An interesting lesson about authenticity and transparency here.
The problem here isn't so much that the prison labor is inherently unethical (it may or may not be), but when people buy cheese at Whole Foods, they assume it's being made by happy people living their dream on a farm they own.
When that turns out not to be true, it's a problem. If you find out about it from an activist and not from the supplier themselves, that makes it worse.
Seems like Haystack could use this as part of their marketing story - put a note on the cheese about it, about how they are providing meaningful work for prisoners, it's better than working inside in a factory, it gives them skills for when they get out.
>>it's better than working inside in a factory, it gives them skills for when they get out.
That argument starts to fall apart when you think about it: The skills they are gaining are only applicable to an industry that is unsustainable outside of slave labor.
Luckily, most people don't think about it and just take what they read at face value.
Would you say that if you were to switch industries right now, none of what you've experienced in your working life would be useful in your new profession?
The problem here isn't so much that the prison labor is inherently unethical (it may or may not be), but when people buy cheese at Whole Foods, they assume it's being made by happy people living their dream on a farm they own.
When that turns out not to be true, it's a problem. If you find out about it from an activist and not from the supplier themselves, that makes it worse.
Seems like Haystack could use this as part of their marketing story - put a note on the cheese about it, about how they are providing meaningful work for prisoners, it's better than working inside in a factory, it gives them skills for when they get out.