After reading Chapter 14, re-read and respond to \"A Question of Ethics: Targeti
ID: 434617 • Letter: A
Question
After reading Chapter 14, re-read and respond to "A Question of Ethics: Targeting Plus-Sized Critics" on page 297. Respond to the two questions following it. Question 1 should not just be a yes or no response. Answer each question with in-depth information. A Question of Ethics Targeting Plus-Sized Critics Every organization has critics—especially with social media. But it’s the rare company that engages with its critics re-spectfully, even leading to product innovation. Behold, Target Corporation, the American discount re-tailer second only to Walmart. In 2014, Target was roundly chastised on social media for its new Altuzarra line, which went only up to size 16. One retail blogger called for a boycott, claiming, “Year after year, season after season, you put out these gorgeous designer collections and you almost never include a plus range. Every time each of these collections is about to be released, it feels like a slap in the face.” The media quickly followed by taking the company to task for “ignoring plus sizes.” A year later, Target had learned from its run-in with the critics. Not only did the retailer announce its new Ava & Viv plus-sized collection, but it chose several of the critical bloggers to serve as models for the new line. (Figure 14-4) After visiting Target’s Minneapolis headquarters, one former critic-turned model blogged, “I was able to see firsthand how hard the team is working and how much they truly care about their plus size customer. They hear the feedback of the community and are really putting in effort to making the changes neces-sary to get it right.” By recruiting its critics to help with its new line, Target proved more adept than most retailers in turning the prover-bial lemons to lemonade. As another former critic blogged about the new line, “It’s really wonderful as a consumer to know a brand is listening.”* Questions 1. Did Target make a mistake in limiting the Altuzarra line only to size 16? 2. How would you assess its response to its critics? What other options did it have? Figure 14-4 Shaping up. Responding to its critics, Target introduced a plus-size collection, which drew praise as well as sales. Photo: Handout/MCT/Newscom *For further information, see Mary E. Williams, “Target Uses Its Plus-Sized Critics to Launch a New Line,” Salon (January 15, 2015). advertisers, and retailers of well-known brands of commercial products. During this time, Congress passed the Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act. Later, the movement was boosted by the activities of a lone consumer crusader, Ralph Nader, who brought the world’s most powerful auto company, General Motors, to its knees. Nader’s thin 1965 book, Unsafe at Any Speed, pointed out how the GM Corvair was literally a “death trap.” After trying to stop Nader at every turn—including assign-ing private detectives to trail his every move—GM relented and stopped production o By the early 1960s, the movement had become stronger and more unified. President John F. Kennedy, in fact, proposed that consumers have their own bill of rights, con-taining four basic principles: 1. The right to safety: to be protected against the marketing of goods hazardous to health or life. 2. The right to be informed: to be protected against fraudulent, deceitful, or grossly misleading information, advertising, labeling, or other practices and to be given the facts needed to make an informed choice. 3. The right to choose: to be assured access, whenever possible, to a variety of products and services at competitive prices. 4. The right to be heard: to be assured that consumer interests will receive full and sympathetic consideration in the formulation of government policy. Subsequent U.S. presidents have continued to emphasize consumer rights and protection. Labeling, packaging, product safety, and a variety of other issues con-tinue to concern government overseers of consumer interests. Indeed, the federal consumer-protection bureaucracy extends through multiple agencies, which pro-tect everything from trade and product performance to stock holder rights and financial disclosure. The most recent such agency was the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, created in the wake of Wall Street scandals in 2011 “to promote fairness and transparency for mortgages, credit cards and other consumer financial products and services.” Just as the practice of philanthropy has begun to migrate from the United States to an international phenomenon, so, too, is the practice of consumer activism reach-ing overseas. For example, in the United States, antismoking laws and policies have been widely adopted. Indeed, in 2015, CVS Health Corporation resigned from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce after revelations that the chamber and its foreign affiliates were undertaking a global lobbying campaign against antismoking laws.11 The Chamber was reacting to the dramatic increase in antismoking activism in countries from China to Great Br
Explanation / Answer
1. Target has launched a new Altuzarra line of designer collections; however it was only limited to size 16. In my opinion, Target has made a mistake by limiting the size of its Altuzarra line. As per National health and nutritional examination survey the size of average an average American women is between 16 and 18. The company should be fair to all the customers and it should not limit its size of clothes to only a particular group of people. They should also introduce clothes for plus-size women, so that they don’t feel inferior because of their size. From an ethical and human rights perspective, the fashion industry should not ignore the needs and desires of its plus size customers.
2. Target’s response to its critics is noteworthy and should be appreciated. The company not only launched an exclusive line of clothes i.e. Ava & Viv plus-sized collection for its plus-size customers, rather it has provided the opportunities to its critics to become the models for this new line of clothes. It not only helped to make the critics and customers happy, but also helped the company gain positive response. It increased the goodwill and reputation of the company.
Rather than taking the above steps, the company could have used positive PR to address the issue or shared the pictures and work experience of plus-sized employees working in their company to show that they do not differentiate between the people based on their appearance and physique.