Tuesday, December 24, 2019

Essay on What If Marijuana Became Legal - 623 Words

Legalizing medical marijuana would reduce crime rates all across the United States. Marijuana is a widely used drug and a lot of crime revolves around it. A lot of money is spent on marijuana, whether it is at a dispensary in Colorado or police officers spending large amounts of money on drug busts. Police officers want a strong relationship with the community they serve. Police want to catch real criminals who hurt real victims. It would save departments a lot of money because they are wasting their time focusing on something that is harming no one when there are real criminals out there during worse things. Police officers having strong relationships with their community benefit them, but also the people within that community.†¦show more content†¦Marijuana is our nation’s largest cash crop, with the legalization our country would have so much more money, with marijuana bringing in anywhere from ten ranging to 120 billion dollars a year, which our economy would benefit from. It would also spark new tax revenue possibly generating more than 120 billion dollars a year. â€Å"The states could see a major economic boon because of the legalization. The new measure is expected to bring the two states more than $550 million combined.† Says Harry Bradford w ith Huffington Post. With our country in debt legalizing medical marijuana would have a huge impact on our economy which is needed. â€Å"It is established scientific fact that marijuana is not toxic to humans, marijuana overdoses are nearly impossible, and marijuana is not nearly as addictive as alcohol or tobacco. It is unfair and unjust to treat marijuana users more harshly under the law than the users of alcohol or tobacco.† This was said by Shawn Radcliffe in an interview for Healthline.com. The legalization of medical marijuana has sparked numerous studies and research programs on individual health concerns with using it. Marijuana is not a lethal drug as many studies have shown marijuana does more good for you than bad. In the last few years there has been an increase in cancer patients using medical marijuana to help the pain that comes along with cancer. It is used for chemotherapy patients helping with nausea and vomiting. There has neverShow MoreRelatedArgumentative Essay On Medical Marijuana1128 Words   |  5 PagesDespite medical marijuana laws in 44 states, marijuana is still consid ered illegal under federal law. In the state of Wyoming any person found using or under the influences of marijuana is subject to a misdemeanor punishable by a maximum of 6 months imprisonment and a maximum fine of $750, or both. Federal marijuana laws are very serious, and the punishment for people found guilty is frequently very harsh. Federal law still considers marijuana very dangerous illegal a drug with no relationRead MoreMarijuana Laws Restrict The Growth And Use Of Marijuana1513 Words   |  7 PagesMarijuana is â€Å" the dried leaves and female flowers of the hemp plant, used in cigarette form as [a] narcotic or hallucinogen.†(â€Å"Marijuana†) In the 17th century, marijuana production was encouraged and supported by U.S. legislation. Later, â€Å"during the 19th century,[marijuana] use became a fad in France and also, to some extent, in the U.S.†(â€Å" Marijuana Timeline†). During the 1920’s and 1930’s, the drug raised fears linked with illegal immigrants and criminal activity. (â€Å"Marijuana Timeline†). ThenRead MoreLegalization of Marijuana1514 Words   |  7 PagesFinal Paper December 14, 2009 Cannabis: The Billion Dollar Crop When most people are asked about their opinion of marijuana, not very many actually have a problem with the drug itself. The driving force behind their decision to be against marijuana is based mostly on the fact that it is illegal. TIME magazine held a poll on their website in which they asked their readers if marijuana should be legalized. Given that TIME’s website is not likely to be a full representation of ALL their readers, norRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1118 Words   |  5 Pagesover-exaggerated jail sentences (pertaining to marijuana charges) is a very big problem in the US. I chose this topic because I had heard so many horror stories of people being sentenced at least 9-10 years on marijuana possession charges just to fill prisons, and it made me extremely upset. What angered me even more was the proof of racially motivated arrests/sentencing in many instances of unjust marijuana related arrests. While these people were â€Å"busted† for carryi ng marijuana and subsequently jailed for decadesRead MoreMedical Marijuana Should Not Be Illegal1040 Words   |  5 PagesFive millennia Cannabis sativa (more commonly known today as marijuana) has been used throughout the world medically, recreationally, and spiritually. (Bostwick, 2012) The growing availability of medical marijuana in the United States today is helping many people’s lives as alternatives to traditional pharmaceuticals, when traditional medications do not alleviate their medical issues. Unfortunately, the full potential of medical marijuana will not come to fruition because at the federal level, whichRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?1011 Words   |  5 Pagesthe drug in question-marijuana-on the black market. Marijuana, otherwise known as pot, weed, broccoli, or grass, is a beneficial substance that the government should legalize. For decades the legality of marijuana has been a hot topic, and this debate has only increased in recent times. People h ave many misconceptions about marijuana that originated when there was racism after many mexican immigrants moved to the United States. These mexican immigrants commonly smoked marijuana recreationally, soRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legal?986 Words   |  4 Pages smoking pot in California, is legal. On Tuesday, November 8, 2016, California became the fifth state to legalize the recreational use of pot. By a margin of about 56% to 44%, voters passed Proposition 64. With its passing, California is now among states like Colorado, Washington, Oregon and Alaska who have also legalized marijuana. â€Å"Marijuana could become quite the cash crop† said Richard McGowan, a professor at Boston College and expert in the field of marijuana legalization. While many peopleRead MoreEssay Marijuana Legalization and Regulation1508 Words   |  7 PagesSince 2900 BC, Marijuana, has been used as a medication for people suffering from illnesses.   