30 August 2019
Three trade unions – the IDUL, UNITE and NACTWU – and two women’s rights organisations – FIDA and WLSA – based in Lesotho have joined forces with the Worker Rights Consortium (WRC), the US independent labour rights organisation, to reach a series of agreements with the brands Levi Strauss, The Children’s Place and Kontoor Brands, as well as their international clothing supplier Nien Hsing Textile, based in Taiwan. The agreements cover a comprehensive pilot programme intended to prevent gender-based...
12 July 2019
With the Global Climate Strike, founded following the movement propelled by the emblematic Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg, having called for a global strike to protect the planet on 20 September, some employers are taking the lead on the matter, the Financial Times revealed in recent days. The British newspaper asked major employers what they plan to do when the day of the strike comes around. Patagonia, the US clothing brand, said that it always encourages its employees to campaign for the environment and even...
25 April 2019
In a press statement from 23 April 2019, Swedish clothing company H&M announced that for each of its garments it would be sharing details such as production country, supplier names, factory names and addresses, and the number of workers in the factories, and it emphasized the fact that ‘By sharing extended details on where our garments are made we make it easier for customers to make more informed choices when shopping.’
29 January 2019
Brazil’s Employment Ministry has fined both agri-food giants in an employment case that was ‘analogous to modern slavery.’ The Intercept Brasil website, in cooperation with the Reporter Brasil platform reported on this case on 28 January 2019. Prosecutors have identified 28 different street vendors of dairy products operating within a credit-based reselling system and in which those working go regularly unpaid. Transported into the poorest areas of the country these workers live together in unfit housing...
10 October 2018
Blockchain technology enables several sectors to access a single register that is decentralized, transparent, and by its construction, really tough to hack. In both the US and Europe, companies, NGOs, and public authorities are starting to conceive of ways to apply blockchain technology in the corporate CSR domain. A pilot project led by soft drinks producer Coca-Cola, the US State Department, and Blockchain experts (Blockchain Trust Accelerator, Bitfury Group et Emercoin) is seeking to deploy blockchain...
13 June 2018
Vigeo Eiris is a global provider of environmental, social and governance (ESG) research to investors and public and private corporates. The ESG ratings agency has recently published a report on the commitments and provisions pertaining to social dialogue by 2,400 listed companies. Social dialogue is seen as a subject largely swept under the carpet.
16 May 2018
The Responsible Business Forum think tank comprising from large company senior executives has just published its ‘Responsible Business in Poland. Good Practices 2017’ report, which reviews 1,190 good CSR-related business practices. The annual report is the largest CSR best practices compilation in Poland and for the 2017 edition 177 companies took part, 50 of which were SMEs. The number of good CSR practices has risen by 330, demonstrating companies’ deepening engagement. The Forum checked all the 1,190 good...
12 April 2018
It was almost five years ago when on 24 April 2013 the 8-storey Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed resulting in 1,134 fatalities and 2,000 injured. At the time the disaster caused a great deal of furore and several European and American contractors felt duty bound to intervene whereupon a five-year plan was devised and put in place. The plan is approaching its end date (May 2018)* and it is now time to take stock. Have the objectives been achieved? Is it time for those involved to leave? Are there still tasks requiring completion? Such are the questions that were debated at the New York Ford foundation and focused on during an...
17 November 2017
In its annual report, published on 15 November, the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety was positive on the progress it has made. The organisation, which is funded by leading US retailers, has pushed 234 different factories to undertake relevant construction work and has also provided mass training on fire safety.
6 November 2017
The first Business Against Slavery Forum was held in London in October. The event brought together the chief executives of eight leading UK companies, including banking groups Barclays and HSBC as well as luxury fashion brand Burberry, Associated British Foods and clothing retailer Primark. This meeting, the first of its kind, was organised by the UK’s Home Office, under the Modern Slavery Act. Its aim is to discuss measures that could be put in place to fight more effectively against slavery, which is plaguing...
