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158 JanFeb 2016w
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ethicalconsumerorg
How campaigning is making fashion more ethical
Product guides toClothes shopsJeansWaterproof jackets
PlusCorporate lobbying in the run-up to COP21
Synthetic biology ndash good or bad
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Editorialethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
In future issues Cameras Digital amp cable TV Mobile phones LED TVs Banks Shoes Sportswear
Billions of collective actions against climate changeThe COP21 climate negotiations in December and the bombings in Paris and Syria in November have cast a shadow over most other activities recently ndash perhaps allowing us to view our actions with a different perspective
And although the likely outcome of the COP 21 negotiations will not be an agreement which can keep temperature increases below the key target of a two degrees rise there are perhaps surprisingly voices of optimism still at play
A new book by climate expert Tim Flannery called Climate of Hope has some positive things to say not just about new carbon sequestration technologies but also about individual lsquoconsumerrsquo actions
ldquoIn early 2015 the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced that in 2014 global emissions of greenhouse gases ldquostalledrdquoTwo factors appear to account for this historic shift the rise of wind and solar power and greater energy efficiency
For more than a decade now many of us have been changing light bulbs insulating houses cycling to work and much more ndash all too often with little hope that it makes very little difference But the IEA figures tell us that our billions of collective actions have added up to something massive They have seen many developed nations pass peak oil and coal demand as our cities and farms become ever cleaner and more efficientrdquo1
He is also optimistic because of the impact of digital technologies on the empowerment of individuals ldquoDigital communications has brought new opportunities for divestment effective dissent encouraging uptake of new technologies and for legal actionrdquo2
The feature on COP21 on page 36 looks at corporate lobbying in the run-up to the summit and finds companies both lobbying for and against climate action at the same time
Progress on ethical clothingOur special report on clothing also finds grounds for optimism After many years of campaigning some progress has been been made in the areas of wages and working conditions the use of child and forced labour transparency of supply chains toxic chemicals and the use of animal fur and down
The Bangladesh Accord for factory safety has been signed by over 220 clothes companies with the notable exceptions of Walmart (ASDA) and GAP The Accord requires companies to be transparent in their reporting and shows that companies can work together within a legally-binding framework It is hoped that the Accord will set a precedent for other initiatives The Modern Slavery Act could also have a positive impact on the lives of garment workers
But itrsquos not just about what initiatives theyrsquove signed up to and having lsquobest practicersquo policies on paper Companies need to be making progress on the ground and that still seems a way off Virtually all the clothes shops have been criticised for workersrsquo rights violations despite most of them having lsquobest practicersquo supply chain policies
We are inching forward on the catwalk to ethical fashion but therersquos still a long way to go
and animal testingNow in its fourth year the Lush Prize is a joint project between Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics which aims to bring an end to the safety testing of products on animals This year saw the first lsquobreakthroughrsquo prize given to a group of scientists who had mapped the first ever human lsquotoxicity pathwayrsquo which explains ndash at a molecular level ndash how cell damage occurs More information appears on our special two page feature on page 32
Jane Turner Editor
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombooks2015nov20climate-crisis-future-brighter-tim-flannery 2 Climate of Hope Tim Flannery Penguin 2015
Ethical Consumer Research Association Ltd
Unit 21 1 Old Birley StreetManchester M15 5RF
tel 0161 226 2929 (12 noon-6pm)fax 0161 226 6277email enquiriesethicalconsumerorg for general enquiries or shopethicalconsumerorg for subscriptions
comment ampanalysis06 food
Bacardi campaign Thorntons sold John West tuna Nestleacute water grab Pepsi amp palm oil
08 home animal testing figures
09 boycotts Israel campaign successes Ben amp Jerryrsquos
32 Lush Prize news amp photos from the recent conference amp awards
35 tax justice Fair Tax Mark news
39 climate of change fossil fuel divestments Shell amp Science Museum ranking airlinesrsquo CO
2 emissions
2 money banks amp nuclear weapons RBS sale Co-op Bank news ethical amp green funds
whorsquos who this Issuersquos editor Jane Turner amp Tim Huntproofing Ciara Maginness (littlebluepencilcouk)writersresearchers Jane Turner Tim Hunt Leonie Nimmo Rob Harrison Heather Webb Anna Clayton Joanna Long Josie Wexler Ruth Strangeregular contributors Simon Birch Bryony Moore Richard Murphy design and layout Adele Armistead (moonloftcom) Jane Turnercover Dreamstimecom Adele Armistead (moonloftcom)cartoons Marc Roberts Sarah Guthrie Andy Vine Richard Liptrotad sales Simon Birchsubscriptions Elizabeth Chater Heather Webb Simon Robinsonenquiries Leonie Nimmo Tim Huntpress enquiries Simon Birchresearch screening amp consultancy Rob Harrison internetweb Michael Wignall Georgina Rawesmarketing Tim Hunt Jane Turnerthanks also to Amy Shakeshaft Suzanne Hatton Eleanor Boyce
subscriptions amp renewalsPhone 0161 226 2929 or go to wwwethicalconsumerorg
copyrightAll material correct one month before cover date and copy Ethical Consumer Research Association Ltd Not-for-profit organisations may normally reproduce without charge any of the material appearing in Ethical Consumer providing that all such material is credited and providing that written permission has been sought prior to publication No part of this publication may be produced by commercial organisations without written permission from Ethical Consumer Research Association Ltd ISSN 0955 8608
Printed by RAP Spiderweb Ltd co the Commercial Centre Clowes Centre Hollinwood Oldham OL9 7LY 0161 947 3700
Paper The cover is printed on 170gsm Cocoon Silk 100 post-consumer waste and the inside pages on 80gsm Corona from 100 post-consumer waste Paper is sourced from recycled paper co-op Paperback (httppaperbackcoop)
Retail distribution is handled by Central Books on 0845 458 9911
Ethical Consumer is a member of INK (independent news collective) an association of radical and alternative publishers
about the advertisersECRA checks out advertisers before accepting their ads and reserves the right to refuse any advert
Covered in previous Product Guides Biona (156) Co-operative phone amp broadband (145) Good Energy (143) Kingfisher Toothpaste (138) Plamil (150) Triodos (147) Vegetarian Shoes (137)
Other advertisers Book Aid Camphill Trust Clean Slate Energy4All Green Building Store Greenpeace Green Stationery Infinity Wholefoods Investing Ethically Oasis coffins Share Energy
wwwinkukcom
Ethical Consumer conference 2015
details of this yearrsquos conference in September
32
Clothes report10 introduction
1themodernslaveryact
16factorysafetypost-RanaPlaza
18campaigningforalivingwage
19clothescampaignsUzbekcottonfurforest-friendlyfashion
24 longer-lastingclothes
ChristmasgiftsubscriptionsGiveagiftthatlastsayear
lettersaregularforumforreadersrsquoviews
insideviewBlackFridayrsquosshoppingfenzy
43
44
46
Contentsethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
featuressyntheticbiologycontroversyoverEcoverrsquosuseofabiotechingredient
corporatelobbyingintherun-uptotheCOP21climatesummit
waterproof jackets26 score table and best buys28toxicchemicalsinwaterproofs
29thecrueltybehinddown-filledjackets
12
36
10
30
36
clothes shops12score table
and best buys
jeans20 score table and best buys23sustainablejeans
20
26
FoodJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 wwwethicalconsumerorg
Bacardi Give sugarcane workers a breakDrinks brand Bacardi has come under fire from several campaign groups over the conditions in its sugar supply chain
According to campaign group Fairfood International in the last decade 20000 agricultural workers have died from Chronic Kidney Disease of non-Traditional Causes (CKDnT) the majority of them are sugarcane workers
Three of the most likely causes of CKDnT are dehydration heat stress and exposure to agrochemicals The sugarcane industry in Central America is beset by poor working conditions such as long working days and heavy physical work with little access to water and shade which most likely contribute to the onset of the disease
The documentary lsquoUnder Canersquo by filmmaker Ed Kashi shows how harsh the working conditions of sugarcane workers are and the devastating effect of this fatal kidney disease See the video at wwwfairfoodorg
Campaign groups Fairfood International and The SumofUs are targeting Bacardi which does business directly with sugarcane mills in Guatemala and could help stop the epidemic Campaigners say that there are several simple steps that could be taken to stop the problem including
Better access to sufficient clean drinking water
Better access to shade
More regular breaks
Reduced working hours thus decreasing physical strain
Bacardi said in a statement
ldquoBacardi takes the unsubstantiated Fairfood International allegations made about its supply chain and human rights initiatives seriously as the Company operates in full compliance with all trade regulations and lawshellipSpecifically we do not source any product from Nicaragua and we have only continued to work with the two organizations we source from in Guatemala because they have committed to improving their practices and getting and maintaining certifiedhelliprdquo
Sign the SumofUs petition at httpactionsumofusorg
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Not just tunaPeople have been fighting destructive fishing for many years But increasingly we are seeing harm caused to more than just our oceans wersquore seeing the abuse and enslavement of people
Over the last year a series of shocking stories have come to light that expose the true cost of the tuna we consume
The truth is that our seafood is often the product of human trafficking and enslavement Thai Union the owner of John West tinned tuna is embroiled in the scandal
Fishers working in the Thai seafood industry have usually been encouraged to leave their families on the promise of a well-paid job to support their family For others the situation is even more extreme they were sold against their will and prevented from going home at gunpoint
Brought into Thailand illegally if they disobey the people who trafficked them they are threatened with arrest and imprisonment Many see no choice but to accept their fate and they remain on the ships for years on end
Therersquos no doubt that our desire for cheap tuna has helped cause the environmental degradation and human rights abuses we see in the seafood industry today
But if tuna companies stop paying for fish tainted by human trafficking and abuse fishing vessels with these practices will become unprofitable Greenpeace are calling on Thai Union to stop buying from fisheries where labour or human rights abuses are present
Greenpeace is targeting John West Almost 100000 people have pledged to stop buying John West tuna 50000 people have sent direct messages to Thai Union and John West
Join the campaign
Sign the pledge amp Email John West amp Thai Union httpssecuregreenpeaceorgukpagesnot-just-tuna
Write on John Westrsquos Facebook page wwwfacebookcomjohnwestuk
Tweet your NotJohnWest sandwich and let them know their behaviour is bad for business
Nestleacute water grab in OregonNestleacute has been planning on pumping fresh water out of Cascade Locks Oregon to bottle and sell for profit ndash a plan that local residents have been fighting for the last six years
Now as the plan closes in residents have launched a historic ballot initiative to prevent any major bottled water company from commercialising water anywhere in the region This legislation could serve as a national benchmark and a crucial model to any region around the world looking to keep its natural resources out of the reach of Big Bottled Water The
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bull
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Sugarcane cutters need access to unlimited clean drinking water and shade regular breaks shorter working hours and less physical strain
Fairf
ood
Inte
rnat
iona
l
Foodwwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
ballot measure has been filed and Oregon residents are furiously collecting signatures in the area to get the initiative on the ticket for the next yearrsquos election
This ballot measure comes at a crucial moment As the world eyes an impending water crisis brought on by climate change and the mismanagement of natural resources corporations like Nestleacute and Coca-Cola are eyeing precious natural water reserves too often in economically desperate areas that are themselves facing water shortages
Sign the SumofUs petition showing your support for the people-powered initiative in Oregon to stop Nestleacute from privatising public water ndash httpactionsumofusorgaoregon-david-goliath-nestle
Thorntons sold to Italian FerreroThe Italian chocolate company Ferrero famed for its provision of gold foil wrapped chocolates at ambassadorsrsquo parties has bought one of the most familiar brands on the UK high street Thorntons
The change does little to alter the brandsrsquo overall scores but Ferrero gets a best rating for palm oil policy and environmental reporting whilst Thorntons gets worst for both We hope that the better policies of the parent company will now also lift Thorntonsrsquo operations
Once seen as luxurious and upmarket Thorntons has lost out to the likes of Hotel Chocolat and Lindt Such was the competitive pressure that in 2007 one of Thorntonsrsquo master chocolatiers Barry Colenso was forced to resign in disgrace after being caught squashing truffles in one of competitor Hotel Chocolatrsquos stores
The buyout marks the loss of one of Britainrsquos last remaining home-grown chocolate brands to an overseas buyer Cadbury and Green amp Blackrsquos were sold to the US confectionery business Kraft Foods Inc ndash now renamed Mondelez ndash in 2009 while Rowntree the company which developed the Kit Kat and Aero was sold to the Swiss Nestleacute in 1988
The deal will enable Ferrero to become the UKrsquos fourth-largest chocolate brand ndash behind Mondelez Mars and Nestleacute Other brands owned by Ferrero are Nutella and Kinder
In June Francersquos ecology minister Seacutegolegravene Royal urged the public to boycott Nutella saying its use of palm oil contributes to deforestation She later had to apologise when Greenpeace and WWF leapt to the companyrsquos defence saying that Ferrero actually goes much further than most competitors on the responsible sourcing of palm oil
Pepsi lags behind on palm oilThe Rainforest Alliance has launched a new campaign against Pepsi over what it describes as a ldquoloopholerdquo in its new palm oil policy
PepsiCo has committed to cutting conflict palm oil from its supply chains everywhere but Indonesia the worldrsquos biggest palm oil producing country Its new policy exempts its Indofood partner which produces PepsiCo products containing palm oil in Indonesia
Moreover the policy commits to only source RSPO certified palm oil by 2020 Most lsquofront runnersrsquo have adopted 2015 as the year to fully meet their palm oil commitments
According to Rainforest Action Network ldquoThis latest move falls below the standard set by PepsiCorsquos peers which have recognized the need to go beyond sourcing Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified palm oil The RSPO is a scheme that permits the destruction of forests peatlands and has a poor track record of upholding the rights of local communities and workersrdquo
McDonaldrsquos and Yum Brands (owner of KFC Pizza Hut and Taco Bell) have both come out with zero-deforestation policies this year
RAN continues ldquoPepsiCo uses an immense amount of palm oil its annual consumption could fill enough Pepsi soda cans full of palm oil to circle the earth at the equator four times Put another way the tropical land base needed to feed PepsiCorsquos global appetite for palm oil each year is a quarter million acres of land most of which used to be rainforest Due to its size and influence PepsiCo has a key role to play in halting the destruction of Indonesiarsquos forests bulldozed for palm oilrdquo
People took action around the globe to close this destructive loophole They labelled PepsiCo vending machines and store displays lsquoOut of Orderrsquo
Pepsi brands in the UK are Walkers crisps Doritos Snack a Jacks Quaker Oats Scottrsquos Porage Oats Tropicana Copella Gatorade Mountain Dew V Water Naked juice and Nobbyrsquos Nuts
What you can do
Email PepsiCorsquos CEO Ms Indra Nooyi here and demand that it close the loophole in its palm oil policy wwwranorgpepsi_loophole
Post on PepsiCorsquos Facebook page wwwfacebookcomPepsiUS
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120 tribal members residents and concerned citizens rallied in Salem to protect Oregonrsquos water from Nestleacute
Keep
Nes
tle O
ut o
f the
Gor
ge C
oalit
ion
HomeJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 wwwethicalconsumerorg
Investment in technology which can replace animals in experiments stood at pound8 million in 2014 However funding for the research councils which develop animal-based tests ran to pound300 million
What can consumers do
Use the sliders next to the score tables on our product guide pages on the website so that you can just rate the brands on animal testing
Choose cruelty-free products from companies that donrsquot test on animals See Naturewatchrsquos Compassionate Shopping Guide available for pound5 from httpnaturewatchorgcompassionate-shopping
Support companies such as Lush Cosmetics who are fighting animal testing See the Lush Prize page for details of this yearrsquos pound450000 given by them to those developing non-animal testing methods For more on the Lush Prize see page 32
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Underwear Best Buy foldsUnfortunately the Who Made My Pants brand of womenrsquos underwear has had to close
The brand was set up in 2008 by Welsh businesswoman Becky John She said ldquoWe have struggled to achieve sustainable levels of production and this coupled with inconsistent supply of raw materials has meant it was always a struggle to sell the pants at a high enough margin to pay for our overheads and therefore cash flow has been a constant issue for usrdquo
Who Made Your Pants started after Ms John attended an Amnesty meeting in Southampton She had been a member of the human rights organisation since she was a teenager and at that meeting she saw a presentation from a group that worked with refugees in the area Who Made Your Pants employed women from refugee backgrounds from countries such as Sudan Somalia and Afghanistan
Who Made Your Pants was a Best Buy in our underwear guide That leaves Pants to Poverty who offer Fairtrade and organic certified pants We also recommended certified organic or Fairtrade underwear from the following companies Peau Ethique Living Crafts Do You Green Greenfibres and Cock amp Bull
New pet food Best BuyWe have just added a new brand to the pet food guides that we published in the last Issue ndash Lilyrsquos Kitchenrsquos organic varieties It makes organic and lsquonaturalrsquo meat cat and dog food
The range is currently available nationwide in Waitrose Tesco and Ocado as well as in wholefood shops vet surgeries organic health food shops and pet shops
Lilyrsquos Kitchen recently became a founding UK member of the global B Corp community Like Patagonia in the Waterproofs guide B Corps are legally required to serve stakeholders ndash workers communities and the wider environment ndash as well as shareholders through explicit reference to the triple bottom line They are certified in the UK by B Lab a non-profit organisation that assesses transparency accountability and performance
Animal experiments in the UKHome Office statistics published in October show that British universities companies government bodies and charities completed 387 million tests involving 38 million living animals in 2014 including horses dogs cats monkeys and cattle
UK laboratories regularly refer to the UK policy of replacing refining and reducing (3Rs) the use of animals in experiments but cleverly avoid acknowledging the total absence of any progress towards these goals ldquoClaims for the replacement refinement and reduction of the use of animals are not only hollow but also misleadingrdquo states animal welfare group the Naturewatch Foundation The statistics on animal use covering 2014 indicate a reduction in the total number of experiments of around 7 for that year
However a change in the reporting of data from experiments underway to experiments completed means that there is likely to have been no reduction at all
Statistics also donrsquot reveal these facts
More than a third of European tests involving live animals take place in the UK
Many animals bred for experiments donrsquot meet the requirements for inclusion in a trial and are euthanised with the result that the true number of animals affected will remain unknown
In August this year the Home Office approved plans for a new facility to breed and house beagle dogs without any access to outdoor space exclusively for sale to animal testing facilities This decision is particularly shocking because the approval was given to a company whose executives were arrested in Italy this year for institutional cruelty to animals Cruelty Free International has launched legal proceedings against the Home Office decision See wwwcrueltyfreeinternationalorgfighting-yorkshire-beagles-high-court
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Boycottsethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Barclays divests from Israeli arms companyHigh street bank Barclays is no longer listed as a shareholder in Israeli arms company Elbit Systems according to BDS
The news follows a high profile campaign launched after Barclays was named as a shareholder of the company owning $29 million worth of shares
The concerted campaign featured a petition signed by more than 17 million people and organised by Avaaz calling on Barclays to divest from Elbit Systems Campaigners occupied and protested at bank branches across the UK
The arms company has been the target of campaigners over its manufacture of drones used in Israelrsquos attacks on Palestinians and its role in building the illegal Apartheid Wall in occupied Palestine
Mahmoud Nawajaa co-ordinator with the Palestinian BDS National Committee the Palestinian civil society coalition that leads and supports the BDS movement said
ldquoWe hope that Barclays will now commit to not allowing clients to buy or sell Elbit shares on its platform and to making it clear to all its clients that Elbit is deeply complicit with Israeli violations of international lawrdquo
Veolia withdraws from Israel
The BDS movement celebrated another victory as long standing boycott target Veolia withdrew from its contracts in Jerusalem
After years of pressure the French corporation cut its ties with the Jerusalem Light Rail (JLR) project a railway that campaigners say is illegal and built to facilitate the growth and expansion of Israeli colonial settlements on occupied Palestinian territory
The sale of its stake in the JLR project ends all of Veoliarsquos involvement in the Israeli market
Veolia sold nearly all of its business operations in Israel in April 2015 but had until now remained a 5 shareholder in the JLR project
According to the BDS movement Veoliarsquos involvement in the project and the subsequent boycott had lead it to lose a slew of contracts across the world
For example in 2014 Kuwait Cityrsquos council excluded Veolia from a tender for the treatment of solid waste worth $750 million
Boycott Ben amp Jerryrsquos
Unilever subsidiary Ben amp Jerryrsquos has been added to the list of companies boycotted by BDS
The call comes due to the brandrsquos long-standing contractual relationship with an Israeli franchise that manufactures ice cream in Israel and sells it in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
Campaigners say that Ben amp Jerryrsquos Social Mission and ldquohistory of supporting progressive causes cannot be reconciled with its franchisersquos commercial ties to the settlementsrdquo
Since 2013 thousands of individuals and 239 organisations in 20 countries including Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory have called on Ben amp Jerryrsquos to put an end to its franchisersquos business in Israeli settlements
Jeff Furman chairperson of Ben amp Jerryrsquos Board of Directors travelled to occupied Palestine in 2012 with a group of American civil rightsrsquo leaders He described what he saw there as ldquoapartheidrdquo In spite of all this the company has refused not only to stop its practices but to even issue a statement calling for an end to Israelrsquos occupation and settlements
On the announcement of the boycott Ben amp Jerryrsquos released the following statement
ldquoBen amp Jerryrsquos corporate organization based in the US does not retain any profits from the business in Israel The company remains committed to contributing 100 of the net licensing fee to foster multicultural programs and values-led ingredient sourcing initiatives in the regionrdquo
Groups across the UK occupied and held protests at Barclays banks as part of the campaign
See the Top 10 BDS consumer boycott targets on our website at wwwethicalconsumerorgboycottsboycottslistisrael
News from the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement
In 2005 Palestinian civil society issued a call for boycotts divestment and sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law and universal principles of human rights The resulting movement is aimed at consumers (boycott) institutional investors (divestment) and states (sanctions)
10
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
This special report on clothing contains guides to clothes shops jeans and waterproof jackets We
also look at a few lsquoe-tailersrsquo (online clothes shops) and report on the latest clothing campaigns
Progress on the high streetTwo themes which have become apparent during our research for these guides are the positive impact of campaign action and the increase in transparency in some areas of the clothing industry
Small steps have been made on the catwalk to ethical fashion
The Bangladesh Accord has paved the way for future positive initiatives in more than just the field of workersrsquo rights by demonstrating that itrsquos possible to have a large number of companies working together within a legally-binding framework The level of transparency required by the Accord sets a new precedent and has set the bar for companiesrsquo future reporting Over two hundred companies have signed the Bangladeshi Accord on Fire and Factory Safety ndash see page 16 for more details
In October 2015 the UK Government enacted the Modern Slavery Act another piece of legislation which will force companies to be more transparent about whether slave labour is being used within their supply chains On page 15 campaigners tell us why they remain sceptical about how the new legislation will work in practice but why they also think it is a step in the right direction
Progress has also been made on other issues as a result of campaigns
160 companies have signed the Cotton Pledge against child and forced labour in Uzbekistan ndash see page 19There has been an increase in awareness among brands on the issue of living wages as a core issue ndash see page 1810 of the global retail fashion industry has committed to get rid of toxic chemicals by 2020 ndash see oppositeOutdoor companies are leading the way in cleaning up their goose and duck down supply chains ndash see page 29
An industry-wide problemWhile it is often the big high-street retailers who are the focus of campaigns it is worth remembering that the issues are endemic to the whole clothing industry Some retailers on the table such as Matalan score comparatively highly However this may reflect the fact that theyrsquove dodged criticisms rather than the fact that theyrsquore one step ahead on sustainability
Campaign actions get results But because there are such a large number of clothing brands campaigners canrsquot reach them all So certain companies (generally those with the biggest market share or whose labels have been uncovered in a sweatshop) find themselves targeted by campaigners more often With building pressure from customers these companies are forced to make efforts to clean up their act Meanwhile the ones left out of the spotlight are able to hide in the shadows
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The catwalk to ethical fashionHeather Webb Josie Wexler Ruth Strange and Bryony Moore provide an update on the progress made in the clothing industry
and allow others to take the flakIn order to reflect this in our ratings
we follow campaignersrsquo leads and request policies from companies on the issues they raise
For example all companies in this issue were asked for a policy on hazardous chemicals following Greenpeacersquos Detox campaign lead We also asked all companies for a cotton sourcing policy which matched the asks of the Responsible Sourcing Network on Uzbek cotton In this way we support campaigners in driving up standards
Supply chainsIn these guides we notice that nearly half of the big clothes shops and jeans companies are now scoring our best rating for their supply chain management an improvement since we last looked at the sector
This has been the result of many years of campaigns against clothing retailers to improve working conditions of workers within their supply chains
Yet even with companies achieving high scores for having best practice policies for workersrsquo rights in their supply chains investigations are still finding issues Virtually all of the clothes shops still get a worst rating in our Workersrsquo Rights column as do half of the outdoor gear and jeans companies
For example a report by SOMO and the India Committee of the Netherlands in October 2014 highlighted the abuse of girls and women workers in the South Indian textile industry Companies such as HampM and Next who get our best
copy G
reen
peac
e
Hat
i Kec
il V
isua
ls
11
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
rating for supply chain management were said to be sourcing from these factories Subsequently HampM stopped using the factories but nevertheless it highlights the complexity of supply chains and the need to closely monitor what is going on
Made in Europe
Due to complex supply chains and poor workersrsquo rights issues in Asia it is perhaps unsurprising to find that many clothing companies are now looking to bring production back to Europe and in some cases back to the UK Plus as the Guardian reported ldquoWhen a country such as Turkey Portugal Romania Slovakia or Bulgaria appears on a label the brand may also get a boost to their reputation as consumers assume the ethics behind a skirt made in Portugal are better than those behind one made in Chinardquo
But sadly it seems that this doesnrsquot guarantee that the clothes are made in decent conditions In 2014 the Clean Clothes Campaign released a report on clothing factories in eastern Europe It details appallingly low wages long hours and abuse Safety issues may not be at the same rock-bottom level as in parts of Asia
but Bulgaria Macedonia and Romania all have lower minimum wages than China2
Environment
Toxic chemicals
In July 2011 Greenpeace released its first report exposing the hidden links between textile manufacturing facilities in China that discharge hazardous chemicals into the water and international brands such as the sportswear giants Nike and Adidas That report gave rise to the Detox Campaign which called on companies to make a commitment to eliminate toxic chemicals from their supply chains by 2020
By March 2015 18 clothing companies had made the commitment
Of the clothes shops and jeans companies we have covered in our guides the following were rated by Greenpeace
Detox leaders G Star RAW HampM Levi Strauss MampS Primark and Fast Retailing (Uniqlo)Detox losers GAP and PVH (Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger)
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bull
Greenpeacersquos latest Detox report focuses on the outdoor industry and its use of PFCs ndash toxic chemicals used for waterproofing See page 28
Environmental reporting
Unfortunately a majority of companies are still not reporting on what steps they are taking to improve the environmental impact of their factories and of their products 64 of the companies we have covered scored our worst rating in this category Outdoor companies fared the worst whilst jeans companies did best
References 1 Gisela Burckhardt Price does not guarantee fairness 2015 2 Clean Clothes Campaign Stitched Up 2014 3 Business Human Rights Know the Chain ndash See which companies do and do not have statements under the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act January 2014 4 Lexology Recent developments in US legislation on modern slavery September 2014 wwwlexologycomlibrarydetailaspxg=f9b4675d-c785-4ac1-9d3d-7ed6346fb1cb 5 wwwlivingwagenoweuuploadsimagesPanel_introduction_EU_Flagship_webpdf 6 The White House Press Release G-7 Leaders Declaration June 8th 2015 wwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20150608g-7-leaders-declaration 7 SEDEX Modern Slavery Act 2015 wwwsedexglobalcomwp-contentuploads201106The-UK-Modern-Slavery-Act-20151pdf
Clothing product guides onlineOther clothing-related guides on our website are Online Clothing Retailers Alternative Clothing Companies Underwear Shoes Trainers Sportswear Walking boots and Fleeces Go to wwwethicalconsumerorgbuyersguidesclothing
The journey towards transparencyFinally we are seeing the beginnings of legislation on supply chain issues for which campaigners have been calling for years
From 2010 the
Transparency in Supply Chains Act has required that
large companies in California USA disclose the efforts they were
making to eradicate human trafficking and slavery from their supply chains
However research has found that many companies have not been complying3 and that they have
not been penalised for non-compliance4
2010 2014 2015 2015
2015
The EU Non-Financial
Reporting directive came into force on the 6th
December 2014 It requires large listed companies to disclose policies and risks regarding social issues respect for human rights
anti-corruption and bribery EU Member States have two
years to transpose it into national legislation
The EU convened
a multi-stakeholder forum on responsible management of the
garment supply chain with representatives of industry trade
unions retailers and workersrsquo rights organisations looking at a potential EU flagship initiative and what form
this might take5
A G7 Joint Declaration promised
to ldquostrive for better application of internationally
recognised labour social and environmental
standards principles and commitments in global
supply chainsrdquo6
This year saw the
arrival of the Modern Slavery Act in the UK The
Act includes the Transparency in Supply Chains Clause which
as of October 2015 requires large UK companies to
publish an annual slavery and human trafficking
statement7
12
ProductGUIDE
This guide examines the ten biggest selling UK high-street clothes shops as well as four supermarkets that are in the top 20 UK clothes sellers ASDA Tesco John Lewis and Sainsburyrsquos1 and the top three e-tailers (online clothes retailers) Of the e-tailers only ASOS manufactures its own clothes The other two Amazon and Net-a-Porter are just marketplaces although Amazon has been talking about starting to make its own line of clothes in the future2
The lowdown on high street clothes shops
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
HampM [O] 9 h H h h H H h H 1 Ramsbury Invest AB
HampM 8 h H h h H H h H Ramsbury Invest AB
New Look 8 h h H h h H H h h Brait SE New Look
Matalan 75 H H h h H H h H Hargreaves family
ASOS 7 H H H h H h h H h ASOS plc
Burton 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Dorothy Perkins 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Evans 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
John Lewis [O] 7 h H H H H H H H h h E 1 John Lewis Partnership
Miss Selfridge 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Topman Topshop 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Wallis 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Debenhams 65 H H h h H H h h h H Debenhams plc
Next 65 H H h h H H h H H Next plc
John Lewis 6 h H H H H H H H h h E John Lewis Partnership
Net-a-Porter 6 H H h H H H H h H Yoox spa
TK Maxx 5 H H H H H H H h h H TJX Companies inc
MampS 4 H H h h H H H H h h H H Marks and Spencer Group
River Island 35 H h H h H H H H H h h h H LFH International
Primark 3 H h H h H H H H H h h H H Garfield Weston Foundation
Sainsburyrsquos TU 25 h H H h H H H h H h H h H H J Sainsbury plc
Tesco FampF 25 h H H H h H H H H H h H H Tesco plc
Amazon 05 H H H H H H H H H H h H H H Amazoncom
ASDA George 05 h H H H H H H H H h H H h H H Walmart
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers [O] = organic
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Whatrsquos the yarn on the high street Josie Wexler examines the ethics of the top selling high-street shops and e-tailers
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
13
ProductGUIDE
Whilst not eligible for the Best Buy Label MampS is our recommended high street clothes shop
It scores low in our table because we rate companies
at group level and as it is also a supermarket it picks up a lot of negative marks in areas such as selling animal-tested products or factory-farmed meat But it scores high for its clothes policies (see Company Profiles overleaf)
We also recommend HampM and John Lewisrsquos organic clothing ranges
Our recommended e-tailer is ASOS
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Supply chainsAfter countless media exposeacutes on bad working conditions many high-street clothing shops are now making quite an effort to talk up their supply chain policies Next MampS Arcadia New Look Primark HampM Tesco and John Lewis all received our best rating for supply chain management
We are pleased that pressure has led to clothing retailers taking more responsibility for their supply chains although there are still many industry-wide issues that badly need to be addressed We look at the progress being made towards living wages and safe working conditions on pages 16 and 18
In light of this progress it is very disappointing that there are companies in this report who still have very little to say on the whole subject TK Maxx Matalan River Island Amazon and Net-a-Porter all received our worst rating in this category Matalan in particular have hardly any publicly available information