The Chinese, Egyptian, Indian, Roman, as well as the Ancient Greece cultures became extremely interested in Marijuana’s healing properties when they realized that the drug helped treat people suffering from glaucoma, gout, cramped joints, violent pain, earaches, inflammation, leprosy, edema, and other diseases affecting the body (Deitch).   The idea of using Marijuana as a healer became popular all aroundRead MoreA Recent Drug Policy Alliance Report Essay1492 Words   |  6 PagesPolicy Alliance report found that Colorado, Washington, Alaska and Oregon have all benefited from a dramatic decrease in marijuana arrests and convictions, as well as increased tax revenues since the adult possession of marijuana became legal. At t he same time, these states did not experience increases in youth marijuana use or traffic fatalities (DPA). Legalizing marijuana will provide an increase in our economy. The first step is that the government needs to stop copiously funding the war onRead MoreShould Marijuana Be Legalized?985 Words   |  4 PagesLegalize Marijuana Despite what people believe about marijuana, it hasn’t once proved to be the cause of any real issue. It makes you wonder what the reason as to why there is a war on drugs. Why is marijuana the main concern? Since the time that alcohol and tobacco became legal, people wonder why marijuana isn’t legal yet. The fact that marijuana is illegal is mainly caused by the amount of money, jobs, and pride invested in the drug war. Once the government starts anything, they stick to it. At

Monday, December 16, 2019

Life Cycle Analysis of the Fashion Industry Free Essays

string(104) " European community of consumers, there is a trend whereby consumers are becoming more green conscious\." Life Cycle Analysis of the Fashion Industry BY caracal Industrial Ecology Practices in the Fashion Industry Introduction The industrial revolution in the sass brought a paradigm shift to the way humans interacted with the environment. The increased capability of producing and manufacturing on a large scale, the rise of multiple industries, growing demand and proliferation of hedonistic consumption patterns, has created a culture of surplus, want and waste. (Fallacy-Companion, 2012) From an environmental point of view, this resource hungry trend is unsustainable and has detrimental ecological impacts, such as pollution and climate change. We will write a custom essay sample on Life Cycle Analysis of the Fashion Industry or any similar topic only for you Order Now These problems have highlighted the consequence of our insatiable demand for resources and the need to rethink current practices and thoughts in order to maintain current living standards and ensure future growth. The ideas of environmental management, industrial ecology and ecological footprint have been proposed to allow for a meticulous look to the products that we manufacture and use, with emphasis on measuring the ecological impacts in hopes of reducing them. A multitude of tools have since been created to measure efficiency in hopes to highlight areas for improvement, of which the ISO standard and Life cycle assessment are part of. Undoubtedly, many companies have adopted life cycle analysis (LLC) in order to assess and reduce their product’s impact on the environment. The fashion industry, at its core, is based on the notion of continual consumption of the ‘new and the discard of the ‘old’, especially with new seasonal lines coming out every 3 months. The industry celebrates creativity with the continuous turnover of trends, leading to the â€Å"premature product replacement and fashion obsolescence†. This constant change has major negative environmental and social impacts, particularly on those at the bottom of the supply chain. Ellwood et al, 2006; Whether and Leastwise, 2008) Moreover, delicates production, often all over the world, is commonly practiced in line with the competitive advantages of different locales (such as low-cost labor, less stringent standards/regulations, strength in technology etc). Studies of Ellwood et al (2006), Madsen et al (2007) and Fletcher (2008) have highlighted issues of apparel waste as the majority of textile waste are not recycled or reuse but usually ends up in landfills. In this report, Nikkei Inc. And Levi Strauss Co. Are chosen as case studies of the fashion industry for their efforts o apply LLC to their products. Life Cycle Assessment and IS014040 The International Organization for Standardization (SO) is an organization that aims to promote worldwide standards for proprietary, industrial and commercial purposes. ‘SO, 2013) The ISO 14000 series is a family of standards that related to environmental management, which aims to help organizations measure and minimize operations that will negatively affect the environment and comply with environmental regulations and audits required in the country of operation. For example, the ISO 14001 is integral to the European Union’s CEO-Management and Audit Scheme (AMASS). AMASS, 2011) Before t he development of the ISO 14000 series, most organizations had to rely on internal environmental management systems that made comparisons between companies difficult. The ISO 14040 standard focuses on Life Cycle Assessment. LLC is a technique to assess environment impacts associated with all the stages of a product’s life from its raw material extraction to its processing, manufacture, distribution, use, repair, recycle and disposal. It is believed to encompass