Hey everyone,
I noticed that the Coolhaus ice cream I was eating the other day is made by a Certified Women-Owned Business. The company proudly displays this on the right side of the pint. I think it's interesting how the Certified Women-Owned Business icon is shown right next to the icons for Real California Milk and Locally Sourced Ingredients, making it something people can look out for when buying food products. Would you choose to buy a product specifically because it is made by a woman-owned business?
I bet there are other women-owned food companies out there that do not display Certified-Women Owned Business on their products. What do you think are the pros and cons of displaying Certified Women-Owned Business on a product?
Hey CC! I think this is such a tough question. During my social entrepreneurship study abroad trip last year, my group often discussed the ways in which companies, and more specifically multi-national corporations, will appeal to a consumer's sense of justice in order to generate profits (think tactics like green-washing or pink-washing). I think that tactics like these must be scrutinized by the consumer and that she should conduct her due diligence on the specific ways in which a company integrates ethics into their mission statement. If a consumer is dedicated to buying products sold by a company that adequately supports social causes, then she should investigate Coolhaus' other social impact initiatives and the qualifications for this certification. I think this research will allow her to come to a conclusion on the company's motives for displaying this certification. However, this takes a lot of time and ice cream is very enticing!
ReplyDeleteIsabella, I think you make a really important point on this. The mere fact that a business is owned by women does not inherently mean that the business is active in bettering the lives of women. This applies to the idea that female politicians will be better for women too - in actuality, the party identification of a politician is actually a much better indicator of their tendencies to vote for progressive policy on gender and race issues than the gender or race of the politician. (On the track of activist ice cream - Stephen Colbert's Ben & Jerry's brand ice cream "Americone Dream" is a) delicious and b) profits contribute to a charity fund which is currently funding hurricane relief efforts in Puerto Rico.)
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