Sustainable clothesThere is a general lack of Fairtrade organic and recycled clothes on the high street although John Lewis and HampM do sell organic clothes
However one thing that has happened recently is that a couple of companies have started their own clothes recycling schemes See the lsquoLonger-lasting clothesrsquo article on page 24
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Arcadia (Topshop)
ASDA
ASOS
Debenhams
HampM
John Lewis
MampS
Matalan
New Look
Next
Primark
River Island
Sainsburyrsquos
Tesco
TK Maxx
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Goose and duck downIt is not just outdoor companies that use animal down ndash it is now a fashionable filling for many jackets from high-street retailers Several of the companies rated in this clothes shop report have made commitments not to use down which comes from live-plucked or fois gras birds (see table below) Yet none of them has adopted a methodology capable of ensuring that they actually donrsquot which requires tracing their whole down supply chain back to the higher-risk parent farms See page 29 for more information on how outdoor gear companies are ensuring that their down supply chains are cruelty-free
Alternative clothing companiesWe havenrsquot focused on Alternative Clothing Companies in this issue ndash although many feature in the guide to Jeans
Our Best Buy from the previous alternative clothing guide was People Tree who produce Fairtrade and Organic clothing Also a Best Buy was menswear company Brothers We Stand All their products have a footprint tab detailing their social and environmental impact
Positive policies
References 1 Mintel Clothing Retailing 2014 2 Business Insider 28 October Amazon may start making its own clothes
4
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
14
ProductGUIDE
Company profiles
Excessive executive compensation
Next MampS Arcadia Primark TK Maxx Amazon ASOS Asda Tesco Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis all pay their top executives over pound1 million which we rate as excessive
Tax avoidance
We covered the latest on Amazonrsquos tax avoidance in issue 157 and a full version of the article can be found on our website Neither of the other two e-tailers ndash ASOS and Net-a-Porter ndash show any signs of being engaged in tax avoidance
Other companies in the report who receive our worst rating for tax avoidance include Arcadia whose ultimate holding company is registered in Jersey Matalan which is registered in Guernsey and HampM which appears to use holding companies based in Hong Kong for operations in China
More stories behind the rankings
Marks and Spencer does pretty well in a lot of our rankings It receives our best rating for its supply chain and environmental policies has signed the Bangladesh Accord and was rated a leader in Greenpeacersquos lsquoDetox Catwalkrsquo It has checks in place to ensure that none of its cotton comes from Uzbekistan and aims to procure 70 of its cotton from sustainable sources by 2020 (ie either Better Cotton Initiative Fairtrade Organic or recycled)
It was also one of a very few companies to receive the Clean Clothes Campaignrsquos top rating in 2014 for its work towards improving wages in its supply chain (none of the others who received it are in this guide) although the campaign grouprsquos assessment is still fairly circumspect
ldquoWe are pleased to see MampS has been doing work to make sure there are financial incentives for buyers to source from factories that MampS says pay living wages[but] it is impossible to judge the real benefit to workersbecause no figures have been disclosed it could all still be smoke and mirrorsrdquo1
On the downside Marks and Spencer is involved in several free trade lobby groups such as the World Economic Forum and EuroCommerce
Next is the biggest selling UK clothes retailer having overtaken Marks and Spencer in 2014 Its CEO Simon Wolfson is a Conservative peer who has donated over pound500000 to the Conservative Party over the past ten years co-chaired the partyrsquos Economic Competitiveness policy review and in 2010 was one of 35 signatories of an open letter calling on the Government to press ahead with public spending cuts
Indian companies that supply Next were found in 2012 to be employing Indian women under the Sumangali Scheme which is a form of bonded labour that requires low-caste women to work for several years to earn money to pay for a dowry4
As Primark made its name by selling implausibly cheap clothing it has been much focused on by campaigners However in its favour Primark was the first UK company to sign up to the Bangladeshi Accord and as detailed on page 17 it has donated far more to Rana Plaza victims than any other retailer
Primark is owned by Associated British Foods One of Associated British Foodsrsquo foreign subsidiaries Zambia Sugar was accused in 2013 of ripping off its host country by avoiding paying millions of pounds of tax which is really shocking given that Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world2
HampM has promoted itself as a more ethical clothing retailer and produces reams of material about its supply chain policies although it is unclear how much is just talk and how much makes a real difference
HampM has been slammed recently for lagging behind on its commitments
under the Bangladeshi Accord However activists say the issues are not unique to HampM and the reason that they have focused on it is simply because it is such a big buyer from Bangladesh3
HampM has a lsquoRoadmap to a Fair Living Wagersquo aimed at increasing wages in its supplier factories which has been both praised and criticised by Labour Behind the Label ndash praised for including solid targets and dates but crucially criticised for failing to define what a living wage actually is
Like MampS HampM aims for all its cotton to come from ldquomore sustainable sourcesrdquo by 2020
Amazon currently has a boycott call against it called by us for its use of tax avoidance strategies
ASOS scores middle for its supply chain policy it has banned sandblasting in its supply chain and is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative On the downside it has no policy on toxics
References 1 Clean Clothes Campaign 2014 ldquoTailored Wagesrdquo EuroCommerce and World Economic Forum websites 2015 2 ActionAid 2013 ldquoSweet Nothingsrdquo 3 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 4 Maid in India report 2012 ndash India Committee of the Netherlands
copy S
ean
Pavo
ne |
Dre
amst
ime
com
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
15
ProductGUIDE
She believes that in the Tamil Nadu region alone 200000 young women and girls are working under conditions of forced or bonded labour Many are producing cotton jersey (t-shirt fabric) clothing for export to the UK
Samantha Maher from Labour Behind the Label agrees and singles out another vulnerable group that the legislation could help ndash migrants
ldquoLots of migrants are in forced labour especially in Malaysia where people are having their passports taken as well as in the middle east in places like Jordan and Egyptrdquo
Campaigners yet to be convincedHowever some labour rights campaigners are yet to be convinced that the legislation will have the desired effect in improving working conditions
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label feels that reporting alone canrsquot help and the new legislation raises a number of questions
ldquoHow they are reporting and how it [the information] is used still appears to be undecided There is an assumption that NGOs will use the information to expose poor practice but capacity is limited so this wonrsquot be easy without resources and a clear process We also wonder how we will know if the reporting is accuraterdquo
Jane from Homeworkers Worldwide concurs She told Ethical Consumer
ldquoIt is very hard to predict what impact the Modern Slavery Act will have The difficulty is that [the companies] have to report what they are doing but someone will have to sift through the ethical spin to assess whether what they report is really having an impact on the ground whether they are really focusing their efforts on where the problems are etc
Holding companies to account on this will be difficult and will be a massive job for campaigners NGOs and activists ldquo
But she also has more fundamental concerns
ldquoThe current rhetoric on modern slavery in general is that modern slavery
(including forced and bonded labour) risks being seen as a distinct issue and treated quite separately from other forms of exploitation It is as though we can isolate a few criminal elements get rid of those and the rest of the industry can carry on as normalrdquo
Meanwhile TUC General Secretary Frances OrsquoGrady said that this legislation is just the start and that ldquoThe Government should build on the Modern Slavery Act and ratify the ILO Forced Labour Protocol immediatelyrdquo
This would mean not only to criminalise and prosecute forced labour but also to take more effective measures to prevent forced labour and provide victims with protection and access to remedies including compensation1
The way forwardDespite their criticisms campaigners are clear that the Act is a step in the right direction
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label
ldquoCompanies often have no idea where they are buying from so they may get a better grip of supply chains The act is also forcing the issue up from CSR to board level due to its legally binding naturerdquo
This is a view shared by Jane at Homeworkers Worldwide ldquoWhilst we donrsquot think it will in practice deliver much transparency the principle of companies taking responsibility for what goes on in global chains is an important one and making this a legal requirement is a starting point for pushing for greater responsibility and accountability in the futurerdquo
The Modern Slavery Act will force companies to publicly report on the steps they are taking to ensure there is no slavery or forced labour in their supply chains It has the potential to have a big impact on the clothing sector The Ethical Trading Initiative described the legislation as a ldquogame-changerrdquo
Karen Bradley the Home Office Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation said in a statement ldquoThe act will mean that major businesses will for the first time be expected to be transparent about the action they are taking to address modern slavery in their global supply chains
ldquoConsumers businesses and investors will now have valuable information to inform them on the companies they are supporting ndash and shoppers can make more informed decisions at the checkout Businesses risk damaging their reputation or their bottom line if they donrsquot take action to prevent modern slavery in their supply chainsrdquo
Huge numbers of bonded labourersThe legislation has the potential to have a positive impact on millions of workers all over the world
The International Labour Organisation estimates that almost 21 million people are currently working in some form of forced labour including many in the clothing sector2
Research from the Ashridge Centre for Business and Sustainability and the Ethical Trading Initiative found that 71 of companies believe there is a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some point in their supply chains3
Jane Tate from campaign group Homeworkers Worldwide is in no doubt that modern slavery is a big issue in the clothing sector ndash ldquoThere has been a lot of campaigning and work done attempting to address this issue including company projects and an ETI project but to our best knowledge the problem of forced labour still remains endemic in the industryrdquo
The new Modern Slavery Act
References 1 wwwiloorgwcmsp5groupspublic---ed_norm---declarationdocumentspublicationwcms_321414pdf 2 wwwtheguardiancomworld2015oct28uk-companies-proof-no-links-slave-labour-supply-chain 3 wwwethicaltradeorgnews-and-eventsnewsresearch-released-corporate-approaches-to-modern-slavery
Many campaigners are yet to be convinced that this new Act will have the desired effect Tim Hunt investigates
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
16
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
It is now more than two years since the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed killing over a thousand people and injuring 2500 ndash people who managers had ordered back to work despite cracks appearing in the walls Rana Plaza is considered the most fatal garment industry accident in history The resulting public outcry led to promises that things would change So have they
The Accord and the AllianceThere are three different factory safety schemes that were created in the aftermath of the disaster Two are industry-led ones The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (the Alliance) There is also a government-led scheme whose remit is to cover any factories not covered by the other two called the National Action Plan
For any industry scheme to be convincing it has to be substantially different from what went before because the track record of company safety audits in Bangladesh is not impressive Rana
Plaza had twice been audited by Primark and declared safe1 Primark says that it didnrsquot do a structural survey because nobody did them then but a building collapse was hardly unprecedented in 2005 one had killed 64 workers And this is only one of a string of audit failures that have been luridly illustrated by mass fatalities In 2010 a fire at the Garib amp Garib sweater factory killed 21 workers four months after HampM had audited it HampM officially required suppliersrsquo factories to have adequate exits and fire-fighting equipment but this one passed the audit with neither and two people had already died in a fire at the factory a few months earlier2
Factory safety two years on from Rana Plaza
Companies in these guides which have signed the Accordbull Arcadia bull Debenhams bull G Star bull Helly Hansen bull HampM bull John Lewis bull MampS bull Matalan bull New Look bull Next bull Primark bull PVH bull River Island bull Sainsburyrsquos bull Tesco bull Uniqlo
ldquoDonrsquot look for me where leaves are
falling
You will not find me there my beloved
At the machines where lives are
withered
It is there that I lie deadrdquo
A verse from a 1911 song written to commemorate the Triangle garment factory disaster in New York which generated a labour rights movement that revolutionised labour standards in the USA (Mayn Rue Platz by Morris Rosenfeld in translation)
The aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collpase in 2013 1134 people were killed and over 2500 injured as the 8-storey building housing five garment factories collapsed
Inte
rnat
iona
l Lab
or R
ight
s Fo
rum
Josie Wexler takes a look at progress towards creating safer clothing factories in Bangladesh
17
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The Accord however is different It is not another self-policed scheme that companies can adhere to if they feel like it It is a legally-binding agreement between brands and trade unions and signing it means that if safety issues are found in a companyrsquos suppliersrsquo factories and are not fixed the company can be sued
Campaigners had spent years trying and failing to get brands to enter into such an agreement Within weeks of Rana Plazarsquos collapse nearly 40 companies had signed The number is now over 200
However many American companies have refused to sign most notably Walmart (ASDA) and Gap They created the other alternative industry scheme the Alliance which is not legally binding and is widely believed to be basically meaningless window dressing It has only 26 members
Recent developmentsMost although not all of the 3500 clothing factories in Bangladesh have been inspected under one of the three schemes over the past two years largely by the Accord The Accord has closed thirty-five factories altogether and safety upgrades have begun in hundreds of others3 All of the Accordrsquos inspection reports with photographs are freely available on the web ndash transparency is one of its central principles which is another big break from the auditing schemes of the past
However progress on the upgrades has been terribly slow and the unions are now initiating a formal complaint about several brands including HampM who they say are not fulfilling their obligations at a reasonable pace The complaint is the first step towards legal arbitration which would be quite unprecedented4
A further development is that in June 2015 42 people in Bangladesh were
charged with murder over the Rana Plaza deaths including the buildingrsquos owner Sohel Rana the owners of the five factories in the building and 13 government officials If convicted they could face the death penalty
CompensationIn 2014 Labour Behind the Label ran a ldquopay uprdquo campaign pressuring companies to compensate Rana Plazarsquos victimsrsquo families The good news is that although it took a huge struggle the campaign was a success The Rana Plaza Donorrsquos Trust Fund met its target of $30 million in June 2015
Primark comes out by far the best in this story It donated a total of $8 million ndash $1 million to the fund and $7 million directly to victimsWalmart is estimated to have donated $1 million
bull
bull
References 1 Vogue 2014 How The World Has Changed Since Rana Plaza 2 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo 3 Good Choice Forex June 1 2015 ldquoTwo Years After Rana Plaza Disaster Uneven Progress In Bangladeshrsquos Garment Industryrdquo 4 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 5 Clean Clothes Campaign 2015 ldquoWho has paid and who is dragging their heelsrdquo 6 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo
The dumping ground for the Rana Plaza debris just metres away from the victimsrsquo homes
North Face Death TrapsAmerican student groups have been leading the way on pressurising companies who have refused to sign the Accord United Students Against Sweatshops have run a campaign called lsquoNorth Face Death Trapsrsquo targeting VF Corporation as the largest branded clothing manufacturer in the world over its refusal to sign The campaign can be found at httpnorthfacedeathtrapscom
North Face appears in the Waterproof jackets guide whilst VF Corporation owns Lee and Wrangler jeans
Matalan initially refused to donate anything but after being hounded by campaigners it made a rather half-hearted donation of $100000HampM donated approximately $200000 Unlike the three companies above it was not sourcing from Rana Plaza but it is the biggest buyer from Bangladesh as a whole5
Rana Plaza has started to change the game in more ways than one After the Garib amp Garib fire HampM commissioned Save the Children to assess workersrsquo familiesrsquo needs and it decided to focus just on helping children and the elderly But the Rana Plaza fund goes further and is compensating all victimsrsquo families based on loss of income6
There is talk in campaign groups about how to take the Accord further ndash extending it outside Bangladesh or using the same model in other areas such as wages Watch this space
bull
bull
http
f
oxfa
shio
nor
guk
18
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The garment industry is a major employer across the world ndash in Asia for example over 15 million people are employed by the industry With global brands making millions in profits every year this booming industry has come to rely on and exploit the cheap labour of millions of garment workers whose wages fall far short of a living wage
The lack of a living wage means many garment workers are forced to work long hours to earn overtime or bonuses and cannot risk refusing work due to unsafe working conditions or taking time off due to ill health The low wages mean that workers often have to rely on loans just to make ends meet and have no savings to use if they find themselves out of work
A living wage calculation across a region is key to ensuring not only that workers receive a decent wage but also that wage differences do not mean companies pull out of one country to move manufacturing to a country with lower costs ndash the so-called race to the bottom
Living wage calculations must take into account some common factors including the number of family members to be supported the basic nutritional needs of a worker and other basic needs including housing healthcare education and some basic savings
Clean Clothes Campaign is part of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance ndash an alliance of Asian trade unions and labour groups who have calculated a living wage formula for Asia
The Asia Floor Wage calculation cannot be simply applied to other regions as some of the assumptions do not apply For
example in Asia food costs are relatively high and standards of living such as housing are very low whereas in other regions such as Eastern Europe food costs are relatively lower when compared to housing
Clean Clothes Campaign partners are working on defining
and calculating living wages for other garment producing regions
They are calling forClothing brands and companies to set concrete measurable steps throughout their supply chain to ensure garment workers get paid a living wageNational governments in garment producing countries to make sure minimum wages are set at living wage standardsEuropean governments to implement regulation to ensure companies are responsible for the impact they have on the lives of workers in their supply chainSign the Clean Clothes Campaign
petition calling for all garment workers to receive a living wage ndash wwwcleanclothesorglivingwagesign
bull
bull
bull
Struggling for a living wage
A living wage in CambodiaFor several years garment workers and trade unions in Cambodia have been engaged in a bitter conflict with the government over the minimum wage with strikes protests and brutal government crackdowns resulting in deaths injuries and imprisonments Garment workers want US$177 per month enough cover their basic living expenses In 2014 Asia Floor Wage calculated the living wage in Cambodia to be US$396 per month
Though it has made increases the Cambodian government has still not reached the $177 called for Further negotiations and protests in October this year saw the government settle on $140 a month to come into effect in January 2016 Needless to say this has angered some ldquoThis figure is reasonable and acceptable Even itrsquos not acceptable to all we have no choicerdquo Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng was quoted as saying
The top five brands sourcing from Cambodia include three brands in these clothes guides HampM GAP Levi Strauss amp Co
Living wage initiativesLiving Wage Now Forum
In October this year the CCCrsquos Living Wage Now Forum brought together workersrsquo representatives from around the world brand representatives (HampM Primark CampA New Look Pentland NrsquoBrown and Tchibo) European policy makers experts and members of workerrsquos rights organisations to discuss the next concrete steps towards a fashion industry that respects human rights and pays all workers a living wage based on proposals from the CCC Follow its progress here wwwlivingwagenoweu
ACT initiative
A number of brands and retailers are collaborating with the IndustriALL Global Union on the Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT) making a commitment to work with their suppliers in order to support a living wage
Brands in this guide that are involved with ACT are ASOS HampM Arcadia Tesco Primark Next
A full list of members could not be found but these companies were mentioned online in connection with the project
For an average item of clothing only between
05-3 of the cost goes to the worker who made it This means that on an euro8 t-shirt the most a worker will get paid is 24 cents
Clean Clothes Campaign
What are the companies in this issue doing about living wagesThe following brands from this guide explicitly make provision for a living wage in their supply chain policies
Major clothes retailers Next Arcadia Primark Debenhams New Look Tesco John Lewis
Waterproof jacketstrousers Patagonia Jack Wolfskin Paramo Mountain Equipment
Jeans G-Star Nudie PVH brands (Calvin Klein amp Tommy Hilfiger)
19
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
For decades the Government of Uzbekistan has been forcing its citizens both children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest As a result of sustained campaign pressure on the issue of child labour 2014 saw the burden of labour shifted onto adults with lsquomassesrsquo of teachers and medical professionals forced into the cotton fields1
Having engaged companies on the issue since 2008 the Responsible Sourcing
Clothing campaigns
Best scores on Uzbek cottonIn order to receive Ethical Consumerrsquos best rating on this issue all medium- to large-sized companies are expected both to have signed the Cotton Pledge and to demonstrate concrete actions to implement it throughout their supply chains Otherwise the company must only use organic or Better Cotton Initiative cotton
Companies in this issue which receive a best score are
Major clothes retailers MampS Arcadia (Topshop etc) TK Maxx New Look
Waterproof jacketstrousers Jack Wolfskin Patagonia
Jeans Nudie Kuyichi Mud FREITAG (does not use cotton) Levirsquos PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
bull
bull
bull
Companies whorsquove signed the CanopyStyle Pledge Patagonia Levi Strauss amp Co HampM Marks amp Spencer ASOS G-Star RAW
Companies targeted by RAN Guess
Forest-friendly fashionForests probably arenrsquot something that immediately come to mind when considering the impacts of the fashion industry However many commonly used fabrics are derived from wood pulp Check your clothes labels for rayon viscose modal and tencel and itrsquos highly likely yoursquoll spot them ndash either on their own or blended with other fibres Mixed with polyester they give clothes a more pleasant lsquofeelrsquo and often replace cotton because theyrsquore cheaper to produce
So whatrsquos the issue
More than 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into cellulose fabric ndash if placed end to end those trees would circle the earth seven timesDissolving pulp (the base material for rayonviscose) wastes approximately 70 of the tree and is a chemically intensive manufacturing process Dissolving pulp production is projected to double by 2050 Less than 20 of the worldrsquos ancient forests remain intact in tracts large enough to maintain biological diversityForests in Indonesia Canadarsquos boreal and temperate rainforests and the Amazon are being logged for next seasonrsquos fashion
Canopyrsquos lsquoFashion Loved by Forestrsquo initiative partners with clothing brands to help them develop solutions to reduce the impact of their business on ancient forests Companies are asked to sign up to the CanopyStyle Pledge and create a policy on how they source wood-derived fabrics
Rainforest Action Networkrsquos (RAN) lsquoOut of Fashionrsquo campaign pinpointed several high-end fashion brands which it said must do more to ensure they werenrsquot making clothes from unsustainable wood pulp
Watch the campaign video and sign in support of RANrsquos Out of Fashion campaign wwwranorgout_of_fashion
bull
bull
bull
bull
Fur-free shoppingAn investigation into angora farms in China by PETA Asia in December 2013 revealed shockingly cruel treatment of angora rabbits involving the live-plucking of fur from caged rabbits Many clothing companies have now stated that they will no longer sell angora The only companies covered in this issue who
are still selling it are Net-A-Porter in the Clothes Shops guide and Pepe and Guess covered in the Jeans guide
The following clothes shops have joined the Fur Free Alliancersquos Fur Free Retailer programme Topshop HampM ASOS MampS Next Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis From the other guides Nudie and MUD jeans and Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen are part of the programme More information from wwwfurfreeretailercomOther brands are listed as fur free by Humane Society International Mountain Hardwear Calvin Klein New Look Patagonia North Face Diesel Superdry Levirsquos Guess Tommy Hilfiger Howies and Uniqlo See wwwhumanesocietyorgissuesfur_fashiontipsfur-free_shoppinghtml for more details
bull
bull
References 1 wwwantislaveryorgenglishcampaignscottoncrimesforced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgroundaspx
Network (RSN) introduced the lsquoCotton Pledge Against Child and Adult Forced Labour in Uzbek Cottonrsquo in 2011 To date over 160 companies have signed the pledge
However the RSN decided in 2014 that it was time to find out how companies were actually implementing the Cotton Pledge throughout their supply chains
It asked companies what efforts they were making to actually implement this pledge including communicating their policy to all parts of its supply chain including spinners and mills and auditing them for compliance The results were published in the lsquoCotton Sourcing Snapshotrsquo which can be downloaded from wwwsourcingnetworkorgcotton-sourcing-snapshot
See page 22 in the Jeans guide for discussion on the other issues associated with cotton production
Forced labour in the Uzbekrsquos cotton fields
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
bull
bull
bull
policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
bull
bull
Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
copy B
ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
copy A
nton
io G
rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
bull
bull
bull
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
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References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
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bull
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References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
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Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
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Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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Transformative Postgraduate Programmes
Sustainable Architecture
MSc Sustainability and Adaptation in the Built EnvironmentEnergy in buildings natural materials applied projects
MSc Sustainability and Adaptation PlanningCities and communities transition strategy politics and economics
MSc Renewable Energy and the Built Environment
Apply now to start September 2016httpgsecatorguk
10 o Short C
ourses
for subscr
ibers
please quote
EC15
39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
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Planning for your secure future without repression pollution or exploitation
Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
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el F
lippo
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ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
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Address
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issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
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Editorialethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
In future issues Cameras Digital amp cable TV Mobile phones LED TVs Banks Shoes Sportswear
Billions of collective actions against climate changeThe COP21 climate negotiations in December and the bombings in Paris and Syria in November have cast a shadow over most other activities recently ndash perhaps allowing us to view our actions with a different perspective
And although the likely outcome of the COP 21 negotiations will not be an agreement which can keep temperature increases below the key target of a two degrees rise there are perhaps surprisingly voices of optimism still at play
A new book by climate expert Tim Flannery called Climate of Hope has some positive things to say not just about new carbon sequestration technologies but also about individual lsquoconsumerrsquo actions
ldquoIn early 2015 the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced that in 2014 global emissions of greenhouse gases ldquostalledrdquoTwo factors appear to account for this historic shift the rise of wind and solar power and greater energy efficiency
For more than a decade now many of us have been changing light bulbs insulating houses cycling to work and much more ndash all too often with little hope that it makes very little difference But the IEA figures tell us that our billions of collective actions have added up to something massive They have seen many developed nations pass peak oil and coal demand as our cities and farms become ever cleaner and more efficientrdquo1
He is also optimistic because of the impact of digital technologies on the empowerment of individuals ldquoDigital communications has brought new opportunities for divestment effective dissent encouraging uptake of new technologies and for legal actionrdquo2
The feature on COP21 on page 36 looks at corporate lobbying in the run-up to the summit and finds companies both lobbying for and against climate action at the same time
Progress on ethical clothingOur special report on clothing also finds grounds for optimism After many years of campaigning some progress has been been made in the areas of wages and working conditions the use of child and forced labour transparency of supply chains toxic chemicals and the use of animal fur and down
The Bangladesh Accord for factory safety has been signed by over 220 clothes companies with the notable exceptions of Walmart (ASDA) and GAP The Accord requires companies to be transparent in their reporting and shows that companies can work together within a legally-binding framework It is hoped that the Accord will set a precedent for other initiatives The Modern Slavery Act could also have a positive impact on the lives of garment workers
But itrsquos not just about what initiatives theyrsquove signed up to and having lsquobest practicersquo policies on paper Companies need to be making progress on the ground and that still seems a way off Virtually all the clothes shops have been criticised for workersrsquo rights violations despite most of them having lsquobest practicersquo supply chain policies
We are inching forward on the catwalk to ethical fashion but therersquos still a long way to go
and animal testingNow in its fourth year the Lush Prize is a joint project between Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics which aims to bring an end to the safety testing of products on animals This year saw the first lsquobreakthroughrsquo prize given to a group of scientists who had mapped the first ever human lsquotoxicity pathwayrsquo which explains ndash at a molecular level ndash how cell damage occurs More information appears on our special two page feature on page 32
Jane Turner Editor
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombooks2015nov20climate-crisis-future-brighter-tim-flannery 2 Climate of Hope Tim Flannery Penguin 2015
Ethical Consumer Research Association Ltd
Unit 21 1 Old Birley StreetManchester M15 5RF
tel 0161 226 2929 (12 noon-6pm)fax 0161 226 6277email enquiriesethicalconsumerorg for general enquiries or shopethicalconsumerorg for subscriptions
comment ampanalysis06 food
Bacardi campaign Thorntons sold John West tuna Nestleacute water grab Pepsi amp palm oil
08 home animal testing figures
09 boycotts Israel campaign successes Ben amp Jerryrsquos
32 Lush Prize news amp photos from the recent conference amp awards
35 tax justice Fair Tax Mark news
39 climate of change fossil fuel divestments Shell amp Science Museum ranking airlinesrsquo CO
2 emissions
2 money banks amp nuclear weapons RBS sale Co-op Bank news ethical amp green funds
whorsquos who this Issuersquos editor Jane Turner amp Tim Huntproofing Ciara Maginness (littlebluepencilcouk)writersresearchers Jane Turner Tim Hunt Leonie Nimmo Rob Harrison Heather Webb Anna Clayton Joanna Long Josie Wexler Ruth Strangeregular contributors Simon Birch Bryony Moore Richard Murphy design and layout Adele Armistead (moonloftcom) Jane Turnercover Dreamstimecom Adele Armistead (moonloftcom)cartoons Marc Roberts Sarah Guthrie Andy Vine Richard Liptrotad sales Simon Birchsubscriptions Elizabeth Chater Heather Webb Simon Robinsonenquiries Leonie Nimmo Tim Huntpress enquiries Simon Birchresearch screening amp consultancy Rob Harrison internetweb Michael Wignall Georgina Rawesmarketing Tim Hunt Jane Turnerthanks also to Amy Shakeshaft Suzanne Hatton Eleanor Boyce
subscriptions amp renewalsPhone 0161 226 2929 or go to wwwethicalconsumerorg
copyrightAll material correct one month before cover date and copy Ethical Consumer Research Association Ltd Not-for-profit organisations may normally reproduce without charge any of the material appearing in Ethical Consumer providing that all such material is credited and providing that written permission has been sought prior to publication No part of this publication may be produced by commercial organisations without written permission from Ethical Consumer Research Association Ltd ISSN 0955 8608
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Ethical Consumer is a member of INK (independent news collective) an association of radical and alternative publishers
about the advertisersECRA checks out advertisers before accepting their ads and reserves the right to refuse any advert
Covered in previous Product Guides Biona (156) Co-operative phone amp broadband (145) Good Energy (143) Kingfisher Toothpaste (138) Plamil (150) Triodos (147) Vegetarian Shoes (137)
Other advertisers Book Aid Camphill Trust Clean Slate Energy4All Green Building Store Greenpeace Green Stationery Infinity Wholefoods Investing Ethically Oasis coffins Share Energy
wwwinkukcom
Ethical Consumer conference 2015
details of this yearrsquos conference in September
32
Clothes report10 introduction
1themodernslaveryact
16factorysafetypost-RanaPlaza
18campaigningforalivingwage
19clothescampaignsUzbekcottonfurforest-friendlyfashion
24 longer-lastingclothes
ChristmasgiftsubscriptionsGiveagiftthatlastsayear
lettersaregularforumforreadersrsquoviews
insideviewBlackFridayrsquosshoppingfenzy
43
44
46
Contentsethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
featuressyntheticbiologycontroversyoverEcoverrsquosuseofabiotechingredient
corporatelobbyingintherun-uptotheCOP21climatesummit
waterproof jackets26 score table and best buys28toxicchemicalsinwaterproofs
29thecrueltybehinddown-filledjackets
12
36
10
30
36
clothes shops12score table
and best buys
jeans20 score table and best buys23sustainablejeans
20
26
FoodJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 wwwethicalconsumerorg
Bacardi Give sugarcane workers a breakDrinks brand Bacardi has come under fire from several campaign groups over the conditions in its sugar supply chain
According to campaign group Fairfood International in the last decade 20000 agricultural workers have died from Chronic Kidney Disease of non-Traditional Causes (CKDnT) the majority of them are sugarcane workers
Three of the most likely causes of CKDnT are dehydration heat stress and exposure to agrochemicals The sugarcane industry in Central America is beset by poor working conditions such as long working days and heavy physical work with little access to water and shade which most likely contribute to the onset of the disease