a larger scope of environmental concerns as the compiled inventory of relevant energy and material inputs and environmental releases includes the attention impacts associated with the identified inputs and releases, which can then be interpreted to help make informed decisions and build corporate environmental strategies. EPA, 2013) The method is most often used for the pinpointing potential for process improvements by assessing environmental impacts associated with all stages of a product’s life. (Securing Mueller, 2008) ISO 14040 standards shows how the LLC is to be carried out in four distinct phases as seen in Figure 1 before. Before any LLC can be carried out, an explici t goal and scope of the study, inclusive of technical details, has to be defined. This can then serve as a reference to guide the subsequent work. The functional unit, system boundaries, assumptions and limitations as well as the impact categories are identified and set in this first phase. The life cycle inventory analysis will then carry on from phase one by creating an inventory of all flows (input and output) between the stages of a product system, inclusive of all activities in the relevant supply chain and gives a clear picture of the system boundaries. Only when this is complete can the life cycle impact assessment be carried out. This is the most complex stage of the process as it aims to evaluate he significance of potential environmental impacts and calculate the input and output from the inventory. At the end of the assessment, the information gathered is evaluated and the assessment is objectively assessed before the identification of significant issues and problems, its evaluation and limitations are put forth. Figure 1 : The 4 phases of LLC (http://en. Wisped. Org/wick/ File:PhasesOfLifeCycleAnalysis. Eng) Current Context and Trends Environmental Management has progressed significantly over the years with regulations becoming more stringent and accountability expectations higher. Figure taken from Penman’s (1999) report shows a simple evolution of environmental policies and their primary characteristics from the sass to present, whereby attitudes towards the environment have changes from merely managing the problem in the early days to one that is more actively involved in trying to prevent probl ems. Figure 2: Evolution of environmental management (Seaman, 1999) Within the industry and companies, Lamming ; Hampton (1996) stresses the need for companies to engage in environmental management as public pressure is and will continue to be a major factor. In their study, 75% of customers state that they would consider a Meany’s environmental reputation when purchasing and 80% of those would be willing to pay a premium for an environmentally friendlier product. Although there are limitations to their study, in that the sentiment may only be shared by the European community of consumers, there is a trend whereby consumers are becoming more green conscious. You read "Life Cycle Analysis of the Fashion Industry" in category "Fashion" Hawked et al (1999) in the book ‘Natural Capitalism’ also calls for companies to embrace a new industrialism that will create profits and jobs while saving the environment, through the creation of a closed-loop supply chain that will generate more value and profit. By aggressive recycling, there is the potential of reducing up to 90% of energy and materials consumption. Although individual organizations are recognizing the need and their responsibility to address environmental and sustainability issues, there remains a lack of systematic and coordinated effort across the board. At a larger and general scale, there has been an increase of government level interest and engagement to transition sustainability at the firm and facility level, to one that is more holistic and encompasses production sustainability throughout the value chain. Golden et al, 2011) President Obama issued Executive Order 13514 in 2009 that requires â€Å"the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, obtain 50% diversion rates of solid waste, pursue opportunities with vendors to reduce greenhouse gas (GOGH) emissions, ensure procurement preferences for energy-efficient products, and reduce consumption of paper with low recycled content†. Likewise the Securities Exchange Commission and the Federal Trade Commission are driving the use of sustainable product design and supply c hains by the issuance of directives and interpretive guidance. Golden et al, 2011) Since the fiasco of â€Å"sweatshop† labor in the sass, leading to public outcry and clash on the fashion industry, there has been unison of calls for greater accountability. (Whether and Leastwise, 2008; Clownish et al, 2012) Especially in an industry where the consumers are the largest stakeholders; public opinion is crucial and highly influential. This helps the environmental cause when more consumers become green conscious and demand for a smaller ecological footprint. There is a need to cater to these consumers and for companies to set themselves apart from their competitors. Kumar Amalgamate, 2006) Environmental consciousness has been worked into the corporate social responsibility (CAR) of many companies and increasingly, in the fashion industry, CEO-fashion is trying to capture a larger share of the mainstream market with fashionable and environmental apparel. Regions, 2006) There is a lso the emergence of industry consortia such as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC), the Sustainability Consortium (TTS) and the Outdoor Industry Association (IA), all of which are multi-stakeholder organizations that are suited for establishing standardized metrics for regulation. Nikkei and Levies are both part of the SAC. Case study: LEVI STRAUSS CO. Company Background The company, Levi Strauss Co. Was founded by its namesake, Levi Strauss onetime in the mid-sass. It started off as a dry goods wholesaler before collaboration between Levi and Jacob Davis, a tailor, in 1872 