Banning animal testing can be a great move. However, if it is based on the sacrifice of consumers, things are actually getting worse.
Social responsibility in business —
This news reminds me of how Friedman[1] defines the social responsibility in business. “There is one and only one social responsibility of business—to use its resources and engage in activities designed to increase its profits so long as it stays within the rules of the game, which is to say, engages in open and free competition without deception or fraud.” [2]
My point of view —
I personally agree with this point, because the basic goal of a business is to make profit. Nevertheless, what I focus more on is the premise, which states that there shouldn’t be any deception or fraud. Back to the news, if cosmetics companies don’t use other ways to test their products, the consumers will become victims. In that way, companies are breaking rules and deceiving their consumers.
Summary —
It is true that the social responsibility of business is to increase profit, but what is more important is that companies should follow basic social rules at first. This is my understanding of business ethics.
Reference: [1] Milton Friedman (July 31, 1912 – November 16, 2006) was an American economist, statistician, and writer. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Milton_Friedman
[2] Milton Friedman. The social responsibility of business is to increase its profits. Retrieved from The New York Times Magazine
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A successful and sustainable business is one that pleases all the stakeholders including shareholders, government, society etc. In my opinion, companies that produce cruelty free products will in turn become more successful than those who don’t.
Yes, that is true!