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There has been a large increase in social concerns over footwear produced in overseas countries over the last ten years or so, particularly, but not exclusively, in China, Vietnam, India and Brazil. Most consumers know this as "Child Labour", but the social concerns go much deeper than merely the employment of children in often dangerous factories.
Such diverse elements as fair pay, decent and safe working and living conditions, fair holidays and rest periods, quality dormitories, freedom of association, the use of forced labour, freedom of religion and expression and many others all make up detailed and complex ethical auditing criteria. Most UK Retailers and Brands include strict Ethical Trading standards in not only their Quality Manuals and Terms and Conditions, but as part of their Company Policy and ethos, clearly expressing their support of such standards to investors, pressure groups and public alike.
The public today expect that the products they are purchasing have not been manufactured by children or adults under any form of pressure, discrimination or intimidation and that they have been treated in a fair, reasonable and humane manner, paid well for their skills and are generally experiencing a fair and happy working environment. The question is whether a retailer or Brand would benefit from such positive marketing, shouting from the roof tops about their ethical trading policies and actions or whether everything they actually did to minimise such problems was already expected of them and taken for granted by the public? Would a consumer buy more from Brand X if Brand X continuously promoted such ethical standards and could support their actions with documentation, or whether sales would not be affected at all because either the consumer expects all of this anyway or just doesn’t care! If price, styling, colour and fit were equal, would consumer buy Brand X over Brand Y because of its promoted ethical stance? If the answer is yes, then there certainly isn’t much positive promotion in the media or in-stores to inform the public that a great deal of hard work is going on behind the scenes to ensure that their particular footwear is being made in factories which are regularly and rigorously audited by independent auditors. There are of course no guarantees of total compliance, but regular audits certainly achieve very significant improvements in working conditions.
Consumers need to ask their retailers if the shoes have been made in ethically audited factories. Retailers need to ask their suppliers the same question. And if consumers really are concerned about these social issues, then retailers need to tell them that work continues behind the scene to continuously improve the working and living conditions of its suppliers.
Burea Veritas is the world leader in Social Accountability. For further information contact Jack Brown at Burea Veritas Consumer Products Services. 0116 2785514 or e mail jack.brown@uk.bureauveritas.com .
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