saw the filing for its patented rivet pants- the start of the denim company that it is known for today. Over the years, the company have grown tremendously and has expanded its brands carried. Its current brands include Levi'†, Dockers@, Signature by Levi Strauss Co. And dENiZEN@. The company has a vision to be â€Å"the embodiment of the energy and events of our times, inspiring people with a pioneering spirit† (Levi, 2013) and is committed to a variety of issues in its public policy approach that includes read, worker rights, equality and the environment. Since the sass, with the rise of global environmental concerns and problems, Levies have been working on reducing the environmental impact of its products. This was done by complying with environmental regulations, implementing a Code of Conduct for its suppliers- ensuring a reduction of water consumption and ending the use of harmful chemicals on its Restricted Substances List, switching to organic cotton when possible and increasing the amount of recycled materials in their end product. In 2007, as part of an attempt at a consolidated look at the company’s environmental impact, a LLC was one on 2 products- a pair of Levi'† 5018 stonewashed Sears and the Dockers@ original khakis. This enabled the company to develop strategies that will address the greatest impacts on the environment to ensure longevity in the industry. (Levi, 2013) Levies introduced its water;less Sears in 2011 and its waste;Less Sears in 2013. Waste;Less Sears has a minimum of 20% post-consumer recycled content (from PET bottles) instead of cotton. Ferries, 2013) Levies Life Cycle Assessment Levies product lifestyle assessment focuses on a quantitative method that looks at ass and energy balance using direct and indirect data over the â€Å"cradle to grave† lifespan of the product. A disclaimer on their website states that this LLC does not include social or economic impacts. In the input/output inventory aspect of the LLC, indirect data of mass and energy inputs are taken from extensive industry-average data sets. Together with the system analysis of the lifestyle assessment, in accordance with ISO 14040 requirements, the data is then translated to calculate the environmental impacts of the system. Figure 3 below shows the 6 stage system analysis of the 5018 Sears taken from the Levies website, that starts from the cotton production till the end of life after consumer use. Figure 3: LLC of a pair of Levies 501 Sears (http://alleviators. Com/sites/default/files/ liberationists/2012/4/ca-summary-2012-update. PDF) Phase 1: Goals and Scope Levies wanted their LLC to be done on a high volume product, produced for the U. S. Market during the 2006 production year. The Levi'† 5018, medium stonewashed Jean was chosen. The data compiled from Levi Strauss and Co. ‘s suppliers is processed via Gab 4 software datasets, following the ISO 14040 series standards. The LLC was conducted by PEP Americas from Boston, MA. The results were intended for internal use and with the option to share selected data publicly after addition reviews. Phase 2: Inventory Analysis Figure 4 shows the system boundary of the Levies 501 Jean, from the different places where cotton is sources, the different production plants, distribution channels to its end. Figure 4: Levies 501 Jean System Boundary (Levi, 2013) Phase 3: Impact assessment After gathering information and data, Levies was able to measure the climate change, energy and water use of their best-selling Sears, with interesting results. A pair of original Levies has a global warming potential of 15 keg CA equivalent, consumes MAIM] of energy in its production process and only has 1% of its ingredients that are recycled. (Gaskin, 2012) Figures 5-7 show a breakdown of the weight of different factors and their impacts. Unsurprisingly, the growth of cotton was the most water intensive stage in the LLC, with the usage of the Jean being the next highest. Usage however was by far, the biggest contributor of energy use and climate change. This is due to the long lifespan of the Jean (denim as a material can be quite hardy) and the instant wash cycles can add up significantly over time. Figure 5: Impacts on energy use (Levi, 2013) Figure 6: Impacts on water use (Levi, 2013) Figure 7: Impacts on climate change (Levi, 2013) Phase 4: Interpretation From the LLC, Levies realized that the majority of environmental impacts occur in the lifestyle phases that are outside their direct control. Reducing the overall environmental impact requires a two-pronged approach of focusing on internal operations whilst engaging consumers. Internally, Levi started looking at cotton production at the farmer’s level, switching to organic cotton when possible and articulating in projects such as the â€Å"Better Cotton Initiative†, as cotton growing is water intensive. They also reduced product packaging and tweaked product design and manufacturing to reduce their water and energy use- the waterless and wasteless Sears. (Levi, 2013) WaterLess Sears cut water use in the finishing process by an average of 25%, with a high of 96% in some ranges of Sears. This is attributed to the decrease of cotton used in the production and the change in Levies finishing processes, which helped to cut water use by 10%, by doing without a laundering process and creating a different look. These changes did not require a major factory redesign and there were no high capital barriers that prevented Levies from adopting such CEO-friendly measures. Ferries, 2013) As a customer-facing company, Levies aimed to engage and educate their consumers on the environmental impact of their fashion choices and encourage responsible care of their washable garments. Figure 8 and 9 shows the environmental impacts of different washing methods. Product care labels on its brands have been changed to instruct consumers to wash in cold water, tumble dry medium and wash less often. (Levi, 2013) Figure 8: Comparison of energy use between different wash methods (Levi, 2013) Figure 9: Comparison of water use between different wash methods (Levi, 2013) Case study: NIKKEI Inc. Nikkei was founded in 1971 by Bill Borrower and Phil Knight, whose passions were to increase track and field athlete’s performances on the track by creating lightweight shoes. Over the years, the company has changed with the times and expanded to cover a wide range of sports other than track and field. Nikkei is involved in the design, development and worldwide marketing of footwear, apparel, equipment and accessory products. With an effective branding and marketing campaign, Nikkei has established itself as a forerunner in the sport-fashion industry with Nikkei being the largest footwear manufacturer in the fiscal year ending May 2011, amassing revenues of about $20. 