Ethics and Social Responsibilities Paper

Ethics and Social Responsibilities Paper

In the United States, it should not be about “self-interest” but rather our moral and ethical obligation not to sell items to other countries that could harm others. Therefore, I disagree with the statement “it is acceptable to sell products banned in the United States in other countries (i.e. where permitted by other countries due to differences in national policies).”

One example of unethical behavior is a case back in 1978, involving a company called Troxler Hosiery who was found to be selling children’s sleepwear treated with a chemical called TRIS. TRIS, a flame-retardant chemical was found by the national cancer institute to be a hazardous substance to humans. The US government ordered that the sleepwear be seized and destroyed. Faced with a financial loss of almost $200,000, Troxler Hosiery Company decided to export the garments to Venezuela. Troxler Hosiery Company exported 22,246 of these garments to Venezuela with full knowledge that they were treated with the harmful substance TRIS, and that the sleepwear was to be destroyed. The company claims that they were forced to export the sleepwear in order to avoid serious financial reversals. This situation was morally and ethically unconscionable. Troxler Hosiery Company was ultimately found guilty of criminal contempt for exporting this merchandise although the damage had already been done.

Unfortunately, the Consumer Product Safety Commission allows American-based companies to export products, which have been deemed unsafe here. In 2006, a California company exported 16,520 art sets, which were deemed unsafe. A company in Miami also exported to Jamaica 5,184 unsafe wax crayons. From 1993 to 2006, the CPSC received 1,031 requests from companies to export products deemed unsafe for American consumer. Of the 1,031 requests received, 991 were approved for exportation. In the US, when we receive products that have been imported with poisonous lead, GHB and other harmful substances we become outraged and do not understand how this could happen even though in the US, we are exporting poisonous and harmful substances everyday. The CPSC Commissioner sees the hypocritical nature of this. “Our agency, through our governing statues, cannot claim much moral superiority over the Chinese, or any other foreign country, when it comes to our own export policy”, Moore said in a list of his legislative proposals submitted to Congress in July. “Our export