It sometimes seems that there is a correlation between the larger the size of an industry and the more justification there is to base decisions on financial returns rather than what is in the long-term interests of the individual or our planet.
In a way this is understandable, but it would seem to be important to look at where this does not serve us as a species and what can be done to correct this.
People generally appear to be well-meaning. If you are running a large company, you are answerable to shareholders and short-term targets and need to compete with other companies in your industry. To ensure you perform well compared to your competitors, there may appear to be a need to adhere to industry standards even if these prove not to be completely ethical.
Perhaps one way to improve this is to make industry leaders responsible for standards of the industry in which they operate. This raises further inherent complications, but with enough thought these could probably be ironed out.
Another and possibly more powerful way is to ensure that consumers are educated about what they are purchasing and the factors around how it is produced. Consumer voting power appears to be a powerful force.
Some of the largest industries on our planet according to data at Yahoo Finance and other sources are :
Please add more information and distinctions.
(To be continued)