So not only did the monster hybrid successfully sail the seas of a possible disastrous press package, but it also made more money on the kids that were addicted to the product in the first place. So in answer to the question as to whether or not H.B fuller conducted itself in a morally responsible manner, that would be an unequivocal no. But let us have a reality check.. Twenty-twenty hindsight is always great, but everyone has to realize that companies are in business to make money and that process, although it may have some casualties, is the process that makes the world turn, so to speak. Could H.B Fuller have done things differently and achieved the same results for the company, perhaps not. Any changes they would have made, whether it be additives to make the product unusable or deciding to limit its retail distribution, would have cost the company a bundle. In fact, when the company did replace toluene with cyclohexane the effect on the addiction to children was minimal to the point of being non-existent.

But, if it had chosen to act more responsibly, perhaps legal fees and suits and other costs would also not have accrued down the road. Perhaps in the environment of the twenty-first century companies are looking at different bottom lines then they were in the 90's. But then I am sure they had their accounting department run the numbers between possible lawsuits down the road and the amount of profit they were making to see which one created a better looking profit and loss statement.

It is easy to say that they should have pulled the product completely and try and...

That would have been the moral highroad. But in all seriousness, how many companies would remain in business if they took such an absolute imperative? Perhaps the ones that started with that imperative in the first place. More and more companies today advocate a triple bottom line, a people, planet and profit snapshot that takes into account not only financial, but social and ecological responsibility. By linking their methodologies from the beginning and not being totally isolated by the profit margin, a company that begins life this was will certainly have a more enduring legacy.
References

Bauerlein, Monika (11 August 1993). The sweet smell of success. Retrieved March 27, 2008, from Pangea.org Web site: http://www.pangaea.org/street_children/latin/citypg1.htm

H.B. Fuller (2007) Company website. Retrieved March 27, 2008, from hbfuller.com.org Web site; http://www.hbfuller.com

Material Safety Data Sheet Toluene (2007) Retrieved March 27, 2008, from Sciencelab.com Web site: http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:T0hs4Jyw2NcJ:www.sciencelab.com/xMSDS-Toluene-9927301+toluene+sales+in+the+united+states&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=7&gl=us

McDonough, William. (____)

Boat for thoreau. State & Publisher

Simon, Julian. (____) Scarcity or abundance. State & Publisher

Vasquez, Manuel. (____) H.B. Fuller and the Street Children of Central America. Business Ethics: Concepts and Cases State & Publisher

H.B. fuller