Social Upgrading in Global Supply Chains: Reframing Corporate Responsibilities
本文批评了哲学文献中关于血汗工厂的简化假设，指出大买家对供应链劳动条件仅有有限影响力，但仍需通过向第三方让渡权力来推动社会升级，并以国际协议为例。
Much philosophical literature on sweatshop ethics assumes that the individual branded marketers that sell consumer goods either employ sweatshop workers or can strongly influence the conditions under which those workers labor. This oversimplification misidentifies the rationale for and details of the responsibilities of big buyers for the labor standards in their supply chains. Throughout this article, we illustrate how philosophers’ “vertical integration” and “control” assumptions distort our understanding of the internal dynamics within supply chains. Under the more realistic assumption that big buyers have “constrained influence” over labor conditions in their supply chains, we show that big buyers retain the responsibility to work toward social upgrading goals. However, fulfilling such a responsibility requires big buyers to collectively cede power to third parties in supply chains in formalized and accountable ways. Recent developments in transnational industrial agreements, such as the International Accord, are examples of this commitment.