The documentary lsquoUnder Canersquo by filmmaker Ed Kashi shows how harsh the working conditions of sugarcane workers are and the devastating effect of this fatal kidney disease See the video at wwwfairfoodorg
Campaign groups Fairfood International and The SumofUs are targeting Bacardi which does business directly with sugarcane mills in Guatemala and could help stop the epidemic Campaigners say that there are several simple steps that could be taken to stop the problem including
Better access to sufficient clean drinking water
Better access to shade
More regular breaks
Reduced working hours thus decreasing physical strain
Bacardi said in a statement
ldquoBacardi takes the unsubstantiated Fairfood International allegations made about its supply chain and human rights initiatives seriously as the Company operates in full compliance with all trade regulations and lawshellipSpecifically we do not source any product from Nicaragua and we have only continued to work with the two organizations we source from in Guatemala because they have committed to improving their practices and getting and maintaining certifiedhelliprdquo
Sign the SumofUs petition at httpactionsumofusorg
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Not just tunaPeople have been fighting destructive fishing for many years But increasingly we are seeing harm caused to more than just our oceans wersquore seeing the abuse and enslavement of people
Over the last year a series of shocking stories have come to light that expose the true cost of the tuna we consume
The truth is that our seafood is often the product of human trafficking and enslavement Thai Union the owner of John West tinned tuna is embroiled in the scandal
Fishers working in the Thai seafood industry have usually been encouraged to leave their families on the promise of a well-paid job to support their family For others the situation is even more extreme they were sold against their will and prevented from going home at gunpoint
Brought into Thailand illegally if they disobey the people who trafficked them they are threatened with arrest and imprisonment Many see no choice but to accept their fate and they remain on the ships for years on end
Therersquos no doubt that our desire for cheap tuna has helped cause the environmental degradation and human rights abuses we see in the seafood industry today
But if tuna companies stop paying for fish tainted by human trafficking and abuse fishing vessels with these practices will become unprofitable Greenpeace are calling on Thai Union to stop buying from fisheries where labour or human rights abuses are present
Greenpeace is targeting John West Almost 100000 people have pledged to stop buying John West tuna 50000 people have sent direct messages to Thai Union and John West
Join the campaign
Sign the pledge amp Email John West amp Thai Union httpssecuregreenpeaceorgukpagesnot-just-tuna
Write on John Westrsquos Facebook page wwwfacebookcomjohnwestuk
Tweet your NotJohnWest sandwich and let them know their behaviour is bad for business
Nestleacute water grab in OregonNestleacute has been planning on pumping fresh water out of Cascade Locks Oregon to bottle and sell for profit ndash a plan that local residents have been fighting for the last six years
Now as the plan closes in residents have launched a historic ballot initiative to prevent any major bottled water company from commercialising water anywhere in the region This legislation could serve as a national benchmark and a crucial model to any region around the world looking to keep its natural resources out of the reach of Big Bottled Water The
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bull
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Sugarcane cutters need access to unlimited clean drinking water and shade regular breaks shorter working hours and less physical strain
Fairf
ood
Inte
rnat
iona
l
Foodwwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
ballot measure has been filed and Oregon residents are furiously collecting signatures in the area to get the initiative on the ticket for the next yearrsquos election
This ballot measure comes at a crucial moment As the world eyes an impending water crisis brought on by climate change and the mismanagement of natural resources corporations like Nestleacute and Coca-Cola are eyeing precious natural water reserves too often in economically desperate areas that are themselves facing water shortages
Sign the SumofUs petition showing your support for the people-powered initiative in Oregon to stop Nestleacute from privatising public water ndash httpactionsumofusorgaoregon-david-goliath-nestle
Thorntons sold to Italian FerreroThe Italian chocolate company Ferrero famed for its provision of gold foil wrapped chocolates at ambassadorsrsquo parties has bought one of the most familiar brands on the UK high street Thorntons
The change does little to alter the brandsrsquo overall scores but Ferrero gets a best rating for palm oil policy and environmental reporting whilst Thorntons gets worst for both We hope that the better policies of the parent company will now also lift Thorntonsrsquo operations
Once seen as luxurious and upmarket Thorntons has lost out to the likes of Hotel Chocolat and Lindt Such was the competitive pressure that in 2007 one of Thorntonsrsquo master chocolatiers Barry Colenso was forced to resign in disgrace after being caught squashing truffles in one of competitor Hotel Chocolatrsquos stores
The buyout marks the loss of one of Britainrsquos last remaining home-grown chocolate brands to an overseas buyer Cadbury and Green amp Blackrsquos were sold to the US confectionery business Kraft Foods Inc ndash now renamed Mondelez ndash in 2009 while Rowntree the company which developed the Kit Kat and Aero was sold to the Swiss Nestleacute in 1988
The deal will enable Ferrero to become the UKrsquos fourth-largest chocolate brand ndash behind Mondelez Mars and Nestleacute Other brands owned by Ferrero are Nutella and Kinder
In June Francersquos ecology minister Seacutegolegravene Royal urged the public to boycott Nutella saying its use of palm oil contributes to deforestation She later had to apologise when Greenpeace and WWF leapt to the companyrsquos defence saying that Ferrero actually goes much further than most competitors on the responsible sourcing of palm oil
Pepsi lags behind on palm oilThe Rainforest Alliance has launched a new campaign against Pepsi over what it describes as a ldquoloopholerdquo in its new palm oil policy
PepsiCo has committed to cutting conflict palm oil from its supply chains everywhere but Indonesia the worldrsquos biggest palm oil producing country Its new policy exempts its Indofood partner which produces PepsiCo products containing palm oil in Indonesia
Moreover the policy commits to only source RSPO certified palm oil by 2020 Most lsquofront runnersrsquo have adopted 2015 as the year to fully meet their palm oil commitments
According to Rainforest Action Network ldquoThis latest move falls below the standard set by PepsiCorsquos peers which have recognized the need to go beyond sourcing Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified palm oil The RSPO is a scheme that permits the destruction of forests peatlands and has a poor track record of upholding the rights of local communities and workersrdquo
McDonaldrsquos and Yum Brands (owner of KFC Pizza Hut and Taco Bell) have both come out with zero-deforestation policies this year
RAN continues ldquoPepsiCo uses an immense amount of palm oil its annual consumption could fill enough Pepsi soda cans full of palm oil to circle the earth at the equator four times Put another way the tropical land base needed to feed PepsiCorsquos global appetite for palm oil each year is a quarter million acres of land most of which used to be rainforest Due to its size and influence PepsiCo has a key role to play in halting the destruction of Indonesiarsquos forests bulldozed for palm oilrdquo
People took action around the globe to close this destructive loophole They labelled PepsiCo vending machines and store displays lsquoOut of Orderrsquo
Pepsi brands in the UK are Walkers crisps Doritos Snack a Jacks Quaker Oats Scottrsquos Porage Oats Tropicana Copella Gatorade Mountain Dew V Water Naked juice and Nobbyrsquos Nuts
What you can do
Email PepsiCorsquos CEO Ms Indra Nooyi here and demand that it close the loophole in its palm oil policy wwwranorgpepsi_loophole
Post on PepsiCorsquos Facebook page wwwfacebookcomPepsiUS
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120 tribal members residents and concerned citizens rallied in Salem to protect Oregonrsquos water from Nestleacute
Keep
Nes
tle O
ut o
f the
Gor
ge C
oalit
ion
HomeJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 wwwethicalconsumerorg
Investment in technology which can replace animals in experiments stood at pound8 million in 2014 However funding for the research councils which develop animal-based tests ran to pound300 million
What can consumers do
Use the sliders next to the score tables on our product guide pages on the website so that you can just rate the brands on animal testing
Choose cruelty-free products from companies that donrsquot test on animals See Naturewatchrsquos Compassionate Shopping Guide available for pound5 from httpnaturewatchorgcompassionate-shopping
Support companies such as Lush Cosmetics who are fighting animal testing See the Lush Prize page for details of this yearrsquos pound450000 given by them to those developing non-animal testing methods For more on the Lush Prize see page 32
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Underwear Best Buy foldsUnfortunately the Who Made My Pants brand of womenrsquos underwear has had to close
The brand was set up in 2008 by Welsh businesswoman Becky John She said ldquoWe have struggled to achieve sustainable levels of production and this coupled with inconsistent supply of raw materials has meant it was always a struggle to sell the pants at a high enough margin to pay for our overheads and therefore cash flow has been a constant issue for usrdquo
Who Made Your Pants started after Ms John attended an Amnesty meeting in Southampton She had been a member of the human rights organisation since she was a teenager and at that meeting she saw a presentation from a group that worked with refugees in the area Who Made Your Pants employed women from refugee backgrounds from countries such as Sudan Somalia and Afghanistan
Who Made Your Pants was a Best Buy in our underwear guide That leaves Pants to Poverty who offer Fairtrade and organic certified pants We also recommended certified organic or Fairtrade underwear from the following companies Peau Ethique Living Crafts Do You Green Greenfibres and Cock amp Bull
New pet food Best BuyWe have just added a new brand to the pet food guides that we published in the last Issue ndash Lilyrsquos Kitchenrsquos organic varieties It makes organic and lsquonaturalrsquo meat cat and dog food
The range is currently available nationwide in Waitrose Tesco and Ocado as well as in wholefood shops vet surgeries organic health food shops and pet shops
Lilyrsquos Kitchen recently became a founding UK member of the global B Corp community Like Patagonia in the Waterproofs guide B Corps are legally required to serve stakeholders ndash workers communities and the wider environment ndash as well as shareholders through explicit reference to the triple bottom line They are certified in the UK by B Lab a non-profit organisation that assesses transparency accountability and performance
Animal experiments in the UKHome Office statistics published in October show that British universities companies government bodies and charities completed 387 million tests involving 38 million living animals in 2014 including horses dogs cats monkeys and cattle
UK laboratories regularly refer to the UK policy of replacing refining and reducing (3Rs) the use of animals in experiments but cleverly avoid acknowledging the total absence of any progress towards these goals ldquoClaims for the replacement refinement and reduction of the use of animals are not only hollow but also misleadingrdquo states animal welfare group the Naturewatch Foundation The statistics on animal use covering 2014 indicate a reduction in the total number of experiments of around 7 for that year
However a change in the reporting of data from experiments underway to experiments completed means that there is likely to have been no reduction at all
Statistics also donrsquot reveal these facts
More than a third of European tests involving live animals take place in the UK
Many animals bred for experiments donrsquot meet the requirements for inclusion in a trial and are euthanised with the result that the true number of animals affected will remain unknown
In August this year the Home Office approved plans for a new facility to breed and house beagle dogs without any access to outdoor space exclusively for sale to animal testing facilities This decision is particularly shocking because the approval was given to a company whose executives were arrested in Italy this year for institutional cruelty to animals Cruelty Free International has launched legal proceedings against the Home Office decision See wwwcrueltyfreeinternationalorgfighting-yorkshire-beagles-high-court
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Boycottsethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Barclays divests from Israeli arms companyHigh street bank Barclays is no longer listed as a shareholder in Israeli arms company Elbit Systems according to BDS
The news follows a high profile campaign launched after Barclays was named as a shareholder of the company owning $29 million worth of shares
The concerted campaign featured a petition signed by more than 17 million people and organised by Avaaz calling on Barclays to divest from Elbit Systems Campaigners occupied and protested at bank branches across the UK
The arms company has been the target of campaigners over its manufacture of drones used in Israelrsquos attacks on Palestinians and its role in building the illegal Apartheid Wall in occupied Palestine
Mahmoud Nawajaa co-ordinator with the Palestinian BDS National Committee the Palestinian civil society coalition that leads and supports the BDS movement said
ldquoWe hope that Barclays will now commit to not allowing clients to buy or sell Elbit shares on its platform and to making it clear to all its clients that Elbit is deeply complicit with Israeli violations of international lawrdquo
Veolia withdraws from Israel
The BDS movement celebrated another victory as long standing boycott target Veolia withdrew from its contracts in Jerusalem
After years of pressure the French corporation cut its ties with the Jerusalem Light Rail (JLR) project a railway that campaigners say is illegal and built to facilitate the growth and expansion of Israeli colonial settlements on occupied Palestinian territory
The sale of its stake in the JLR project ends all of Veoliarsquos involvement in the Israeli market
Veolia sold nearly all of its business operations in Israel in April 2015 but had until now remained a 5 shareholder in the JLR project
According to the BDS movement Veoliarsquos involvement in the project and the subsequent boycott had lead it to lose a slew of contracts across the world
For example in 2014 Kuwait Cityrsquos council excluded Veolia from a tender for the treatment of solid waste worth $750 million
Boycott Ben amp Jerryrsquos
Unilever subsidiary Ben amp Jerryrsquos has been added to the list of companies boycotted by BDS
The call comes due to the brandrsquos long-standing contractual relationship with an Israeli franchise that manufactures ice cream in Israel and sells it in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
Campaigners say that Ben amp Jerryrsquos Social Mission and ldquohistory of supporting progressive causes cannot be reconciled with its franchisersquos commercial ties to the settlementsrdquo
Since 2013 thousands of individuals and 239 organisations in 20 countries including Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory have called on Ben amp Jerryrsquos to put an end to its franchisersquos business in Israeli settlements
Jeff Furman chairperson of Ben amp Jerryrsquos Board of Directors travelled to occupied Palestine in 2012 with a group of American civil rightsrsquo leaders He described what he saw there as ldquoapartheidrdquo In spite of all this the company has refused not only to stop its practices but to even issue a statement calling for an end to Israelrsquos occupation and settlements
On the announcement of the boycott Ben amp Jerryrsquos released the following statement
ldquoBen amp Jerryrsquos corporate organization based in the US does not retain any profits from the business in Israel The company remains committed to contributing 100 of the net licensing fee to foster multicultural programs and values-led ingredient sourcing initiatives in the regionrdquo
Groups across the UK occupied and held protests at Barclays banks as part of the campaign
See the Top 10 BDS consumer boycott targets on our website at wwwethicalconsumerorgboycottsboycottslistisrael
News from the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement
In 2005 Palestinian civil society issued a call for boycotts divestment and sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law and universal principles of human rights The resulting movement is aimed at consumers (boycott) institutional investors (divestment) and states (sanctions)
10
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
This special report on clothing contains guides to clothes shops jeans and waterproof jackets We
also look at a few lsquoe-tailersrsquo (online clothes shops) and report on the latest clothing campaigns
Progress on the high streetTwo themes which have become apparent during our research for these guides are the positive impact of campaign action and the increase in transparency in some areas of the clothing industry
Small steps have been made on the catwalk to ethical fashion
The Bangladesh Accord has paved the way for future positive initiatives in more than just the field of workersrsquo rights by demonstrating that itrsquos possible to have a large number of companies working together within a legally-binding framework The level of transparency required by the Accord sets a new precedent and has set the bar for companiesrsquo future reporting Over two hundred companies have signed the Bangladeshi Accord on Fire and Factory Safety ndash see page 16 for more details
In October 2015 the UK Government enacted the Modern Slavery Act another piece of legislation which will force companies to be more transparent about whether slave labour is being used within their supply chains On page 15 campaigners tell us why they remain sceptical about how the new legislation will work in practice but why they also think it is a step in the right direction
Progress has also been made on other issues as a result of campaigns
160 companies have signed the Cotton Pledge against child and forced labour in Uzbekistan ndash see page 19There has been an increase in awareness among brands on the issue of living wages as a core issue ndash see page 1810 of the global retail fashion industry has committed to get rid of toxic chemicals by 2020 ndash see oppositeOutdoor companies are leading the way in cleaning up their goose and duck down supply chains ndash see page 29
An industry-wide problemWhile it is often the big high-street retailers who are the focus of campaigns it is worth remembering that the issues are endemic to the whole clothing industry Some retailers on the table such as Matalan score comparatively highly However this may reflect the fact that theyrsquove dodged criticisms rather than the fact that theyrsquore one step ahead on sustainability
Campaign actions get results But because there are such a large number of clothing brands campaigners canrsquot reach them all So certain companies (generally those with the biggest market share or whose labels have been uncovered in a sweatshop) find themselves targeted by campaigners more often With building pressure from customers these companies are forced to make efforts to clean up their act Meanwhile the ones left out of the spotlight are able to hide in the shadows
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The catwalk to ethical fashionHeather Webb Josie Wexler Ruth Strange and Bryony Moore provide an update on the progress made in the clothing industry
and allow others to take the flakIn order to reflect this in our ratings
we follow campaignersrsquo leads and request policies from companies on the issues they raise
For example all companies in this issue were asked for a policy on hazardous chemicals following Greenpeacersquos Detox campaign lead We also asked all companies for a cotton sourcing policy which matched the asks of the Responsible Sourcing Network on Uzbek cotton In this way we support campaigners in driving up standards
Supply chainsIn these guides we notice that nearly half of the big clothes shops and jeans companies are now scoring our best rating for their supply chain management an improvement since we last looked at the sector
This has been the result of many years of campaigns against clothing retailers to improve working conditions of workers within their supply chains
Yet even with companies achieving high scores for having best practice policies for workersrsquo rights in their supply chains investigations are still finding issues Virtually all of the clothes shops still get a worst rating in our Workersrsquo Rights column as do half of the outdoor gear and jeans companies
For example a report by SOMO and the India Committee of the Netherlands in October 2014 highlighted the abuse of girls and women workers in the South Indian textile industry Companies such as HampM and Next who get our best
copy G
reen
peac
e
Hat
i Kec
il V
isua
ls
11
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
rating for supply chain management were said to be sourcing from these factories Subsequently HampM stopped using the factories but nevertheless it highlights the complexity of supply chains and the need to closely monitor what is going on
Made in Europe
Due to complex supply chains and poor workersrsquo rights issues in Asia it is perhaps unsurprising to find that many clothing companies are now looking to bring production back to Europe and in some cases back to the UK Plus as the Guardian reported ldquoWhen a country such as Turkey Portugal Romania Slovakia or Bulgaria appears on a label the brand may also get a boost to their reputation as consumers assume the ethics behind a skirt made in Portugal are better than those behind one made in Chinardquo
But sadly it seems that this doesnrsquot guarantee that the clothes are made in decent conditions In 2014 the Clean Clothes Campaign released a report on clothing factories in eastern Europe It details appallingly low wages long hours and abuse Safety issues may not be at the same rock-bottom level as in parts of Asia
but Bulgaria Macedonia and Romania all have lower minimum wages than China2
Environment
Toxic chemicals
In July 2011 Greenpeace released its first report exposing the hidden links between textile manufacturing facilities in China that discharge hazardous chemicals into the water and international brands such as the sportswear giants Nike and Adidas That report gave rise to the Detox Campaign which called on companies to make a commitment to eliminate toxic chemicals from their supply chains by 2020
By March 2015 18 clothing companies had made the commitment
Of the clothes shops and jeans companies we have covered in our guides the following were rated by Greenpeace
Detox leaders G Star RAW HampM Levi Strauss MampS Primark and Fast Retailing (Uniqlo)Detox losers GAP and PVH (Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger)
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Greenpeacersquos latest Detox report focuses on the outdoor industry and its use of PFCs ndash toxic chemicals used for waterproofing See page 28
Environmental reporting
Unfortunately a majority of companies are still not reporting on what steps they are taking to improve the environmental impact of their factories and of their products 64 of the companies we have covered scored our worst rating in this category Outdoor companies fared the worst whilst jeans companies did best
References 1 Gisela Burckhardt Price does not guarantee fairness 2015 2 Clean Clothes Campaign Stitched Up 2014 3 Business Human Rights Know the Chain ndash See which companies do and do not have statements under the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act January 2014 4 Lexology Recent developments in US legislation on modern slavery September 2014 wwwlexologycomlibrarydetailaspxg=f9b4675d-c785-4ac1-9d3d-7ed6346fb1cb 5 wwwlivingwagenoweuuploadsimagesPanel_introduction_EU_Flagship_webpdf 6 The White House Press Release G-7 Leaders Declaration June 8th 2015 wwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20150608g-7-leaders-declaration 7 SEDEX Modern Slavery Act 2015 wwwsedexglobalcomwp-contentuploads201106The-UK-Modern-Slavery-Act-20151pdf
Clothing product guides onlineOther clothing-related guides on our website are Online Clothing Retailers Alternative Clothing Companies Underwear Shoes Trainers Sportswear Walking boots and Fleeces Go to wwwethicalconsumerorgbuyersguidesclothing
The journey towards transparencyFinally we are seeing the beginnings of legislation on supply chain issues for which campaigners have been calling for years
From 2010 the
Transparency in Supply Chains Act has required that
large companies in California USA disclose the efforts they were
making to eradicate human trafficking and slavery from their supply chains
However research has found that many companies have not been complying3 and that they have
not been penalised for non-compliance4
2010 2014 2015 2015
2015
The EU Non-Financial
Reporting directive came into force on the 6th
December 2014 It requires large listed companies to disclose policies and risks regarding social issues respect for human rights
anti-corruption and bribery EU Member States have two
years to transpose it into national legislation
The EU convened
a multi-stakeholder forum on responsible management of the
garment supply chain with representatives of industry trade
unions retailers and workersrsquo rights organisations looking at a potential EU flagship initiative and what form
this might take5
A G7 Joint Declaration promised
to ldquostrive for better application of internationally
recognised labour social and environmental
standards principles and commitments in global
supply chainsrdquo6
This year saw the
arrival of the Modern Slavery Act in the UK The
Act includes the Transparency in Supply Chains Clause which
as of October 2015 requires large UK companies to
publish an annual slavery and human trafficking
statement7
12
ProductGUIDE
This guide examines the ten biggest selling UK high-street clothes shops as well as four supermarkets that are in the top 20 UK clothes sellers ASDA Tesco John Lewis and Sainsburyrsquos1 and the top three e-tailers (online clothes retailers) Of the e-tailers only ASOS manufactures its own clothes The other two Amazon and Net-a-Porter are just marketplaces although Amazon has been talking about starting to make its own line of clothes in the future2
The lowdown on high street clothes shops
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
HampM [O] 9 h H h h H H h H 1 Ramsbury Invest AB
HampM 8 h H h h H H h H Ramsbury Invest AB
New Look 8 h h H h h H H h h Brait SE New Look
Matalan 75 H H h h H H h H Hargreaves family
ASOS 7 H H H h H h h H h ASOS plc
Burton 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Dorothy Perkins 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Evans 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
John Lewis [O] 7 h H H H H H H H h h E 1 John Lewis Partnership
Miss Selfridge 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Topman Topshop 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Wallis 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Debenhams 65 H H h h H H h h h H Debenhams plc
Next 65 H H h h H H h H H Next plc
John Lewis 6 h H H H H H H H h h E John Lewis Partnership
Net-a-Porter 6 H H h H H H H h H Yoox spa
TK Maxx 5 H H H H H H H h h H TJX Companies inc
MampS 4 H H h h H H H H h h H H Marks and Spencer Group
River Island 35 H h H h H H H H H h h h H LFH International
Primark 3 H h H h H H H H H h h H H Garfield Weston Foundation
Sainsburyrsquos TU 25 h H H h H H H h H h H h H H J Sainsbury plc
Tesco FampF 25 h H H H h H H H H H h H H Tesco plc
Amazon 05 H H H H H H H H H H h H H H Amazoncom
ASDA George 05 h H H H H H H H H h H H h H H Walmart
Ethi
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e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers [O] = organic
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Whatrsquos the yarn on the high street Josie Wexler examines the ethics of the top selling high-street shops and e-tailers
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
13
ProductGUIDE
Whilst not eligible for the Best Buy Label MampS is our recommended high street clothes shop
It scores low in our table because we rate companies
at group level and as it is also a supermarket it picks up a lot of negative marks in areas such as selling animal-tested products or factory-farmed meat But it scores high for its clothes policies (see Company Profiles overleaf)
We also recommend HampM and John Lewisrsquos organic clothing ranges
Our recommended e-tailer is ASOS
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Supply chainsAfter countless media exposeacutes on bad working conditions many high-street clothing shops are now making quite an effort to talk up their supply chain policies Next MampS Arcadia New Look Primark HampM Tesco and John Lewis all received our best rating for supply chain management
We are pleased that pressure has led to clothing retailers taking more responsibility for their supply chains although there are still many industry-wide issues that badly need to be addressed We look at the progress being made towards living wages and safe working conditions on pages 16 and 18
In light of this progress it is very disappointing that there are companies in this report who still have very little to say on the whole subject TK Maxx Matalan River Island Amazon and Net-a-Porter all received our worst rating in this category Matalan in particular have hardly any publicly available information
Sustainable clothesThere is a general lack of Fairtrade organic and recycled clothes on the high street although John Lewis and HampM do sell organic clothes
However one thing that has happened recently is that a couple of companies have started their own clothes recycling schemes See the lsquoLonger-lasting clothesrsquo article on page 24
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Arcadia (Topshop)
ASDA
ASOS
Debenhams
HampM
John Lewis
MampS
Matalan
New Look
Next
Primark
River Island
Sainsburyrsquos
Tesco
TK Maxx
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Goose and duck downIt is not just outdoor companies that use animal down ndash it is now a fashionable filling for many jackets from high-street retailers Several of the companies rated in this clothes shop report have made commitments not to use down which comes from live-plucked or fois gras birds (see table below) Yet none of them has adopted a methodology capable of ensuring that they actually donrsquot which requires tracing their whole down supply chain back to the higher-risk parent farms See page 29 for more information on how outdoor gear companies are ensuring that their down supply chains are cruelty-free
Alternative clothing companiesWe havenrsquot focused on Alternative Clothing Companies in this issue ndash although many feature in the guide to Jeans
Our Best Buy from the previous alternative clothing guide was People Tree who produce Fairtrade and Organic clothing Also a Best Buy was menswear company Brothers We Stand All their products have a footprint tab detailing their social and environmental impact
Positive policies
References 1 Mintel Clothing Retailing 2014 2 Business Insider 28 October Amazon may start making its own clothes
4
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
14
ProductGUIDE
Company profiles
Excessive executive compensation
Next MampS Arcadia Primark TK Maxx Amazon ASOS Asda Tesco Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis all pay their top executives over pound1 million which we rate as excessive
Tax avoidance
We covered the latest on Amazonrsquos tax avoidance in issue 157 and a full version of the article can be found on our website Neither of the other two e-tailers ndash ASOS and Net-a-Porter ndash show any signs of being engaged in tax avoidance
Other companies in the report who receive our worst rating for tax avoidance include Arcadia whose ultimate holding company is registered in Jersey Matalan which is registered in Guernsey and HampM which appears to use holding companies based in Hong Kong for operations in China
More stories behind the rankings
Marks and Spencer does pretty well in a lot of our rankings It receives our best rating for its supply chain and environmental policies has signed the Bangladesh Accord and was rated a leader in Greenpeacersquos lsquoDetox Catwalkrsquo It has checks in place to ensure that none of its cotton comes from Uzbekistan and aims to procure 70 of its cotton from sustainable sources by 2020 (ie either Better Cotton Initiative Fairtrade Organic or recycled)
It was also one of a very few companies to receive the Clean Clothes Campaignrsquos top rating in 2014 for its work towards improving wages in its supply chain (none of the others who received it are in this guide) although the campaign grouprsquos assessment is still fairly circumspect
ldquoWe are pleased to see MampS has been doing work to make sure there are financial incentives for buyers to source from factories that MampS says pay living wages[but] it is impossible to judge the real benefit to workersbecause no figures have been disclosed it could all still be smoke and mirrorsrdquo1
On the downside Marks and Spencer is involved in several free trade lobby groups such as the World Economic Forum and EuroCommerce
Next is the biggest selling UK clothes retailer having overtaken Marks and Spencer in 2014 Its CEO Simon Wolfson is a Conservative peer who has donated over pound500000 to the Conservative Party over the past ten years co-chaired the partyrsquos Economic Competitiveness policy review and in 2010 was one of 35 signatories of an open letter calling on the Government to press ahead with public spending cuts
Indian companies that supply Next were found in 2012 to be employing Indian women under the Sumangali Scheme which is a form of bonded labour that requires low-caste women to work for several years to earn money to pay for a dowry4
As Primark made its name by selling implausibly cheap clothing it has been much focused on by campaigners However in its favour Primark was the first UK company to sign up to the Bangladeshi Accord and as detailed on page 17 it has donated far more to Rana Plaza victims than any other retailer
Primark is owned by Associated British Foods One of Associated British Foodsrsquo foreign subsidiaries Zambia Sugar was accused in 2013 of ripping off its host country by avoiding paying millions of pounds of tax which is really shocking given that Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world2
HampM has promoted itself as a more ethical clothing retailer and produces reams of material about its supply chain policies although it is unclear how much is just talk and how much makes a real difference
HampM has been slammed recently for lagging behind on its commitments
under the Bangladeshi Accord However activists say the issues are not unique to HampM and the reason that they have focused on it is simply because it is such a big buyer from Bangladesh3
HampM has a lsquoRoadmap to a Fair Living Wagersquo aimed at increasing wages in its supplier factories which has been both praised and criticised by Labour Behind the Label ndash praised for including solid targets and dates but crucially criticised for failing to define what a living wage actually is
Like MampS HampM aims for all its cotton to come from ldquomore sustainable sourcesrdquo by 2020
Amazon currently has a boycott call against it called by us for its use of tax avoidance strategies
ASOS scores middle for its supply chain policy it has banned sandblasting in its supply chain and is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative On the downside it has no policy on toxics
References 1 Clean Clothes Campaign 2014 ldquoTailored Wagesrdquo EuroCommerce and World Economic Forum websites 2015 2 ActionAid 2013 ldquoSweet Nothingsrdquo 3 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 4 Maid in India report 2012 ndash India Committee of the Netherlands
copy S
ean
Pavo
ne |
Dre
amst
ime
com
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
15
ProductGUIDE
She believes that in the Tamil Nadu region alone 200000 young women and girls are working under conditions of forced or bonded labour Many are producing cotton jersey (t-shirt fabric) clothing for export to the UK
Samantha Maher from Labour Behind the Label agrees and singles out another vulnerable group that the legislation could help ndash migrants
ldquoLots of migrants are in forced labour especially in Malaysia where people are having their passports taken as well as in the middle east in places like Jordan and Egyptrdquo
Campaigners yet to be convincedHowever some labour rights campaigners are yet to be convinced that the legislation will have the desired effect in improving working conditions
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label feels that reporting alone canrsquot help and the new legislation raises a number of questions
ldquoHow they are reporting and how it [the information] is used still appears to be undecided There is an assumption that NGOs will use the information to expose poor practice but capacity is limited so this wonrsquot be easy without resources and a clear process We also wonder how we will know if the reporting is accuraterdquo
Jane from Homeworkers Worldwide concurs She told Ethical Consumer
ldquoIt is very hard to predict what impact the Modern Slavery Act will have The difficulty is that [the companies] have to report what they are doing but someone will have to sift through the ethical spin to assess whether what they report is really having an impact on the ground whether they are really focusing their efforts on where the problems are etc
Holding companies to account on this will be difficult and will be a massive job for campaigners NGOs and activists ldquo
But she also has more fundamental concerns
ldquoThe current rhetoric on modern slavery in general is that modern slavery
(including forced and bonded labour) risks being seen as a distinct issue and treated quite separately from other forms of exploitation It is as though we can isolate a few criminal elements get rid of those and the rest of the industry can carry on as normalrdquo
