For my honors thesis research project, I was interested to learn more about why not everyone purchases fair trade products. The goal of this project is to research more about if there is a lack of awareness regarding fair trade products? And if there were more awareness would people seek out fairly traded products? This paper highlights what I learned about fair trade products as well as what I did to educate people in my community on fair trade.

The Supply Chain of a company is the most critical component of a business as it directly impacts a company’s ability to deliver products/services to customers is a timely, cost effective method. With this amount of importance, a resilient supply chain is pivotal for positive future earnings in each successive quarter. Two pivotal metrics to gauge a Supply Chain include Production Delays and Excess Inventory. Through in-depth analysis, it was found that these metrics had caused abnormal amounts of price volatility with a stock’s performance. Understanding these metrics, the impact and lesson that COVID had taught, and analyzing earnings transcripts of publicly traded company’s demonstrates the use of Supply Chain health in comparison to company performance. This thesis aims to examine how a company's supply chain affects its performance, by analyzing different metrics and disruptions that have caused significant volatility in the stock market. The objective is to help investors maximize their profitability or reduce their risk by identifying the key factors that impact a company's supply chain.

In response to the Bosnian and Rwandan genocides of the 1990’s, the United Nations created the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) doctrine as part of its 2005 World Summit Outcome document. The goal of R2P is to promote the idea that the international community should act to protect populations from mass atrocity crimes (genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing) in the case a State fails to meet their responsibility. This report seeks to examine the Responsibility to Protect principle and see how its concepts are perceived and implemented in the private sector, given the sector’s significant influence in the world today. Using R2P as a frame of reference, I explored the concept that private sector organizations, through their actions and operations, have a responsibility to not profit from or enable systems that perpetuate mass atrocity crimes against populations. This was done through an analysis of private sector firms, regulatory frameworks, industry norms, organization initiatives, and perspectives of actors engaging with the subject matter, in addition to a modern case study regarding the experience of Uighurs and Turkic Muslims in Xinjiang, China. The scope of this project was focused on select American companies that are multinational publicly traded companies with a market capitalization of over $200 billion. This report is meant to serve as a guide for into the concepts of R2P in the private sector and provides access to resources for further exploration.

The purpose of this thesis was to understand the importance of supply chain visibility (SCV) and to provide an analysis of the technology available for achieving SCV. Historical events where companies lacked efficient SCV were assessed to understand how errors in the supply chain can have detrimental effects on a company and their reputation. Environmental, social, and governance standards within the supply chain were defined along with the importance of meeting the legal and consumer expectations of a supply chain. There are many different organizations dedicated to helping companies meet ESG standards to achieve ethical, sustainable supply chains. Examples such as the Responsible Business Association and the Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development were considered. A government solution to SCV, called the Freight Logistics Optimization Works Initiative, considered the importance of data sharing for large companies with complex supply chains, and this solution was assessed for understanding. Current companies and technologies available to achieve SCV were examined for understanding as to how the issue of SCV is currently addressed in the industry. A case study on the company Moses Lake Industries looked at how their complicated chemical manufacturing supply chain has adapted to achieve SCV. This included understanding supplier location, manufacturing processes, and risks. Future technologies that are currently being developed which could further benefit the supply chain industry were considered. Other future considerations, such as the movement of manufacturing out of high risk areas and the need for centralization of SCV solution, were also discussed.