Chickens, Recycling, and People

(No, this isn't about food products, lol).
     Some food companies make such a fuss to advertise and announce that they don't (or no longer) mistreat chickens or cows.  No growth hormones.  No injected pharmaceuticals.  A grass diet instead of corn.  No inhumane treatment.  
     Certain companies tout their capacity to avoid using pesticides.  All of which make sense.

     Others loudly promote how they're diminishing their "carbon footprint".  How they're using recycled materials.  

     Why?  Because they want the consumer to buy from them again.  However, what would the consumer do if they knew how companies treated their human employees?

True story from a dear friend of mine working in NYC retail:
     After being the number-one salesman in America of his brand, my friend announced his intention to leave that company.  He desired a company with higher compensation, higher levels of "quality" inventory, and a higher brand recognition from the consumers.  As his two-week "notice" neared an end, he emailed the "Head of Human Resources" to ask if he had time for one last doctor's appointment.  He wrote that if he didn't, he would not make the appointment.  No reply.  He emailed and again.  He left a voicemail.  Other people whom he knew at the corporate office indicated that the HR woman was there but was, per usual, goofing off.  Despite working down the hall from the company's president, the HR woman was renowned in the office for unsupervised shenanigans and a lackadaisical work ethic.  
     A third email (where my friend indicated that he was running out of time) provoked a reply.  The HR woman emailed back, that she would extend the coverage for another week.
     My friend went for his doctor appointment, which resulted in a quick treatment.  Total cost $400.  The next day was my friend's last day working for his company.  After a week, the doctor's office asked my friend for payment because his former company hadn't paid the medical bill.  An email (never phone because that doesn't leave a "paper trail") to the HR woman got her to reply that "she'd have it taken care of with their insurance broker".  But that never happened.  A month later, to avoid Collections, my friend paid the full bill.  But, he still wanted to get reimbursed from his former company. 
     He emailed HR again, showing her the two times that she'd said that the bill would be covered by the company's insurance plan.  A few days later, the HR woman emailed my friend with a curt answer: she had made a mistake and the company wouldn't pay for that doctor's appointment.  No apology or accountability.  Only a "tough luck" attitude.  
     Angered, my friend sent an efficiently detailed email to the company's new CEO.  He described how he had behaved professionally to check with HR before making his doctor appointment.  He showed the written replies from HR.  He sought a gentlemanly solution.
     Almost a week later, the CEO emailed him, asking for the receipts and bills, saying that the company would indeed pay for the medical costs.  A few hours later, the HR woman called my friend to indicate that she had found a way to get everything "taken care of".  Can you imagine how many other employees have suffered at her flippant hands?  In this economy and job market, that HR representative doesn't seem keen to keep her job, nor is she seemingly respectful of the hardworking employees whom she is paid to represent.
     Companies want to proclaim the craftsmanship of their products.  Maybe some light should be shed on how they treat their people.