SUPPLY CHAIN -
The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch® program, already the global standard for environmentally responsible seafood, has created a new tool that allows businesses to assess the potential risk of forced labor, human trafficking and child labor in fisheries.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
The cocoa industry is undoubtedly changing for the better, but the road to a sustainable sector is a long one. According to industry experts, long-term, sustainable change can’t be made without paying farmers a premium.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
On December 11, 2017, ahead of the One Planet Climate Summit, Crédit Agricole, Danone, Firmenich, Hermès, Michelin, SAP, Schneider Electric and Voyageurs du Monde will officially launch the new Livelihoods Carbon Fund.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
According to the World Health Organization (WTO) 1 in 3 people don’t have access to a clean and safe toilet. The Toilet Board Coalition (TBC), along with LIXIL Group Corporation (LIXIL) - a manufacturer of building materials, Firmenich and Kimberly-Clark are working together to transform sanitation systems into a smart, sustainable and revenue-generating economy.
FINANCE & INVESTMENT -
Certified B Corporation Thread is taking its commitment to end poverty by creating dignified jobs and responsible, high-quality fabrics to the next level with the announcement of a partnership with nonprofit Kiva. The startup, which transforms plastic bottles from the streets and canals of Haiti and Honduras into responsible fabrics, has used Kiva’s direct-to-social enterprise loan program to raise $10,000 for its zero-interest micro-loan program.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Four years after the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in which 1,134 people were killed, Fashion Revolution has released its 2017 Fashion Transparency Index, which ranks 100 of the biggest fashion companies on their social and environmental policies, practices and impacts.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
Seventy-five million people work directly in the fashion and textiles industry. Many are subject to exploitation; verbal and physical abuse, unsafe working conditions and poor pay. While some progress has been made since the collapse of the Rana Plaza garment factory in 2013, which killed 1,138 people, there is still a lot to be done.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
In celebration of World Water Day, brewer Stella Artois and National Geographic have joined forces to create Our Dream of Water, a documentary by Crystal Moselle spotlighting the effects of the global water crisis. The film, which was commissioned by Stella Artois, will premiere on National Geographic on March 22nd at 6:00 p.m. EST/PST. Our Dream of Water is an extension of the brewer’s Buy a Lady a Drink campaign, an ongoing partnership with Water.org.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
This year, Fashion Revolution’s annual campaign has expanded into a week-long series of events featuring hundreds of activities, stunts and social experiments across 84 countries worldwide. Throughout Fashion Revolution Week, April 18th to 24th, consumers will demand transparency and raise awareness of exploitation in the fashion supply chain by posting on social media using the hashtag #WhoMadeMyClothes.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
While these models were implemented with the best of intentions, their lack of a holistic approach to the problems they’re aiming to address undermines a key selling point for mission-driven business models: the mutual benefits of improved reputation and profits.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
On Friday, the second annual Fashion Revolution Day, people in 66 countries around the world will challenge global fashion brands to demonstrate commitment to transparency across the length of the value chain, from farmers to factory workers, brands to buyers and consumers.One in six people work in the global fashion supply chain. It is the most labor-dependent industry on the planet, yet the people who make our clothes are hidden from us, often at their own expense, a symptom of the broken links across the fashion industry.
CHEMISTRY, MATERIALS & PACKAGING -
As the effects of climate change on our global ecosystems continue to reveal themselves, fears are growing that it could threaten food security, particularly a vital source of protein that has sustained humans for centuries. Luckily, bean breeders at the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), a global food research consortium, have announced the discovery of 30 new lines of “heat-beater” beans that could keep production from crashing in large swaths of bean-dependent Latin America and Africa.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
Every day, women in developing countries spend a combined 200 million hours collecting clean water for their families. To raise awareness of this issue as part of the global water crisis and to help provide solutions, Belgian beer maker Stella Artois has launched its first global social impact campaign, “Buy a Lady a Drink.” With the support of Water.org and its co-founders Matt Damon and Gary White, “Buy a Lady a Drink” aims to help put a stop to these water-collecting journeys. The campaign formally launched on Friday at the Sundance Film Festival, of which Stella Artois is an annual sponsor.
ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE -
By creating an enabling environment to establish novel internal-management systems, Solidaridad's Better Mill Initiative has equipped textile-factory managers and workers to improve working conditions and livelihoods, and reduce the environmental impact of the factories.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
In 2013, West Elm committed to invest $35M in artisan partnerships around the world through 2015. These partnerships create a number of benefits for both West Elm and the artisans they collaborate with.
BEHAVIOR CHANGE -
When over 1,100 garment workers died in the Rana Plaza factory collapse in April 2013, it shined an unflinching light on the untenable conditions that many in the industry have long been forced to endure. Since then, consumers, activists and other stakeholders around the world have demanded that brands take immediate action to ensure that workers are not only safe, but paid fairly while they’re constructing the clothing we wear every day.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
The Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN), a nonprofit dedicated to ending human rights abuses associated with the raw materials found in everyday products, today released a new report, Cotton Sourcing Snapshot: A Survey of Corporate Practices to End Forced Labor. The report includes survey results and ratings of 49 companies in the apparel and home goods industries reflecting steps companies are taking to identify risks and establish procedures to prevent cotton from Uzbekistan picked with forced labor from entering their supply chains.
PRODUCT, SERVICE & DESIGN INNOVATION -
BioLite uses revenues from outdoor recreation products such as the CampStove to incubate products for emerging markets, most prominently the HomeStove. It's a market-based approach to addressing poverty, one that generates self-sustaining energy access as well as health- and time-saving benefits.
MARKETING AND COMMS -
For those within the fashion industry who have been working for many years to highlight the need for more transparent, traceable and accountable supply chains, the Rana Plaza disaster in Bangladesh was a metaphorical call to arms. The days following the tragedy saw a plethora of articles calling for a more ethical fashion industry and we looked for ways to channel this energy and momentum into lasting change.
SUPPLY CHAIN -
Fair Trade USA has partnered with nonprofit Kiva to help small-scale coffee farmers access financing, improve crop quality and invest in the future of their families and communities.The partnership resulted from a successful collaboration last year between Fair Trade USA, Kiva and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters to pilot Kiva’s first agricultural lending program with a Fair Trade coffee cooperative in Mexico. Kiva says its lenders around the world fully funded nearly all of the loans, which benefited hundreds of small farmers working to prepare their fields for harvest.