The green movement is concerned with the conservation of the environment from the manufacturing industry emissions (Chittom, 2008). The movement has gained popularity and many corporations in the US are moving their manufacturing operations to offshore locations.
These locations are situated outside the US and they involve full manufacturing or assembly characterized by low labor and low cost, as well as the availability of cheap raw materials. The corporations may either decide to import or export the final products to the manufacturers’ host country.
There are various reasons why most of the US manufacturing corporations are shifting their operations to off shoring. These companies fear the litigations and regulations associated with product liability.
The corporations also fear the emerging litigations trends related to the developed green products regulations. For example, the use of nano materials and phthalates has high litigations as they are harmful to the environment if not well handled and this could be a liability to the company. Therefore, the major cause and reason is the fear of product liability suit associated with green movements.
However, there are negative implications that arise as a result of the green movements and these may have long term negative consequences. Based on a survey report by Accenture, most of the companies that have offshored their supply and manufacturing operations have reported that this has hurt the capacity of meeting the expectations of their consumers (Barber, 2011).
Most companies are unable to meet the demands of the customers’ unique products expectations since they cannot make timely delivery and maintain competitive costs and low operational inventories.
Although the movements advocate for the environmental conservations, the manufacturing industry is most likely to be affected as most of the companies would divert their companies to other areas (Lewin Massini & Peeters, 2008). This would reduce the rate of foreign direct investments because of the regulations put in place by these green movements.
New technologies like the nanotechnology would not be advanced because of the fear of litigations that may arise based on product liability. It also creates unemployment since when the manufacturing operations are offshored, the opportunity of creating new jobs is eliminated thus unemployment.
The companies have responsibility to both the global community and the U.S as their manufacturing operations. The companies have the responsibility of conserving the ecosystem as well as the health of the people in the society (Chittom, 2008).
Through the observations of the green movement regulations, the companies would be in a position to produce products that are environmentally friendly and that protect the ecosystem. In terms of global competitiveness the companies would be able to ensure that operate they keep their innovations and leadership to themselves and their operations.
Given that a company was violating the law before the inception of regulations, the company is liable to take actions against its deeds. This could be achieved through proper follow up of the regulations and putting into place mechanism that follows the regulations.
The company has the responsibility of coming forward and resolving the issues after the codes comes into existence. This would be approached by contacting the relevant authorities to ensure that the product liability regulations are followed for the human and the environment safety measures.
For instance, proper mechanism for dumping the toxic wastes would be followed and through active approach fines and imprisonments would be avoided (Business Link, n.d).
Green movements are important as they help in ensuring the safety and cleanliness of the environment. This has led to off shoring by the US companies for fear of litigations. However, they can lead to the transfer of technology to other states and unemployment.
Reference List
Barber, D. (2011). Backshoring: Why Bringing Manufacturing Back to the United States Makes Sense. Web.
Business Link. Product liability. Web.
Chittom, J. (2008). The green movement: Windows of opportunity. Web.
Lewin, A. Y., Massini, S, & Peeters, C. (2008). Why Are Companies Offshoring Innovation?
The Emerging Global Race for Talent. Web.