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The Galley: General Chat / Archived topic

Manufacturer ethics - when is it time to draw the line?

Started by troporobo ·

  • 3Posts
  • 3Replies

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Manufacturer ethics - when is it time to draw the line?

3 posts
  1. Full disclosure: I love my OM-D now, and have been carrying an Olympus (on and off) since I was shooting Kodachrome and Tri-X. I'm planning to upgrade as soon as they announce the new flagship E-M1. This question really pains me. The latest disclosures of the company's apparent ethical lapses bother me. It's seems that they have engaged (yet again) in dodgy behaviour and bribery to evade rules that they knew applied:

     

    http://www.nytimes.com/2016/04/10/business/international/olympus-investigation-shows-ethical-lapses-and-a-caterer-with-clout.html

     

    This follows after their spectacular accounting cover up a few years ago, which resulted in exactly zero change at the company other than firing the (non-Japanese) manager who revealed it:

     

    http://dealbook.nytimes.com/2011/10/27/u-s-inquiry-grows-over-olympus-payout/

     

    So how much do folks worry about corporate alignment with principles when buying gear? I don't think this kind of thing is unique to Olympus, though that company appears particularly inept and insular. After all, Apple appears to give exactly zero damns about things like worker rights in its suppliers' factories. I suspect that if anyone was to look closely into the operations of just about any major equipment manufacturer that sticky questions would arise.

     

    Yeah, I know that I can let my wallet speak on this. I'm curious if others feel the same.

     

     

     

     

  2. That's a good question, and certainly worth discussing. My viewpoint - if I know about such issues, I vote with my wallet. I don't buy Apple (Crapple, as I prefer to call them) products, and I don't shop at Walmart. I understand that these sort of business practices are not unique to those companies, but since I do know about them, I can't support them. As I find out about others, I will avoid them as well. That's my choice, at any rate.

  3. A broader question of course is where are the virtuous companies? Olympus has been caught with its pants down twice in spectacular fashion. How long before a scandal erupts over Canikon products (some of which are made in PRC, Taiwan, Thailand) or Panasonic or any other manufacturer? How long before a scandal erupts in "home" factories? Even Germany was not immune to Volkswagen's antics. I am not prone to singling out countries (as a matter of fact I spend an average of two weeks a month in the PRC dealing with truly first rate organizations and officials) but I am concerned about bad companies and shady business practices.

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