Meanwhile TUC General Secretary Frances OrsquoGrady said that this legislation is just the start and that ldquoThe Government should build on the Modern Slavery Act and ratify the ILO Forced Labour Protocol immediatelyrdquo
This would mean not only to criminalise and prosecute forced labour but also to take more effective measures to prevent forced labour and provide victims with protection and access to remedies including compensation1
The way forwardDespite their criticisms campaigners are clear that the Act is a step in the right direction
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label
ldquoCompanies often have no idea where they are buying from so they may get a better grip of supply chains The act is also forcing the issue up from CSR to board level due to its legally binding naturerdquo
This is a view shared by Jane at Homeworkers Worldwide ldquoWhilst we donrsquot think it will in practice deliver much transparency the principle of companies taking responsibility for what goes on in global chains is an important one and making this a legal requirement is a starting point for pushing for greater responsibility and accountability in the futurerdquo
The Modern Slavery Act will force companies to publicly report on the steps they are taking to ensure there is no slavery or forced labour in their supply chains It has the potential to have a big impact on the clothing sector The Ethical Trading Initiative described the legislation as a ldquogame-changerrdquo
Karen Bradley the Home Office Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation said in a statement ldquoThe act will mean that major businesses will for the first time be expected to be transparent about the action they are taking to address modern slavery in their global supply chains
ldquoConsumers businesses and investors will now have valuable information to inform them on the companies they are supporting ndash and shoppers can make more informed decisions at the checkout Businesses risk damaging their reputation or their bottom line if they donrsquot take action to prevent modern slavery in their supply chainsrdquo
Huge numbers of bonded labourersThe legislation has the potential to have a positive impact on millions of workers all over the world
The International Labour Organisation estimates that almost 21 million people are currently working in some form of forced labour including many in the clothing sector2
Research from the Ashridge Centre for Business and Sustainability and the Ethical Trading Initiative found that 71 of companies believe there is a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some point in their supply chains3
Jane Tate from campaign group Homeworkers Worldwide is in no doubt that modern slavery is a big issue in the clothing sector ndash ldquoThere has been a lot of campaigning and work done attempting to address this issue including company projects and an ETI project but to our best knowledge the problem of forced labour still remains endemic in the industryrdquo
The new Modern Slavery Act
References 1 wwwiloorgwcmsp5groupspublic---ed_norm---declarationdocumentspublicationwcms_321414pdf 2 wwwtheguardiancomworld2015oct28uk-companies-proof-no-links-slave-labour-supply-chain 3 wwwethicaltradeorgnews-and-eventsnewsresearch-released-corporate-approaches-to-modern-slavery
Many campaigners are yet to be convinced that this new Act will have the desired effect Tim Hunt investigates
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
16
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
It is now more than two years since the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed killing over a thousand people and injuring 2500 ndash people who managers had ordered back to work despite cracks appearing in the walls Rana Plaza is considered the most fatal garment industry accident in history The resulting public outcry led to promises that things would change So have they
The Accord and the AllianceThere are three different factory safety schemes that were created in the aftermath of the disaster Two are industry-led ones The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (the Alliance) There is also a government-led scheme whose remit is to cover any factories not covered by the other two called the National Action Plan
For any industry scheme to be convincing it has to be substantially different from what went before because the track record of company safety audits in Bangladesh is not impressive Rana
Plaza had twice been audited by Primark and declared safe1 Primark says that it didnrsquot do a structural survey because nobody did them then but a building collapse was hardly unprecedented in 2005 one had killed 64 workers And this is only one of a string of audit failures that have been luridly illustrated by mass fatalities In 2010 a fire at the Garib amp Garib sweater factory killed 21 workers four months after HampM had audited it HampM officially required suppliersrsquo factories to have adequate exits and fire-fighting equipment but this one passed the audit with neither and two people had already died in a fire at the factory a few months earlier2
Factory safety two years on from Rana Plaza
Companies in these guides which have signed the Accordbull Arcadia bull Debenhams bull G Star bull Helly Hansen bull HampM bull John Lewis bull MampS bull Matalan bull New Look bull Next bull Primark bull PVH bull River Island bull Sainsburyrsquos bull Tesco bull Uniqlo
ldquoDonrsquot look for me where leaves are
falling
You will not find me there my beloved
At the machines where lives are
withered
It is there that I lie deadrdquo
A verse from a 1911 song written to commemorate the Triangle garment factory disaster in New York which generated a labour rights movement that revolutionised labour standards in the USA (Mayn Rue Platz by Morris Rosenfeld in translation)
The aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collpase in 2013 1134 people were killed and over 2500 injured as the 8-storey building housing five garment factories collapsed
Inte
rnat
iona
l Lab
or R
ight
s Fo
rum
Josie Wexler takes a look at progress towards creating safer clothing factories in Bangladesh
17
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The Accord however is different It is not another self-policed scheme that companies can adhere to if they feel like it It is a legally-binding agreement between brands and trade unions and signing it means that if safety issues are found in a companyrsquos suppliersrsquo factories and are not fixed the company can be sued
Campaigners had spent years trying and failing to get brands to enter into such an agreement Within weeks of Rana Plazarsquos collapse nearly 40 companies had signed The number is now over 200
However many American companies have refused to sign most notably Walmart (ASDA) and Gap They created the other alternative industry scheme the Alliance which is not legally binding and is widely believed to be basically meaningless window dressing It has only 26 members
Recent developmentsMost although not all of the 3500 clothing factories in Bangladesh have been inspected under one of the three schemes over the past two years largely by the Accord The Accord has closed thirty-five factories altogether and safety upgrades have begun in hundreds of others3 All of the Accordrsquos inspection reports with photographs are freely available on the web ndash transparency is one of its central principles which is another big break from the auditing schemes of the past
However progress on the upgrades has been terribly slow and the unions are now initiating a formal complaint about several brands including HampM who they say are not fulfilling their obligations at a reasonable pace The complaint is the first step towards legal arbitration which would be quite unprecedented4
A further development is that in June 2015 42 people in Bangladesh were
charged with murder over the Rana Plaza deaths including the buildingrsquos owner Sohel Rana the owners of the five factories in the building and 13 government officials If convicted they could face the death penalty
CompensationIn 2014 Labour Behind the Label ran a ldquopay uprdquo campaign pressuring companies to compensate Rana Plazarsquos victimsrsquo families The good news is that although it took a huge struggle the campaign was a success The Rana Plaza Donorrsquos Trust Fund met its target of $30 million in June 2015
Primark comes out by far the best in this story It donated a total of $8 million ndash $1 million to the fund and $7 million directly to victimsWalmart is estimated to have donated $1 million
bull
bull
References 1 Vogue 2014 How The World Has Changed Since Rana Plaza 2 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo 3 Good Choice Forex June 1 2015 ldquoTwo Years After Rana Plaza Disaster Uneven Progress In Bangladeshrsquos Garment Industryrdquo 4 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 5 Clean Clothes Campaign 2015 ldquoWho has paid and who is dragging their heelsrdquo 6 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo
The dumping ground for the Rana Plaza debris just metres away from the victimsrsquo homes
North Face Death TrapsAmerican student groups have been leading the way on pressurising companies who have refused to sign the Accord United Students Against Sweatshops have run a campaign called lsquoNorth Face Death Trapsrsquo targeting VF Corporation as the largest branded clothing manufacturer in the world over its refusal to sign The campaign can be found at httpnorthfacedeathtrapscom
North Face appears in the Waterproof jackets guide whilst VF Corporation owns Lee and Wrangler jeans
Matalan initially refused to donate anything but after being hounded by campaigners it made a rather half-hearted donation of $100000HampM donated approximately $200000 Unlike the three companies above it was not sourcing from Rana Plaza but it is the biggest buyer from Bangladesh as a whole5
Rana Plaza has started to change the game in more ways than one After the Garib amp Garib fire HampM commissioned Save the Children to assess workersrsquo familiesrsquo needs and it decided to focus just on helping children and the elderly But the Rana Plaza fund goes further and is compensating all victimsrsquo families based on loss of income6
There is talk in campaign groups about how to take the Accord further ndash extending it outside Bangladesh or using the same model in other areas such as wages Watch this space
bull
bull
http
f
oxfa
shio
nor
guk
18
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The garment industry is a major employer across the world ndash in Asia for example over 15 million people are employed by the industry With global brands making millions in profits every year this booming industry has come to rely on and exploit the cheap labour of millions of garment workers whose wages fall far short of a living wage
The lack of a living wage means many garment workers are forced to work long hours to earn overtime or bonuses and cannot risk refusing work due to unsafe working conditions or taking time off due to ill health The low wages mean that workers often have to rely on loans just to make ends meet and have no savings to use if they find themselves out of work
A living wage calculation across a region is key to ensuring not only that workers receive a decent wage but also that wage differences do not mean companies pull out of one country to move manufacturing to a country with lower costs ndash the so-called race to the bottom
Living wage calculations must take into account some common factors including the number of family members to be supported the basic nutritional needs of a worker and other basic needs including housing healthcare education and some basic savings
Clean Clothes Campaign is part of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance ndash an alliance of Asian trade unions and labour groups who have calculated a living wage formula for Asia
The Asia Floor Wage calculation cannot be simply applied to other regions as some of the assumptions do not apply For
example in Asia food costs are relatively high and standards of living such as housing are very low whereas in other regions such as Eastern Europe food costs are relatively lower when compared to housing
Clean Clothes Campaign partners are working on defining
and calculating living wages for other garment producing regions
They are calling forClothing brands and companies to set concrete measurable steps throughout their supply chain to ensure garment workers get paid a living wageNational governments in garment producing countries to make sure minimum wages are set at living wage standardsEuropean governments to implement regulation to ensure companies are responsible for the impact they have on the lives of workers in their supply chainSign the Clean Clothes Campaign
petition calling for all garment workers to receive a living wage ndash wwwcleanclothesorglivingwagesign
bull
bull
bull
Struggling for a living wage
A living wage in CambodiaFor several years garment workers and trade unions in Cambodia have been engaged in a bitter conflict with the government over the minimum wage with strikes protests and brutal government crackdowns resulting in deaths injuries and imprisonments Garment workers want US$177 per month enough cover their basic living expenses In 2014 Asia Floor Wage calculated the living wage in Cambodia to be US$396 per month
Though it has made increases the Cambodian government has still not reached the $177 called for Further negotiations and protests in October this year saw the government settle on $140 a month to come into effect in January 2016 Needless to say this has angered some ldquoThis figure is reasonable and acceptable Even itrsquos not acceptable to all we have no choicerdquo Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng was quoted as saying
The top five brands sourcing from Cambodia include three brands in these clothes guides HampM GAP Levi Strauss amp Co
Living wage initiativesLiving Wage Now Forum
In October this year the CCCrsquos Living Wage Now Forum brought together workersrsquo representatives from around the world brand representatives (HampM Primark CampA New Look Pentland NrsquoBrown and Tchibo) European policy makers experts and members of workerrsquos rights organisations to discuss the next concrete steps towards a fashion industry that respects human rights and pays all workers a living wage based on proposals from the CCC Follow its progress here wwwlivingwagenoweu
ACT initiative
A number of brands and retailers are collaborating with the IndustriALL Global Union on the Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT) making a commitment to work with their suppliers in order to support a living wage
Brands in this guide that are involved with ACT are ASOS HampM Arcadia Tesco Primark Next
A full list of members could not be found but these companies were mentioned online in connection with the project
For an average item of clothing only between
05-3 of the cost goes to the worker who made it This means that on an euro8 t-shirt the most a worker will get paid is 24 cents
Clean Clothes Campaign
What are the companies in this issue doing about living wagesThe following brands from this guide explicitly make provision for a living wage in their supply chain policies
Major clothes retailers Next Arcadia Primark Debenhams New Look Tesco John Lewis
Waterproof jacketstrousers Patagonia Jack Wolfskin Paramo Mountain Equipment
Jeans G-Star Nudie PVH brands (Calvin Klein amp Tommy Hilfiger)
19
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
For decades the Government of Uzbekistan has been forcing its citizens both children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest As a result of sustained campaign pressure on the issue of child labour 2014 saw the burden of labour shifted onto adults with lsquomassesrsquo of teachers and medical professionals forced into the cotton fields1
Having engaged companies on the issue since 2008 the Responsible Sourcing
Clothing campaigns
Best scores on Uzbek cottonIn order to receive Ethical Consumerrsquos best rating on this issue all medium- to large-sized companies are expected both to have signed the Cotton Pledge and to demonstrate concrete actions to implement it throughout their supply chains Otherwise the company must only use organic or Better Cotton Initiative cotton
Companies in this issue which receive a best score are
Major clothes retailers MampS Arcadia (Topshop etc) TK Maxx New Look
Waterproof jacketstrousers Jack Wolfskin Patagonia
Jeans Nudie Kuyichi Mud FREITAG (does not use cotton) Levirsquos PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
bull
bull
bull
Companies whorsquove signed the CanopyStyle Pledge Patagonia Levi Strauss amp Co HampM Marks amp Spencer ASOS G-Star RAW
Companies targeted by RAN Guess
Forest-friendly fashionForests probably arenrsquot something that immediately come to mind when considering the impacts of the fashion industry However many commonly used fabrics are derived from wood pulp Check your clothes labels for rayon viscose modal and tencel and itrsquos highly likely yoursquoll spot them ndash either on their own or blended with other fibres Mixed with polyester they give clothes a more pleasant lsquofeelrsquo and often replace cotton because theyrsquore cheaper to produce
So whatrsquos the issue
More than 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into cellulose fabric ndash if placed end to end those trees would circle the earth seven timesDissolving pulp (the base material for rayonviscose) wastes approximately 70 of the tree and is a chemically intensive manufacturing process Dissolving pulp production is projected to double by 2050 Less than 20 of the worldrsquos ancient forests remain intact in tracts large enough to maintain biological diversityForests in Indonesia Canadarsquos boreal and temperate rainforests and the Amazon are being logged for next seasonrsquos fashion
Canopyrsquos lsquoFashion Loved by Forestrsquo initiative partners with clothing brands to help them develop solutions to reduce the impact of their business on ancient forests Companies are asked to sign up to the CanopyStyle Pledge and create a policy on how they source wood-derived fabrics
Rainforest Action Networkrsquos (RAN) lsquoOut of Fashionrsquo campaign pinpointed several high-end fashion brands which it said must do more to ensure they werenrsquot making clothes from unsustainable wood pulp
Watch the campaign video and sign in support of RANrsquos Out of Fashion campaign wwwranorgout_of_fashion
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bull
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Fur-free shoppingAn investigation into angora farms in China by PETA Asia in December 2013 revealed shockingly cruel treatment of angora rabbits involving the live-plucking of fur from caged rabbits Many clothing companies have now stated that they will no longer sell angora The only companies covered in this issue who
are still selling it are Net-A-Porter in the Clothes Shops guide and Pepe and Guess covered in the Jeans guide
The following clothes shops have joined the Fur Free Alliancersquos Fur Free Retailer programme Topshop HampM ASOS MampS Next Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis From the other guides Nudie and MUD jeans and Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen are part of the programme More information from wwwfurfreeretailercomOther brands are listed as fur free by Humane Society International Mountain Hardwear Calvin Klein New Look Patagonia North Face Diesel Superdry Levirsquos Guess Tommy Hilfiger Howies and Uniqlo See wwwhumanesocietyorgissuesfur_fashiontipsfur-free_shoppinghtml for more details
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References 1 wwwantislaveryorgenglishcampaignscottoncrimesforced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgroundaspx
Network (RSN) introduced the lsquoCotton Pledge Against Child and Adult Forced Labour in Uzbek Cottonrsquo in 2011 To date over 160 companies have signed the pledge
However the RSN decided in 2014 that it was time to find out how companies were actually implementing the Cotton Pledge throughout their supply chains
It asked companies what efforts they were making to actually implement this pledge including communicating their policy to all parts of its supply chain including spinners and mills and auditing them for compliance The results were published in the lsquoCotton Sourcing Snapshotrsquo which can be downloaded from wwwsourcingnetworkorgcotton-sourcing-snapshot
See page 22 in the Jeans guide for discussion on the other issues associated with cotton production
Forced labour in the Uzbekrsquos cotton fields
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
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bull
bull
policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
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Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
copy B
ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
copy A
nton
io G
rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
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bull
bull
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
bull
bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
bull
bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
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3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
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lippo
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ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
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Address
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issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
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Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
Editorialethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
In future issues Cameras Digital amp cable TV Mobile phones LED TVs Banks Shoes Sportswear
Billions of collective actions against climate changeThe COP21 climate negotiations in December and the bombings in Paris and Syria in November have cast a shadow over most other activities recently ndash perhaps allowing us to view our actions with a different perspective
And although the likely outcome of the COP 21 negotiations will not be an agreement which can keep temperature increases below the key target of a two degrees rise there are perhaps surprisingly voices of optimism still at play
A new book by climate expert Tim Flannery called Climate of Hope has some positive things to say not just about new carbon sequestration technologies but also about individual lsquoconsumerrsquo actions
ldquoIn early 2015 the International Energy Agency (IEA) announced that in 2014 global emissions of greenhouse gases ldquostalledrdquoTwo factors appear to account for this historic shift the rise of wind and solar power and greater energy efficiency
For more than a decade now many of us have been changing light bulbs insulating houses cycling to work and much more ndash all too often with little hope that it makes very little difference But the IEA figures tell us that our billions of collective actions have added up to something massive They have seen many developed nations pass peak oil and coal demand as our cities and farms become ever cleaner and more efficientrdquo1
He is also optimistic because of the impact of digital technologies on the empowerment of individuals ldquoDigital communications has brought new opportunities for divestment effective dissent encouraging uptake of new technologies and for legal actionrdquo2
The feature on COP21 on page 36 looks at corporate lobbying in the run-up to the summit and finds companies both lobbying for and against climate action at the same time
Progress on ethical clothingOur special report on clothing also finds grounds for optimism After many years of campaigning some progress has been been made in the areas of wages and working conditions the use of child and forced labour transparency of supply chains toxic chemicals and the use of animal fur and down
The Bangladesh Accord for factory safety has been signed by over 220 clothes companies with the notable exceptions of Walmart (ASDA) and GAP The Accord requires companies to be transparent in their reporting and shows that companies can work together within a legally-binding framework It is hoped that the Accord will set a precedent for other initiatives The Modern Slavery Act could also have a positive impact on the lives of garment workers
But itrsquos not just about what initiatives theyrsquove signed up to and having lsquobest practicersquo policies on paper Companies need to be making progress on the ground and that still seems a way off Virtually all the clothes shops have been criticised for workersrsquo rights violations despite most of them having lsquobest practicersquo supply chain policies
We are inching forward on the catwalk to ethical fashion but therersquos still a long way to go
and animal testingNow in its fourth year the Lush Prize is a joint project between Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics which aims to bring an end to the safety testing of products on animals This year saw the first lsquobreakthroughrsquo prize given to a group of scientists who had mapped the first ever human lsquotoxicity pathwayrsquo which explains ndash at a molecular level ndash how cell damage occurs More information appears on our special two page feature on page 32
Jane Turner Editor
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombooks2015nov20climate-crisis-future-brighter-tim-flannery 2 Climate of Hope Tim Flannery Penguin 2015
Ethical Consumer Research Association Ltd
Unit 21 1 Old Birley StreetManchester M15 5RF
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comment ampanalysis06 food
Bacardi campaign Thorntons sold John West tuna Nestleacute water grab Pepsi amp palm oil
08 home animal testing figures
09 boycotts Israel campaign successes Ben amp Jerryrsquos
32 Lush Prize news amp photos from the recent conference amp awards
35 tax justice Fair Tax Mark news
39 climate of change fossil fuel divestments Shell amp Science Museum ranking airlinesrsquo CO
2 emissions
2 money banks amp nuclear weapons RBS sale Co-op Bank news ethical amp green funds
whorsquos who this Issuersquos editor Jane Turner amp Tim Huntproofing Ciara Maginness (littlebluepencilcouk)writersresearchers Jane Turner Tim Hunt Leonie Nimmo Rob Harrison Heather Webb Anna Clayton Joanna Long Josie Wexler Ruth Strangeregular contributors Simon Birch Bryony Moore Richard Murphy design and layout Adele Armistead (moonloftcom) Jane Turnercover Dreamstimecom Adele Armistead (moonloftcom)cartoons Marc Roberts Sarah Guthrie Andy Vine Richard Liptrotad sales Simon Birchsubscriptions Elizabeth Chater Heather Webb Simon Robinsonenquiries Leonie Nimmo Tim Huntpress enquiries Simon Birchresearch screening amp consultancy Rob Harrison internetweb Michael Wignall Georgina Rawesmarketing Tim Hunt Jane Turnerthanks also to Amy Shakeshaft Suzanne Hatton Eleanor Boyce
subscriptions amp renewalsPhone 0161 226 2929 or go to wwwethicalconsumerorg
copyrightAll material correct one month before cover date and copy Ethical Consumer Research Association Ltd Not-for-profit organisations may normally reproduce without charge any of the material appearing in Ethical Consumer providing that all such material is credited and providing that written permission has been sought prior to publication No part of this publication may be produced by commercial organisations without written permission from Ethical Consumer Research Association Ltd ISSN 0955 8608
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Paper The cover is printed on 170gsm Cocoon Silk 100 post-consumer waste and the inside pages on 80gsm Corona from 100 post-consumer waste Paper is sourced from recycled paper co-op Paperback (httppaperbackcoop)
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Ethical Consumer is a member of INK (independent news collective) an association of radical and alternative publishers
about the advertisersECRA checks out advertisers before accepting their ads and reserves the right to refuse any advert
Covered in previous Product Guides Biona (156) Co-operative phone amp broadband (145) Good Energy (143) Kingfisher Toothpaste (138) Plamil (150) Triodos (147) Vegetarian Shoes (137)
Other advertisers Book Aid Camphill Trust Clean Slate Energy4All Green Building Store Greenpeace Green Stationery Infinity Wholefoods Investing Ethically Oasis coffins Share Energy
wwwinkukcom
Ethical Consumer conference 2015
details of this yearrsquos conference in September
32
Clothes report10 introduction
1themodernslaveryact
16factorysafetypost-RanaPlaza
18campaigningforalivingwage
19clothescampaignsUzbekcottonfurforest-friendlyfashion
24 longer-lastingclothes
ChristmasgiftsubscriptionsGiveagiftthatlastsayear
lettersaregularforumforreadersrsquoviews
insideviewBlackFridayrsquosshoppingfenzy
43
44
46
Contentsethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
featuressyntheticbiologycontroversyoverEcoverrsquosuseofabiotechingredient
corporatelobbyingintherun-uptotheCOP21climatesummit
waterproof jackets26 score table and best buys28toxicchemicalsinwaterproofs
29thecrueltybehinddown-filledjackets
12
36
10
30
36
clothes shops12score table
and best buys
jeans20 score table and best buys23sustainablejeans
20
26
FoodJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 wwwethicalconsumerorg
Bacardi Give sugarcane workers a breakDrinks brand Bacardi has come under fire from several campaign groups over the conditions in its sugar supply chain
According to campaign group Fairfood International in the last decade 20000 agricultural workers have died from Chronic Kidney Disease of non-Traditional Causes (CKDnT) the majority of them are sugarcane workers
Three of the most likely causes of CKDnT are dehydration heat stress and exposure to agrochemicals The sugarcane industry in Central America is beset by poor working conditions such as long working days and heavy physical work with little access to water and shade which most likely contribute to the onset of the disease
The documentary lsquoUnder Canersquo by filmmaker Ed Kashi shows how harsh the working conditions of sugarcane workers are and the devastating effect of this fatal kidney disease See the video at wwwfairfoodorg
Campaign groups Fairfood International and The SumofUs are targeting Bacardi which does business directly with sugarcane mills in Guatemala and could help stop the epidemic Campaigners say that there are several simple steps that could be taken to stop the problem including
Better access to sufficient clean drinking water
Better access to shade
More regular breaks
Reduced working hours thus decreasing physical strain
Bacardi said in a statement
ldquoBacardi takes the unsubstantiated Fairfood International allegations made about its supply chain and human rights initiatives seriously as the Company operates in full compliance with all trade regulations and lawshellipSpecifically we do not source any product from Nicaragua and we have only continued to work with the two organizations we source from in Guatemala because they have committed to improving their practices and getting and maintaining certifiedhelliprdquo
Sign the SumofUs petition at httpactionsumofusorg
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Not just tunaPeople have been fighting destructive fishing for many years But increasingly we are seeing harm caused to more than just our oceans wersquore seeing the abuse and enslavement of people
Over the last year a series of shocking stories have come to light that expose the true cost of the tuna we consume
The truth is that our seafood is often the product of human trafficking and enslavement Thai Union the owner of John West tinned tuna is embroiled in the scandal
Fishers working in the Thai seafood industry have usually been encouraged to leave their families on the promise of a well-paid job to support their family For others the situation is even more extreme they were sold against their will and prevented from going home at gunpoint
Brought into Thailand illegally if they disobey the people who trafficked them they are threatened with arrest and imprisonment Many see no choice but to accept their fate and they remain on the ships for years on end
Therersquos no doubt that our desire for cheap tuna has helped cause the environmental degradation and human rights abuses we see in the seafood industry today
But if tuna companies stop paying for fish tainted by human trafficking and abuse fishing vessels with these practices will become unprofitable Greenpeace are calling on Thai Union to stop buying from fisheries where labour or human rights abuses are present
Greenpeace is targeting John West Almost 100000 people have pledged to stop buying John West tuna 50000 people have sent direct messages to Thai Union and John West
Join the campaign
Sign the pledge amp Email John West amp Thai Union httpssecuregreenpeaceorgukpagesnot-just-tuna
Write on John Westrsquos Facebook page wwwfacebookcomjohnwestuk
Tweet your NotJohnWest sandwich and let them know their behaviour is bad for business
Nestleacute water grab in OregonNestleacute has been planning on pumping fresh water out of Cascade Locks Oregon to bottle and sell for profit ndash a plan that local residents have been fighting for the last six years
Now as the plan closes in residents have launched a historic ballot initiative to prevent any major bottled water company from commercialising water anywhere in the region This legislation could serve as a national benchmark and a crucial model to any region around the world looking to keep its natural resources out of the reach of Big Bottled Water The
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Sugarcane cutters need access to unlimited clean drinking water and shade regular breaks shorter working hours and less physical strain
Fairf
ood
Inte
rnat
iona
l
Foodwwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
ballot measure has been filed and Oregon residents are furiously collecting signatures in the area to get the initiative on the ticket for the next yearrsquos election
This ballot measure comes at a crucial moment As the world eyes an impending water crisis brought on by climate change and the mismanagement of natural resources corporations like Nestleacute and Coca-Cola are eyeing precious natural water reserves too often in economically desperate areas that are themselves facing water shortages
Sign the SumofUs petition showing your support for the people-powered initiative in Oregon to stop Nestleacute from privatising public water ndash httpactionsumofusorgaoregon-david-goliath-nestle
Thorntons sold to Italian FerreroThe Italian chocolate company Ferrero famed for its provision of gold foil wrapped chocolates at ambassadorsrsquo parties has bought one of the most familiar brands on the UK high street Thorntons
The change does little to alter the brandsrsquo overall scores but Ferrero gets a best rating for palm oil policy and environmental reporting whilst Thorntons gets worst for both We hope that the better policies of the parent company will now also lift Thorntonsrsquo operations
Once seen as luxurious and upmarket Thorntons has lost out to the likes of Hotel Chocolat and Lindt Such was the competitive pressure that in 2007 one of Thorntonsrsquo master chocolatiers Barry Colenso was forced to resign in disgrace after being caught squashing truffles in one of competitor Hotel Chocolatrsquos stores
The buyout marks the loss of one of Britainrsquos last remaining home-grown chocolate brands to an overseas buyer Cadbury and Green amp Blackrsquos were sold to the US confectionery business Kraft Foods Inc ndash now renamed Mondelez ndash in 2009 while Rowntree the company which developed the Kit Kat and Aero was sold to the Swiss Nestleacute in 1988
The deal will enable Ferrero to become the UKrsquos fourth-largest chocolate brand ndash behind Mondelez Mars and Nestleacute Other brands owned by Ferrero are Nutella and Kinder
In June Francersquos ecology minister Seacutegolegravene Royal urged the public to boycott Nutella saying its use of palm oil contributes to deforestation She later had to apologise when Greenpeace and WWF leapt to the companyrsquos defence saying that Ferrero actually goes much further than most competitors on the responsible sourcing of palm oil
Pepsi lags behind on palm oilThe Rainforest Alliance has launched a new campaign against Pepsi over what it describes as a ldquoloopholerdquo in its new palm oil policy
PepsiCo has committed to cutting conflict palm oil from its supply chains everywhere but Indonesia the worldrsquos biggest palm oil producing country Its new policy exempts its Indofood partner which produces PepsiCo products containing palm oil in Indonesia
Moreover the policy commits to only source RSPO certified palm oil by 2020 Most lsquofront runnersrsquo have adopted 2015 as the year to fully meet their palm oil commitments
According to Rainforest Action Network ldquoThis latest move falls below the standard set by PepsiCorsquos peers which have recognized the need to go beyond sourcing Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified palm oil The RSPO is a scheme that permits the destruction of forests peatlands and has a poor track record of upholding the rights of local communities and workersrdquo
McDonaldrsquos and Yum Brands (owner of KFC Pizza Hut and Taco Bell) have both come out with zero-deforestation policies this year
RAN continues ldquoPepsiCo uses an immense amount of palm oil its annual consumption could fill enough Pepsi soda cans full of palm oil to circle the earth at the equator four times Put another way the tropical land base needed to feed PepsiCorsquos global appetite for palm oil each year is a quarter million acres of land most of which used to be rainforest Due to its size and influence PepsiCo has a key role to play in halting the destruction of Indonesiarsquos forests bulldozed for palm oilrdquo
People took action around the globe to close this destructive loophole They labelled PepsiCo vending machines and store displays lsquoOut of Orderrsquo
Pepsi brands in the UK are Walkers crisps Doritos Snack a Jacks Quaker Oats Scottrsquos Porage Oats Tropicana Copella Gatorade Mountain Dew V Water Naked juice and Nobbyrsquos Nuts
What you can do
Email PepsiCorsquos CEO Ms Indra Nooyi here and demand that it close the loophole in its palm oil policy wwwranorgpepsi_loophole
Post on PepsiCorsquos Facebook page wwwfacebookcomPepsiUS
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120 tribal members residents and concerned citizens rallied in Salem to protect Oregonrsquos water from Nestleacute
Keep
Nes
tle O
ut o
f the
Gor
ge C
oalit
ion
HomeJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 wwwethicalconsumerorg
Investment in technology which can replace animals in experiments stood at pound8 million in 2014 However funding for the research councils which develop animal-based tests ran to pound300 million
What can consumers do
Use the sliders next to the score tables on our product guide pages on the website so that you can just rate the brands on animal testing
Choose cruelty-free products from companies that donrsquot test on animals See Naturewatchrsquos Compassionate Shopping Guide available for pound5 from httpnaturewatchorgcompassionate-shopping
