A Whole New World

Heigh-ho, heigh-ho, it s off to work we go.' It's difficult to imagine that the men and women sewing Disney-branded clothing in Haiti would be singing along to the familiar tune of Walt Disney's 'Seven Dwarfs'.

For my group's Wednesday presentation about globalization, I found a video online called "Mickey Mouse Goes to Haiti." This short film was a documentary in which the National Labor Campaign investigates one of Disney's 3,000 factories abroad and displays the injustices that seem to be a cruel part of the aftermath of globalization. In the film, one worker, wearing a mask to protect his identity, states "They don't treat us like human beings. The quota [of clothes to produce] is too much. When I go home I collapse. I ask God and the international community to speak up for the Haitian people.' Other workers speak of being trapped in debt all their lives just to survive. 'The day I get paid, the children still go to bed hungry,' says one.

Disney can afford to treat these people better! In 2001 alone, Disney grossed 25.3 BILLION in revenues and spend 49.1 million PER DAY in advertising!

When I discovered how the Disney company was treating it's workers around the world, I did not want to believe it! For me, Disney represents a fair and jovial company that is in the business of making children smile.

My father worked in Hollywood in the 1960's as a casting director for Walt Disney himself. When I told him about what I had uncovered about Disney around the world he told me that "Walt would turn over in his grave if he knew about this."

Spending as Morality

Some argue that "Shopping is more important than voting", and that the disposition of money is the most basic role we play in any system of economics. Some theorists believe that it is the clearest way that we express our actual moral choices, i.e., if we say we care about something but continue to buy from parties that have a high probability of risk of harm or destruction of that thing, we don't really care about it (and are practicing hypocrisy).

I believe this assertion to be very true. After all, much of Corporate Social Responsibility is due to increased profit margins for "ethical goods" and also mandates from consumers for more green options! I think that the consumer is often overlooked in the discussion about Corporate Social Responsibility. For example, if the Toyota Prius, it's hybrid model, had been ill-received from consumers and made virtually no sales, I would ascertain that production of such vehicles would have halted, at least temporarily. Another example of this comes from the growing and lucrative organic market. In the past, the main market for organic foods were what some people believed to be "hippies." Today, however, consumers are recognizing the importance of eating healthier due to the exponentially increasing number of obese people in the United States. Now, huge brands are starting to offer "organic options" that can even be found at regular grocery stores.

I think that the people should get more credit for social changes credited to businesses, because without the power of the purse, very little change could occur.