9 billion. As of May 2004, Nikkei has 28000 retail accounts in U. S. And through a mix of independent distributors, licensees and subsidiaries in over 170 countries. (Kumar ; Amalgamate, 2006; Nikkei, 2013) With operations that are so dispersed, it is no wonder that Nikkei products have well hidden environmental costs that if were to be considered, would price the item much higher than its retail cost. Nikkei Inc. Currently has seven brands under its portfolio, including Nikkei, Cole Han, Converse, Hurley International LLC, Umbra, Nikkei Golf and Jordan. Figure 10, taken from Nikkei. Com (2013) shows the corporate overview of the company in 2013. Part of the business strategy of the company for 2013 is to pursue growth that is â€Å"sustainable, profitable, capital efficient and brand enhancing†, whereby environmental responsibility is inbuilt into the company’s goals, vision and culture. (Nikkei, 2013) It is important to note that Nikkei was a main target for unfair labor practices in the sass which greatly affected its public image. Since then, much have been done to manage such risks of which being a pioneer of sustainable practices is seen as integral to its environmental risk. There are no official accounts off published LLC according to the ISO 14040 standards, done on a Nikkei product. However, this is common as most companies may not necessarily want to publicity reveal it’s LLC. Nikkei however, in its sustainability reports, follows similar steps in qualifying its environmental impacts. In this case study, I will attempt to frame their goals and targets in the context of a traditional’ LLC. Figure 10: Corporate overview of Nikkei Inc (Nikkei, 2013) Shift towards Sustainable Business and Innovation (Phase 1 2) To support Nine’s strategic evolution and transition to sustainable business models, the Sustainable Business and Innovation (SUB;l) was set up with its mission to enable Nikkei to thrive in a sustainable economy. A matrix structure was step up to integrate retail, logistics and information technology well so as to foster new platforms and forms of collaboration. Nine’s value chain has also been re-envisioned to be a closed loop cycle. Figure 11 shows the distilled seven fundamental stages of the new value chain- plan, design, make, move, sell, use and reuse. (Nikkei, 2013) As dated before. Nikkei remains vague on the factors that are considered in their corporation and production processes that contribute to their environmental impact. In their release of public information, Nikkei uses a tool called the Material Assessment Tool (MAT) and analyses the life cycle of raw materials used in production. Henderson et al, 2009) The MAT allows Nikkei to view the impacts from the materials used across four categories: Chemistry, Energy/CA – equivalence, Water/Land use and Waste with a total LLC score given. (See Figure 12) (Nikkei Considered Design, 2010) Products that are more sustainable would score higher on the MAT score. Figure 13 shows a snapshot of the different materials that go into the pr shoe. Figure 1 1: Overview of the Nikk ei value chain (Nikkei, 2013) Figure 12: Material Assessment Tool used by Nikkei (Nikkei, 2013) adduction of a Figure 13: Materials in a typical shoe (http://www. Lodestars. Net/bookings/copy-of- Semifinal-Presentation) Charting Progress and Changes in Environmental Impacts (Phase 3, 4 and beyond) Since the drive towards being more accountable started in the late sass, Nikkei has been tracking its progress based on its metrics in their corporate reports. Figure 14 ND 15 shows where the company is at with regard to meeting their 2011 targets set in 2009, where most objectives are largely on track. Figure 16 how implementing energy management strategies in retail stores in North America has allowed Nikkei to save 3. Million Kiss of electricity while giving a 20% return on investment, the partnership of how being environmentally conscious can help with operational savings. Nikkei has started a code of conduct for its suppliers to meet, to reduce their environmental impact, according to their MAT scheme. Suppliers are ranked and encouraged to improve on their operations, while their research and development am have been constantly looking into the development of lighter shoes and apparel in their new product design that utilizes less raw materials and more recycled materials. Nikkei also tried to reduce its waste by redesigning its packaging to use less material in its shoebox experiment (Figure 17). Although the results were not very successful, Nikkei continues to revamp and work on developing a sturdy prototype while reducing waste. Nikkei have also started several consumer-targeted initiative such as â€Å"reuse-a-shoe† campaign whereby old shoes are collected and dissembled to e reused in the manufacturing process, increasing recycling and lessening the dependency on raw materials. (Nikkei, 2013) Nikkei promises to commit to their environmental goals and work towards have a truly closed loop supply chain. However, Figure 18 shows that there is still much unaccounted areas in Nine’s internal assessment and much of their initiatives are focused on the American market. With a company who has great global