Support companies such as Lush Cosmetics who are fighting animal testing See the Lush Prize page for details of this yearrsquos pound450000 given by them to those developing non-animal testing methods For more on the Lush Prize see page 32
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Underwear Best Buy foldsUnfortunately the Who Made My Pants brand of womenrsquos underwear has had to close
The brand was set up in 2008 by Welsh businesswoman Becky John She said ldquoWe have struggled to achieve sustainable levels of production and this coupled with inconsistent supply of raw materials has meant it was always a struggle to sell the pants at a high enough margin to pay for our overheads and therefore cash flow has been a constant issue for usrdquo
Who Made Your Pants started after Ms John attended an Amnesty meeting in Southampton She had been a member of the human rights organisation since she was a teenager and at that meeting she saw a presentation from a group that worked with refugees in the area Who Made Your Pants employed women from refugee backgrounds from countries such as Sudan Somalia and Afghanistan
Who Made Your Pants was a Best Buy in our underwear guide That leaves Pants to Poverty who offer Fairtrade and organic certified pants We also recommended certified organic or Fairtrade underwear from the following companies Peau Ethique Living Crafts Do You Green Greenfibres and Cock amp Bull
New pet food Best BuyWe have just added a new brand to the pet food guides that we published in the last Issue ndash Lilyrsquos Kitchenrsquos organic varieties It makes organic and lsquonaturalrsquo meat cat and dog food
The range is currently available nationwide in Waitrose Tesco and Ocado as well as in wholefood shops vet surgeries organic health food shops and pet shops
Lilyrsquos Kitchen recently became a founding UK member of the global B Corp community Like Patagonia in the Waterproofs guide B Corps are legally required to serve stakeholders ndash workers communities and the wider environment ndash as well as shareholders through explicit reference to the triple bottom line They are certified in the UK by B Lab a non-profit organisation that assesses transparency accountability and performance
Animal experiments in the UKHome Office statistics published in October show that British universities companies government bodies and charities completed 387 million tests involving 38 million living animals in 2014 including horses dogs cats monkeys and cattle
UK laboratories regularly refer to the UK policy of replacing refining and reducing (3Rs) the use of animals in experiments but cleverly avoid acknowledging the total absence of any progress towards these goals ldquoClaims for the replacement refinement and reduction of the use of animals are not only hollow but also misleadingrdquo states animal welfare group the Naturewatch Foundation The statistics on animal use covering 2014 indicate a reduction in the total number of experiments of around 7 for that year
However a change in the reporting of data from experiments underway to experiments completed means that there is likely to have been no reduction at all
Statistics also donrsquot reveal these facts
More than a third of European tests involving live animals take place in the UK
Many animals bred for experiments donrsquot meet the requirements for inclusion in a trial and are euthanised with the result that the true number of animals affected will remain unknown
In August this year the Home Office approved plans for a new facility to breed and house beagle dogs without any access to outdoor space exclusively for sale to animal testing facilities This decision is particularly shocking because the approval was given to a company whose executives were arrested in Italy this year for institutional cruelty to animals Cruelty Free International has launched legal proceedings against the Home Office decision See wwwcrueltyfreeinternationalorgfighting-yorkshire-beagles-high-court
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Boycottsethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Barclays divests from Israeli arms companyHigh street bank Barclays is no longer listed as a shareholder in Israeli arms company Elbit Systems according to BDS
The news follows a high profile campaign launched after Barclays was named as a shareholder of the company owning $29 million worth of shares
The concerted campaign featured a petition signed by more than 17 million people and organised by Avaaz calling on Barclays to divest from Elbit Systems Campaigners occupied and protested at bank branches across the UK
The arms company has been the target of campaigners over its manufacture of drones used in Israelrsquos attacks on Palestinians and its role in building the illegal Apartheid Wall in occupied Palestine
Mahmoud Nawajaa co-ordinator with the Palestinian BDS National Committee the Palestinian civil society coalition that leads and supports the BDS movement said
ldquoWe hope that Barclays will now commit to not allowing clients to buy or sell Elbit shares on its platform and to making it clear to all its clients that Elbit is deeply complicit with Israeli violations of international lawrdquo
Veolia withdraws from Israel
The BDS movement celebrated another victory as long standing boycott target Veolia withdrew from its contracts in Jerusalem
After years of pressure the French corporation cut its ties with the Jerusalem Light Rail (JLR) project a railway that campaigners say is illegal and built to facilitate the growth and expansion of Israeli colonial settlements on occupied Palestinian territory
The sale of its stake in the JLR project ends all of Veoliarsquos involvement in the Israeli market
Veolia sold nearly all of its business operations in Israel in April 2015 but had until now remained a 5 shareholder in the JLR project
According to the BDS movement Veoliarsquos involvement in the project and the subsequent boycott had lead it to lose a slew of contracts across the world
For example in 2014 Kuwait Cityrsquos council excluded Veolia from a tender for the treatment of solid waste worth $750 million
Boycott Ben amp Jerryrsquos
Unilever subsidiary Ben amp Jerryrsquos has been added to the list of companies boycotted by BDS
The call comes due to the brandrsquos long-standing contractual relationship with an Israeli franchise that manufactures ice cream in Israel and sells it in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
Campaigners say that Ben amp Jerryrsquos Social Mission and ldquohistory of supporting progressive causes cannot be reconciled with its franchisersquos commercial ties to the settlementsrdquo
Since 2013 thousands of individuals and 239 organisations in 20 countries including Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory have called on Ben amp Jerryrsquos to put an end to its franchisersquos business in Israeli settlements
Jeff Furman chairperson of Ben amp Jerryrsquos Board of Directors travelled to occupied Palestine in 2012 with a group of American civil rightsrsquo leaders He described what he saw there as ldquoapartheidrdquo In spite of all this the company has refused not only to stop its practices but to even issue a statement calling for an end to Israelrsquos occupation and settlements
On the announcement of the boycott Ben amp Jerryrsquos released the following statement
ldquoBen amp Jerryrsquos corporate organization based in the US does not retain any profits from the business in Israel The company remains committed to contributing 100 of the net licensing fee to foster multicultural programs and values-led ingredient sourcing initiatives in the regionrdquo
Groups across the UK occupied and held protests at Barclays banks as part of the campaign
See the Top 10 BDS consumer boycott targets on our website at wwwethicalconsumerorgboycottsboycottslistisrael
News from the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement
In 2005 Palestinian civil society issued a call for boycotts divestment and sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law and universal principles of human rights The resulting movement is aimed at consumers (boycott) institutional investors (divestment) and states (sanctions)
10
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
This special report on clothing contains guides to clothes shops jeans and waterproof jackets We
also look at a few lsquoe-tailersrsquo (online clothes shops) and report on the latest clothing campaigns
Progress on the high streetTwo themes which have become apparent during our research for these guides are the positive impact of campaign action and the increase in transparency in some areas of the clothing industry
Small steps have been made on the catwalk to ethical fashion
The Bangladesh Accord has paved the way for future positive initiatives in more than just the field of workersrsquo rights by demonstrating that itrsquos possible to have a large number of companies working together within a legally-binding framework The level of transparency required by the Accord sets a new precedent and has set the bar for companiesrsquo future reporting Over two hundred companies have signed the Bangladeshi Accord on Fire and Factory Safety ndash see page 16 for more details
In October 2015 the UK Government enacted the Modern Slavery Act another piece of legislation which will force companies to be more transparent about whether slave labour is being used within their supply chains On page 15 campaigners tell us why they remain sceptical about how the new legislation will work in practice but why they also think it is a step in the right direction
Progress has also been made on other issues as a result of campaigns
160 companies have signed the Cotton Pledge against child and forced labour in Uzbekistan ndash see page 19There has been an increase in awareness among brands on the issue of living wages as a core issue ndash see page 1810 of the global retail fashion industry has committed to get rid of toxic chemicals by 2020 ndash see oppositeOutdoor companies are leading the way in cleaning up their goose and duck down supply chains ndash see page 29
An industry-wide problemWhile it is often the big high-street retailers who are the focus of campaigns it is worth remembering that the issues are endemic to the whole clothing industry Some retailers on the table such as Matalan score comparatively highly However this may reflect the fact that theyrsquove dodged criticisms rather than the fact that theyrsquore one step ahead on sustainability
Campaign actions get results But because there are such a large number of clothing brands campaigners canrsquot reach them all So certain companies (generally those with the biggest market share or whose labels have been uncovered in a sweatshop) find themselves targeted by campaigners more often With building pressure from customers these companies are forced to make efforts to clean up their act Meanwhile the ones left out of the spotlight are able to hide in the shadows
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The catwalk to ethical fashionHeather Webb Josie Wexler Ruth Strange and Bryony Moore provide an update on the progress made in the clothing industry
and allow others to take the flakIn order to reflect this in our ratings
we follow campaignersrsquo leads and request policies from companies on the issues they raise
For example all companies in this issue were asked for a policy on hazardous chemicals following Greenpeacersquos Detox campaign lead We also asked all companies for a cotton sourcing policy which matched the asks of the Responsible Sourcing Network on Uzbek cotton In this way we support campaigners in driving up standards
Supply chainsIn these guides we notice that nearly half of the big clothes shops and jeans companies are now scoring our best rating for their supply chain management an improvement since we last looked at the sector
This has been the result of many years of campaigns against clothing retailers to improve working conditions of workers within their supply chains
Yet even with companies achieving high scores for having best practice policies for workersrsquo rights in their supply chains investigations are still finding issues Virtually all of the clothes shops still get a worst rating in our Workersrsquo Rights column as do half of the outdoor gear and jeans companies
For example a report by SOMO and the India Committee of the Netherlands in October 2014 highlighted the abuse of girls and women workers in the South Indian textile industry Companies such as HampM and Next who get our best
copy G
reen
peac
e
Hat
i Kec
il V
isua
ls
11
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
rating for supply chain management were said to be sourcing from these factories Subsequently HampM stopped using the factories but nevertheless it highlights the complexity of supply chains and the need to closely monitor what is going on
Made in Europe
Due to complex supply chains and poor workersrsquo rights issues in Asia it is perhaps unsurprising to find that many clothing companies are now looking to bring production back to Europe and in some cases back to the UK Plus as the Guardian reported ldquoWhen a country such as Turkey Portugal Romania Slovakia or Bulgaria appears on a label the brand may also get a boost to their reputation as consumers assume the ethics behind a skirt made in Portugal are better than those behind one made in Chinardquo
But sadly it seems that this doesnrsquot guarantee that the clothes are made in decent conditions In 2014 the Clean Clothes Campaign released a report on clothing factories in eastern Europe It details appallingly low wages long hours and abuse Safety issues may not be at the same rock-bottom level as in parts of Asia
but Bulgaria Macedonia and Romania all have lower minimum wages than China2
Environment
Toxic chemicals
In July 2011 Greenpeace released its first report exposing the hidden links between textile manufacturing facilities in China that discharge hazardous chemicals into the water and international brands such as the sportswear giants Nike and Adidas That report gave rise to the Detox Campaign which called on companies to make a commitment to eliminate toxic chemicals from their supply chains by 2020
By March 2015 18 clothing companies had made the commitment
Of the clothes shops and jeans companies we have covered in our guides the following were rated by Greenpeace
Detox leaders G Star RAW HampM Levi Strauss MampS Primark and Fast Retailing (Uniqlo)Detox losers GAP and PVH (Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger)
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Greenpeacersquos latest Detox report focuses on the outdoor industry and its use of PFCs ndash toxic chemicals used for waterproofing See page 28
Environmental reporting
Unfortunately a majority of companies are still not reporting on what steps they are taking to improve the environmental impact of their factories and of their products 64 of the companies we have covered scored our worst rating in this category Outdoor companies fared the worst whilst jeans companies did best
References 1 Gisela Burckhardt Price does not guarantee fairness 2015 2 Clean Clothes Campaign Stitched Up 2014 3 Business Human Rights Know the Chain ndash See which companies do and do not have statements under the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act January 2014 4 Lexology Recent developments in US legislation on modern slavery September 2014 wwwlexologycomlibrarydetailaspxg=f9b4675d-c785-4ac1-9d3d-7ed6346fb1cb 5 wwwlivingwagenoweuuploadsimagesPanel_introduction_EU_Flagship_webpdf 6 The White House Press Release G-7 Leaders Declaration June 8th 2015 wwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20150608g-7-leaders-declaration 7 SEDEX Modern Slavery Act 2015 wwwsedexglobalcomwp-contentuploads201106The-UK-Modern-Slavery-Act-20151pdf
Clothing product guides onlineOther clothing-related guides on our website are Online Clothing Retailers Alternative Clothing Companies Underwear Shoes Trainers Sportswear Walking boots and Fleeces Go to wwwethicalconsumerorgbuyersguidesclothing
The journey towards transparencyFinally we are seeing the beginnings of legislation on supply chain issues for which campaigners have been calling for years
From 2010 the
Transparency in Supply Chains Act has required that
large companies in California USA disclose the efforts they were
making to eradicate human trafficking and slavery from their supply chains
However research has found that many companies have not been complying3 and that they have
not been penalised for non-compliance4
2010 2014 2015 2015
2015
The EU Non-Financial
Reporting directive came into force on the 6th
December 2014 It requires large listed companies to disclose policies and risks regarding social issues respect for human rights
anti-corruption and bribery EU Member States have two
years to transpose it into national legislation
The EU convened
a multi-stakeholder forum on responsible management of the
garment supply chain with representatives of industry trade
unions retailers and workersrsquo rights organisations looking at a potential EU flagship initiative and what form
this might take5
A G7 Joint Declaration promised
to ldquostrive for better application of internationally
recognised labour social and environmental
standards principles and commitments in global
supply chainsrdquo6
This year saw the
arrival of the Modern Slavery Act in the UK The
Act includes the Transparency in Supply Chains Clause which
as of October 2015 requires large UK companies to
publish an annual slavery and human trafficking
statement7
12
ProductGUIDE
This guide examines the ten biggest selling UK high-street clothes shops as well as four supermarkets that are in the top 20 UK clothes sellers ASDA Tesco John Lewis and Sainsburyrsquos1 and the top three e-tailers (online clothes retailers) Of the e-tailers only ASOS manufactures its own clothes The other two Amazon and Net-a-Porter are just marketplaces although Amazon has been talking about starting to make its own line of clothes in the future2
The lowdown on high street clothes shops
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
HampM [O] 9 h H h h H H h H 1 Ramsbury Invest AB
HampM 8 h H h h H H h H Ramsbury Invest AB
New Look 8 h h H h h H H h h Brait SE New Look
Matalan 75 H H h h H H h H Hargreaves family
ASOS 7 H H H h H h h H h ASOS plc
Burton 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Dorothy Perkins 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Evans 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
John Lewis [O] 7 h H H H H H H H h h E 1 John Lewis Partnership
Miss Selfridge 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Topman Topshop 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Wallis 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Debenhams 65 H H h h H H h h h H Debenhams plc
Next 65 H H h h H H h H H Next plc
John Lewis 6 h H H H H H H H h h E John Lewis Partnership
Net-a-Porter 6 H H h H H H H h H Yoox spa
TK Maxx 5 H H H H H H H h h H TJX Companies inc
MampS 4 H H h h H H H H h h H H Marks and Spencer Group
River Island 35 H h H h H H H H H h h h H LFH International
Primark 3 H h H h H H H H H h h H H Garfield Weston Foundation
Sainsburyrsquos TU 25 h H H h H H H h H h H h H H J Sainsbury plc
Tesco FampF 25 h H H H h H H H H H h H H Tesco plc
Amazon 05 H H H H H H H H H H h H H H Amazoncom
ASDA George 05 h H H H H H H H H h H H h H H Walmart
Ethi
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ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers [O] = organic
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Whatrsquos the yarn on the high street Josie Wexler examines the ethics of the top selling high-street shops and e-tailers
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
13
ProductGUIDE
Whilst not eligible for the Best Buy Label MampS is our recommended high street clothes shop
It scores low in our table because we rate companies
at group level and as it is also a supermarket it picks up a lot of negative marks in areas such as selling animal-tested products or factory-farmed meat But it scores high for its clothes policies (see Company Profiles overleaf)
We also recommend HampM and John Lewisrsquos organic clothing ranges
Our recommended e-tailer is ASOS
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Supply chainsAfter countless media exposeacutes on bad working conditions many high-street clothing shops are now making quite an effort to talk up their supply chain policies Next MampS Arcadia New Look Primark HampM Tesco and John Lewis all received our best rating for supply chain management
We are pleased that pressure has led to clothing retailers taking more responsibility for their supply chains although there are still many industry-wide issues that badly need to be addressed We look at the progress being made towards living wages and safe working conditions on pages 16 and 18
In light of this progress it is very disappointing that there are companies in this report who still have very little to say on the whole subject TK Maxx Matalan River Island Amazon and Net-a-Porter all received our worst rating in this category Matalan in particular have hardly any publicly available information
Sustainable clothesThere is a general lack of Fairtrade organic and recycled clothes on the high street although John Lewis and HampM do sell organic clothes
However one thing that has happened recently is that a couple of companies have started their own clothes recycling schemes See the lsquoLonger-lasting clothesrsquo article on page 24
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Arcadia (Topshop)
ASDA
ASOS
Debenhams
HampM
John Lewis
MampS
Matalan
New Look
Next
Primark
River Island
Sainsburyrsquos
Tesco
TK Maxx
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Goose and duck downIt is not just outdoor companies that use animal down ndash it is now a fashionable filling for many jackets from high-street retailers Several of the companies rated in this clothes shop report have made commitments not to use down which comes from live-plucked or fois gras birds (see table below) Yet none of them has adopted a methodology capable of ensuring that they actually donrsquot which requires tracing their whole down supply chain back to the higher-risk parent farms See page 29 for more information on how outdoor gear companies are ensuring that their down supply chains are cruelty-free
Alternative clothing companiesWe havenrsquot focused on Alternative Clothing Companies in this issue ndash although many feature in the guide to Jeans
Our Best Buy from the previous alternative clothing guide was People Tree who produce Fairtrade and Organic clothing Also a Best Buy was menswear company Brothers We Stand All their products have a footprint tab detailing their social and environmental impact
Positive policies
References 1 Mintel Clothing Retailing 2014 2 Business Insider 28 October Amazon may start making its own clothes
4
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
14
ProductGUIDE
Company profiles
Excessive executive compensation
Next MampS Arcadia Primark TK Maxx Amazon ASOS Asda Tesco Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis all pay their top executives over pound1 million which we rate as excessive
Tax avoidance
We covered the latest on Amazonrsquos tax avoidance in issue 157 and a full version of the article can be found on our website Neither of the other two e-tailers ndash ASOS and Net-a-Porter ndash show any signs of being engaged in tax avoidance
Other companies in the report who receive our worst rating for tax avoidance include Arcadia whose ultimate holding company is registered in Jersey Matalan which is registered in Guernsey and HampM which appears to use holding companies based in Hong Kong for operations in China
More stories behind the rankings
Marks and Spencer does pretty well in a lot of our rankings It receives our best rating for its supply chain and environmental policies has signed the Bangladesh Accord and was rated a leader in Greenpeacersquos lsquoDetox Catwalkrsquo It has checks in place to ensure that none of its cotton comes from Uzbekistan and aims to procure 70 of its cotton from sustainable sources by 2020 (ie either Better Cotton Initiative Fairtrade Organic or recycled)
It was also one of a very few companies to receive the Clean Clothes Campaignrsquos top rating in 2014 for its work towards improving wages in its supply chain (none of the others who received it are in this guide) although the campaign grouprsquos assessment is still fairly circumspect
ldquoWe are pleased to see MampS has been doing work to make sure there are financial incentives for buyers to source from factories that MampS says pay living wages[but] it is impossible to judge the real benefit to workersbecause no figures have been disclosed it could all still be smoke and mirrorsrdquo1
On the downside Marks and Spencer is involved in several free trade lobby groups such as the World Economic Forum and EuroCommerce
Next is the biggest selling UK clothes retailer having overtaken Marks and Spencer in 2014 Its CEO Simon Wolfson is a Conservative peer who has donated over pound500000 to the Conservative Party over the past ten years co-chaired the partyrsquos Economic Competitiveness policy review and in 2010 was one of 35 signatories of an open letter calling on the Government to press ahead with public spending cuts
Indian companies that supply Next were found in 2012 to be employing Indian women under the Sumangali Scheme which is a form of bonded labour that requires low-caste women to work for several years to earn money to pay for a dowry4
As Primark made its name by selling implausibly cheap clothing it has been much focused on by campaigners However in its favour Primark was the first UK company to sign up to the Bangladeshi Accord and as detailed on page 17 it has donated far more to Rana Plaza victims than any other retailer
Primark is owned by Associated British Foods One of Associated British Foodsrsquo foreign subsidiaries Zambia Sugar was accused in 2013 of ripping off its host country by avoiding paying millions of pounds of tax which is really shocking given that Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world2
HampM has promoted itself as a more ethical clothing retailer and produces reams of material about its supply chain policies although it is unclear how much is just talk and how much makes a real difference
HampM has been slammed recently for lagging behind on its commitments
under the Bangladeshi Accord However activists say the issues are not unique to HampM and the reason that they have focused on it is simply because it is such a big buyer from Bangladesh3
HampM has a lsquoRoadmap to a Fair Living Wagersquo aimed at increasing wages in its supplier factories which has been both praised and criticised by Labour Behind the Label ndash praised for including solid targets and dates but crucially criticised for failing to define what a living wage actually is
Like MampS HampM aims for all its cotton to come from ldquomore sustainable sourcesrdquo by 2020
Amazon currently has a boycott call against it called by us for its use of tax avoidance strategies
ASOS scores middle for its supply chain policy it has banned sandblasting in its supply chain and is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative On the downside it has no policy on toxics
References 1 Clean Clothes Campaign 2014 ldquoTailored Wagesrdquo EuroCommerce and World Economic Forum websites 2015 2 ActionAid 2013 ldquoSweet Nothingsrdquo 3 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 4 Maid in India report 2012 ndash India Committee of the Netherlands
copy S
ean
Pavo
ne |
Dre
amst
ime
com
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
15
ProductGUIDE
She believes that in the Tamil Nadu region alone 200000 young women and girls are working under conditions of forced or bonded labour Many are producing cotton jersey (t-shirt fabric) clothing for export to the UK
Samantha Maher from Labour Behind the Label agrees and singles out another vulnerable group that the legislation could help ndash migrants
ldquoLots of migrants are in forced labour especially in Malaysia where people are having their passports taken as well as in the middle east in places like Jordan and Egyptrdquo
Campaigners yet to be convincedHowever some labour rights campaigners are yet to be convinced that the legislation will have the desired effect in improving working conditions
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label feels that reporting alone canrsquot help and the new legislation raises a number of questions
ldquoHow they are reporting and how it [the information] is used still appears to be undecided There is an assumption that NGOs will use the information to expose poor practice but capacity is limited so this wonrsquot be easy without resources and a clear process We also wonder how we will know if the reporting is accuraterdquo
Jane from Homeworkers Worldwide concurs She told Ethical Consumer
ldquoIt is very hard to predict what impact the Modern Slavery Act will have The difficulty is that [the companies] have to report what they are doing but someone will have to sift through the ethical spin to assess whether what they report is really having an impact on the ground whether they are really focusing their efforts on where the problems are etc
Holding companies to account on this will be difficult and will be a massive job for campaigners NGOs and activists ldquo
But she also has more fundamental concerns
ldquoThe current rhetoric on modern slavery in general is that modern slavery
(including forced and bonded labour) risks being seen as a distinct issue and treated quite separately from other forms of exploitation It is as though we can isolate a few criminal elements get rid of those and the rest of the industry can carry on as normalrdquo
Meanwhile TUC General Secretary Frances OrsquoGrady said that this legislation is just the start and that ldquoThe Government should build on the Modern Slavery Act and ratify the ILO Forced Labour Protocol immediatelyrdquo
This would mean not only to criminalise and prosecute forced labour but also to take more effective measures to prevent forced labour and provide victims with protection and access to remedies including compensation1
The way forwardDespite their criticisms campaigners are clear that the Act is a step in the right direction
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label
ldquoCompanies often have no idea where they are buying from so they may get a better grip of supply chains The act is also forcing the issue up from CSR to board level due to its legally binding naturerdquo
This is a view shared by Jane at Homeworkers Worldwide ldquoWhilst we donrsquot think it will in practice deliver much transparency the principle of companies taking responsibility for what goes on in global chains is an important one and making this a legal requirement is a starting point for pushing for greater responsibility and accountability in the futurerdquo
The Modern Slavery Act will force companies to publicly report on the steps they are taking to ensure there is no slavery or forced labour in their supply chains It has the potential to have a big impact on the clothing sector The Ethical Trading Initiative described the legislation as a ldquogame-changerrdquo
Karen Bradley the Home Office Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation said in a statement ldquoThe act will mean that major businesses will for the first time be expected to be transparent about the action they are taking to address modern slavery in their global supply chains
ldquoConsumers businesses and investors will now have valuable information to inform them on the companies they are supporting ndash and shoppers can make more informed decisions at the checkout Businesses risk damaging their reputation or their bottom line if they donrsquot take action to prevent modern slavery in their supply chainsrdquo
Huge numbers of bonded labourersThe legislation has the potential to have a positive impact on millions of workers all over the world
The International Labour Organisation estimates that almost 21 million people are currently working in some form of forced labour including many in the clothing sector2
Research from the Ashridge Centre for Business and Sustainability and the Ethical Trading Initiative found that 71 of companies believe there is a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some point in their supply chains3
Jane Tate from campaign group Homeworkers Worldwide is in no doubt that modern slavery is a big issue in the clothing sector ndash ldquoThere has been a lot of campaigning and work done attempting to address this issue including company projects and an ETI project but to our best knowledge the problem of forced labour still remains endemic in the industryrdquo
The new Modern Slavery Act
References 1 wwwiloorgwcmsp5groupspublic---ed_norm---declarationdocumentspublicationwcms_321414pdf 2 wwwtheguardiancomworld2015oct28uk-companies-proof-no-links-slave-labour-supply-chain 3 wwwethicaltradeorgnews-and-eventsnewsresearch-released-corporate-approaches-to-modern-slavery
Many campaigners are yet to be convinced that this new Act will have the desired effect Tim Hunt investigates
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
16
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
It is now more than two years since the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed killing over a thousand people and injuring 2500 ndash people who managers had ordered back to work despite cracks appearing in the walls Rana Plaza is considered the most fatal garment industry accident in history The resulting public outcry led to promises that things would change So have they
The Accord and the AllianceThere are three different factory safety schemes that were created in the aftermath of the disaster Two are industry-led ones The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (the Alliance) There is also a government-led scheme whose remit is to cover any factories not covered by the other two called the National Action Plan
For any industry scheme to be convincing it has to be substantially different from what went before because the track record of company safety audits in Bangladesh is not impressive Rana
Plaza had twice been audited by Primark and declared safe1 Primark says that it didnrsquot do a structural survey because nobody did them then but a building collapse was hardly unprecedented in 2005 one had killed 64 workers And this is only one of a string of audit failures that have been luridly illustrated by mass fatalities In 2010 a fire at the Garib amp Garib sweater factory killed 21 workers four months after HampM had audited it HampM officially required suppliersrsquo factories to have adequate exits and fire-fighting equipment but this one passed the audit with neither and two people had already died in a fire at the factory a few months earlier2
Factory safety two years on from Rana Plaza
Companies in these guides which have signed the Accordbull Arcadia bull Debenhams bull G Star bull Helly Hansen bull HampM bull John Lewis bull MampS bull Matalan bull New Look bull Next bull Primark bull PVH bull River Island bull Sainsburyrsquos bull Tesco bull Uniqlo
ldquoDonrsquot look for me where leaves are
falling
You will not find me there my beloved
At the machines where lives are
withered
It is there that I lie deadrdquo
A verse from a 1911 song written to commemorate the Triangle garment factory disaster in New York which generated a labour rights movement that revolutionised labour standards in the USA (Mayn Rue Platz by Morris Rosenfeld in translation)
The aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collpase in 2013 1134 people were killed and over 2500 injured as the 8-storey building housing five garment factories collapsed
Inte
rnat
iona
l Lab
or R
ight
s Fo
rum
Josie Wexler takes a look at progress towards creating safer clothing factories in Bangladesh
17
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The Accord however is different It is not another self-policed scheme that companies can adhere to if they feel like it It is a legally-binding agreement between brands and trade unions and signing it means that if safety issues are found in a companyrsquos suppliersrsquo factories and are not fixed the company can be sued
Campaigners had spent years trying and failing to get brands to enter into such an agreement Within weeks of Rana Plazarsquos collapse nearly 40 companies had signed The number is now over 200
However many American companies have refused to sign most notably Walmart (ASDA) and Gap They created the other alternative industry scheme the Alliance which is not legally binding and is widely believed to be basically meaningless window dressing It has only 26 members
Recent developmentsMost although not all of the 3500 clothing factories in Bangladesh have been inspected under one of the three schemes over the past two years largely by the Accord The Accord has closed thirty-five factories altogether and safety upgrades have begun in hundreds of others3 All of the Accordrsquos inspection reports with photographs are freely available on the web ndash transparency is one of its central principles which is another big break from the auditing schemes of the past
However progress on the upgrades has been terribly slow and the unions are now initiating a formal complaint about several brands including HampM who they say are not fulfilling their obligations at a reasonable pace The complaint is the first step towards legal arbitration which would be quite unprecedented4
A further development is that in June 2015 42 people in Bangladesh were
charged with murder over the Rana Plaza deaths including the buildingrsquos owner Sohel Rana the owners of the five factories in the building and 13 government officials If convicted they could face the death penalty
CompensationIn 2014 Labour Behind the Label ran a ldquopay uprdquo campaign pressuring companies to compensate Rana Plazarsquos victimsrsquo families The good news is that although it took a huge struggle the campaign was a success The Rana Plaza Donorrsquos Trust Fund met its target of $30 million in June 2015
Primark comes out by far the best in this story It donated a total of $8 million ndash $1 million to the fund and $7 million directly to victimsWalmart is estimated to have donated $1 million
bull
bull
References 1 Vogue 2014 How The World Has Changed Since Rana Plaza 2 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo 3 Good Choice Forex June 1 2015 ldquoTwo Years After Rana Plaza Disaster Uneven Progress In Bangladeshrsquos Garment Industryrdquo 4 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 5 Clean Clothes Campaign 2015 ldquoWho has paid and who is dragging their heelsrdquo 6 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo
The dumping ground for the Rana Plaza debris just metres away from the victimsrsquo homes
North Face Death TrapsAmerican student groups have been leading the way on pressurising companies who have refused to sign the Accord United Students Against Sweatshops have run a campaign called lsquoNorth Face Death Trapsrsquo targeting VF Corporation as the largest branded clothing manufacturer in the world over its refusal to sign The campaign can be found at httpnorthfacedeathtrapscom
