girl playing the violin on stage, while playing she remembers the past and how she used to get bullied. This demonstrates her ambitions to rival those who discriminate her; the scene tries to make contact with the public’s need to excel and stand out. Towards the end, the girl wins recognition thanks to her shiny hair. Her shiny and smooth hair shows that the girl finally proved herself and outshined others even though she is disadvantaged. The ad draws an equivalence between the disadvantaged girl’s inspirational story and the effect of Pantene shampoo. Just as the disadvantage girl shines in other people’s eyes, damaged hair can transform into shiny hair. By increasing awareness of the disabled and showing people that they can overcome difficulties, Pantene’s builds up a positive brand image that is essential to the company’s success. Although promoting positive social values won’t really benefit Pantene directly, but because of its support it has had a high correlation with its returns on sales ratio. Pantene’s focus on corporate social responsibility promotes its social image as well as its sales. Pantene's mission promotes awareness and inspires people with their slogan “ You can shine”.

http://news.eastvillagers.org/2010/12/03/shine-with-pantene-2/

Dawn Gives Back

Dawn is a common product that I'm sure everyone is familiar with. In their mission statement, the Dawn family make it clear that what they want is what's best for their customers and for the environment. while reading I got the impression that Dawn not only strives to make a powerful dish soap, but also a product that will help reduce the effect that is has on our environment. Their commitment to innovation and non-stop research is a must for them. They understand that not all consumers are the same in that they have different preferences, so Dawn came up with a tool that helps its customers discover a Dawn soap that best fits them. Aside from all their innovations and consumer oriented products, Dawn also gives back to the environment. For the past 30 years, Dawn has helped clean up wildlife that has been affected by oil spills by giving their liquid to help clean the animals, donating money to funds, and by helping out with important conservation projects. A lot of household industries could learn a lot from Dawn, not only from their mission statement, but also by their actions.

Do other countries do it better?

9 times out of 10, when you pick up a toy or a product around your house, it will say "Made in China" or "Made in Japan" or some other country that is not the United States. But why is this? While one reason is that labor is often cheaper in these countries or they have more access to the raw materials, another reason is simply that these products are cheaper and just made better. Shiseido, Co. is a Japanese cosmetics company that is currently targeting Chinese consumers with new, low-priced quality makeup. Chinese women have a desire for skin-care and makeup products that are of a good quality but are not super expensive. This desire has been growing in recent years and Shiseido is looking to take advantage of it. In Japan, the company had not been doing as well because Japanese women were cutting back on their spending, looking to spend on only more sophisticated goods. The company has realized this and is bringing in new teams of beauty experts as well as other people to help the company increase its profits. One of the main things about Shiseido that does capture consumers is that they make quality skin-care products that fit the exact needs of both Chinese and Japanese women. Additionally, Shiseido is known for being a reputable company. According to Shiseido's CSR website, "Shiseido's corporate ethics activities aim to establish the company as a distinctive presence, one that is of use to and needed by people worldwide, through strict compliance with laws and regulations and by raising the value of Shiseido Group brands." The company has entire website devoted to explaining their Corporate Social Responsibility and they even have something entitled “The Shiseido Code” which is a set of specific ethics and behavior standards that every employee must follow. When someone becomes an empoyee they go through corporate ethics training which includes information on human rights awareness. This company takes pride in doing things the right way and constantly takes steps to improve upon themselves and their products. More American companies should strive to follow in their footsteps. 

Here's the evidence:

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748704031004576099100169852950.html?KEYWORDS=cosmetics

http://www.shiseido.co.jp/e/csr/manage/ethic.htm

Johnson and Johnson a Company with a Mission

Johnson and Johnson as a typical household name we all know and love. We hold it to high standard because it offers quality products that we can trust at reasonable prices. After reading Johnson and Johnson's credo it is easy to see how they were able to make a name for themselves and stand so strong. The company takes all factors into consideration. They mention that their first responsibility is to doctors, nurses, patients, mothers, fathers, suppliers, distributers, and of course their employees. When considering their customers, they constantly strive for high quality and reasonable prices. The company also states that their suppliers and distributer must have opportunities to make a fair profit. Aside from their customers the other most important aspects are their employees. To them every employee must be considered as an individual whom deserves respect and dignity along recognizing their merit. Their employees must feel safe in their jobs, which includes have the right to fair compensation and clean, orderly and safe working conditions. The acknowledge that the families of their employees are a big and important responsibility. Johnson and Johnson also recognizes the community and wants to encourage civic improvements, support of charities, and protecting the environment and natural resources. The last and final responsibility they see is to their stockholders. They promise to continue research, innovative programs, new products and much more. Johnson and Johnson is a company that covers just about anything in their mission statement, which is quite impressive. No wonder they have been around forever and will continue to supply great products at reasonable prices.

