Marketing practice by a company to give itself a falsely environmentally friendly reputation. Beware of posters containing colors reflecting nature such as green or brown, the use of ecological jargon or unrealistic promises to reduce the ecological footprint.
Economic and logistic advantage
The manufacturing industry is one of the most lucrative sectors of the Canadian economy. Indeed, in 2021, this sector represented 10%, or $174 billion, of our GDP according to Statistics Canada. We can therefore easily imagine that it is a very lucrative, subsidized market,enormously encouraged and above all easy to access in Canada. In addition to their enormous profits, these factories are excellent sources of job creation for the population. However, it should still be mentioned that these are jobs that will perhaps disappear little by little over the years with ever-increasing robotization and automation. Additionally, this industry is one that requires many different resources, which is beneficial for both commodity and retail companies in the country.
On the logistics side, local production reduces many headaches by facilitating correspondence between the company and the factory when it comes to setting up contracts, standards, different agreements, etc. The proximity of the two entities especially facilitates their communications if production needs to be accelerated, slowed down or if there is an error in the finished product. The language barrier is also less when discussions take place either in English or French, unlike the problems that can arise when the person on the other end of the line only speaks Mandarin, for example.
A more ethical production
Ethical production is an element that is becoming more and more important these days with consumers who are becoming more informed and aware of the subject. A manufacturer or company that calls itself “ethical” normally respects standards such as decent wages, respectable working conditions and well-established safety rules. Compliance with these standards is extremely important in Canada and the inspections to ensure this are all the more rigorous. Producing in Canada therefore means respecting, at least, the minimum wage imposed by the government, breaks for employees, meal times, insurance in the event of accidents, safe workplaces in the event of accidents, etc. Obviously, these kinds of standards are unfortunately not respected everywhere.
Take a look at our local partner’s products
Countries like Bangladesh, Malaysia or China are used as factories for the whole world since their labor costs are ridiculously lower than Western countries, as are their run-down facilities which cost well cheaper to operate than in Canada. In these circumstances, disasters are not rare like that of Rana Plaza where an entire building collapsed on more than 1000 workers in Bangladesh in 2013.
Produce green at home
Increased Canadian production could also mean a significant reduction in the impacts of mass production on the environment. By repatriating some of the manufacturing work that we subcontract abroad, we could ensure that the quantities of water used in the making of clothing, for example, are reduced compared to the monstrous quantities used today.
It would also be possible to ensure that toxic, contaminated or simply harmful residues for the environment are handled in the right way to prevent these products from being dumped into drinking waterways. Unfortunately, it is not uncommon for such actions to be taken, which is extremely harmful for the populations and biodiversity of the region who drink from these waterways, for example.
Being a country with numerous non-polluting energy sources such as hydroelectricity, solar energy or even wind energy, it would be possible to operate all the necessary manufacturing thanks to these energy sources emitting reduced quantities. of greenhouse gases unlike the combustion of coal, for example, which is very widely used in many countries around the world.
This, therefore, means that local production means the establishment of better-framed rules that better reflect our Canadian desire for change and advancement regarding environmental, ethical and economic issues. It is to give ourselves the means to work in the direction in which we hope to advance our nation in the coming years.