Corporate social responsibility in global toy supply chains : a story of Walmart’s toy factories in Southern China

Abstract

自二十世纪九十年代起,作为全球最大 的零售商,沃尔玛开始面临公众对其全球供应链中劳工问题的广泛批评。1992年,像其他许多世界知名的品牌商和零售商一样,沃尔玛制订了与劳工权益相关 的"公司行为守则",向消费者和公众承诺承担企业社会责任,要求其全球的供应商按照守则所规定的劳工标准,改善劳动条件,维护工人最基本的权益。这种由国 际零售商为主导的企业社会责任运动是如何通过其全球供应链得以推行的?公司行为守则的实施对于改善企业层面的劳工标准产生了什么样的实际效果?本文基于对 沃尔玛在深圳的三家玩具供应商工厂的经验研究,探讨沃尔玛守则的实施机制及其对工厂层面劳工标准的实际影响。 Since the 1990s, Wal-Mart, the world largest retailer, has begun to face growing public criticism for deteriorating "race to the bottom" of global labor standards and using sweatshop labor in its supply chain. When corporate social responsibility practices centering on adoption and implementation of codes of conducts regarding labor standards got momentum, in 1992, Wal-Mart also adopted its own codes of conduct, "Standards for Suppliers" , requiring its overseas suppliers to comply with the minimum labor standards. Basing on empirical studies at Wal-Mart’s three toy supplier factories located in Shenzhen city, this paper examines the dynamics and results of Wal-Mart codes on workplace labor standards.