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- What does sustainable sourcing mean?
- What is the challenge facing the food chain?
- Scale of the problem
- Organisations that tackle unethical trade
- What targets have been set?
What does sustainable sourcing mean?
Sustainable sourcing ensures, to the best of the food chain’s ability, that products or goods that are being purchased have no or a limited negative impact on the communities and ecosystems that they are sourced from.
The May 2007 Food Industry Sustainability Strategy Champions Group on Ethical Trade identified three key areas to focus on to establish sustainable sourcing:
- Respect human rights and reduce poverty by creating profitable trading
- Work within the finite limits of the planet’s resources
- Move towards a low carbon economy
During the practice of these three key areas there should be no compromise to a continual improvement to animal welfare standards.
For this factsheet, the term ethical trading covers a range of practices through the supply chain that promotes and protects the labour standards and the livelihoods of vulnerable producers, such as small-scale producers.
What is the challenge facing the food chain?
To develop best practice initiatives that businesses can implement to protect and promote ethical standards in trade. This should be done in ways that improve the livelihood opportunities and sustainable development of the disadvantaged.
Scale of the problem
In the UK there is growing consumer concern about where food products are sourced from and the impact of business operations on workers in developing countries.
However, sustainable sourcing is not just an issue for sourced goods from overseas. There are twin problems of illegal working and abuse of workers’ rights associated with the use of casual and migrant workers in parts of the UK food industry.
With increased demand for retailers to supply seasonal produce year round and reduce lead times to make the industry more efficient, the workforce is put under greater pressure. The result is that employees can be expected to work excessive hours to meet the demands of the retailers and consumers.
Falling product prices by retailers could make life harder for suppliers who may find it harder to improve labour standards, wages and benefits. Price pressures can also make it difficult for growers to make investments to improve social and environmental standards.
Organisations that tackle unethical trade
The International Labour Organization (ILO) is responsible for setting labour standards and providing technical help in implementing standards.
There are other international organisations like the UN Global Compact and the OECD Guidelines for Multinationals which work on voluntary initiatives with businesses, trade unions and NGOs.
Many UK companies have agreed to voluntary codes of conduct covering labour standards and environmental sustainability.
The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) established in 1998 has had an important role in improving the conditions of workers in the global supply chain of corporate members.
Corporate members of the ETI include Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury’s and Marks & Spencer. As of April 2008 there are over 40 corporate members.
The ETI members implement and monitor a ‘Base Code’ that instructs:
- Employment should be freely chosen
- There should be freedom of association and the right to collective bargaining
- Working conditions should be safe and hygienic
- Child labour should not be used
- A living wage should be paid
- No discrimination should be practised
- No harsh or inhumane treatment is allowed
The ETI acknowledges that some suppliers may not be able to meet all of the above terms and may be restricted by national laws. For this reason there is no label or standard but a commitment to learn and agree corrective actions to develop best practice within the three party group of corporate members, non-governmental organisations (NGO’s) and trade unions.
Corporate members are expected to allow their supply chain to be independently monitored and verified (the Social Accountability International (SA8000) is one way that they can do this), and prepare annual reports which are assessed by ETI.
The Fairtrade Foundation is another organisation working to tackle unethical trading. It focuses on giving a fair price to producers in developing countries for products (such as coffee, tea, fresh fruit, cocoa and many more) and investment in community development. It achieves this by awarding a Fairtrade Mark to products that meet their standards.
What targets have been set?
The Food Industry Sustainability Strategy 2006 aims are:
- To double by 2008 the amount or percentage of food goods in supermarkets covered by ethical trading schemes
- For government and industry to establish an Ethical Trade Forum for discussions between stakeholders to establish a framework for:
- Ethical trade within the food industry
- A mechanism for sharing lessons learned
- Identifying best practice
- Ways to measure progress
The May 2007 Food Industry Sustainability Strategy report on ethical trade identified the importance of British farming to the welfare of rural communities and stewardship of the countryside. It states that there is a ‘need to better understand where and how British farming makes a unique or important contribution to sustainable food sourcing’ (Towards one planet food, p8). This resulted in the suggestion of a fair trade approach to British farming, so that efforts could be made to value the benefits of British farming and encourage economic development in poorer countries.
Related Items on IGD.com
Factsheets:
- Shopper Attitudes to Ethical Foods
- Ethical Consumerism
- Fairtrade Foundation
Related Internet links
Towards one planet food - Final submission from the Food Industry Sustainability Strategy Champions Group on Ethical Trade
The champions’ group report on ethical food trade
The International Labour Organization (ILO)
A tripartite UN agency that brings together governments, employers and workers of its member states in common action to promote decent work throughout the world
The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI)
Promotes the improvement of corporate codes of practice which cover supply chain working conditions
Business Link
Guidance on the importance and benefit of ethical trade and social responsibility within business
Responsible Purchasing Initiative
Information and advice on responsible purchasing
Traidcraft
Fair trade organisation, fighting poverty through trade
Fairtrade
Independent consumer label that appears on products as a guarantee that disadvantaged producers in the developing world are getting a better deal
Social Accountability International (SAI)
Promotes human rights for workers around the world as a standards organisation, ethical supply chain resource and programs developer
Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA)
Stops the exploitation of workers by making it illegal to supply workers to agriculture, horticulture, forestry, shellfish gathering and associated processing and packaging industries without a GLA license
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