Made in Italy at Amazon

Made in Italy at Amazon

October 8, 2020
Corinne M. Karuppan, Ph.D.

 

The pandemic has been a boon for Amazon. Worldwide.

Even in places like Italy where people prefer to shop in stores, Amazon has been able to assume a dominant role during the pandemic. When stores were forced to close, Amazon filled a genuine need for goods. As the economy reopened, the appeal of convenience triggered a sudden, but durable, consumer behavior shift. Can small merchants that depend on the “old world” image rethink their operations to survive e-commerce? Based on the video, many already have.

 

Video Spotlight: Amazon Academy’s ‘Made in Italy’ Program

This post is based on The New York Times article, Pasta, Wine and Inflatable Pools: How Amazon Conquered Italy in the Pandemic, by A. Satariano and E. Bubola, September 26, 2020, and the YouTube video, Amazon Academy ‘Made in Italy’ – Brussels 2019, by AmazonNewsEU, December 9, 2019. Image source: Pixtal / AGE Fotostock.

Discussion Questions:

1. For Amazon, what are the threats and opportunities in Italy?

Guidance: The main opportunities are a change in consumer habits, a high unemployment rate, and a second wave of virus spread. The threats are an older population that might be more resistant to Continue reading →

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Fast Fashion Turns to Fast Trash

Fast Fashion Turns to Fast Trash

April 10, 2020
Lisa M. Spencer

Ghana imports large amounts of secondhand clothing from the UK and other countries, but poor quality makes much of it unsaleable.  Over 50 tons a day, representing about forty percent of the items coming into Kantamanto, the main market, end up being thrown away.

Landfill sites in Ghana are overflowing with the debris.  Low quality fast fashion items, cheap single use t-shirts from marathons or other special events, and unclean items have little to no value in the resale market.  Vendors gamble, buying their bales of used clothing sight unseen, and hope for the best.  Sadly, much of what they purchase will be thrown away, making Ghana and other African countries a dumping ground for other countries’ unwanted textile waste.

Video Spotlight: How fast fashion choices in the the UK are causing an environmental catastrophe in Ghana (Feb 18, 2020, ITV News)

This post is based on the Daily Mail article, The fast fashion trash mountain: Shocking report reveals today’s cheap clothes are so badly made they often can’t be resold—and end up rotting into a toxic soup in Africa, by Barbara Davies, February 25, 2020, and the YouTube video featured in Continue reading →

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Sizzling Airplane Food in Phoenix

Sizzling Airplane Food in Phoenix

January 11, 2020
Corinne M. Karuppan, Ph.D.

Unsafe temperatures in the transport of airline food are even more reasons to dislike it.

During the summer months, the temperature on the tarmac of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is often well above 100 degrees. As food is transported from catering facilities to airplanes, it may reach unsafe temperatures. LSG Sky Chefs’ management and the union representing the catering company’s workers offer different perspectives on the issue and, in the absence of recent FDA inspections, it is difficult to determine whether passengers are actually at risk of food poisoning.

Video Spotlight: Grave Concerns About Airline Food Safety

This post is based on the NBC News article, Airline Catering Workers in Phoenix Say Food Is Getting Too Hot on the Tarmac, by A. Kaplan, L. Bomnin, and V. Nguyen, December 28, 2019, and the YouTube video, Is Airline Food Safe to Eat? What You Need to Know, by NBC News/TODAY, December 27, 2019. Image source: Kasto/123RF.

Discussion Questions:

1. What factors contribute to potentially unsafe temperatures before the food is loaded on a plane?

Guidance: Temperatures in the air and on the tarmac are very high during the summer months. According to some workers, the delivery Continue reading →

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