I. The
Golden Rule shall be the general guideline of conduct in
our business affairs. Honesty shall be adopted as the best
policy serving our business interests.
II.
A member of A.R.E. shall refrain from knowingly injuring
or maligning the good name or business reputation of another
member.
III.
Members shall uphold and obey all local, state, and federal
laws pertaining to business practice.
IV.
Members shall refrain from falsely advertising or in any
way misrepresenting their products to the public.
V. It
shall be incumbent upon all members to adhere to specifications
in the manufacture of their products and to avoid the substitution
of inferior quality products.
VI.
Members of A.R.E. shall refrain from inducing a breach of
contract between a competitor and his customer by any false
or deceptive means.
VII.
No member shall hire an employee of another firm with the
intent of: (1) inducing the employee to breach his or her
contract with the former employer; (2) obtaining protected
“confidential” business information regarding
the former employer; or (3) illegally inducing the customers
of the former employer to breach their contracts with said
employer. Members shall not engage in commercial bribery,
make payoffs, or engage in other illegal acts to obtain
confidential business information, trade secrets, blueprints,
or other nonpublic information from a competitor.
VIII.
Members shall not copy the trademarks, names, slogans, trade
secrets, blueprints, etc. of a competitor without their
specific permission.
IX.
Members shall not “buy jobs” or sell below cost
with the intent to discriminate between competing buyers,
injure competition, or engage in price predation in violation
of federal or state antitrust or trade regulation laws.
Members shall not bribe employees of customers or prospective
customers, make undisclosed gifts, pay kickbacks, or provide
undisclosed entertainment to employees of customers or prospective
customers.
X. When
acting as a prime contractor, members shall treat their
subcontractors as they would expect to be treated by their
customers, particularly in the matter of payments.
XI.
Members shall endeavor to maintain good relations with their
employees, applying the principles of good human relations
in their daily work.
XII.
Within the bounds permitted by law, members shall share
with other members information of a nonconfidential nature
that would tend to strengthen the industry and be in the
interests of the Association for Retail Environments.