There is a growing discussion about sustainability in society which is now also extending to a company and work system level. More and more customers are interested where their products are coming from and under which conditions they have been produced. Burning textile factories in Asian countries as only one example are of increasing public interest. Therefore, companies have to take care about the whole supply chain but also the whole life cycle perspective of their products. Looking at this situation this paper asks the question whether human factors or ergonomics can contribute to find solutions for these problems. Is the perspective of macro-ergonomics or systems-ergonomics broad enough to include such questions? Do we need new instruments and additional knowledge to be able to contribute to solutions?
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