What’s it all about?
Few of us realise just how long and complex the end to end supply chain of our basic households goods really is!
With a push towards offshoring and globalisation, we have lost complete visibility of where and how our clothes are made, which makes ethical purchasing difficult!
What will we cover?
A 2016 Oxfam report looked into the manufacturing locations of the largest Australian fashion retailers and found that just five of the 12 largest brands were prepared to actually disclose where their garments are manufactured.
From Bangladesh to Myanmar, from China to Cambodia and Vietnam, Australian brands operate in near secrecy about how their clothes are made.
And that is just fashion; in the supply chains of tea, coffee, cocoa, seafood, electronics, and more, lurk many human rights and environmental violations that are not made transparent to the consumer of the finished item.
Who will be teaching?
Kate Nicholl is a supply chain expert, working as a management consultant, freelance writer, and teacher at the University of Melbourne. She shares her knowledge in this course about what kinds of issues exist in the global manufacturing of every day consumer items, and how as consumers we can make ourselves aware of more ethical choices. Read more at Kate’s blog The Ethical Warrior.