27 million people [are] working against their will and/or under inhumane conditions to harvest raw materials and to create the products used by many large companies.

Slavery Footprint

Recent investigations have found that many companies who have outsourced work to other countries also become involved with unethical practices. For example, an Indonesian contractor for the American shoe brand Nike used local military forces to intimidate workers into agreeing to work for less than the country's minimum wage. In India, children were being used to mine mica, which puts the "sparkle" in makeup products that various international beauty companies then purchase. In the competitive shrimping industry of Southeast Asia, companies use bonded laborers and dictate 20-hour workdays to fulfill shrimping orders from local and international seafood companies (How Many Slaves Work for You?, 2014, p. 13).

For some companies, a profit achieved by any means is still good profit. However, when millions are being forced to work in terrible conditions just to satisfy the demands of large corporations, should some of these "means" be reconsidered?

• Explain your stance on outsourcing to companies who use questionable ethics and/or inhumane practices to assist in gaining a competitive advantage.
• Support your ideas with at least one ethical framework and/or ethical principle