Is Utilitarianism Always the Right Answer?

How life saving PPE being produced in China may be produced by victims of modern slavery, purporting crimes against humanity and genocide.

 As the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak continues on a global scale, the demand for personal protective equipment (PPE) shows no signs of slowing.

Every ethical organisation and country is doing all it can to ensure the safety of its people, staff and stakeholders. One such method is through the applied use of PPE, such as face masks, which the CDC recommend to reduce the spread of Covid-19.

But with the unprecedented rise in demand for PPE, stocks have been dilapidated and suppliers left struggling to keep up. In one week in Texas alone, demand increased by 10,900%.

Not only have the levels of demand been unparalleled, but the required speed of delivery has sometimes allowed for corners to be cut in the usual procurement process. This has potentially led to due diligence falling short of the essential standard and some unscrupulous suppliers may have thus been awarded tenders as the speed and urgency of requirements regretfully took precedence over the necessary checks being performed to ensure source of supply was of the required ethical and quality standard.

There are many reports detailing the potential links this lack of due diligence activity may have with the reported abuse of the Uighurs by China, with some reports alluding to accusations the alleged abuse is amounting to a crime against humanity and genocide, accusations which cannot and must not be overlooked.

One colleague questioned why the media are only now putting a spotlight on the suspected exploitations;

“The abuse of the Uighurs by China has allegedly been going on for years, are they purely political footballs for the current anti-Chinese narrative? If the relationship with China improves, which it could post-US election, will the Uighurs be forgotten again?

The theory seems logical, the abuses are claimed to be dating back to at the very least 2017, with some reports claiming much earlier. So are they being used as a political tool to help win an election? Is the media only highlighting the concerns as they have a hidden political agenda?

It is possible, certainly. But that doesn’t make the situation any less grave, and one we need to ensure is no longer ignored. As the colleague highlights, it is essential we don’t succumb to any political motivation, and now the media is focusing on it, it is our absolute duty to make certain the attention does not falter- keep discussing, keep sharing, keep the awareness as high as possible, that is one of the superlative actions we, as individuals, can take to help make a difference.

We may find the abuses being reported hard to read, which is why it is vital we do so, to end ignorance and use our power as procurement professionals (and individual consumers) to ensure ethical purchasing and look to put an end to human rights violations in the supply chain.

With at least 83 multinational companies implicated in the use of Uighur forced labour, now is the time we must use our consumer influence to ‘vote with our purchasing feet’ and boycott any organisation proven to be implicit in the atrocities. Only then might change happen, and eradication of abuse become a real possibility.

If the reports are true and China is using the slave labour of the Uighur people to produce PPE, how can we morally justify the application of a utilitarianism approach? For clarity, the overlooking of cruelties being justified by the fact that production and distribution of much needed PPE is saving more lives than are purportedly being abused in the re-education camps of the Xinjiang province in China, thus morally we can accept the situation- the greatest good for the greatest number.

There will never be a justification for any abuse of human rights. Ever.

We can only estimate at statistics of both lives saved by the use of PPE (figures still very much under investigation); and we may never know the accurate number of Uighurs ostensibly being considered victims of the most atrocious abuses. With reports of the repulsive forced sterilisation of Uighur women, can we really can apply the utilitarian decree without truly knowing how many more lives might have been if it was not for the claimed abominations.

By overlooking our duty as procurement professionals to carry out adequate due diligence we should consider the true cost of our inadequacies. Can we truly fane ignorance when it is our own failings which have potentially contributed to such utterly despicable, beyond abhorrent, utterly unacceptable reported crimes? Without following due process, we, at the very least, need to accept some responsibility for perpetuating the ability for the alleged crimes to continue.

In writing this, I have discovered there are too many articles to provide links for to support the arguments. There is a plethora academia, an abundance or media coverage, both opinion and apparently evidenced based. So much media attention that it is hard to accept that we cannot do more, not only as professionals investigating our supply chain but also as individuals wishing to make a difference in society.

I urge you, wholeheartedly, to ensure you continue to follow best in class due diligence process throughout your supply chain to ensure the minimising of risk to your company (and to victims), and to share any breaches you may discover with your network- as far as you possibly can- to ensure organisations in breach of any human rights are eradicated and brought to justice for their crimes, and hopefully, any political involvement or intentional, woeful ignorance, can also be condemned and punished to the fullest extent.

 And on a human level, please keep investigating, sharing and boycotting wherever possible.

Disclaimer: This represents the individual and independent insights of Ngaire-Elizabeth Guzzetti.