http://www.jnj.com/connect/about-jnj/jnj-credo/

Side effects found in baby oil

Most of us think that baby oil is the safest oil we can use, but by using it we could be harming ourselves. It has found that baby oil, which is 100% mineral oil, has a petroleum ingredient that coats the skin just like plastic wrap. This causes the skin’s natural immune barrier to become disrupted as this plastic coating reduces its ability to breathe and absorb the natural moisture and nutrition. The skin does not have the ability to release toxins because of this plastic wrap, which promotes acne and other disorders. This process slows down skin function and normal cell development causing the skin to prematurely age. Industries that produce these baby oil’s such as Johnsons and Johnsons need to discontinue this product until it is safe enough for use without any side effects. Because it is such a known and trustworthy company, people don’t expect it to be harmful. The ethical thing for this industry to do is to let their customers known the truth behind the product, and not try to fool people by calling it a gentle baby product.

Is Your Moisturizer Living an SPF Lie?

Every morning thousands of women and surprisingly some men wake up and apply their favorite facial moisturizer with an additive of some sort of sun protection factor (SPF). We apply these lotions to moisturize our skin and as an added protection for our faces from the ultra violet rays of the sun. Or so we think. Apparently, very few facial creams truly deliver what is promised of the UVA protection. In fact, most do not contain the correct combination or amount of ingredients to provide satisfactory protection. The worst part is that we end up spending tons of money testing out moisturizers until we find the one that we like and spend even more money only to learn that it doesn’t work as we have always been told. The only question I am left unanswered is, do these companies know about their faulty products. I think yes.

Snow Shovels and Ethics

At first glance, one may wonder what snow shovels or snow blowers have anything to do with the ethics of the household and personal products industry. However, a closer look will reveal that one can actually reveal a lot about the other. Snow has always existed and has always been something that people have to deal with. It often traps people in their homes, keeps them from getting to work, and ruins travel plans. So what is being done to end this problem of large amounts of snow? Well, nothing can be done to change weather patterns or how could it gets outside, but something can be done about how we deal with the snow that falls. In the past people had two options, shovel the snow or let it melt. Now though, there exist a multitude of snow-clearing machines, such as "the Snow Joe, the Sno-Thro, the SnoBoss, [and] the Sno Wovel." More and more companies are coming up with new ways for people to get rid of snow quickly, easily, and less painfully. As people age, it often becomes more difficult for them to shovel snow, but now there are snowblowers with heated handles, new kinds of snow shovels that are easier to use, and even self-melting driveways and sidewalks for the bigger spenders. Consumers want products that make their lives easier. The household and personal products industry seeks to create prodcuts that consumers will buy and so it is their duty to produce products that will make life easier. It makes sense for them to create products that are helpful to their buyers because then their profits will increase. Rather than worry about creating a product that will cost more and earn them more profit, the industry faces challenges of coming up with products that will help people. One woman, Barbara Krashnack, "bought seven SnoBoss shovels--three for herself and four to give as gifts." The consumers will buy helpful products and they will buy a lot of them. There will be less consequences for the companies to face in the long run if they make better, more helpful products now.

Work Cited: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703954004576089904229906370.html?mod=WSJ_LifeStyle_HomeNGarden#articleTabs%3Darticle

Ethical Choices

Throughout an industries functional lifetime, it faces certain choices it's CEOs must make in order to make sure that they live up to their name and reputation. GE is a great example of an industry that strives to constantly improve their products and reputation. GE's profits recently rose as their sales gains return. Any number of things could be done with these new profits, but one of the first things Chief Executive Jeff Immelt stated they would work on would be to work on their organic industry. Because of these ethically sound decisions made to take the majority of the profits and putting them back into the company, it is safe to say that GE has its priorities straight.

Ethical Beauty Products

Household and Beauty products, it seems to me, have harder ethical standards to meet than most other industries. Things that are being used around the house, things used to clean and things that are being put in your body all contain various chemicals and substances that could be toxic or harmful to those who come in contact with them. For example, Windex can cause irritation to the skin or eyes if exposed to those areas. Other products, like hairspray, are highly flammable and pose certain risks to the safety of the people using them. These products have to be heavily regulated so that they do not cause permanent or fatal damage to those people using them.

A popular way of testing how harmful a product is is to test the product on animals to see the effects they have. This is considered by many to be very unethical, especially by animal rights organizations and environmentalist organizations. It is also very unattractive to the buyer if a company uses animal testing, as it is widely considered as immoral. Companies will generally take great pride in the absence of animal testing, because it shows great Corporate Social Responsibility and is overall attractive to the consumer. For example, a British soap company called Lush takes great pride in their eco-friendliness and good ethical standing. It gives money to climate change groups to compensate for international travel, does not package most of its products to avoid using plastic packaging, and does not import from suppliers who use animal testing. Lush is a very successful enterprise, as it has 702 locations in 44 countries. This is an example of a successful beauty products company that is ethically sound.

Article on the Lush chain:

http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/eea38a54-144d-11e0-a21b-00144feabdc0.html#axzz1Bu8hjk4V