Values
Doing the Right Thing: Ethics Framework for Domestic Sourcing
Integrity is a growth strategy—prove it by showing how your sourcing protects people and places.
Define your non-negotiables collaboratively
Bring suppliers, frontline workers, and community leaders together to co-create an ethics charter that covers wages, safety, environmental stewardship, and representation. Joint ownership ensures buy-in and surfaces blind spots early.
Publish the charter on your website and reference it in every new partner onboarding to signal that 'doing the right thing' is a living promise.
- Host annual listening sessions that include worker family members and local advocates.
- Integrate charter checkpoints into your supplier contracts and audits.
- Offer micro-grants to partners investing in accessibility, childcare, or language programs.
Measure and report the impact consistently
Track metrics like average hourly wages vs. regional living wage benchmarks, safety training hours completed, and dollars reinvested locally. Combine quantitative dashboards with human stories to make the data memorable and motivating.
Share progress even when it's imperfect—customers reward honesty and want to join your improvement journey.
- Launch a public-facing ethics dashboard updated quarterly.
- Encourage suppliers to contribute their own impact photos, testimonials, and innovations.
- Pair each report release with a live Q&A session to answer stakeholder questions.
Empower your team to advocate daily
Equip customer support, sales, and marketing teams with training so they can articulate your ethics commitments confidently. When frontline teams understand the 'why,' they can diffuse skepticism and convert values-driven shoppers.
Celebrate internal champions who raise concerns or spot opportunities to improve; that culture of accountability keeps your mission resilient.
- Add ethics storytelling modules to onboarding and quarterly training.
- Recognize employees who flag issues with a 'Principled Partner' award.
- Document case studies where ethical choices led to measurable business wins.
Put these insights into action
Ethical sourcing isn't a box to tick—it's a daily practice that deepens loyalty, attracts talent, and proves American-made commerce can lead with heart.
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