presence, there is still much to be done, environmentally, in other markets. Figure 14: Progress in sustainable business models (http://www. Nikkei. Com/ creator/content/PDF/documents/en-useful-report. UDF) Figure 1 5: Progress in climate change targets (http://www. Nikkei. Com/creator/ content/PDF/documents/en-useful-report. UDF) Figure 16: Results of energy management systems on retail stores (Nikkei, 2013) Figure 17: Nikkei shoebox experiment (Nikkei, 2013) Figure 18: Nikkei Climate and Energy reporting landscape and roadman (http:// www. Incompressibility. Com/report/uploads/files/ NIKKEI_Len_ClimateEnergyLandscapeRoadmap. PDF) Evaluation of Levies and Nikkei Nikkei and Levies both belong to the Sustainable Apparel Coalition (SAC) whose aim is to create an apparel and footwear index for the industry, to 1 . Understand and quantify sustainability impacts of apparel and footwear products, 2. Reduce redundancy in measuring sustainability for the industry, 3. Drive business value through reducing risk and uncovering inefficiency and 4. Create a common meaner to communicate sustainability to stakeholders. (SAC, 2013) The SAC was formally launched in 2011 and its sustainable apparel index allows apparel retailers and brands to compare the performance of their upstream supply chain through a unified method and metrics. Their LLC is based on the AI_EGO CEO-index, Nine’s environmental design tool and SAC’s social and labor indicators for the manufacturing phase. There have been several criticisms of this tool as being too qualitative and the version that is being developed now is current designed to be more quantitative, life-cycle oriented. (Golden et al, 2011) The original intent of choosing these two companies was to highlight how environmental tools can be useful in such a wasteful industry such as fashion. In releasing that they both were part of the same industry consortium, whose aim was to provide a basis of comparison, I had assumed that there would be the possibility to have a clear comparison after evaluating both companies. However, further research did not yield any significant or comparable set of data or reports. In fact, the SAC website would redirect the user back to the sustainability pages of the individual companies. The fact that these two companies belong to the same industry consortium and yet cannot be compared, show the great limitation of LLC and current environmental management strategies. There are too many requirements and considerations in engaging in a holistic LLC and companies tend not to divulge too much information on their supply chains. As such, it is difficult to ensure that hey did not overlook particular flows in their operational process. On the other hand, it is heartening to see both companies engaging in similar trends to engage their customers to be part of the recycling and green process of returning Sears/ shoes back to the retailers so that they can be reused and/or recycled. Moreover, there seems to be a great sense of commitment by both companies towards corporate social responsibility and environmental accountability whereby active steps are being taken to reduce the environmental impact of the company, their facilities and their products. How to cite Life Cycle Analysis of the Fashion Industry, Essays

Sunday, December 8, 2019

Geographical Systems and Computer Cartography †MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about the Geographical Systems and Computer Cartography. Answer: Introduction Cookie Co. is a chain store for the cookies that has business all around the country. However, of recent they have been frustrated from the slow data networks connectivity, as well as distorted and unreliable voice call as a result of the issues in the network which has been a challenge to both the clients and the staff (Archiving, 2015). The organization is seeking a fresh design in regards to their information technology infrastructure particularly on networking to be able to support all their business functions and for the growth of the business. This report, it will focus on the solutions and the recommendation in regards to the future network infrastructure for the Cookie Co. Network infrastructure The network convergence and unified communications. The communication between the computers usually depends on the working of the network infrastructure. Without such kind of the network, the organization will not be able to access other computers from the machine nor surf the internet (Archiving, 2015). The unified communications will consists of the hardware which include at least one network switch as well as network cables to be able to connect all the computers as well as the printers with one another (Yuen, 2013). When it comes to the network they will be Wi-Fi-enabled and they will cover few meters to the entire organizations so that each department could access the internet. This technology is useful to the business operations as well as the customer satisfaction. On the part of the organization they would benefit when it comes to how the communication will be relayed. On the part of the customers with the infrastructure in place especially on the network convergence they can be able to make easily the voice calls and raise th eir concerns in regards to a given product. The local area network is the system that connect various computers in office. The LAN usually consist of the computers in addition to the peripheral devices which are linked to the local domain server (Laudon and Laudon, 2016). Presently there would be a network logical structure diagram that would be designed to highlights precisely how the logical organization of the network. The diagram might emphasizes the basic devices along with the zones such as LAN, DMZ as well as the group (Jones, 2014). On the LAN it might visualize the communication techniques of the LAN, in addition to the network arrangement in the office. This technology would be useful in the head office and the branch office when it comes