We have all likely heard the phrase “there is no ethical consumption under capitalism.” Recently, a group of executives from major corporations has proposed a way to give that statement even more validity by keeping consumers from making informed ethical decisions about the products they buy. The Commercial Customs Operations Advisory Committee, or COAC, serves to advise Customs and Border Protection on policy decisions. This board includes executives from corporations like Amazon and Walmart—which do not have what most would call a stellar record for employee satisfaction and ethical business practices.
Despite their lack of ground to stand on when it comes to worker’s rights, the COAC has proposed a way to ensure that no one is able to hold companies accountable for worker’s rights abuses. The committee has proposed that data about the contents of incoming cargo ships be made confidential.
This decision is a clear ploy to absolve American corporations and abusive employers around the world of responsibility. These vessel manifests hold information not only about the goods being imported from offshore production facilities, but also about where they were produced, and by whom. The classification of this sort of information would create a massive roadblock to journalists and activists seeking to gather accurate data on unethical production around the world.
If people are unable to expose such crimes to the public, it removes external pressure on these employers. Making such information confidential would mean that corporations would be able to offshore their labor to anyone, anywhere. The public would have no way of knowing if the shirts on their backs came at the expense of the labor of a child in Myanmar, Libera or Bangladesh. Corporations have proven time and time again that they will not act in a moral way without incentive. If it would yield a higher profit, some companies would watch the world burn to the ground.
Unfortunately for the members of the COAC, humans are not a “sit down and shut up” kind of species. There exist many international organizations that fight against labor abuses across the world, such as the International Labor Organization and the International Labor Rights Forum. Most people have not put a price tag on their consciences. All over the world, people are fighting against the greed of these corporations to ensure that they do not exploit workers at every possible opportunity.
Corporations can try to hide their shameful practices, but their guilt will never be made confidential.
