The attacks on PVC produced little damage in the U.S. until major retail operations decided to appease their activist critics by embracing the Corporate Social Responsibility movement. That’s right folks. The same companies that owe their success to capitalism and free enterprise decided to head down the path toward corporate socialism. In doing so, they allowed environmental predators to dictate the terms of their surrender. PVC was high on the list of items deemed socially irresponsible. So, Target Stores, Wal-Mart, Microsoft and their fellow travelers apparently kow-towed to their activist group handlers and announced plans to phase PVC off the shelves. San Francisco and, ultimately, the State of California enacted legislation that parodied their European Union (EU) counterparts—confirming once again that California considers itself a suburb of Paris, or perhaps Vienna.
Have I mentioned that science doesn’t support the draconian measures taken against PVC? Various U.S. government agencies have determined that vinyl products aren’t posing a risk to humans and no one, to my knowledge, has presented evidence that a single baby has been harmed by the material. But science and facts don’t matter in an environment dominated by agenda-driven activist groups and their corporate lapdogs. What matters is whether your product ends up on the “socially irresponsible” list. If that happens, your goose (or turkey) is cooked.
If there is a sober assessment of the Corporate Social Responsibility movement at some point in the future, I hope Target Stores, Wal-Mart, Microsoft and the rest of their ilk are asked whether it is “socially responsible” to jeopardize the jobs of over 100,000 U.S. workers just because the activists decided to put PVC on their hit list? Imagine if that question was posed at the appeasers’ annual shareholders meetings? And just think what Thanksgiving 2008 would be like if those 100,000 PVC workers took advantage of their power as consumers. How cozy would the corporate appeasers be with their activist brethren if 100,000 workers, their families and friends decided to target Target Stores, Wal-Mart and the rest by doing their shopping elsewhere? Just a thought and a hope for Thanksgiving 2008.