North Face appears in the Waterproof jackets guide whilst VF Corporation owns Lee and Wrangler jeans
Matalan initially refused to donate anything but after being hounded by campaigners it made a rather half-hearted donation of $100000HampM donated approximately $200000 Unlike the three companies above it was not sourcing from Rana Plaza but it is the biggest buyer from Bangladesh as a whole5
Rana Plaza has started to change the game in more ways than one After the Garib amp Garib fire HampM commissioned Save the Children to assess workersrsquo familiesrsquo needs and it decided to focus just on helping children and the elderly But the Rana Plaza fund goes further and is compensating all victimsrsquo families based on loss of income6
There is talk in campaign groups about how to take the Accord further ndash extending it outside Bangladesh or using the same model in other areas such as wages Watch this space
bull
bull
http
f
oxfa
shio
nor
guk
18
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The garment industry is a major employer across the world ndash in Asia for example over 15 million people are employed by the industry With global brands making millions in profits every year this booming industry has come to rely on and exploit the cheap labour of millions of garment workers whose wages fall far short of a living wage
The lack of a living wage means many garment workers are forced to work long hours to earn overtime or bonuses and cannot risk refusing work due to unsafe working conditions or taking time off due to ill health The low wages mean that workers often have to rely on loans just to make ends meet and have no savings to use if they find themselves out of work
A living wage calculation across a region is key to ensuring not only that workers receive a decent wage but also that wage differences do not mean companies pull out of one country to move manufacturing to a country with lower costs ndash the so-called race to the bottom
Living wage calculations must take into account some common factors including the number of family members to be supported the basic nutritional needs of a worker and other basic needs including housing healthcare education and some basic savings
Clean Clothes Campaign is part of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance ndash an alliance of Asian trade unions and labour groups who have calculated a living wage formula for Asia
The Asia Floor Wage calculation cannot be simply applied to other regions as some of the assumptions do not apply For
example in Asia food costs are relatively high and standards of living such as housing are very low whereas in other regions such as Eastern Europe food costs are relatively lower when compared to housing
Clean Clothes Campaign partners are working on defining
and calculating living wages for other garment producing regions
They are calling forClothing brands and companies to set concrete measurable steps throughout their supply chain to ensure garment workers get paid a living wageNational governments in garment producing countries to make sure minimum wages are set at living wage standardsEuropean governments to implement regulation to ensure companies are responsible for the impact they have on the lives of workers in their supply chainSign the Clean Clothes Campaign
petition calling for all garment workers to receive a living wage ndash wwwcleanclothesorglivingwagesign
bull
bull
bull
Struggling for a living wage
A living wage in CambodiaFor several years garment workers and trade unions in Cambodia have been engaged in a bitter conflict with the government over the minimum wage with strikes protests and brutal government crackdowns resulting in deaths injuries and imprisonments Garment workers want US$177 per month enough cover their basic living expenses In 2014 Asia Floor Wage calculated the living wage in Cambodia to be US$396 per month
Though it has made increases the Cambodian government has still not reached the $177 called for Further negotiations and protests in October this year saw the government settle on $140 a month to come into effect in January 2016 Needless to say this has angered some ldquoThis figure is reasonable and acceptable Even itrsquos not acceptable to all we have no choicerdquo Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng was quoted as saying
The top five brands sourcing from Cambodia include three brands in these clothes guides HampM GAP Levi Strauss amp Co
Living wage initiativesLiving Wage Now Forum
In October this year the CCCrsquos Living Wage Now Forum brought together workersrsquo representatives from around the world brand representatives (HampM Primark CampA New Look Pentland NrsquoBrown and Tchibo) European policy makers experts and members of workerrsquos rights organisations to discuss the next concrete steps towards a fashion industry that respects human rights and pays all workers a living wage based on proposals from the CCC Follow its progress here wwwlivingwagenoweu
ACT initiative
A number of brands and retailers are collaborating with the IndustriALL Global Union on the Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT) making a commitment to work with their suppliers in order to support a living wage
Brands in this guide that are involved with ACT are ASOS HampM Arcadia Tesco Primark Next
A full list of members could not be found but these companies were mentioned online in connection with the project
For an average item of clothing only between
05-3 of the cost goes to the worker who made it This means that on an euro8 t-shirt the most a worker will get paid is 24 cents
Clean Clothes Campaign
What are the companies in this issue doing about living wagesThe following brands from this guide explicitly make provision for a living wage in their supply chain policies
Major clothes retailers Next Arcadia Primark Debenhams New Look Tesco John Lewis
Waterproof jacketstrousers Patagonia Jack Wolfskin Paramo Mountain Equipment
Jeans G-Star Nudie PVH brands (Calvin Klein amp Tommy Hilfiger)
19
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
For decades the Government of Uzbekistan has been forcing its citizens both children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest As a result of sustained campaign pressure on the issue of child labour 2014 saw the burden of labour shifted onto adults with lsquomassesrsquo of teachers and medical professionals forced into the cotton fields1
Having engaged companies on the issue since 2008 the Responsible Sourcing
Clothing campaigns
Best scores on Uzbek cottonIn order to receive Ethical Consumerrsquos best rating on this issue all medium- to large-sized companies are expected both to have signed the Cotton Pledge and to demonstrate concrete actions to implement it throughout their supply chains Otherwise the company must only use organic or Better Cotton Initiative cotton
Companies in this issue which receive a best score are
Major clothes retailers MampS Arcadia (Topshop etc) TK Maxx New Look
Waterproof jacketstrousers Jack Wolfskin Patagonia
Jeans Nudie Kuyichi Mud FREITAG (does not use cotton) Levirsquos PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
bull
bull
bull
Companies whorsquove signed the CanopyStyle Pledge Patagonia Levi Strauss amp Co HampM Marks amp Spencer ASOS G-Star RAW
Companies targeted by RAN Guess
Forest-friendly fashionForests probably arenrsquot something that immediately come to mind when considering the impacts of the fashion industry However many commonly used fabrics are derived from wood pulp Check your clothes labels for rayon viscose modal and tencel and itrsquos highly likely yoursquoll spot them ndash either on their own or blended with other fibres Mixed with polyester they give clothes a more pleasant lsquofeelrsquo and often replace cotton because theyrsquore cheaper to produce
So whatrsquos the issue
More than 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into cellulose fabric ndash if placed end to end those trees would circle the earth seven timesDissolving pulp (the base material for rayonviscose) wastes approximately 70 of the tree and is a chemically intensive manufacturing process Dissolving pulp production is projected to double by 2050 Less than 20 of the worldrsquos ancient forests remain intact in tracts large enough to maintain biological diversityForests in Indonesia Canadarsquos boreal and temperate rainforests and the Amazon are being logged for next seasonrsquos fashion
Canopyrsquos lsquoFashion Loved by Forestrsquo initiative partners with clothing brands to help them develop solutions to reduce the impact of their business on ancient forests Companies are asked to sign up to the CanopyStyle Pledge and create a policy on how they source wood-derived fabrics
Rainforest Action Networkrsquos (RAN) lsquoOut of Fashionrsquo campaign pinpointed several high-end fashion brands which it said must do more to ensure they werenrsquot making clothes from unsustainable wood pulp
Watch the campaign video and sign in support of RANrsquos Out of Fashion campaign wwwranorgout_of_fashion
bull
bull
bull
bull
Fur-free shoppingAn investigation into angora farms in China by PETA Asia in December 2013 revealed shockingly cruel treatment of angora rabbits involving the live-plucking of fur from caged rabbits Many clothing companies have now stated that they will no longer sell angora The only companies covered in this issue who
are still selling it are Net-A-Porter in the Clothes Shops guide and Pepe and Guess covered in the Jeans guide
The following clothes shops have joined the Fur Free Alliancersquos Fur Free Retailer programme Topshop HampM ASOS MampS Next Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis From the other guides Nudie and MUD jeans and Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen are part of the programme More information from wwwfurfreeretailercomOther brands are listed as fur free by Humane Society International Mountain Hardwear Calvin Klein New Look Patagonia North Face Diesel Superdry Levirsquos Guess Tommy Hilfiger Howies and Uniqlo See wwwhumanesocietyorgissuesfur_fashiontipsfur-free_shoppinghtml for more details
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bull
References 1 wwwantislaveryorgenglishcampaignscottoncrimesforced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgroundaspx
Network (RSN) introduced the lsquoCotton Pledge Against Child and Adult Forced Labour in Uzbek Cottonrsquo in 2011 To date over 160 companies have signed the pledge
However the RSN decided in 2014 that it was time to find out how companies were actually implementing the Cotton Pledge throughout their supply chains
It asked companies what efforts they were making to actually implement this pledge including communicating their policy to all parts of its supply chain including spinners and mills and auditing them for compliance The results were published in the lsquoCotton Sourcing Snapshotrsquo which can be downloaded from wwwsourcingnetworkorgcotton-sourcing-snapshot
See page 22 in the Jeans guide for discussion on the other issues associated with cotton production
Forced labour in the Uzbekrsquos cotton fields
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
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bull
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policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
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Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
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ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
copy A
nton
io G
rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
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bull
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WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
bull
bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
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bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
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icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
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Address
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issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
Ethical Consumer Research Association Ltd
Unit 21 1 Old Birley StreetManchester M15 5RF
tel 0161 226 2929 (12 noon-6pm)fax 0161 226 6277email enquiriesethicalconsumerorg for general enquiries or shopethicalconsumerorg for subscriptions
comment ampanalysis06 food
Bacardi campaign Thorntons sold John West tuna Nestleacute water grab Pepsi amp palm oil
08 home animal testing figures
09 boycotts Israel campaign successes Ben amp Jerryrsquos
32 Lush Prize news amp photos from the recent conference amp awards
35 tax justice Fair Tax Mark news
39 climate of change fossil fuel divestments Shell amp Science Museum ranking airlinesrsquo CO
2 emissions
2 money banks amp nuclear weapons RBS sale Co-op Bank news ethical amp green funds
whorsquos who this Issuersquos editor Jane Turner amp Tim Huntproofing Ciara Maginness (littlebluepencilcouk)writersresearchers Jane Turner Tim Hunt Leonie Nimmo Rob Harrison Heather Webb Anna Clayton Joanna Long Josie Wexler Ruth Strangeregular contributors Simon Birch Bryony Moore Richard Murphy design and layout Adele Armistead (moonloftcom) Jane Turnercover Dreamstimecom Adele Armistead (moonloftcom)cartoons Marc Roberts Sarah Guthrie Andy Vine Richard Liptrotad sales Simon Birchsubscriptions Elizabeth Chater Heather Webb Simon Robinsonenquiries Leonie Nimmo Tim Huntpress enquiries Simon Birchresearch screening amp consultancy Rob Harrison internetweb Michael Wignall Georgina Rawesmarketing Tim Hunt Jane Turnerthanks also to Amy Shakeshaft Suzanne Hatton Eleanor Boyce
subscriptions amp renewalsPhone 0161 226 2929 or go to wwwethicalconsumerorg
copyrightAll material correct one month before cover date and copy Ethical Consumer Research Association Ltd Not-for-profit organisations may normally reproduce without charge any of the material appearing in Ethical Consumer providing that all such material is credited and providing that written permission has been sought prior to publication No part of this publication may be produced by commercial organisations without written permission from Ethical Consumer Research Association Ltd ISSN 0955 8608
Printed by RAP Spiderweb Ltd co the Commercial Centre Clowes Centre Hollinwood Oldham OL9 7LY 0161 947 3700
Paper The cover is printed on 170gsm Cocoon Silk 100 post-consumer waste and the inside pages on 80gsm Corona from 100 post-consumer waste Paper is sourced from recycled paper co-op Paperback (httppaperbackcoop)
Retail distribution is handled by Central Books on 0845 458 9911
Ethical Consumer is a member of INK (independent news collective) an association of radical and alternative publishers
about the advertisersECRA checks out advertisers before accepting their ads and reserves the right to refuse any advert
Covered in previous Product Guides Biona (156) Co-operative phone amp broadband (145) Good Energy (143) Kingfisher Toothpaste (138) Plamil (150) Triodos (147) Vegetarian Shoes (137)
Other advertisers Book Aid Camphill Trust Clean Slate Energy4All Green Building Store Greenpeace Green Stationery Infinity Wholefoods Investing Ethically Oasis coffins Share Energy
wwwinkukcom
Ethical Consumer conference 2015
details of this yearrsquos conference in September
32
Clothes report10 introduction
1themodernslaveryact
16factorysafetypost-RanaPlaza
18campaigningforalivingwage
19clothescampaignsUzbekcottonfurforest-friendlyfashion
24 longer-lastingclothes
ChristmasgiftsubscriptionsGiveagiftthatlastsayear
lettersaregularforumforreadersrsquoviews
insideviewBlackFridayrsquosshoppingfenzy
43
44
46
Contentsethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
featuressyntheticbiologycontroversyoverEcoverrsquosuseofabiotechingredient
corporatelobbyingintherun-uptotheCOP21climatesummit
waterproof jackets26 score table and best buys28toxicchemicalsinwaterproofs
29thecrueltybehinddown-filledjackets
12
36
10
30
36
clothes shops12score table
and best buys
jeans20 score table and best buys23sustainablejeans
20
26
FoodJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 wwwethicalconsumerorg
Bacardi Give sugarcane workers a breakDrinks brand Bacardi has come under fire from several campaign groups over the conditions in its sugar supply chain
According to campaign group Fairfood International in the last decade 20000 agricultural workers have died from Chronic Kidney Disease of non-Traditional Causes (CKDnT) the majority of them are sugarcane workers
Three of the most likely causes of CKDnT are dehydration heat stress and exposure to agrochemicals The sugarcane industry in Central America is beset by poor working conditions such as long working days and heavy physical work with little access to water and shade which most likely contribute to the onset of the disease
The documentary lsquoUnder Canersquo by filmmaker Ed Kashi shows how harsh the working conditions of sugarcane workers are and the devastating effect of this fatal kidney disease See the video at wwwfairfoodorg
Campaign groups Fairfood International and The SumofUs are targeting Bacardi which does business directly with sugarcane mills in Guatemala and could help stop the epidemic Campaigners say that there are several simple steps that could be taken to stop the problem including
Better access to sufficient clean drinking water
Better access to shade
More regular breaks
Reduced working hours thus decreasing physical strain
Bacardi said in a statement
ldquoBacardi takes the unsubstantiated Fairfood International allegations made about its supply chain and human rights initiatives seriously as the Company operates in full compliance with all trade regulations and lawshellipSpecifically we do not source any product from Nicaragua and we have only continued to work with the two organizations we source from in Guatemala because they have committed to improving their practices and getting and maintaining certifiedhelliprdquo
Sign the SumofUs petition at httpactionsumofusorg
bull
bull
bull
bull
Not just tunaPeople have been fighting destructive fishing for many years But increasingly we are seeing harm caused to more than just our oceans wersquore seeing the abuse and enslavement of people
Over the last year a series of shocking stories have come to light that expose the true cost of the tuna we consume
The truth is that our seafood is often the product of human trafficking and enslavement Thai Union the owner of John West tinned tuna is embroiled in the scandal
Fishers working in the Thai seafood industry have usually been encouraged to leave their families on the promise of a well-paid job to support their family For others the situation is even more extreme they were sold against their will and prevented from going home at gunpoint
Brought into Thailand illegally if they disobey the people who trafficked them they are threatened with arrest and imprisonment Many see no choice but to accept their fate and they remain on the ships for years on end
Therersquos no doubt that our desire for cheap tuna has helped cause the environmental degradation and human rights abuses we see in the seafood industry today
But if tuna companies stop paying for fish tainted by human trafficking and abuse fishing vessels with these practices will become unprofitable Greenpeace are calling on Thai Union to stop buying from fisheries where labour or human rights abuses are present
Greenpeace is targeting John West Almost 100000 people have pledged to stop buying John West tuna 50000 people have sent direct messages to Thai Union and John West
Join the campaign
Sign the pledge amp Email John West amp Thai Union httpssecuregreenpeaceorgukpagesnot-just-tuna
Write on John Westrsquos Facebook page wwwfacebookcomjohnwestuk
Tweet your NotJohnWest sandwich and let them know their behaviour is bad for business
Nestleacute water grab in OregonNestleacute has been planning on pumping fresh water out of Cascade Locks Oregon to bottle and sell for profit ndash a plan that local residents have been fighting for the last six years
Now as the plan closes in residents have launched a historic ballot initiative to prevent any major bottled water company from commercialising water anywhere in the region This legislation could serve as a national benchmark and a crucial model to any region around the world looking to keep its natural resources out of the reach of Big Bottled Water The
bull
bull
bull
Sugarcane cutters need access to unlimited clean drinking water and shade regular breaks shorter working hours and less physical strain
Fairf
ood
Inte
rnat
iona
l
Foodwwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
ballot measure has been filed and Oregon residents are furiously collecting signatures in the area to get the initiative on the ticket for the next yearrsquos election
This ballot measure comes at a crucial moment As the world eyes an impending water crisis brought on by climate change and the mismanagement of natural resources corporations like Nestleacute and Coca-Cola are eyeing precious natural water reserves too often in economically desperate areas that are themselves facing water shortages
Sign the SumofUs petition showing your support for the people-powered initiative in Oregon to stop Nestleacute from privatising public water ndash httpactionsumofusorgaoregon-david-goliath-nestle
Thorntons sold to Italian FerreroThe Italian chocolate company Ferrero famed for its provision of gold foil wrapped chocolates at ambassadorsrsquo parties has bought one of the most familiar brands on the UK high street Thorntons
The change does little to alter the brandsrsquo overall scores but Ferrero gets a best rating for palm oil policy and environmental reporting whilst Thorntons gets worst for both We hope that the better policies of the parent company will now also lift Thorntonsrsquo operations
Once seen as luxurious and upmarket Thorntons has lost out to the likes of Hotel Chocolat and Lindt Such was the competitive pressure that in 2007 one of Thorntonsrsquo master chocolatiers Barry Colenso was forced to resign in disgrace after being caught squashing truffles in one of competitor Hotel Chocolatrsquos stores
The buyout marks the loss of one of Britainrsquos last remaining home-grown chocolate brands to an overseas buyer Cadbury and Green amp Blackrsquos were sold to the US confectionery business Kraft Foods Inc ndash now renamed Mondelez ndash in 2009 while Rowntree the company which developed the Kit Kat and Aero was sold to the Swiss Nestleacute in 1988
The deal will enable Ferrero to become the UKrsquos fourth-largest chocolate brand ndash behind Mondelez Mars and Nestleacute Other brands owned by Ferrero are Nutella and Kinder
In June Francersquos ecology minister Seacutegolegravene Royal urged the public to boycott Nutella saying its use of palm oil contributes to deforestation She later had to apologise when Greenpeace and WWF leapt to the companyrsquos defence saying that Ferrero actually goes much further than most competitors on the responsible sourcing of palm oil
Pepsi lags behind on palm oilThe Rainforest Alliance has launched a new campaign against Pepsi over what it describes as a ldquoloopholerdquo in its new palm oil policy
PepsiCo has committed to cutting conflict palm oil from its supply chains everywhere but Indonesia the worldrsquos biggest palm oil producing country Its new policy exempts its Indofood partner which produces PepsiCo products containing palm oil in Indonesia
Moreover the policy commits to only source RSPO certified palm oil by 2020 Most lsquofront runnersrsquo have adopted 2015 as the year to fully meet their palm oil commitments
According to Rainforest Action Network ldquoThis latest move falls below the standard set by PepsiCorsquos peers which have recognized the need to go beyond sourcing Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified palm oil The RSPO is a scheme that permits the destruction of forests peatlands and has a poor track record of upholding the rights of local communities and workersrdquo
McDonaldrsquos and Yum Brands (owner of KFC Pizza Hut and Taco Bell) have both come out with zero-deforestation policies this year
RAN continues ldquoPepsiCo uses an immense amount of palm oil its annual consumption could fill enough Pepsi soda cans full of palm oil to circle the earth at the equator four times Put another way the tropical land base needed to feed PepsiCorsquos global appetite for palm oil each year is a quarter million acres of land most of which used to be rainforest Due to its size and influence PepsiCo has a key role to play in halting the destruction of Indonesiarsquos forests bulldozed for palm oilrdquo
People took action around the globe to close this destructive loophole They labelled PepsiCo vending machines and store displays lsquoOut of Orderrsquo
Pepsi brands in the UK are Walkers crisps Doritos Snack a Jacks Quaker Oats Scottrsquos Porage Oats Tropicana Copella Gatorade Mountain Dew V Water Naked juice and Nobbyrsquos Nuts
What you can do
Email PepsiCorsquos CEO Ms Indra Nooyi here and demand that it close the loophole in its palm oil policy wwwranorgpepsi_loophole
Post on PepsiCorsquos Facebook page wwwfacebookcomPepsiUS
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120 tribal members residents and concerned citizens rallied in Salem to protect Oregonrsquos water from Nestleacute
Keep
Nes
tle O
ut o
f the
Gor
ge C
oalit
ion
HomeJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 wwwethicalconsumerorg
Investment in technology which can replace animals in experiments stood at pound8 million in 2014 However funding for the research councils which develop animal-based tests ran to pound300 million
What can consumers do
Use the sliders next to the score tables on our product guide pages on the website so that you can just rate the brands on animal testing
Choose cruelty-free products from companies that donrsquot test on animals See Naturewatchrsquos Compassionate Shopping Guide available for pound5 from httpnaturewatchorgcompassionate-shopping
Support companies such as Lush Cosmetics who are fighting animal testing See the Lush Prize page for details of this yearrsquos pound450000 given by them to those developing non-animal testing methods For more on the Lush Prize see page 32
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bull
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Underwear Best Buy foldsUnfortunately the Who Made My Pants brand of womenrsquos underwear has had to close
The brand was set up in 2008 by Welsh businesswoman Becky John She said ldquoWe have struggled to achieve sustainable levels of production and this coupled with inconsistent supply of raw materials has meant it was always a struggle to sell the pants at a high enough margin to pay for our overheads and therefore cash flow has been a constant issue for usrdquo
Who Made Your Pants started after Ms John attended an Amnesty meeting in Southampton She had been a member of the human rights organisation since she was a teenager and at that meeting she saw a presentation from a group that worked with refugees in the area Who Made Your Pants employed women from refugee backgrounds from countries such as Sudan Somalia and Afghanistan
Who Made Your Pants was a Best Buy in our underwear guide That leaves Pants to Poverty who offer Fairtrade and organic certified pants We also recommended certified organic or Fairtrade underwear from the following companies Peau Ethique Living Crafts Do You Green Greenfibres and Cock amp Bull
New pet food Best BuyWe have just added a new brand to the pet food guides that we published in the last Issue ndash Lilyrsquos Kitchenrsquos organic varieties It makes organic and lsquonaturalrsquo meat cat and dog food
The range is currently available nationwide in Waitrose Tesco and Ocado as well as in wholefood shops vet surgeries organic health food shops and pet shops
Lilyrsquos Kitchen recently became a founding UK member of the global B Corp community Like Patagonia in the Waterproofs guide B Corps are legally required to serve stakeholders ndash workers communities and the wider environment ndash as well as shareholders through explicit reference to the triple bottom line They are certified in the UK by B Lab a non-profit organisation that assesses transparency accountability and performance
Animal experiments in the UKHome Office statistics published in October show that British universities companies government bodies and charities completed 387 million tests involving 38 million living animals in 2014 including horses dogs cats monkeys and cattle
UK laboratories regularly refer to the UK policy of replacing refining and reducing (3Rs) the use of animals in experiments but cleverly avoid acknowledging the total absence of any progress towards these goals ldquoClaims for the replacement refinement and reduction of the use of animals are not only hollow but also misleadingrdquo states animal welfare group the Naturewatch Foundation The statistics on animal use covering 2014 indicate a reduction in the total number of experiments of around 7 for that year
However a change in the reporting of data from experiments underway to experiments completed means that there is likely to have been no reduction at all
Statistics also donrsquot reveal these facts
More than a third of European tests involving live animals take place in the UK
Many animals bred for experiments donrsquot meet the requirements for inclusion in a trial and are euthanised with the result that the true number of animals affected will remain unknown
In August this year the Home Office approved plans for a new facility to breed and house beagle dogs without any access to outdoor space exclusively for sale to animal testing facilities This decision is particularly shocking because the approval was given to a company whose executives were arrested in Italy this year for institutional cruelty to animals Cruelty Free International has launched legal proceedings against the Home Office decision See wwwcrueltyfreeinternationalorgfighting-yorkshire-beagles-high-court
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Boycottsethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Barclays divests from Israeli arms companyHigh street bank Barclays is no longer listed as a shareholder in Israeli arms company Elbit Systems according to BDS
The news follows a high profile campaign launched after Barclays was named as a shareholder of the company owning $29 million worth of shares
The concerted campaign featured a petition signed by more than 17 million people and organised by Avaaz calling on Barclays to divest from Elbit Systems Campaigners occupied and protested at bank branches across the UK
The arms company has been the target of campaigners over its manufacture of drones used in Israelrsquos attacks on Palestinians and its role in building the illegal Apartheid Wall in occupied Palestine
Mahmoud Nawajaa co-ordinator with the Palestinian BDS National Committee the Palestinian civil society coalition that leads and supports the BDS movement said
ldquoWe hope that Barclays will now commit to not allowing clients to buy or sell Elbit shares on its platform and to making it clear to all its clients that Elbit is deeply complicit with Israeli violations of international lawrdquo
Veolia withdraws from Israel
The BDS movement celebrated another victory as long standing boycott target Veolia withdrew from its contracts in Jerusalem
After years of pressure the French corporation cut its ties with the Jerusalem Light Rail (JLR) project a railway that campaigners say is illegal and built to facilitate the growth and expansion of Israeli colonial settlements on occupied Palestinian territory
The sale of its stake in the JLR project ends all of Veoliarsquos involvement in the Israeli market
Veolia sold nearly all of its business operations in Israel in April 2015 but had until now remained a 5 shareholder in the JLR project
According to the BDS movement Veoliarsquos involvement in the project and the subsequent boycott had lead it to lose a slew of contracts across the world
For example in 2014 Kuwait Cityrsquos council excluded Veolia from a tender for the treatment of solid waste worth $750 million
Boycott Ben amp Jerryrsquos
Unilever subsidiary Ben amp Jerryrsquos has been added to the list of companies boycotted by BDS
The call comes due to the brandrsquos long-standing contractual relationship with an Israeli franchise that manufactures ice cream in Israel and sells it in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
Campaigners say that Ben amp Jerryrsquos Social Mission and ldquohistory of supporting progressive causes cannot be reconciled with its franchisersquos commercial ties to the settlementsrdquo
Since 2013 thousands of individuals and 239 organisations in 20 countries including Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory have called on Ben amp Jerryrsquos to put an end to its franchisersquos business in Israeli settlements
Jeff Furman chairperson of Ben amp Jerryrsquos Board of Directors travelled to occupied Palestine in 2012 with a group of American civil rightsrsquo leaders He described what he saw there as ldquoapartheidrdquo In spite of all this the company has refused not only to stop its practices but to even issue a statement calling for an end to Israelrsquos occupation and settlements
On the announcement of the boycott Ben amp Jerryrsquos released the following statement
ldquoBen amp Jerryrsquos corporate organization based in the US does not retain any profits from the business in Israel The company remains committed to contributing 100 of the net licensing fee to foster multicultural programs and values-led ingredient sourcing initiatives in the regionrdquo
Groups across the UK occupied and held protests at Barclays banks as part of the campaign
See the Top 10 BDS consumer boycott targets on our website at wwwethicalconsumerorgboycottsboycottslistisrael
News from the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement
In 2005 Palestinian civil society issued a call for boycotts divestment and sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law and universal principles of human rights The resulting movement is aimed at consumers (boycott) institutional investors (divestment) and states (sanctions)
10
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
This special report on clothing contains guides to clothes shops jeans and waterproof jackets We
also look at a few lsquoe-tailersrsquo (online clothes shops) and report on the latest clothing campaigns
Progress on the high streetTwo themes which have become apparent during our research for these guides are the positive impact of campaign action and the increase in transparency in some areas of the clothing industry
Small steps have been made on the catwalk to ethical fashion
The Bangladesh Accord has paved the way for future positive initiatives in more than just the field of workersrsquo rights by demonstrating that itrsquos possible to have a large number of companies working together within a legally-binding framework The level of transparency required by the Accord sets a new precedent and has set the bar for companiesrsquo future reporting Over two hundred companies have signed the Bangladeshi Accord on Fire and Factory Safety ndash see page 16 for more details
In October 2015 the UK Government enacted the Modern Slavery Act another piece of legislation which will force companies to be more transparent about whether slave labour is being used within their supply chains On page 15 campaigners tell us why they remain sceptical about how the new legislation will work in practice but why they also think it is a step in the right direction
Progress has also been made on other issues as a result of campaigns
160 companies have signed the Cotton Pledge against child and forced labour in Uzbekistan ndash see page 19There has been an increase in awareness among brands on the issue of living wages as a core issue ndash see page 1810 of the global retail fashion industry has committed to get rid of toxic chemicals by 2020 ndash see oppositeOutdoor companies are leading the way in cleaning up their goose and duck down supply chains ndash see page 29
An industry-wide problemWhile it is often the big high-street retailers who are the focus of campaigns it is worth remembering that the issues are endemic to the whole clothing industry Some retailers on the table such as Matalan score comparatively highly However this may reflect the fact that theyrsquove dodged criticisms rather than the fact that theyrsquore one step ahead on sustainability
Campaign actions get results But because there are such a large number of clothing brands campaigners canrsquot reach them all So certain companies (generally those with the biggest market share or whose labels have been uncovered in a sweatshop) find themselves targeted by campaigners more often With building pressure from customers these companies are forced to make efforts to clean up their act Meanwhile the ones left out of the spotlight are able to hide in the shadows
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bull
bull
bull
The catwalk to ethical fashionHeather Webb Josie Wexler Ruth Strange and Bryony Moore provide an update on the progress made in the clothing industry
and allow others to take the flakIn order to reflect this in our ratings
we follow campaignersrsquo leads and request policies from companies on the issues they raise
For example all companies in this issue were asked for a policy on hazardous chemicals following Greenpeacersquos Detox campaign lead We also asked all companies for a cotton sourcing policy which matched the asks of the Responsible Sourcing Network on Uzbek cotton In this way we support campaigners in driving up standards
Supply chainsIn these guides we notice that nearly half of the big clothes shops and jeans companies are now scoring our best rating for their supply chain management an improvement since we last looked at the sector
This has been the result of many years of campaigns against clothing retailers to improve working conditions of workers within their supply chains
Yet even with companies achieving high scores for having best practice policies for workersrsquo rights in their supply chains investigations are still finding issues Virtually all of the clothes shops still get a worst rating in our Workersrsquo Rights column as do half of the outdoor gear and jeans companies
For example a report by SOMO and the India Committee of the Netherlands in October 2014 highlighted the abuse of girls and women workers in the South Indian textile industry Companies such as HampM and Next who get our best
copy G
reen
peac
e
Hat
i Kec
il V
isua
ls
11
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
rating for supply chain management were said to be sourcing from these factories Subsequently HampM stopped using the factories but nevertheless it highlights the complexity of supply chains and the need to closely monitor what is going on
Made in Europe
Due to complex supply chains and poor workersrsquo rights issues in Asia it is perhaps unsurprising to find that many clothing companies are now looking to bring production back to Europe and in some cases back to the UK Plus as the Guardian reported ldquoWhen a country such as Turkey Portugal Romania Slovakia or Bulgaria appears on a label the brand may also get a boost to their reputation as consumers assume the ethics behind a skirt made in Portugal are better than those behind one made in Chinardquo
