business ethics politics and environment research paper

Topic： Counterfeiting and Design Plagiarism in the Fashion Industry

The ethical dilemma of counterfeiting has long plagued the fashion industry. What defines a counterfeit? The most common forms of counterfeiting is often brand name forgery, whereby distributors sell fake products with a brand label, and design plagiarism, when brands streamline their supply chain to quickly imitate a competitor’s product. The latter of these issues raise many implications for ethics in intellectual property rights. Furthermore, if a consumer knowingly and willingly chooses to purchase a counterfeit product for a fraction of the original price, is the supplier righteously fulfilling a niche in the free market?

Guidelines：
– why is this an important issue to analyze?
– assess some broader societal impacts (supply chain, consumer, and producers)
– brief analysis using certain ethical frameworks such as corporate social responsibility, deontology, utilitarianism, etc.

Either (1) take a stand on the issue and argue from that perspective or (2) present in a balanced manner for both sides.

Format:
8-10 pages, not including appendix for graphs & notes
12 point TMR, double spaced