Interviews
ICAC workshop talks about sustainability
02 Jun '11
4 min read
While acknowledging that children's work is often necessary and sometimes beneficial, panelists affirmed that human rights are universal rights and that economic exploitation of children is wrong. Panelists noted that their companies have in place specific programs to curtail exploitation of children in their value chains.
Panelists noted that there is a whole sphere of metrics beyond labor standards, including energy use, water quality, wages, working conditions, and environmental impacts of production practices.
Transparency:
In response to a question about transparency, panelists reported that the audit reports of compliance with social standards by each company are publicly available. It was noted that certification programs could provide traceability, but that scaling across an industry with 250 million participants is a challenge. Mainstream programs such as BCI and CmiA may be an answer to the issue of scalability. Given the complexity of the cotton value chain from farmers to retail, a pull-through system that allows retailers to pay the costs of certification by charging price premiums will be inherently difficult to implement, but BCI is showing progress towards overcoming the challenge of implementing a workable system
Role of Governments:
Panelist agreed that positive impacts from cotton production and trade are more likely to be achieved in an environment of responsible production practices. Panelists reiterated that governments could support growth in the cotton value chain by ensuring land rights and contract enforcement, by investing in research and extension, and by enforcing social and environmental standards consistent with international norms.
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Panelists noted that there is a whole sphere of metrics beyond labor standards, including energy use, water quality, wages, working conditions, and environmental impacts of production practices.
Transparency:
In response to a question about transparency, panelists reported that the audit reports of compliance with social standards by each company are publicly available. It was noted that certification programs could provide traceability, but that scaling across an industry with 250 million participants is a challenge. Mainstream programs such as BCI and CmiA may be an answer to the issue of scalability. Given the complexity of the cotton value chain from farmers to retail, a pull-through system that allows retailers to pay the costs of certification by charging price premiums will be inherently difficult to implement, but BCI is showing progress towards overcoming the challenge of implementing a workable system
Role of Governments:
Panelist agreed that positive impacts from cotton production and trade are more likely to be achieved in an environment of responsible production practices. Panelists reiterated that governments could support growth in the cotton value chain by ensuring land rights and contract enforcement, by investing in research and extension, and by enforcing social and environmental standards consistent with international norms.
Click here for more details
International Cotton Advisory Committee (ICAC)
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Kimberly Morgan and Rik Veltman
K3 Business Technology Group PLC
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