Is it ethical for a business to sell products that can potentially harm their customers? Businesses would probably say no, but still continue to sell them due to the high demand for their products, in this case, bubble tea. Bubble tea first originated in Taiwan and has swept the globe as it can be found in most countries. However just recently, research has shown that the tapioca pearls in bubble tea contain chemicals that can potentially cause cancer.  Knowing this potential harm, shouldn’t bubble tea businesses stop selling this harmful product to its customers? To be corporate socially responsible, a business must also take into account the well being of their customers as they are stakeholders to the business. What if their customers fall ill due to consumption of their product? This could potentially decrease sales for the business and even lead to ethical issues that could send the business to court. Yet we must also take into account that it is also an individual’s own choice to perform any action, for example smoking can cause cancer but individuals still do it. Therefore bubble tea businesses could have information regarding tapioca pearls to help educate customers about its potential harms.

Word Count: 200

Source: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/tapioca-pearls-bubble-tea-carcinogens-polychlorinated-biphenyls-pcbs-article-1.1148110