csi.gsb.stanford.edu - Kriss - February 4, 2013

Where do the products we buy come from and how do we know that their production doesn’t leave a wake of environmental damage or exploited workers? Even brands we think we trust are often linked to suppliers with questionable or downright abusive practices, as exemplified in the November factory fire in Bangladesh, where 112 workers were killed at a factory that supplied Walmart, Sears and even the U.S. Marine Corps, though all claim they had no idea that apparel produced there was destined for their stores.

Global supply chains are complex and opaque, with many layers of suppliers, distant and inconsistent regulatory environments, and intermittent and sometimes unreliable audits and reporting.

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