Can fashion corporations be moral agents?

Business Ethics:

 

Task Details

 

Task The global fashion industry has been the focus of ethics and corporate social responsibility (CSR) discussions as capitalism and globalisation have driven production to developing countries, where social, economic and environmental standards are generally lower compared to higher standards existing in developed economies.

§ The key question is, can fashion corporations be moral agents?

As part of your discussion, address the following points:

Ø Identify and discuss briefly some of the key ethical issues within the fashion industry.

Ø Critically discuss the broad and narrow view of CSR in the context of the fashion industry.

Ø Assess these views of CSR using ethical theory to determine whether each perspective can be morally justified.

Ø Identify a global fashion company that provides CSR information on their website and discuss how this company addresses CSR.

Ø How do you feel about the fashion industry as a consumer? Add

a personal reflection on CSR and ethics with regards to the

fashion industry.

 

In this assessment, you have the opportunity to explore a specific CSR issue (fashion industry) and learn more about ethical perspectives as part of CSR.

Within your essay, please address the above points. You should start your discussion with a brief conversation of some of the main CSR and ethics issues that the fashion industry faces; critically discuss the broad and narrow views of CSR and assess them using ethical theory; overall, address the key question on fashion corporations as moral agents; use a global fashion company as an example to discuss how they address CSR by using information available via their website; and finally, add a personal (/your own) reflection from a consumer perspective.

 

Important specifics on essay writing

As this is an academic essay, you are required to research and use appropriate academic journal articles (at least 8) for your discussion and support your text with in-text citations and a reference list. You can use additional credible non-academic sources (e.g. government websites, CSR reports, credible news articles) to support your discussion. Furthermore, the textbook and other academic sources can be used as a reference, however, your research and focus of discussion should be based on academic journal articles.

Make sure all sources are relevant and current (preferably within the last five years; however, seminal work can be older). The general structure of an essay includes an introduction (what is the essay about; what can the reader expect), the main body (your discussion of the essay task), and a conclusion (what did the essay try to discuss; what were the main aspects/findings). The reference list should follow on a new page, formatted in the CDU Harvard Referencing style.

 

Please note, in addition to following the CDU Harvard Referencing style, you are required to add page numbers to all the in-text citations (where available in the source), as well as a working link to the online source in the reference list. If you use paper-based only sources, you may be asked to provide scanned copies of the pages used.

 

Assessment criteria:

 

Main ethical issues (10%)

Identified and discussed the main ethical issues that exist in the fashion industry based on relevant academic literature and suitable additional credible non-academic resources.

Fashion corporations as moral agents (20%)

Overall critical discussion of fashion corporations as moral agents that demonstrates research skills and understanding of the key aspects.

Demonstrates an ability to interpret, evaluate and formulate arguments and a logical conclusion. Discussion is supported with relevant academic literature and suitable additional credible non-academic resources.

CSR views and ethical theory (30%)

Critically discussed the broad and narrow view of CSR in the context of the fashion industry. Includes an assessment of these views using ethical theory and discussion of a moral justification. Discussion is based on relevant academic literature and suitable additional credible non-academic resources.

Company example (10%)

Researched an existing global fashion company and discussed their CSR approaches based on information available on the company’s website.

Discussion has been linked back to the general CSR and ethics discussion.

Personal reflection (10%)

Provided an overall personal reflection on CSR and ethics with regards to the fashion industry from a consumer perspective.

Written essay (10%)

Written and presented in a professional way with correct spelling and grammar. Structure and flow supports the discussion and readability.

Referencing (10%)

Used appropriate academic journal articles, and other credible academic and non-academic resources, and referenced correctly in-text and in the reference list (CDU Harvard Referencing style + page number and link).

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