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Are business ethics or profits more important?

This Debate has 18 articles on the Ethics side and 7 articles on the Profits side. Click here to see all the articles rated and ranked by Helium members.

Ethics

Profits

2 of 18

Ethics

by Liz Roberts

What must a business do nowadays to garner the most customers?

Possess a good code of ethics.

Let's face it. Most consumers out there are more likely to do business with a company that has a moral backbone, and sticks to its' promises. These are the corporations we can trust for our food, utilities and extras. They won't lie to us and give us false advertising or a shoddy product. They will stick to their mission statement and principles, offering the public goods or services that are completely trustworthy.

The best example of this is The Body Shop. Before it was bought out by a larger corporation it was owned by its' founder, the late Anita Roddick. She believed in producing chemical free and animal cruelty free products long before industry giants like Revlon and Cover Girl did. It paid off. Consumers, including Princess Diana, flocked to her stores on both sides of the Atlantic. She not only offered cool make up and lotions but she offered them with a conscious. She made people aware that animals were being severely disabled and blinded by testing shampoos and make up on them. She brought into light the plight of poor Brazilian and African women, struggling to make ends meet on just a few coins a day. She brought something new into the world of international business. Ethics. Thanks to her many more companies followed. Animal testing is now almost obsolete and more companies are committed to Fair Trade agreements.

Surprisingly enough it's really a company's ethics that brings in the cash flow. How many of us have bought Bono's Edun clothes - not for their style and ease but for its' contributions towards HIV babies in Africa? How many insecticides have we not bought because the company tries it out on various animals first? On a smaller scale we rely on our local businesses to be ethical. I'll bet every reader out there has been burned one way or another by some home remodeling company. Yes, you know the kind, the ones who promise to do a good replacement job on our windows and roofs. They then disappear after we initially pay them. Or the dry cleaner who promises your garments returned in tip top condition. When you get your blouse or suit you notice there's been fabric damage or a rip. Unfortunately these types continue to prosper and flourish. The only thing we can do is just boycott against them. Either that or look to friends and family in the search for ethical small businesses

A company's ethics is the reason we buy from them. Integrity, backbone and compassion sometimes count more than flashy ads and celebrity spokespeople. These qualities make a product great and its' company too.