to the connection of the computers so that the employees could communicate effectively. The type of LAN they intend to use will be bus logical topology which is used for the data communication as well as support by the ieee 802.3 standard (Ghezzi, Cortimiglia and Frank, 2015). In all the nodes they will share on the common line. The transmission would occur in both of the directions on the common line rather than in one particular direction, as compared to the ring topology (Galliers and Leidner, 2014). When one of the nodes transmit all the other nodes receive the transmission at the approximately the same period. Setting up a branch office is the most-effective way for the business to be able to put people on the ground in a given region. To be able to connect the head office and the branches the organization will have a dedicated lines between the sites and the internet connection for each site (Ghezzi, Cortimiglia and Frank, 2015). Moreover, they will connect to the XCH server through use of the dedicated line. The new WAN services which will be used will be 3G wireless and the metro Ethernet. To manage the requirement of the common WAN services should be obtainable in both of the branch office along with the WAN aggregation routers which are located within the data centers and the site of the organization (Jones, 2014). The transmission media are the physical pathways which will be used to connect the devices such as the computers as well as individuals on the network. Some of the media used for the connection of the devices are wireless, which will include the radio frequencies, as well as the satellite (Jones, 2014). The deployment of the wireless media is beneficial to the operation of the business since it is much faster and less costly than the deployment of the cable, especially to where there is no or even little infrastructure. Moreover, the wireless is also advantageous particularly to the environmental circumstances which makes it impossible or even cost-prohibitive to use cable (Jones, 2014). Moreover, the wireless transmission devices support much lower data rates for the branch and the head office than the wired solutions. The DNS is a service which translate the domain names into the IP addresses. The management of the DNS is important for the organization website. The internet is based on the IP addresses. The domain names are usually in alphabetic, which makes it much easier to remember, hence every time a domain names has been used the DNS service should translate the name to the corresponding IP address (Rainer, Prince and Watson, 2014). The new information infrastructure will ensure that there is a web management in place to be able to take the responsibility of all the aspects of the name of the Domain name for the clients, and that the correct name is pointing in the correct server thus ensuring that the visitors type in domain name in which the correct website would be rendered. This is beneficial to the organization in their operation and the satisfaction of the client in a number of ways. On the part of the client they would be able to access easily the website for the organization and be ab le to focus on the product which they intend to make an order, this ensures there is an efficient communication between the client and the organization. On the part of the organization they will address on the needs of the clients much quicker as comparison to the traditional methods they used. The management of the DNS would ensure that the domain names are current and they are paid up, which would prevent the site from going down for this reason. There would be expertise professionals who would be employed to monitor on the system on this aspect. Moreover, they would also manage various records which ensures that the email are found and they are stored on the various servers to the website. Therefore, the aspect of the DNS management is to ensure that there are no DNS issues when rendering on the needs of the clients. This is the private network which would only be accessible to the employees in the organization. There would be a range of the information as well as services from the organization internal information technology system which are available and not accessible by the public (Yuen, 2013). This wide intranet would be beneficial to the processes of the business since it would serve as a focal point for the internal communication as well as collaboration between the head office and the branches (O'Brien and Marakas, 2005). This would provide a single starting point of accessing the internal as well as external resources. The simplest form of the intranet could be establish with the technologies for the local area networks as well as the wide area networks. The extranet is the regulated private network that is permits the use of the partners, vendors in addition to the supplier or even approved number of the clients. The extranet is comparable to the DMZ because it provides an access to the needed services for the parties that are authorized, without giving them use of the company entire system. This networked services is beneficial to both the business and the satisfaction of the customers (Jouini, Rabai and Aissa, 2014). On the part of the customer they would have access to the services they need from the organization. This is significant on the part of the customer since they can inquire on any service they want and see its availability (Laudon and Laudon, 2016). On the part of the business operation it is significant there is exchange of the large volume of the data through the use of the Electronic Data Interchange, they are able to collaborate especially between the head office and the branches. Additionally, they can also share p roduct catalogs exclusively to the trade partners. It stands for the voice over internet protocol. This is an alternate method of making the phone calls which is often cost effective or perhaps completely free. When it comes to Cookie Business they have slow