{"id":4293,"date":"2023-04-02T23:58:59","date_gmt":"2023-04-03T03:58:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mar-100-b051-intro-to-marketing-professor-buckler-spring-2023\/?p=4293"},"modified":"2023-04-02T23:58:59","modified_gmt":"2023-04-03T03:58:59","slug":"giordani-siggis-ethics-week-b-assignment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/openlab.bmcc.cuny.edu\/mar-100-b051-intro-to-marketing-professor-buckler-spring-2023\/2023\/04\/02\/giordani-siggis-ethics-week-b-assignment\/","title":{"rendered":"Giordani – Siggi’s Ethics Week B Assignment"},"content":{"rendered":"

Feeling homesick in 2004, Siggi Hilmarsson craved one of his childhood-comfort foods, skyr (a thick, creamy, protein-rich yogurt from Iceland) and began experimenting with a recipe from his mother in his NYC apartment. Out of his experimentation, siggi\u2019s, an Icelandic skyr brand, was born in 2005. I\u2019ve always noticed siggi\u2019s on the shelf when grocery shopping but, as an avid Noosa consumer, I\u2019d not been inspired to actually try their skyr until I noticed that their products are made with significantly less sugar because I was preparing a small tub of it for the baby I care for.\u00a0 The label on siggi\u2019s nonfat yogurts are made of paper and are removable. On the inside there are a couple of pictures and short copy describing their company\u2019s story. This inspired me to dig deeper into the company\u2019s history and sustainability practices (the labels on these containers make it easier to recycle them).\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

When looking into any company\u2019s sustainability practices I am interested not only in their environmental practices, but their commitment to treating the people who are involved in the creation of their products humanely and ethically. In the \u201c<\/span>supply chain disclosures<\/span><\/a>\u201d siggi\u2019s defines their commitment as:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

We believe that we have a responsibility to conduct our business in an ethical and sustainable way and expect the same from our suppliers, thus we strive to build long-term business relationships that demonstrate a commitment to fair treatment of workers and environmental responsibility. This includes working to combat the practices of forced labor, slavery, and human trafficking.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is a more bold and direct stance than I have seen most companies take in regards to the way that the humans involved in their supply-chain are listed. Because their \u201csupply chain disclosures\u201d page starts off so strongly, I was surprised to read only a couple of paragraphs down that, although siggi\u2019s has a hotline so that anyone working at\/with companies that are a part of their supply chain can report a violation of the standards siggi\u2019s has set, siggi\u2019s does not currently have an auditing process in place for companies that they work with.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Beyond expressing a commitment to sustainability and ethical practices within their supply chain, siggi\u2019s has a grant program called \u201c<\/span>siggi\u2019s starters<\/span><\/a>\u201d which \u201c<\/span>empowers nutrition professionals seeking to develop innovative programs to improve health in their local communities\u201d by providing the winner with a $20k grant and mentorship to develop and execute their concept. After taking a look at which stores neighborhoods it is most common to find siggi\u2019s in, the price point of their products, and scrolling through their Instagram page, I am curious about what the racial and socio-economic demographics of their average consumers are. The siggi\u2019s starters program is a phenomenal opportunity, but I am curious to whom this opportunity is being advertised and if it is reaching nutrition professionals, creators, and community-leaders who are marginalized and are less likely to gain access to essential funding & mentorship.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Furthermore, siggi\u2019s was founded in New York City. So, after thinking about what I\u2019ve mentioned above, my initial suggestions for siggi\u2019s to honor the commitments they have made are as follows:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n