But sadly it seems that this doesnrsquot guarantee that the clothes are made in decent conditions In 2014 the Clean Clothes Campaign released a report on clothing factories in eastern Europe It details appallingly low wages long hours and abuse Safety issues may not be at the same rock-bottom level as in parts of Asia
but Bulgaria Macedonia and Romania all have lower minimum wages than China2
Environment
Toxic chemicals
In July 2011 Greenpeace released its first report exposing the hidden links between textile manufacturing facilities in China that discharge hazardous chemicals into the water and international brands such as the sportswear giants Nike and Adidas That report gave rise to the Detox Campaign which called on companies to make a commitment to eliminate toxic chemicals from their supply chains by 2020
By March 2015 18 clothing companies had made the commitment
Of the clothes shops and jeans companies we have covered in our guides the following were rated by Greenpeace
Detox leaders G Star RAW HampM Levi Strauss MampS Primark and Fast Retailing (Uniqlo)Detox losers GAP and PVH (Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger)
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Greenpeacersquos latest Detox report focuses on the outdoor industry and its use of PFCs ndash toxic chemicals used for waterproofing See page 28
Environmental reporting
Unfortunately a majority of companies are still not reporting on what steps they are taking to improve the environmental impact of their factories and of their products 64 of the companies we have covered scored our worst rating in this category Outdoor companies fared the worst whilst jeans companies did best
References 1 Gisela Burckhardt Price does not guarantee fairness 2015 2 Clean Clothes Campaign Stitched Up 2014 3 Business Human Rights Know the Chain ndash See which companies do and do not have statements under the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act January 2014 4 Lexology Recent developments in US legislation on modern slavery September 2014 wwwlexologycomlibrarydetailaspxg=f9b4675d-c785-4ac1-9d3d-7ed6346fb1cb 5 wwwlivingwagenoweuuploadsimagesPanel_introduction_EU_Flagship_webpdf 6 The White House Press Release G-7 Leaders Declaration June 8th 2015 wwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20150608g-7-leaders-declaration 7 SEDEX Modern Slavery Act 2015 wwwsedexglobalcomwp-contentuploads201106The-UK-Modern-Slavery-Act-20151pdf
Clothing product guides onlineOther clothing-related guides on our website are Online Clothing Retailers Alternative Clothing Companies Underwear Shoes Trainers Sportswear Walking boots and Fleeces Go to wwwethicalconsumerorgbuyersguidesclothing
The journey towards transparencyFinally we are seeing the beginnings of legislation on supply chain issues for which campaigners have been calling for years
From 2010 the
Transparency in Supply Chains Act has required that
large companies in California USA disclose the efforts they were
making to eradicate human trafficking and slavery from their supply chains
However research has found that many companies have not been complying3 and that they have
not been penalised for non-compliance4
2010 2014 2015 2015
2015
The EU Non-Financial
Reporting directive came into force on the 6th
December 2014 It requires large listed companies to disclose policies and risks regarding social issues respect for human rights
anti-corruption and bribery EU Member States have two
years to transpose it into national legislation
The EU convened
a multi-stakeholder forum on responsible management of the
garment supply chain with representatives of industry trade
unions retailers and workersrsquo rights organisations looking at a potential EU flagship initiative and what form
this might take5
A G7 Joint Declaration promised
to ldquostrive for better application of internationally
recognised labour social and environmental
standards principles and commitments in global
supply chainsrdquo6
This year saw the
arrival of the Modern Slavery Act in the UK The
Act includes the Transparency in Supply Chains Clause which
as of October 2015 requires large UK companies to
publish an annual slavery and human trafficking
statement7
12
ProductGUIDE
This guide examines the ten biggest selling UK high-street clothes shops as well as four supermarkets that are in the top 20 UK clothes sellers ASDA Tesco John Lewis and Sainsburyrsquos1 and the top three e-tailers (online clothes retailers) Of the e-tailers only ASOS manufactures its own clothes The other two Amazon and Net-a-Porter are just marketplaces although Amazon has been talking about starting to make its own line of clothes in the future2
The lowdown on high street clothes shops
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
HampM [O] 9 h H h h H H h H 1 Ramsbury Invest AB
HampM 8 h H h h H H h H Ramsbury Invest AB
New Look 8 h h H h h H H h h Brait SE New Look
Matalan 75 H H h h H H h H Hargreaves family
ASOS 7 H H H h H h h H h ASOS plc
Burton 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Dorothy Perkins 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Evans 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
John Lewis [O] 7 h H H H H H H H h h E 1 John Lewis Partnership
Miss Selfridge 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Topman Topshop 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Wallis 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Debenhams 65 H H h h H H h h h H Debenhams plc
Next 65 H H h h H H h H H Next plc
John Lewis 6 h H H H H H H H h h E John Lewis Partnership
Net-a-Porter 6 H H h H H H H h H Yoox spa
TK Maxx 5 H H H H H H H h h H TJX Companies inc
MampS 4 H H h h H H H H h h H H Marks and Spencer Group
River Island 35 H h H h H H H H H h h h H LFH International
Primark 3 H h H h H H H H H h h H H Garfield Weston Foundation
Sainsburyrsquos TU 25 h H H h H H H h H h H h H H J Sainsbury plc
Tesco FampF 25 h H H H h H H H H H h H H Tesco plc
Amazon 05 H H H H H H H H H H h H H H Amazoncom
ASDA George 05 h H H H H H H H H h H H h H H Walmart
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers [O] = organic
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Whatrsquos the yarn on the high street Josie Wexler examines the ethics of the top selling high-street shops and e-tailers
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
13
ProductGUIDE
Whilst not eligible for the Best Buy Label MampS is our recommended high street clothes shop
It scores low in our table because we rate companies
at group level and as it is also a supermarket it picks up a lot of negative marks in areas such as selling animal-tested products or factory-farmed meat But it scores high for its clothes policies (see Company Profiles overleaf)
We also recommend HampM and John Lewisrsquos organic clothing ranges
Our recommended e-tailer is ASOS
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Supply chainsAfter countless media exposeacutes on bad working conditions many high-street clothing shops are now making quite an effort to talk up their supply chain policies Next MampS Arcadia New Look Primark HampM Tesco and John Lewis all received our best rating for supply chain management
We are pleased that pressure has led to clothing retailers taking more responsibility for their supply chains although there are still many industry-wide issues that badly need to be addressed We look at the progress being made towards living wages and safe working conditions on pages 16 and 18
In light of this progress it is very disappointing that there are companies in this report who still have very little to say on the whole subject TK Maxx Matalan River Island Amazon and Net-a-Porter all received our worst rating in this category Matalan in particular have hardly any publicly available information
Sustainable clothesThere is a general lack of Fairtrade organic and recycled clothes on the high street although John Lewis and HampM do sell organic clothes
However one thing that has happened recently is that a couple of companies have started their own clothes recycling schemes See the lsquoLonger-lasting clothesrsquo article on page 24
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Arcadia (Topshop)
ASDA
ASOS
Debenhams
HampM
John Lewis
MampS
Matalan
New Look
Next
Primark
River Island
Sainsburyrsquos
Tesco
TK Maxx
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Goose and duck downIt is not just outdoor companies that use animal down ndash it is now a fashionable filling for many jackets from high-street retailers Several of the companies rated in this clothes shop report have made commitments not to use down which comes from live-plucked or fois gras birds (see table below) Yet none of them has adopted a methodology capable of ensuring that they actually donrsquot which requires tracing their whole down supply chain back to the higher-risk parent farms See page 29 for more information on how outdoor gear companies are ensuring that their down supply chains are cruelty-free
Alternative clothing companiesWe havenrsquot focused on Alternative Clothing Companies in this issue ndash although many feature in the guide to Jeans
Our Best Buy from the previous alternative clothing guide was People Tree who produce Fairtrade and Organic clothing Also a Best Buy was menswear company Brothers We Stand All their products have a footprint tab detailing their social and environmental impact
Positive policies
References 1 Mintel Clothing Retailing 2014 2 Business Insider 28 October Amazon may start making its own clothes
4
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
14
ProductGUIDE
Company profiles
Excessive executive compensation
Next MampS Arcadia Primark TK Maxx Amazon ASOS Asda Tesco Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis all pay their top executives over pound1 million which we rate as excessive
Tax avoidance
We covered the latest on Amazonrsquos tax avoidance in issue 157 and a full version of the article can be found on our website Neither of the other two e-tailers ndash ASOS and Net-a-Porter ndash show any signs of being engaged in tax avoidance
Other companies in the report who receive our worst rating for tax avoidance include Arcadia whose ultimate holding company is registered in Jersey Matalan which is registered in Guernsey and HampM which appears to use holding companies based in Hong Kong for operations in China
More stories behind the rankings
Marks and Spencer does pretty well in a lot of our rankings It receives our best rating for its supply chain and environmental policies has signed the Bangladesh Accord and was rated a leader in Greenpeacersquos lsquoDetox Catwalkrsquo It has checks in place to ensure that none of its cotton comes from Uzbekistan and aims to procure 70 of its cotton from sustainable sources by 2020 (ie either Better Cotton Initiative Fairtrade Organic or recycled)
It was also one of a very few companies to receive the Clean Clothes Campaignrsquos top rating in 2014 for its work towards improving wages in its supply chain (none of the others who received it are in this guide) although the campaign grouprsquos assessment is still fairly circumspect
ldquoWe are pleased to see MampS has been doing work to make sure there are financial incentives for buyers to source from factories that MampS says pay living wages[but] it is impossible to judge the real benefit to workersbecause no figures have been disclosed it could all still be smoke and mirrorsrdquo1
On the downside Marks and Spencer is involved in several free trade lobby groups such as the World Economic Forum and EuroCommerce
Next is the biggest selling UK clothes retailer having overtaken Marks and Spencer in 2014 Its CEO Simon Wolfson is a Conservative peer who has donated over pound500000 to the Conservative Party over the past ten years co-chaired the partyrsquos Economic Competitiveness policy review and in 2010 was one of 35 signatories of an open letter calling on the Government to press ahead with public spending cuts
Indian companies that supply Next were found in 2012 to be employing Indian women under the Sumangali Scheme which is a form of bonded labour that requires low-caste women to work for several years to earn money to pay for a dowry4
As Primark made its name by selling implausibly cheap clothing it has been much focused on by campaigners However in its favour Primark was the first UK company to sign up to the Bangladeshi Accord and as detailed on page 17 it has donated far more to Rana Plaza victims than any other retailer
Primark is owned by Associated British Foods One of Associated British Foodsrsquo foreign subsidiaries Zambia Sugar was accused in 2013 of ripping off its host country by avoiding paying millions of pounds of tax which is really shocking given that Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world2
HampM has promoted itself as a more ethical clothing retailer and produces reams of material about its supply chain policies although it is unclear how much is just talk and how much makes a real difference
HampM has been slammed recently for lagging behind on its commitments
under the Bangladeshi Accord However activists say the issues are not unique to HampM and the reason that they have focused on it is simply because it is such a big buyer from Bangladesh3
HampM has a lsquoRoadmap to a Fair Living Wagersquo aimed at increasing wages in its supplier factories which has been both praised and criticised by Labour Behind the Label ndash praised for including solid targets and dates but crucially criticised for failing to define what a living wage actually is
Like MampS HampM aims for all its cotton to come from ldquomore sustainable sourcesrdquo by 2020
Amazon currently has a boycott call against it called by us for its use of tax avoidance strategies
ASOS scores middle for its supply chain policy it has banned sandblasting in its supply chain and is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative On the downside it has no policy on toxics
References 1 Clean Clothes Campaign 2014 ldquoTailored Wagesrdquo EuroCommerce and World Economic Forum websites 2015 2 ActionAid 2013 ldquoSweet Nothingsrdquo 3 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 4 Maid in India report 2012 ndash India Committee of the Netherlands
copy S
ean
Pavo
ne |
Dre
amst
ime
com
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
15
ProductGUIDE
She believes that in the Tamil Nadu region alone 200000 young women and girls are working under conditions of forced or bonded labour Many are producing cotton jersey (t-shirt fabric) clothing for export to the UK
Samantha Maher from Labour Behind the Label agrees and singles out another vulnerable group that the legislation could help ndash migrants
ldquoLots of migrants are in forced labour especially in Malaysia where people are having their passports taken as well as in the middle east in places like Jordan and Egyptrdquo
Campaigners yet to be convincedHowever some labour rights campaigners are yet to be convinced that the legislation will have the desired effect in improving working conditions
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label feels that reporting alone canrsquot help and the new legislation raises a number of questions
ldquoHow they are reporting and how it [the information] is used still appears to be undecided There is an assumption that NGOs will use the information to expose poor practice but capacity is limited so this wonrsquot be easy without resources and a clear process We also wonder how we will know if the reporting is accuraterdquo
Jane from Homeworkers Worldwide concurs She told Ethical Consumer
ldquoIt is very hard to predict what impact the Modern Slavery Act will have The difficulty is that [the companies] have to report what they are doing but someone will have to sift through the ethical spin to assess whether what they report is really having an impact on the ground whether they are really focusing their efforts on where the problems are etc
Holding companies to account on this will be difficult and will be a massive job for campaigners NGOs and activists ldquo
But she also has more fundamental concerns
ldquoThe current rhetoric on modern slavery in general is that modern slavery
(including forced and bonded labour) risks being seen as a distinct issue and treated quite separately from other forms of exploitation It is as though we can isolate a few criminal elements get rid of those and the rest of the industry can carry on as normalrdquo
Meanwhile TUC General Secretary Frances OrsquoGrady said that this legislation is just the start and that ldquoThe Government should build on the Modern Slavery Act and ratify the ILO Forced Labour Protocol immediatelyrdquo
This would mean not only to criminalise and prosecute forced labour but also to take more effective measures to prevent forced labour and provide victims with protection and access to remedies including compensation1
The way forwardDespite their criticisms campaigners are clear that the Act is a step in the right direction
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label
ldquoCompanies often have no idea where they are buying from so they may get a better grip of supply chains The act is also forcing the issue up from CSR to board level due to its legally binding naturerdquo
This is a view shared by Jane at Homeworkers Worldwide ldquoWhilst we donrsquot think it will in practice deliver much transparency the principle of companies taking responsibility for what goes on in global chains is an important one and making this a legal requirement is a starting point for pushing for greater responsibility and accountability in the futurerdquo
The Modern Slavery Act will force companies to publicly report on the steps they are taking to ensure there is no slavery or forced labour in their supply chains It has the potential to have a big impact on the clothing sector The Ethical Trading Initiative described the legislation as a ldquogame-changerrdquo
Karen Bradley the Home Office Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation said in a statement ldquoThe act will mean that major businesses will for the first time be expected to be transparent about the action they are taking to address modern slavery in their global supply chains
ldquoConsumers businesses and investors will now have valuable information to inform them on the companies they are supporting ndash and shoppers can make more informed decisions at the checkout Businesses risk damaging their reputation or their bottom line if they donrsquot take action to prevent modern slavery in their supply chainsrdquo
Huge numbers of bonded labourersThe legislation has the potential to have a positive impact on millions of workers all over the world
The International Labour Organisation estimates that almost 21 million people are currently working in some form of forced labour including many in the clothing sector2
Research from the Ashridge Centre for Business and Sustainability and the Ethical Trading Initiative found that 71 of companies believe there is a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some point in their supply chains3
Jane Tate from campaign group Homeworkers Worldwide is in no doubt that modern slavery is a big issue in the clothing sector ndash ldquoThere has been a lot of campaigning and work done attempting to address this issue including company projects and an ETI project but to our best knowledge the problem of forced labour still remains endemic in the industryrdquo
The new Modern Slavery Act
References 1 wwwiloorgwcmsp5groupspublic---ed_norm---declarationdocumentspublicationwcms_321414pdf 2 wwwtheguardiancomworld2015oct28uk-companies-proof-no-links-slave-labour-supply-chain 3 wwwethicaltradeorgnews-and-eventsnewsresearch-released-corporate-approaches-to-modern-slavery
Many campaigners are yet to be convinced that this new Act will have the desired effect Tim Hunt investigates
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
16
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
It is now more than two years since the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed killing over a thousand people and injuring 2500 ndash people who managers had ordered back to work despite cracks appearing in the walls Rana Plaza is considered the most fatal garment industry accident in history The resulting public outcry led to promises that things would change So have they
The Accord and the AllianceThere are three different factory safety schemes that were created in the aftermath of the disaster Two are industry-led ones The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (the Alliance) There is also a government-led scheme whose remit is to cover any factories not covered by the other two called the National Action Plan
For any industry scheme to be convincing it has to be substantially different from what went before because the track record of company safety audits in Bangladesh is not impressive Rana
Plaza had twice been audited by Primark and declared safe1 Primark says that it didnrsquot do a structural survey because nobody did them then but a building collapse was hardly unprecedented in 2005 one had killed 64 workers And this is only one of a string of audit failures that have been luridly illustrated by mass fatalities In 2010 a fire at the Garib amp Garib sweater factory killed 21 workers four months after HampM had audited it HampM officially required suppliersrsquo factories to have adequate exits and fire-fighting equipment but this one passed the audit with neither and two people had already died in a fire at the factory a few months earlier2
Factory safety two years on from Rana Plaza
Companies in these guides which have signed the Accordbull Arcadia bull Debenhams bull G Star bull Helly Hansen bull HampM bull John Lewis bull MampS bull Matalan bull New Look bull Next bull Primark bull PVH bull River Island bull Sainsburyrsquos bull Tesco bull Uniqlo
ldquoDonrsquot look for me where leaves are
falling
You will not find me there my beloved
At the machines where lives are
withered
It is there that I lie deadrdquo
A verse from a 1911 song written to commemorate the Triangle garment factory disaster in New York which generated a labour rights movement that revolutionised labour standards in the USA (Mayn Rue Platz by Morris Rosenfeld in translation)
The aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collpase in 2013 1134 people were killed and over 2500 injured as the 8-storey building housing five garment factories collapsed
Inte
rnat
iona
l Lab
or R
ight
s Fo
rum
Josie Wexler takes a look at progress towards creating safer clothing factories in Bangladesh
17
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The Accord however is different It is not another self-policed scheme that companies can adhere to if they feel like it It is a legally-binding agreement between brands and trade unions and signing it means that if safety issues are found in a companyrsquos suppliersrsquo factories and are not fixed the company can be sued
Campaigners had spent years trying and failing to get brands to enter into such an agreement Within weeks of Rana Plazarsquos collapse nearly 40 companies had signed The number is now over 200
However many American companies have refused to sign most notably Walmart (ASDA) and Gap They created the other alternative industry scheme the Alliance which is not legally binding and is widely believed to be basically meaningless window dressing It has only 26 members
Recent developmentsMost although not all of the 3500 clothing factories in Bangladesh have been inspected under one of the three schemes over the past two years largely by the Accord The Accord has closed thirty-five factories altogether and safety upgrades have begun in hundreds of others3 All of the Accordrsquos inspection reports with photographs are freely available on the web ndash transparency is one of its central principles which is another big break from the auditing schemes of the past
However progress on the upgrades has been terribly slow and the unions are now initiating a formal complaint about several brands including HampM who they say are not fulfilling their obligations at a reasonable pace The complaint is the first step towards legal arbitration which would be quite unprecedented4
A further development is that in June 2015 42 people in Bangladesh were
charged with murder over the Rana Plaza deaths including the buildingrsquos owner Sohel Rana the owners of the five factories in the building and 13 government officials If convicted they could face the death penalty
CompensationIn 2014 Labour Behind the Label ran a ldquopay uprdquo campaign pressuring companies to compensate Rana Plazarsquos victimsrsquo families The good news is that although it took a huge struggle the campaign was a success The Rana Plaza Donorrsquos Trust Fund met its target of $30 million in June 2015
Primark comes out by far the best in this story It donated a total of $8 million ndash $1 million to the fund and $7 million directly to victimsWalmart is estimated to have donated $1 million
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bull
References 1 Vogue 2014 How The World Has Changed Since Rana Plaza 2 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo 3 Good Choice Forex June 1 2015 ldquoTwo Years After Rana Plaza Disaster Uneven Progress In Bangladeshrsquos Garment Industryrdquo 4 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 5 Clean Clothes Campaign 2015 ldquoWho has paid and who is dragging their heelsrdquo 6 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo
The dumping ground for the Rana Plaza debris just metres away from the victimsrsquo homes
North Face Death TrapsAmerican student groups have been leading the way on pressurising companies who have refused to sign the Accord United Students Against Sweatshops have run a campaign called lsquoNorth Face Death Trapsrsquo targeting VF Corporation as the largest branded clothing manufacturer in the world over its refusal to sign The campaign can be found at httpnorthfacedeathtrapscom
North Face appears in the Waterproof jackets guide whilst VF Corporation owns Lee and Wrangler jeans
Matalan initially refused to donate anything but after being hounded by campaigners it made a rather half-hearted donation of $100000HampM donated approximately $200000 Unlike the three companies above it was not sourcing from Rana Plaza but it is the biggest buyer from Bangladesh as a whole5
Rana Plaza has started to change the game in more ways than one After the Garib amp Garib fire HampM commissioned Save the Children to assess workersrsquo familiesrsquo needs and it decided to focus just on helping children and the elderly But the Rana Plaza fund goes further and is compensating all victimsrsquo families based on loss of income6
There is talk in campaign groups about how to take the Accord further ndash extending it outside Bangladesh or using the same model in other areas such as wages Watch this space
bull
bull
http
f
oxfa
shio
nor
guk
18
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The garment industry is a major employer across the world ndash in Asia for example over 15 million people are employed by the industry With global brands making millions in profits every year this booming industry has come to rely on and exploit the cheap labour of millions of garment workers whose wages fall far short of a living wage
The lack of a living wage means many garment workers are forced to work long hours to earn overtime or bonuses and cannot risk refusing work due to unsafe working conditions or taking time off due to ill health The low wages mean that workers often have to rely on loans just to make ends meet and have no savings to use if they find themselves out of work
A living wage calculation across a region is key to ensuring not only that workers receive a decent wage but also that wage differences do not mean companies pull out of one country to move manufacturing to a country with lower costs ndash the so-called race to the bottom
Living wage calculations must take into account some common factors including the number of family members to be supported the basic nutritional needs of a worker and other basic needs including housing healthcare education and some basic savings
Clean Clothes Campaign is part of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance ndash an alliance of Asian trade unions and labour groups who have calculated a living wage formula for Asia
The Asia Floor Wage calculation cannot be simply applied to other regions as some of the assumptions do not apply For
example in Asia food costs are relatively high and standards of living such as housing are very low whereas in other regions such as Eastern Europe food costs are relatively lower when compared to housing
Clean Clothes Campaign partners are working on defining
and calculating living wages for other garment producing regions
They are calling forClothing brands and companies to set concrete measurable steps throughout their supply chain to ensure garment workers get paid a living wageNational governments in garment producing countries to make sure minimum wages are set at living wage standardsEuropean governments to implement regulation to ensure companies are responsible for the impact they have on the lives of workers in their supply chainSign the Clean Clothes Campaign
petition calling for all garment workers to receive a living wage ndash wwwcleanclothesorglivingwagesign
bull
bull
bull
Struggling for a living wage
A living wage in CambodiaFor several years garment workers and trade unions in Cambodia have been engaged in a bitter conflict with the government over the minimum wage with strikes protests and brutal government crackdowns resulting in deaths injuries and imprisonments Garment workers want US$177 per month enough cover their basic living expenses In 2014 Asia Floor Wage calculated the living wage in Cambodia to be US$396 per month
Though it has made increases the Cambodian government has still not reached the $177 called for Further negotiations and protests in October this year saw the government settle on $140 a month to come into effect in January 2016 Needless to say this has angered some ldquoThis figure is reasonable and acceptable Even itrsquos not acceptable to all we have no choicerdquo Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng was quoted as saying
The top five brands sourcing from Cambodia include three brands in these clothes guides HampM GAP Levi Strauss amp Co
Living wage initiativesLiving Wage Now Forum
In October this year the CCCrsquos Living Wage Now Forum brought together workersrsquo representatives from around the world brand representatives (HampM Primark CampA New Look Pentland NrsquoBrown and Tchibo) European policy makers experts and members of workerrsquos rights organisations to discuss the next concrete steps towards a fashion industry that respects human rights and pays all workers a living wage based on proposals from the CCC Follow its progress here wwwlivingwagenoweu
ACT initiative
A number of brands and retailers are collaborating with the IndustriALL Global Union on the Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT) making a commitment to work with their suppliers in order to support a living wage
Brands in this guide that are involved with ACT are ASOS HampM Arcadia Tesco Primark Next
A full list of members could not be found but these companies were mentioned online in connection with the project
For an average item of clothing only between
05-3 of the cost goes to the worker who made it This means that on an euro8 t-shirt the most a worker will get paid is 24 cents
Clean Clothes Campaign
What are the companies in this issue doing about living wagesThe following brands from this guide explicitly make provision for a living wage in their supply chain policies
Major clothes retailers Next Arcadia Primark Debenhams New Look Tesco John Lewis
Waterproof jacketstrousers Patagonia Jack Wolfskin Paramo Mountain Equipment
Jeans G-Star Nudie PVH brands (Calvin Klein amp Tommy Hilfiger)
19
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
For decades the Government of Uzbekistan has been forcing its citizens both children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest As a result of sustained campaign pressure on the issue of child labour 2014 saw the burden of labour shifted onto adults with lsquomassesrsquo of teachers and medical professionals forced into the cotton fields1
Having engaged companies on the issue since 2008 the Responsible Sourcing
Clothing campaigns
Best scores on Uzbek cottonIn order to receive Ethical Consumerrsquos best rating on this issue all medium- to large-sized companies are expected both to have signed the Cotton Pledge and to demonstrate concrete actions to implement it throughout their supply chains Otherwise the company must only use organic or Better Cotton Initiative cotton
Companies in this issue which receive a best score are
Major clothes retailers MampS Arcadia (Topshop etc) TK Maxx New Look
Waterproof jacketstrousers Jack Wolfskin Patagonia
Jeans Nudie Kuyichi Mud FREITAG (does not use cotton) Levirsquos PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
bull
bull
bull
Companies whorsquove signed the CanopyStyle Pledge Patagonia Levi Strauss amp Co HampM Marks amp Spencer ASOS G-Star RAW
Companies targeted by RAN Guess
Forest-friendly fashionForests probably arenrsquot something that immediately come to mind when considering the impacts of the fashion industry However many commonly used fabrics are derived from wood pulp Check your clothes labels for rayon viscose modal and tencel and itrsquos highly likely yoursquoll spot them ndash either on their own or blended with other fibres Mixed with polyester they give clothes a more pleasant lsquofeelrsquo and often replace cotton because theyrsquore cheaper to produce
So whatrsquos the issue
More than 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into cellulose fabric ndash if placed end to end those trees would circle the earth seven timesDissolving pulp (the base material for rayonviscose) wastes approximately 70 of the tree and is a chemically intensive manufacturing process Dissolving pulp production is projected to double by 2050 Less than 20 of the worldrsquos ancient forests remain intact in tracts large enough to maintain biological diversityForests in Indonesia Canadarsquos boreal and temperate rainforests and the Amazon are being logged for next seasonrsquos fashion
Canopyrsquos lsquoFashion Loved by Forestrsquo initiative partners with clothing brands to help them develop solutions to reduce the impact of their business on ancient forests Companies are asked to sign up to the CanopyStyle Pledge and create a policy on how they source wood-derived fabrics
Rainforest Action Networkrsquos (RAN) lsquoOut of Fashionrsquo campaign pinpointed several high-end fashion brands which it said must do more to ensure they werenrsquot making clothes from unsustainable wood pulp
Watch the campaign video and sign in support of RANrsquos Out of Fashion campaign wwwranorgout_of_fashion
bull
bull
bull
bull
Fur-free shoppingAn investigation into angora farms in China by PETA Asia in December 2013 revealed shockingly cruel treatment of angora rabbits involving the live-plucking of fur from caged rabbits Many clothing companies have now stated that they will no longer sell angora The only companies covered in this issue who
are still selling it are Net-A-Porter in the Clothes Shops guide and Pepe and Guess covered in the Jeans guide
The following clothes shops have joined the Fur Free Alliancersquos Fur Free Retailer programme Topshop HampM ASOS MampS Next Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis From the other guides Nudie and MUD jeans and Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen are part of the programme More information from wwwfurfreeretailercomOther brands are listed as fur free by Humane Society International Mountain Hardwear Calvin Klein New Look Patagonia North Face Diesel Superdry Levirsquos Guess Tommy Hilfiger Howies and Uniqlo See wwwhumanesocietyorgissuesfur_fashiontipsfur-free_shoppinghtml for more details
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bull
References 1 wwwantislaveryorgenglishcampaignscottoncrimesforced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgroundaspx
Network (RSN) introduced the lsquoCotton Pledge Against Child and Adult Forced Labour in Uzbek Cottonrsquo in 2011 To date over 160 companies have signed the pledge
However the RSN decided in 2014 that it was time to find out how companies were actually implementing the Cotton Pledge throughout their supply chains
It asked companies what efforts they were making to actually implement this pledge including communicating their policy to all parts of its supply chain including spinners and mills and auditing them for compliance The results were published in the lsquoCotton Sourcing Snapshotrsquo which can be downloaded from wwwsourcingnetworkorgcotton-sourcing-snapshot
See page 22 in the Jeans guide for discussion on the other issues associated with cotton production
Forced labour in the Uzbekrsquos cotton fields
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
bull
bull
bull
policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
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Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
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ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
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ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
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bull
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WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
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bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
bull
bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
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asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
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37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
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Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
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CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
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lippo
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ream
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eco
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issue158
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
Clothes report10 introduction
1themodernslaveryact
16factorysafetypost-RanaPlaza
18campaigningforalivingwage
19clothescampaignsUzbekcottonfurforest-friendlyfashion
24 longer-lastingclothes
ChristmasgiftsubscriptionsGiveagiftthatlastsayear
lettersaregularforumforreadersrsquoviews
insideviewBlackFridayrsquosshoppingfenzy
43
44
46
Contentsethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
featuressyntheticbiologycontroversyoverEcoverrsquosuseofabiotechingredient
corporatelobbyingintherun-uptotheCOP21climatesummit
