Scenario: In your small business as a clothing distributor, you often source products from other countries where cotton is produced. Recently, you received an email from an international labor group alleging that some of the local middlemen you use to purchase cotton are unfairly compensating the small cotton growers for their crops. The labor group asks that your company only purchase “Fairtrade†certified cotton so that you have assurance that the farmers with smaller operations will receive fair market value for their crops.

Members of your management staff are concerned that fairtrade cotton is often more expensive, which could increase your overall production costs. However, you also must take into account your long-standing relationships with the local middlemen in the cotton market as they are often able to access cotton crops that other buyers cannot.

Checklist:

After reviewing the supplemental ethical approaches pdf in the Learning Activities, and learning about Fairtrade cotton by searching on the internet using the search terms “fairtrade international cotton†, respond to the following questions in an informative essay:

Choose one philosophical approaches to ethics: Non-consequentialism, Consequentialism, or Virtue Ethics that are presented in the Ethical Approaches pdf in the Learning Activity.
Of the three ethical theories presented in the Learning Activity, which one would be most likely to guide your decision in this situation? Explain your reasoning.