GE-MANDATORY

PROFESSIONAL ETHICS AND VALUES

JURY SUBMISSION-WRITE UP ON VALUES AND MAIN

ETHICAL ISSUES OF FASHION INDUSTRY

SUBMITTED BY-
HARSHITA TIWARI
B.F.TECH (VIth SEMESTER)
VALUES-
Values are important and lasting beliefs or ideals shared by the members of a culture about
what is good or bad and desirable or undesirable. They are the principles , standards,
convictions and beliefs that people adopt as their guidelines in daily activities.

Values can be defined as the broad preferences concerning appropriate courses of actions
or outcomes. As such, values reflect a person’s sense of right or wrong or what ‘ought’ to
be. “Equal rights for all” , “Excellence deserves admiration” , and “People should be treated
with respect and dignity “ are representative of values. Values tend to influence attitudes
and behaviours.

Our values come from a variety of sources which includes - family, peers , workplace ,
schools , colleges , religion ,culture ,music ,media ,technology ,major events in life etc.

Importance-

 Values allow the members of an organization to interact harmoniously.

 Values affect their formation and development as individuals, and make it easier to
reach goals that would have been impossible to achieve individually.
 For the well-being of a community, it is necessary to have shared rules that guides
the behaviours of its members.
 They reflect our keenest interests, feelings and convictions.

Types-There are two types of values, terminal and instrumental.

I. Terminal Values-They are the most desirable to humans and Instrumental values are
views of how human desires should be achieved. Examples-happiness, self-respect,
recognition, inner harmony, leading a prosperous life, and professional excellence.
II. Instrumental Values-They deal with views on acceptable modes of conductor means
of achieving the terminal values. These include being honest, sincere, ethical, and
being ambitious.

The values that I would like to inculcate in my life are-

 Flexibility- I have been limited to only one kind of work or studies and my flexibility
skills have not been tested many times.
 Open Communication- Being an introvert, open communication is necessary for me
to possess.
 Autonomy- The autonomy is a big factor for me. I neither want someone to suppress
me nor do I want to suppress anyone.
 Integrity- This is a value that gets tested during crucial times. Integrity comes before
all so I need to develop how to take stand for it and not make it fall, work for it and
respect it above all.
  Freedom-I want to a free person who knows the importance and limits of freedom.
 Happiness-Happiness is the most important aspect of life.I want to enjoy that.
 Responsibility-I want to be a responsible citizen of my country and responsible
daughter of my parents.
 Leadership- I am confused regarding my leadership skills.Thus, the value of leading is
what I should definitely have.

MAIN ETHICAL ISSUES IN FASHION INDUSTRY-

 Environmental pollution-Toxic chemicals, dangerous dyes and heavy metals used to

bleach, dye and print, leach from the textiles into the groundwater as well as at our
homes when the clothing is washed. Synthetic fibers, like nylon, polyester and
acrylic, are essentially a type of plastic ,does not compost – it sits in soil and floats in
the oceans forever.
 High natural resources use-The garments have notable disadvantages in terms of
land, water and fossil fuels required for their production. Plastic-based textiles use
large amounts of energy, while natural materials farming needs high volumes of
fertilisers and pesticides as well as significant amounts of water, often in already
water-scarce areas.
 Child labour-Many companies attempt to cut down the cost to increase their
income. One technique is to make use of cheap child labour. Such practices are
deemed unethical. The exploitation of children mostly in such conditions of forced
labour in unhygienic places is entirely uncalled for.
 Low wages- The minimum wages paid to employees by contractors hired by the
fashion industries, do not even cover their primary needs and are not justified with
their long working hours.
 Animal cruelty- Raising and hunting wild animals solely to harvest their fur is highly
inhumane practice. Furthermore , the pollution of animals’ natural habitat often
disrupts their food chains and prevents them to live wild and free.
 Poor working conditions-A vast majority of clothing sold daily is produced in
developing countries in difficult and dangerous conditions where workers work in
critically substandard conditions, exposed to harmful chemicals, emotional and
physical abuse.
 Increased consumerism and waste- As highlights the report “A New Textiles
Economy: Redesigning Fashion’s Future” from the Ellen MacArthur Foundation the
clothing is massively underutilised. Worldwide the average number of times a
garment is worn has decreased by 36% compared to 15 years ago and now amounts
to only 7 – 10 wears. Considering that only 1% of materials is recycled into new
clothing, we shouldn’t be too surprised that “one garbage truck full of textiles is
landfilled or burnt every second”.