The ASOS is an online platform for cosmetic and fashion attires. The company was started in the year 2000. The headquarters of the company is in London, United Kingdom. It is a global fashion retailer operated with the help of the internet. The company also ships its products and cosmetics to more than two hindered different countries across Europe. Read below to know Is ASOS A Ethical Company?
The full form of ASOS is As Seen On Screen. Moreover, the tagline of the ASOS Company is “Buy what you see on film and TV”. The ASOS company offers fashionable and designers clothes at affordable prices. Apart from clothing, a wide variety of footwear, jewellery, cosmetics, beauty products, handbags etc. are also manufactured and sold by the online stores of the company. The manufacturing units of the company are in China, the United States of America, Canada and Australia.
What is meant by an ethical company?
Any manufacturing industry or a company is said to be ethical when it does not cause harm to the natural environment. This concept broadly covers three elements like plants, animals and human beings. The company is ethical if it follows the following conditions-
1. HARM CAUSED TO PLANTS– The plants are harmed when the products manufactured by the company contain the plant’s pigments in large numbers. For example, the carpentry and furniture manufacturing industry is not ethical because wood is used in large numbers to obtain the final product.
2. HARM CAUSED TO ANIMALS- Some industries practice poaching and hunting animals like crocodiles, elephants and many more to meet the requirements of the leather industry. Also, some cosmetics and beauty products industries do cruelty tests on animals like rabbits.
3. HARM CAUSED TO HUMAN– The industry cause harm to people when the workers have to work in harsh or unfavourable working conditions or situations. For example, mining, child labour, long working hours, unsafe workplace and many more.
Is ASOS A Ethical Company?
If the company cause harm to plants, animals or people in the form of child labour, unfavourable working conditions, cruelty test on animals, using place produce in large amount, using animal pigments then the company is not considered ethical. The ASOS company is not ethical because the various manufacturing units cause harm to different elements of the environment. The overall rating given by the Ethical Investment Research Service in 2021 by the United States of America was 2 out of 5. It means that the protection provided by the ASOS Company to the people is poor.
Harm caused to the animal by the ASOS company
• CAUSING POLLUTION– Manufacturing jewellery and working with leather causes air pollution. Moreover, this waste is discharged into the nearby water bodies leading to water pollution. It causes harm to the people working or living in that environment.
• WORKING IN EXTREME WEATHER CONDITIONS– They work in harsh conditions and extremely high temperatures. The synthetic chemicals used in making the handbags, footwear and jewellery items cause harm to the eyes and the sensitive skin of the workers.
Harm caused to the plants by the ASOS company
• RELEASE OF HARMFUL GASES INTO THE ENVIRONMENT– The jewellery manufactured for the fashion attires are worked in high temperatures. It causes the release of many harmful gases and unavoidable waste like ashes that causes degradation of the natural environment.
• USE ON NON-RENEWABLE RESOURCES– Coal, kerosene petrol is most commonly used by the company which is not good for the environment. There are no effective steps taken to minimize its usage. These items take millions of years in formation and causes
Harm caused to the humans by the ASOS company
• SAMPLE CHECKING ON ANIMALS- The company checks its fragrances and cosmetics of the fur of animals. The new products manufactured by the ASOS Company are tested on animals before selling them in the international market. This test is called the cruelty test.
• HUNTING AND POACHING OF ANIMALS FOR LEATHER– The material for some handbags and belts is extracted from animals to manufacture the leather bangs and belts. The animals used in making leather accessories and they are hunted for their skin.
Conclusion
The ASOS is an online shopping website It provides fashion attires and accessories to customers from all over the world. ASOS stand for As seen On Screen. It means that the customers or buyers can purchase the same items shown on the TV. Since the target buyers of the company are middle salary buyers. It is why all the items sold by the ASOS company are of high quality sold at affordable prices.
This company is known for making original fragrances, fashionable and designer dresses, leather handbags and belts, footwear and many more. The company causes harm to the natural environment and different elements of the environment like plants, animals and humans. The company causes harm to all these three elements in one way or another like pollution, testing on animals, hunting etc. Therefore, the ASOS Company is not ethical.
