Ethical behavior is by its nature individual behavior. We choose to act ethically or to ignore ethical considerations when faced with conflicting behavioral alternatives. The consequences of such behaviors are similarly personal in that we are the ones who will feel the guilt of acting unethically, the pangs of conscience of skirting the “ethical fine line” or the pleasure at “doing what is right.”
WalMart rolled out a cosmetics line aimed at girls as young as 9 years old. The marketing campaign targeted both the girls and their parents, emphasizing the “environmentally friendly” nature of the eye-liner, lip gloss and mascara. Apart from the questionable practice of placing undue emphasis on a child’s appearance, it also is ethically questionable to use a popular movement such as environmentalism to market a completely unrelated product.
Geo-Girl is the line that Walmart rolled out. Even though many people think of it as a game and an idea for little girls to play with their friends, is it really just that?
8 year old girls, that start wearing make up on a regular basis is not something that we are used to see. I could not be able to picture myself as a father and my little daughter wearing make up on a daily basis before she become a teenager. Little girls do play with make up once in a while with their friends. Walmart, however, made this cosmetic line targeting these girls just as if they were grown up women.
Besides all this, Walmart claim that all the make up is environmentally friendly. Is that what we should worry about here? That little 8 to 12 year old girls wear cosmetics as long as they do not damage the environment. Their campaign should not even mention that, in my opinion, they should not have even made that cosmetic line for girls.
Source:
http://www.triplepundit.com/2011/01/geo-girl-eco-friendly-cosmetics-tweens/
I agree! Girls at such a young age should not be wearing make-up. It seems as though Walmart is trying to put the emphasis on the fact that it is eco-friendly in order to take away and distract consumers on the fact that they are marketing to very young girls. The product in itself seems good, a harm-free eco-friendly makeup line -definitely a point of difference- but the ethical issue is the target market they have decided to market to.