ABSTRACT

Liberalization of economies and rapid growth of information technology have encouraged companies from developed countries to make investment in and/or outsource to developing countries. Consequently, the entrepreneurs of the developing economies have set up production facilities to produce low-cost goods for retail and consumption in Europe and North America. With this trend of offshore manufacturing, a new concern arises regarding the integration of ethically responsive initiatives within the global supply network. The companies of well known brand names have immense power; even some companies’ revenues are more than the national income of many least developed countries (LDCs). For instance, the revenue of Wal-Mart is more than the GDP of China; the economy of General Motors is larger than that of Thailand (Mongabay 2005). A large number of small suppliers from different developing countries compete to be a part of the supply chain of these powerful corporations and for this they struggle to offer the lowest possible price sacrificing minimum working standards. Recently, these eminent corporations have been facing strong criticism from the media, consumers and pressure groups for encouraging poor wages, poor working conditions, poor environmental protection and poor health and safety standards in the supply chain. Bangladesh, being one of the most important suppliers from Asia, is also affected by these issues.