Supply Chain
How organizations are working to address the myriad social, environmental and operational issues that can arise in complex supply chains
Fashion Brands Lagging in Efforts to Stop Exploitation of Refugees in Turkish Factories
Many clothes are now made in Turkey because of its proximity to Europe, allowing retailers to fill last-minute orders and get new designs into shops more quickly. But Turkey is a challenging place to do business, especially following the influx of al... View More
Diageo, General Mills, PepsiCo Among Food Giants Committing to Tackle Water Risks in Ag Supply Chains
As climate change, population growth and water pollution increase pressure on freshwater resources, seven global food and beverage companies today announced commitments to work with the thousands of growers in their global supply chains to reduce wat... View More
KnowTheChain Taking Food, Beverage Brands to Task for Failing to Address Forced Labor Risks
Every day we eat and drink products tainted by forced labor, a new report has found. Agricultural workers in particular, including migrants and women, are some of the poorest paid and most exploited workers in the world. Many work in harsh conditions... View More
MSC Continues to Make Waves: Sustainable Wild Catch Grows to 10% of Global Market
Sustainable fishing practices are having lasting impact on fish stocks and marine ecosystems, in part due to successful voluntary certification schemes such as that of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). The organization’s latest Annual Report, r... View More
Child Labor, the Clintons, and Changing How Things Are Made
It was a normal Friday afternoon. Actually, it was February 5, 2016. I was about to head out to meet friends for happy hour and was scanning through the reporting materials that Richardson Antoine, Thread’s Haiti Field Manager, had just sent me. ... View More
Court Sides with US Forest Service: Nestlé Can Keep Bottling Water Despite 'Outdated' Permit
On Wednesday, a federal court ruled in favor of the U.S. Forest Service regarding the lawsuit filed by environmental groups that sought to halt Nestlé Waters North America’s water-bottling operations in the San Bernardino Mountains. The motion was... View More
SAN, Rainforest Alliance Update Certification with Focus on Climate-Smart Ag, Curbing Deforestation
The Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) and the Rainforest Alliance announced today a newly revised certification standard, which encompasses existing best practices and recent innovations in sustainable agriculture. Built around the guiding princi... View More
Where’s the Deforestation-Free Beef? New Scorecard Finds No Stand-Out Leaders
A new scorecard released today examined thirteen global fast food, retail and food manufacturing companies and found that even the top-scoring of the group are failing to protect South American tropical forests from being converted to pasture for cat... View More
adidas, Woolworths Among Brands Saying YESS to Slavery-Free Cotton
Today, the Responsible Sourcing Network (RSN), a project of the nonprofit As You Sow, launched its newest initiative, YESS: Yarn Ethically & Sustainably Sourced. YESS will work to eradicate modern slavery in cotton harvesting and yarn production ... View More
First International Standard for Sustainable Procurement Is Almost Here
The number of standards for green products has grown in recent years due to increasing market demand for environmentally-preferable products, resulting in concerns over greenwashing and a need for an international standard. ISO has been working on su... View More
How BASF, Henkel Are Supporting Smallholders to Secure Supply of Sustainable Palm Oil
In recent years, palm oil has arguably become one of the world’s most ubiquitous and contentious raw materials in the consumer goods industry. When conventionally produced palm oil and palm kernel oil are used, there are significant economic, envir... View More
RSPO Recertifies IOI Group, But NGOs Have Yet to See ‘Real Action on the Ground’
Less than five months after the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) suspended Malaysian palm oil producer IOI Group’s certification, that suspension has been lifted – much to the dismay of NGO campaigners. While the RSPO’s Complaints Pane... View More
Tiffany & Co. Details Progress, Opportunities in Quest for Sustainable Luxury
This week, Tiffany & Co. released its sixth annual Sustainability Report, which outlines the jeweler’s continued progress in corporate social responsibility, commitment to the environment, and contributions to the communities across 30+ countri... View More
Trending: Rio 2016, McDonald’s, Subway Making Strides on Responsible Food Sourcing
Among the latest news in responsible food sourcing: The Rio 2016 Olympic and Paralympic Games will have the largest sustainable seafood offering to date of any Olympic or Paralympic Games; McDonald’s announced developments collectively impacting ne... View More
More, Better, Responsible Food: The Value of Sustainable Agriculture to Investors
The food industry widely recognizes a looming mountain it must climb: By 2050, the world population will grow by more than 2 billion, which will require upward of a 70 percent increase in food production. Along with this rise in demand, companies in ... View More
MSC Seeking Stakeholder Input on Enhanced Requirements for Labor Practices
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announced today it will be consulting stakeholders on a number of options aimed at providing the market with greater assurance that MSC-certified fisheries and supply chain companies meet internationally accepted ... View More
Innocent Drinks’ App Helps Farmers Cut Water Use by Up to 40%
In the south of Spain, unsustainable water use is threatening Doñana National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site and one of Europe’s most important wetlands. Located southwest of Seville, the Park supports millions of migratory birds and is a stro... View More
Greenpeace Reveals Brands Stumbling on the Catwalk to Toxin-Free Fashion
Since the “Detox My Fashion” campaign launched in 2011, 76 fashion brands, retailers and suppliers have committed to remove toxic chemicals from their supply chains by 2020, accounting for a combined 15 percent of global textile production. ... View More
A Busy Week for Palm Oil Sustainability: Indonesia Cops Out, Singapore Steps In
It was something of a ‘two steps forward, one step back’ kind of week in the ongoing quest for sustainable sourcing of palm oil — potentially the most prolific and embattled ingredient in the consumer goods industry. First, five multinationals ... View More