data network connectivity, that is compounded by the distorted along with undependable voice calls because of the issue on the network, hence, use of VOIP would be beneficial to the organization especially on the voice calls made by the clients in regards to inquiry of the products and services they offer (Jouini, Rabai and Aissa, 2014). The VOIP has been named the most successful technology for the last decade. This networked service has various advantage to the process of the business as well as satisfaction of the clients. The organization should turn to the VOIP technology because of its low cost. In the business, VOIP is a way of cutting down the communication cost, it also add more features when it comes to communication as well as the interaction between the employees and the clients, thus they can render the system more efficient and better quality in service delivery(Warf, 2013). The VOIP has revolutionized on the voice calling globally, and it is a fun way to communicate especially through the computers and the mobile devices for free (Laudon and Laudon, 2016). This would surely bring satisfaction to the clients since they may not even pay anything when making the voice calls to Cookie Co. to make an order or even obtain information. This networked service is a method for exchanging of the messages between individuals electronically. The email can operate across the computer networks that are today is primarily the internet. The use of the email will be beneficial especially to the operation of the head office and the branches in that it reduces geographic barriers for the business since they are able to communicate (Kaur and Aggrawal, 2013). The employees from around the world they can communicate regardless of the location. Moreover, the email lower the costs especially when moving communication from the physical mail to email could result in significant savings when it comes to the postage costs, shipping supplies as well as the employees resources. Additionally, the business could decrease on the customer services support costs when they focus on email customer support options as compared to the phone based services. Data Processing Facilities The organization can utilize various data processing facilities which could be used to store their data through data centers and use of the cloud database. This is the facility which is used to house the computer system as well as other associated components for instance telecommunications and storage systems. It usually includes the telecommunications as well as the storage systems. The data center centralizes the organizations information technology functions and equipment, in which stores, manages in addition to disseminate its data (Meyer, Howard Jr and Loofbourrow, 2017). The data center would house the network critical system which are essential to the continuity of the daily operations in the business (Harrison, Free Stream Media Corp., 2016). The data center which the business needs should be built for the cloud service provider which needs to gratify the facility, infrastructure in addition to the security requirement which will differ from the complete private data center. An effective data center is going to be achieved through the balanced investment in the organization and which equipment are housed (Yuen, 2013). This data center will be beneficial to the operation of the business since it will house all the data within the organization and protect it from any damage. This is an information technology model which allows ubiquitous access to the shared pools of the configurable assets that can be provisioned with the minimal management effort, more regularly over internet. The cloud allows the users as well as the enterprises with numerous computing functionality to be able to store and process the data either in the privately owned cloud or even the third party server that is situated in the data centers .This technology will be beneficial to the organization because they will be able to share resources and be able to achieve a coherence and economy of scale (Vasilakos, Zhang and Spyropoulos, 2016). Moreover, the business will be able to minimize up-front information technology infrastructure costs. It will enable the business to focus more on their core businesses aspects rather than expanding on the resources on the infrastructure of the resource as well as maintenance. This is a networking technology which is a distributed application architecture that will partitions on the tasks or perhaps the workloads which is between the peers. The peers are privileged equally, in the application. The peer generally make the part of their resources for instance, the disk storage and the network bandwidth, that is accessible to the other network participants. The peers are both suppliers along with consumers of the resources, in the contrast to the traditional client server model that the consumption and the supply of the resources has been divided. This model would be beneficial to the operation of the business since it would bring in unique resource as well as capabilities to the virtual community hence empowering it to engage to the greater tasks which are beyond those which are accomplished by personal peers. Conclusion In this research it has focused on the use of the technologies into the proposed plan for the future network infrastructure for the Cookie Co. The organization has been encountering frustration from the slow data network connectivity. In this research it has provided recommendations on the best technologies which they could use to effectively benefit the business operations, as well as enhance customer satisfaction through effectively delivery of the services. References Archiving, D., 2015. Networked Services. Steinmetz Archive Codebook P, 1655. Galliers, R.D. and Leidner, D.E. eds., 2014. Strategic information management: challenges and strategies in managing information systems. Routledge. 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