waterproof jackets26 score table and best buys28toxicchemicalsinwaterproofs
29thecrueltybehinddown-filledjackets
12
36
10
30
36
clothes shops12score table
and best buys
jeans20 score table and best buys23sustainablejeans
20
26
FoodJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 wwwethicalconsumerorg
Bacardi Give sugarcane workers a breakDrinks brand Bacardi has come under fire from several campaign groups over the conditions in its sugar supply chain
According to campaign group Fairfood International in the last decade 20000 agricultural workers have died from Chronic Kidney Disease of non-Traditional Causes (CKDnT) the majority of them are sugarcane workers
Three of the most likely causes of CKDnT are dehydration heat stress and exposure to agrochemicals The sugarcane industry in Central America is beset by poor working conditions such as long working days and heavy physical work with little access to water and shade which most likely contribute to the onset of the disease
The documentary lsquoUnder Canersquo by filmmaker Ed Kashi shows how harsh the working conditions of sugarcane workers are and the devastating effect of this fatal kidney disease See the video at wwwfairfoodorg
Campaign groups Fairfood International and The SumofUs are targeting Bacardi which does business directly with sugarcane mills in Guatemala and could help stop the epidemic Campaigners say that there are several simple steps that could be taken to stop the problem including
Better access to sufficient clean drinking water
Better access to shade
More regular breaks
Reduced working hours thus decreasing physical strain
Bacardi said in a statement
ldquoBacardi takes the unsubstantiated Fairfood International allegations made about its supply chain and human rights initiatives seriously as the Company operates in full compliance with all trade regulations and lawshellipSpecifically we do not source any product from Nicaragua and we have only continued to work with the two organizations we source from in Guatemala because they have committed to improving their practices and getting and maintaining certifiedhelliprdquo
Sign the SumofUs petition at httpactionsumofusorg
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Not just tunaPeople have been fighting destructive fishing for many years But increasingly we are seeing harm caused to more than just our oceans wersquore seeing the abuse and enslavement of people
Over the last year a series of shocking stories have come to light that expose the true cost of the tuna we consume
The truth is that our seafood is often the product of human trafficking and enslavement Thai Union the owner of John West tinned tuna is embroiled in the scandal
Fishers working in the Thai seafood industry have usually been encouraged to leave their families on the promise of a well-paid job to support their family For others the situation is even more extreme they were sold against their will and prevented from going home at gunpoint
Brought into Thailand illegally if they disobey the people who trafficked them they are threatened with arrest and imprisonment Many see no choice but to accept their fate and they remain on the ships for years on end
Therersquos no doubt that our desire for cheap tuna has helped cause the environmental degradation and human rights abuses we see in the seafood industry today
But if tuna companies stop paying for fish tainted by human trafficking and abuse fishing vessels with these practices will become unprofitable Greenpeace are calling on Thai Union to stop buying from fisheries where labour or human rights abuses are present
Greenpeace is targeting John West Almost 100000 people have pledged to stop buying John West tuna 50000 people have sent direct messages to Thai Union and John West
Join the campaign
Sign the pledge amp Email John West amp Thai Union httpssecuregreenpeaceorgukpagesnot-just-tuna
Write on John Westrsquos Facebook page wwwfacebookcomjohnwestuk
Tweet your NotJohnWest sandwich and let them know their behaviour is bad for business
Nestleacute water grab in OregonNestleacute has been planning on pumping fresh water out of Cascade Locks Oregon to bottle and sell for profit ndash a plan that local residents have been fighting for the last six years
Now as the plan closes in residents have launched a historic ballot initiative to prevent any major bottled water company from commercialising water anywhere in the region This legislation could serve as a national benchmark and a crucial model to any region around the world looking to keep its natural resources out of the reach of Big Bottled Water The
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bull
bull
Sugarcane cutters need access to unlimited clean drinking water and shade regular breaks shorter working hours and less physical strain
Fairf
ood
Inte
rnat
iona
l
Foodwwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
ballot measure has been filed and Oregon residents are furiously collecting signatures in the area to get the initiative on the ticket for the next yearrsquos election
This ballot measure comes at a crucial moment As the world eyes an impending water crisis brought on by climate change and the mismanagement of natural resources corporations like Nestleacute and Coca-Cola are eyeing precious natural water reserves too often in economically desperate areas that are themselves facing water shortages
Sign the SumofUs petition showing your support for the people-powered initiative in Oregon to stop Nestleacute from privatising public water ndash httpactionsumofusorgaoregon-david-goliath-nestle
Thorntons sold to Italian FerreroThe Italian chocolate company Ferrero famed for its provision of gold foil wrapped chocolates at ambassadorsrsquo parties has bought one of the most familiar brands on the UK high street Thorntons
The change does little to alter the brandsrsquo overall scores but Ferrero gets a best rating for palm oil policy and environmental reporting whilst Thorntons gets worst for both We hope that the better policies of the parent company will now also lift Thorntonsrsquo operations
Once seen as luxurious and upmarket Thorntons has lost out to the likes of Hotel Chocolat and Lindt Such was the competitive pressure that in 2007 one of Thorntonsrsquo master chocolatiers Barry Colenso was forced to resign in disgrace after being caught squashing truffles in one of competitor Hotel Chocolatrsquos stores
The buyout marks the loss of one of Britainrsquos last remaining home-grown chocolate brands to an overseas buyer Cadbury and Green amp Blackrsquos were sold to the US confectionery business Kraft Foods Inc ndash now renamed Mondelez ndash in 2009 while Rowntree the company which developed the Kit Kat and Aero was sold to the Swiss Nestleacute in 1988
The deal will enable Ferrero to become the UKrsquos fourth-largest chocolate brand ndash behind Mondelez Mars and Nestleacute Other brands owned by Ferrero are Nutella and Kinder
In June Francersquos ecology minister Seacutegolegravene Royal urged the public to boycott Nutella saying its use of palm oil contributes to deforestation She later had to apologise when Greenpeace and WWF leapt to the companyrsquos defence saying that Ferrero actually goes much further than most competitors on the responsible sourcing of palm oil
Pepsi lags behind on palm oilThe Rainforest Alliance has launched a new campaign against Pepsi over what it describes as a ldquoloopholerdquo in its new palm oil policy
PepsiCo has committed to cutting conflict palm oil from its supply chains everywhere but Indonesia the worldrsquos biggest palm oil producing country Its new policy exempts its Indofood partner which produces PepsiCo products containing palm oil in Indonesia
Moreover the policy commits to only source RSPO certified palm oil by 2020 Most lsquofront runnersrsquo have adopted 2015 as the year to fully meet their palm oil commitments
According to Rainforest Action Network ldquoThis latest move falls below the standard set by PepsiCorsquos peers which have recognized the need to go beyond sourcing Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified palm oil The RSPO is a scheme that permits the destruction of forests peatlands and has a poor track record of upholding the rights of local communities and workersrdquo
McDonaldrsquos and Yum Brands (owner of KFC Pizza Hut and Taco Bell) have both come out with zero-deforestation policies this year
RAN continues ldquoPepsiCo uses an immense amount of palm oil its annual consumption could fill enough Pepsi soda cans full of palm oil to circle the earth at the equator four times Put another way the tropical land base needed to feed PepsiCorsquos global appetite for palm oil each year is a quarter million acres of land most of which used to be rainforest Due to its size and influence PepsiCo has a key role to play in halting the destruction of Indonesiarsquos forests bulldozed for palm oilrdquo
People took action around the globe to close this destructive loophole They labelled PepsiCo vending machines and store displays lsquoOut of Orderrsquo
Pepsi brands in the UK are Walkers crisps Doritos Snack a Jacks Quaker Oats Scottrsquos Porage Oats Tropicana Copella Gatorade Mountain Dew V Water Naked juice and Nobbyrsquos Nuts
What you can do
Email PepsiCorsquos CEO Ms Indra Nooyi here and demand that it close the loophole in its palm oil policy wwwranorgpepsi_loophole
Post on PepsiCorsquos Facebook page wwwfacebookcomPepsiUS
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120 tribal members residents and concerned citizens rallied in Salem to protect Oregonrsquos water from Nestleacute
Keep
Nes
tle O
ut o
f the
Gor
ge C
oalit
ion
HomeJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 wwwethicalconsumerorg
Investment in technology which can replace animals in experiments stood at pound8 million in 2014 However funding for the research councils which develop animal-based tests ran to pound300 million
What can consumers do
Use the sliders next to the score tables on our product guide pages on the website so that you can just rate the brands on animal testing
Choose cruelty-free products from companies that donrsquot test on animals See Naturewatchrsquos Compassionate Shopping Guide available for pound5 from httpnaturewatchorgcompassionate-shopping
Support companies such as Lush Cosmetics who are fighting animal testing See the Lush Prize page for details of this yearrsquos pound450000 given by them to those developing non-animal testing methods For more on the Lush Prize see page 32
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Underwear Best Buy foldsUnfortunately the Who Made My Pants brand of womenrsquos underwear has had to close
The brand was set up in 2008 by Welsh businesswoman Becky John She said ldquoWe have struggled to achieve sustainable levels of production and this coupled with inconsistent supply of raw materials has meant it was always a struggle to sell the pants at a high enough margin to pay for our overheads and therefore cash flow has been a constant issue for usrdquo
Who Made Your Pants started after Ms John attended an Amnesty meeting in Southampton She had been a member of the human rights organisation since she was a teenager and at that meeting she saw a presentation from a group that worked with refugees in the area Who Made Your Pants employed women from refugee backgrounds from countries such as Sudan Somalia and Afghanistan
Who Made Your Pants was a Best Buy in our underwear guide That leaves Pants to Poverty who offer Fairtrade and organic certified pants We also recommended certified organic or Fairtrade underwear from the following companies Peau Ethique Living Crafts Do You Green Greenfibres and Cock amp Bull
New pet food Best BuyWe have just added a new brand to the pet food guides that we published in the last Issue ndash Lilyrsquos Kitchenrsquos organic varieties It makes organic and lsquonaturalrsquo meat cat and dog food
The range is currently available nationwide in Waitrose Tesco and Ocado as well as in wholefood shops vet surgeries organic health food shops and pet shops
Lilyrsquos Kitchen recently became a founding UK member of the global B Corp community Like Patagonia in the Waterproofs guide B Corps are legally required to serve stakeholders ndash workers communities and the wider environment ndash as well as shareholders through explicit reference to the triple bottom line They are certified in the UK by B Lab a non-profit organisation that assesses transparency accountability and performance
Animal experiments in the UKHome Office statistics published in October show that British universities companies government bodies and charities completed 387 million tests involving 38 million living animals in 2014 including horses dogs cats monkeys and cattle
UK laboratories regularly refer to the UK policy of replacing refining and reducing (3Rs) the use of animals in experiments but cleverly avoid acknowledging the total absence of any progress towards these goals ldquoClaims for the replacement refinement and reduction of the use of animals are not only hollow but also misleadingrdquo states animal welfare group the Naturewatch Foundation The statistics on animal use covering 2014 indicate a reduction in the total number of experiments of around 7 for that year
However a change in the reporting of data from experiments underway to experiments completed means that there is likely to have been no reduction at all
Statistics also donrsquot reveal these facts
More than a third of European tests involving live animals take place in the UK
Many animals bred for experiments donrsquot meet the requirements for inclusion in a trial and are euthanised with the result that the true number of animals affected will remain unknown
In August this year the Home Office approved plans for a new facility to breed and house beagle dogs without any access to outdoor space exclusively for sale to animal testing facilities This decision is particularly shocking because the approval was given to a company whose executives were arrested in Italy this year for institutional cruelty to animals Cruelty Free International has launched legal proceedings against the Home Office decision See wwwcrueltyfreeinternationalorgfighting-yorkshire-beagles-high-court
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Boycottsethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Barclays divests from Israeli arms companyHigh street bank Barclays is no longer listed as a shareholder in Israeli arms company Elbit Systems according to BDS
The news follows a high profile campaign launched after Barclays was named as a shareholder of the company owning $29 million worth of shares
The concerted campaign featured a petition signed by more than 17 million people and organised by Avaaz calling on Barclays to divest from Elbit Systems Campaigners occupied and protested at bank branches across the UK
The arms company has been the target of campaigners over its manufacture of drones used in Israelrsquos attacks on Palestinians and its role in building the illegal Apartheid Wall in occupied Palestine
Mahmoud Nawajaa co-ordinator with the Palestinian BDS National Committee the Palestinian civil society coalition that leads and supports the BDS movement said
ldquoWe hope that Barclays will now commit to not allowing clients to buy or sell Elbit shares on its platform and to making it clear to all its clients that Elbit is deeply complicit with Israeli violations of international lawrdquo
Veolia withdraws from Israel
The BDS movement celebrated another victory as long standing boycott target Veolia withdrew from its contracts in Jerusalem
After years of pressure the French corporation cut its ties with the Jerusalem Light Rail (JLR) project a railway that campaigners say is illegal and built to facilitate the growth and expansion of Israeli colonial settlements on occupied Palestinian territory
The sale of its stake in the JLR project ends all of Veoliarsquos involvement in the Israeli market
Veolia sold nearly all of its business operations in Israel in April 2015 but had until now remained a 5 shareholder in the JLR project
According to the BDS movement Veoliarsquos involvement in the project and the subsequent boycott had lead it to lose a slew of contracts across the world
For example in 2014 Kuwait Cityrsquos council excluded Veolia from a tender for the treatment of solid waste worth $750 million
Boycott Ben amp Jerryrsquos
Unilever subsidiary Ben amp Jerryrsquos has been added to the list of companies boycotted by BDS
The call comes due to the brandrsquos long-standing contractual relationship with an Israeli franchise that manufactures ice cream in Israel and sells it in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
Campaigners say that Ben amp Jerryrsquos Social Mission and ldquohistory of supporting progressive causes cannot be reconciled with its franchisersquos commercial ties to the settlementsrdquo
Since 2013 thousands of individuals and 239 organisations in 20 countries including Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory have called on Ben amp Jerryrsquos to put an end to its franchisersquos business in Israeli settlements
Jeff Furman chairperson of Ben amp Jerryrsquos Board of Directors travelled to occupied Palestine in 2012 with a group of American civil rightsrsquo leaders He described what he saw there as ldquoapartheidrdquo In spite of all this the company has refused not only to stop its practices but to even issue a statement calling for an end to Israelrsquos occupation and settlements
On the announcement of the boycott Ben amp Jerryrsquos released the following statement
ldquoBen amp Jerryrsquos corporate organization based in the US does not retain any profits from the business in Israel The company remains committed to contributing 100 of the net licensing fee to foster multicultural programs and values-led ingredient sourcing initiatives in the regionrdquo
Groups across the UK occupied and held protests at Barclays banks as part of the campaign
See the Top 10 BDS consumer boycott targets on our website at wwwethicalconsumerorgboycottsboycottslistisrael
News from the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement
In 2005 Palestinian civil society issued a call for boycotts divestment and sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law and universal principles of human rights The resulting movement is aimed at consumers (boycott) institutional investors (divestment) and states (sanctions)
10
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
This special report on clothing contains guides to clothes shops jeans and waterproof jackets We
also look at a few lsquoe-tailersrsquo (online clothes shops) and report on the latest clothing campaigns
Progress on the high streetTwo themes which have become apparent during our research for these guides are the positive impact of campaign action and the increase in transparency in some areas of the clothing industry
Small steps have been made on the catwalk to ethical fashion
The Bangladesh Accord has paved the way for future positive initiatives in more than just the field of workersrsquo rights by demonstrating that itrsquos possible to have a large number of companies working together within a legally-binding framework The level of transparency required by the Accord sets a new precedent and has set the bar for companiesrsquo future reporting Over two hundred companies have signed the Bangladeshi Accord on Fire and Factory Safety ndash see page 16 for more details
In October 2015 the UK Government enacted the Modern Slavery Act another piece of legislation which will force companies to be more transparent about whether slave labour is being used within their supply chains On page 15 campaigners tell us why they remain sceptical about how the new legislation will work in practice but why they also think it is a step in the right direction
Progress has also been made on other issues as a result of campaigns
160 companies have signed the Cotton Pledge against child and forced labour in Uzbekistan ndash see page 19There has been an increase in awareness among brands on the issue of living wages as a core issue ndash see page 1810 of the global retail fashion industry has committed to get rid of toxic chemicals by 2020 ndash see oppositeOutdoor companies are leading the way in cleaning up their goose and duck down supply chains ndash see page 29
An industry-wide problemWhile it is often the big high-street retailers who are the focus of campaigns it is worth remembering that the issues are endemic to the whole clothing industry Some retailers on the table such as Matalan score comparatively highly However this may reflect the fact that theyrsquove dodged criticisms rather than the fact that theyrsquore one step ahead on sustainability
Campaign actions get results But because there are such a large number of clothing brands campaigners canrsquot reach them all So certain companies (generally those with the biggest market share or whose labels have been uncovered in a sweatshop) find themselves targeted by campaigners more often With building pressure from customers these companies are forced to make efforts to clean up their act Meanwhile the ones left out of the spotlight are able to hide in the shadows
bull
bull
bull
bull
The catwalk to ethical fashionHeather Webb Josie Wexler Ruth Strange and Bryony Moore provide an update on the progress made in the clothing industry
and allow others to take the flakIn order to reflect this in our ratings
we follow campaignersrsquo leads and request policies from companies on the issues they raise
For example all companies in this issue were asked for a policy on hazardous chemicals following Greenpeacersquos Detox campaign lead We also asked all companies for a cotton sourcing policy which matched the asks of the Responsible Sourcing Network on Uzbek cotton In this way we support campaigners in driving up standards
Supply chainsIn these guides we notice that nearly half of the big clothes shops and jeans companies are now scoring our best rating for their supply chain management an improvement since we last looked at the sector
This has been the result of many years of campaigns against clothing retailers to improve working conditions of workers within their supply chains
Yet even with companies achieving high scores for having best practice policies for workersrsquo rights in their supply chains investigations are still finding issues Virtually all of the clothes shops still get a worst rating in our Workersrsquo Rights column as do half of the outdoor gear and jeans companies
For example a report by SOMO and the India Committee of the Netherlands in October 2014 highlighted the abuse of girls and women workers in the South Indian textile industry Companies such as HampM and Next who get our best
copy G
reen
peac
e
Hat
i Kec
il V
isua
ls
11
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
rating for supply chain management were said to be sourcing from these factories Subsequently HampM stopped using the factories but nevertheless it highlights the complexity of supply chains and the need to closely monitor what is going on
Made in Europe
Due to complex supply chains and poor workersrsquo rights issues in Asia it is perhaps unsurprising to find that many clothing companies are now looking to bring production back to Europe and in some cases back to the UK Plus as the Guardian reported ldquoWhen a country such as Turkey Portugal Romania Slovakia or Bulgaria appears on a label the brand may also get a boost to their reputation as consumers assume the ethics behind a skirt made in Portugal are better than those behind one made in Chinardquo
But sadly it seems that this doesnrsquot guarantee that the clothes are made in decent conditions In 2014 the Clean Clothes Campaign released a report on clothing factories in eastern Europe It details appallingly low wages long hours and abuse Safety issues may not be at the same rock-bottom level as in parts of Asia
but Bulgaria Macedonia and Romania all have lower minimum wages than China2
Environment
Toxic chemicals
In July 2011 Greenpeace released its first report exposing the hidden links between textile manufacturing facilities in China that discharge hazardous chemicals into the water and international brands such as the sportswear giants Nike and Adidas That report gave rise to the Detox Campaign which called on companies to make a commitment to eliminate toxic chemicals from their supply chains by 2020
By March 2015 18 clothing companies had made the commitment
Of the clothes shops and jeans companies we have covered in our guides the following were rated by Greenpeace
Detox leaders G Star RAW HampM Levi Strauss MampS Primark and Fast Retailing (Uniqlo)Detox losers GAP and PVH (Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger)
bull
bull
Greenpeacersquos latest Detox report focuses on the outdoor industry and its use of PFCs ndash toxic chemicals used for waterproofing See page 28
Environmental reporting
Unfortunately a majority of companies are still not reporting on what steps they are taking to improve the environmental impact of their factories and of their products 64 of the companies we have covered scored our worst rating in this category Outdoor companies fared the worst whilst jeans companies did best
References 1 Gisela Burckhardt Price does not guarantee fairness 2015 2 Clean Clothes Campaign Stitched Up 2014 3 Business Human Rights Know the Chain ndash See which companies do and do not have statements under the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act January 2014 4 Lexology Recent developments in US legislation on modern slavery September 2014 wwwlexologycomlibrarydetailaspxg=f9b4675d-c785-4ac1-9d3d-7ed6346fb1cb 5 wwwlivingwagenoweuuploadsimagesPanel_introduction_EU_Flagship_webpdf 6 The White House Press Release G-7 Leaders Declaration June 8th 2015 wwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20150608g-7-leaders-declaration 7 SEDEX Modern Slavery Act 2015 wwwsedexglobalcomwp-contentuploads201106The-UK-Modern-Slavery-Act-20151pdf
Clothing product guides onlineOther clothing-related guides on our website are Online Clothing Retailers Alternative Clothing Companies Underwear Shoes Trainers Sportswear Walking boots and Fleeces Go to wwwethicalconsumerorgbuyersguidesclothing
The journey towards transparencyFinally we are seeing the beginnings of legislation on supply chain issues for which campaigners have been calling for years
From 2010 the
Transparency in Supply Chains Act has required that
large companies in California USA disclose the efforts they were
making to eradicate human trafficking and slavery from their supply chains
However research has found that many companies have not been complying3 and that they have
not been penalised for non-compliance4
2010 2014 2015 2015
2015
The EU Non-Financial
Reporting directive came into force on the 6th
December 2014 It requires large listed companies to disclose policies and risks regarding social issues respect for human rights
anti-corruption and bribery EU Member States have two
years to transpose it into national legislation
The EU convened
a multi-stakeholder forum on responsible management of the
garment supply chain with representatives of industry trade
unions retailers and workersrsquo rights organisations looking at a potential EU flagship initiative and what form
this might take5
A G7 Joint Declaration promised
to ldquostrive for better application of internationally
recognised labour social and environmental
standards principles and commitments in global
supply chainsrdquo6
This year saw the
arrival of the Modern Slavery Act in the UK The
Act includes the Transparency in Supply Chains Clause which
as of October 2015 requires large UK companies to
publish an annual slavery and human trafficking
statement7
12
ProductGUIDE
This guide examines the ten biggest selling UK high-street clothes shops as well as four supermarkets that are in the top 20 UK clothes sellers ASDA Tesco John Lewis and Sainsburyrsquos1 and the top three e-tailers (online clothes retailers) Of the e-tailers only ASOS manufactures its own clothes The other two Amazon and Net-a-Porter are just marketplaces although Amazon has been talking about starting to make its own line of clothes in the future2
The lowdown on high street clothes shops
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
HampM [O] 9 h H h h H H h H 1 Ramsbury Invest AB
HampM 8 h H h h H H h H Ramsbury Invest AB
New Look 8 h h H h h H H h h Brait SE New Look
Matalan 75 H H h h H H h H Hargreaves family
ASOS 7 H H H h H h h H h ASOS plc
Burton 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Dorothy Perkins 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Evans 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
John Lewis [O] 7 h H H H H H H H h h E 1 John Lewis Partnership
Miss Selfridge 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Topman Topshop 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Wallis 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Debenhams 65 H H h h H H h h h H Debenhams plc
Next 65 H H h h H H h H H Next plc
John Lewis 6 h H H H H H H H h h E John Lewis Partnership
Net-a-Porter 6 H H h H H H H h H Yoox spa
TK Maxx 5 H H H H H H H h h H TJX Companies inc
MampS 4 H H h h H H H H h h H H Marks and Spencer Group
River Island 35 H h H h H H H H H h h h H LFH International
Primark 3 H h H h H H H H H h h H H Garfield Weston Foundation
Sainsburyrsquos TU 25 h H H h H H H h H h H h H H J Sainsbury plc
Tesco FampF 25 h H H H h H H H H H h H H Tesco plc
Amazon 05 H H H H H H H H H H h H H H Amazoncom
ASDA George 05 h H H H H H H H H h H H h H H Walmart
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers [O] = organic
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Whatrsquos the yarn on the high street Josie Wexler examines the ethics of the top selling high-street shops and e-tailers
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
13
ProductGUIDE
Whilst not eligible for the Best Buy Label MampS is our recommended high street clothes shop
It scores low in our table because we rate companies
at group level and as it is also a supermarket it picks up a lot of negative marks in areas such as selling animal-tested products or factory-farmed meat But it scores high for its clothes policies (see Company Profiles overleaf)
We also recommend HampM and John Lewisrsquos organic clothing ranges
Our recommended e-tailer is ASOS
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Supply chainsAfter countless media exposeacutes on bad working conditions many high-street clothing shops are now making quite an effort to talk up their supply chain policies Next MampS Arcadia New Look Primark HampM Tesco and John Lewis all received our best rating for supply chain management
We are pleased that pressure has led to clothing retailers taking more responsibility for their supply chains although there are still many industry-wide issues that badly need to be addressed We look at the progress being made towards living wages and safe working conditions on pages 16 and 18
In light of this progress it is very disappointing that there are companies in this report who still have very little to say on the whole subject TK Maxx Matalan River Island Amazon and Net-a-Porter all received our worst rating in this category Matalan in particular have hardly any publicly available information
Sustainable clothesThere is a general lack of Fairtrade organic and recycled clothes on the high street although John Lewis and HampM do sell organic clothes
However one thing that has happened recently is that a couple of companies have started their own clothes recycling schemes See the lsquoLonger-lasting clothesrsquo article on page 24
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Arcadia (Topshop)
ASDA
ASOS
Debenhams
HampM
John Lewis
MampS
Matalan
New Look
Next
Primark
River Island
Sainsburyrsquos
Tesco
TK Maxx
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Goose and duck downIt is not just outdoor companies that use animal down ndash it is now a fashionable filling for many jackets from high-street retailers Several of the companies rated in this clothes shop report have made commitments not to use down which comes from live-plucked or fois gras birds (see table below) Yet none of them has adopted a methodology capable of ensuring that they actually donrsquot which requires tracing their whole down supply chain back to the higher-risk parent farms See page 29 for more information on how outdoor gear companies are ensuring that their down supply chains are cruelty-free
Alternative clothing companiesWe havenrsquot focused on Alternative Clothing Companies in this issue ndash although many feature in the guide to Jeans
Our Best Buy from the previous alternative clothing guide was People Tree who produce Fairtrade and Organic clothing Also a Best Buy was menswear company Brothers We Stand All their products have a footprint tab detailing their social and environmental impact
Positive policies
References 1 Mintel Clothing Retailing 2014 2 Business Insider 28 October Amazon may start making its own clothes
4
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
14
ProductGUIDE
Company profiles
Excessive executive compensation
Next MampS Arcadia Primark TK Maxx Amazon ASOS Asda Tesco Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis all pay their top executives over pound1 million which we rate as excessive
Tax avoidance
We covered the latest on Amazonrsquos tax avoidance in issue 157 and a full version of the article can be found on our website Neither of the other two e-tailers ndash ASOS and Net-a-Porter ndash show any signs of being engaged in tax avoidance
Other companies in the report who receive our worst rating for tax avoidance include Arcadia whose ultimate holding company is registered in Jersey Matalan which is registered in Guernsey and HampM which appears to use holding companies based in Hong Kong for operations in China
More stories behind the rankings
Marks and Spencer does pretty well in a lot of our rankings It receives our best rating for its supply chain and environmental policies has signed the Bangladesh Accord and was rated a leader in Greenpeacersquos lsquoDetox Catwalkrsquo It has checks in place to ensure that none of its cotton comes from Uzbekistan and aims to procure 70 of its cotton from sustainable sources by 2020 (ie either Better Cotton Initiative Fairtrade Organic or recycled)
It was also one of a very few companies to receive the Clean Clothes Campaignrsquos top rating in 2014 for its work towards improving wages in its supply chain (none of the others who received it are in this guide) although the campaign grouprsquos assessment is still fairly circumspect
ldquoWe are pleased to see MampS has been doing work to make sure there are financial incentives for buyers to source from factories that MampS says pay living wages[but] it is impossible to judge the real benefit to workersbecause no figures have been disclosed it could all still be smoke and mirrorsrdquo1
On the downside Marks and Spencer is involved in several free trade lobby groups such as the World Economic Forum and EuroCommerce
Next is the biggest selling UK clothes retailer having overtaken Marks and Spencer in 2014 Its CEO Simon Wolfson is a Conservative peer who has donated over pound500000 to the Conservative Party over the past ten years co-chaired the partyrsquos Economic Competitiveness policy review and in 2010 was one of 35 signatories of an open letter calling on the Government to press ahead with public spending cuts
Indian companies that supply Next were found in 2012 to be employing Indian women under the Sumangali Scheme which is a form of bonded labour that requires low-caste women to work for several years to earn money to pay for a dowry4
As Primark made its name by selling implausibly cheap clothing it has been much focused on by campaigners However in its favour Primark was the first UK company to sign up to the Bangladeshi Accord and as detailed on page 17 it has donated far more to Rana Plaza victims than any other retailer
Primark is owned by Associated British Foods One of Associated British Foodsrsquo foreign subsidiaries Zambia Sugar was accused in 2013 of ripping off its host country by avoiding paying millions of pounds of tax which is really shocking given that Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world2
HampM has promoted itself as a more ethical clothing retailer and produces reams of material about its supply chain policies although it is unclear how much is just talk and how much makes a real difference
HampM has been slammed recently for lagging behind on its commitments
under the Bangladeshi Accord However activists say the issues are not unique to HampM and the reason that they have focused on it is simply because it is such a big buyer from Bangladesh3
HampM has a lsquoRoadmap to a Fair Living Wagersquo aimed at increasing wages in its supplier factories which has been both praised and criticised by Labour Behind the Label ndash praised for including solid targets and dates but crucially criticised for failing to define what a living wage actually is
Like MampS HampM aims for all its cotton to come from ldquomore sustainable sourcesrdquo by 2020
Amazon currently has a boycott call against it called by us for its use of tax avoidance strategies
ASOS scores middle for its supply chain policy it has banned sandblasting in its supply chain and is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative On the downside it has no policy on toxics
References 1 Clean Clothes Campaign 2014 ldquoTailored Wagesrdquo EuroCommerce and World Economic Forum websites 2015 2 ActionAid 2013 ldquoSweet Nothingsrdquo 3 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 4 Maid in India report 2012 ndash India Committee of the Netherlands
copy S
ean
Pavo
ne |
Dre
amst
ime
com
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
15
ProductGUIDE
She believes that in the Tamil Nadu region alone 200000 young women and girls are working under conditions of forced or bonded labour Many are producing cotton jersey (t-shirt fabric) clothing for export to the UK
Samantha Maher from Labour Behind the Label agrees and singles out another vulnerable group that the legislation could help ndash migrants
ldquoLots of migrants are in forced labour especially in Malaysia where people are having their passports taken as well as in the middle east in places like Jordan and Egyptrdquo
Campaigners yet to be convincedHowever some labour rights campaigners are yet to be convinced that the legislation will have the desired effect in improving working conditions
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label feels that reporting alone canrsquot help and the new legislation raises a number of questions
ldquoHow they are reporting and how it [the information] is used still appears to be undecided There is an assumption that NGOs will use the information to expose poor practice but capacity is limited so this wonrsquot be easy without resources and a clear process We also wonder how we will know if the reporting is accuraterdquo
Jane from Homeworkers Worldwide concurs She told Ethical Consumer
ldquoIt is very hard to predict what impact the Modern Slavery Act will have The difficulty is that [the companies] have to report what they are doing but someone will have to sift through the ethical spin to assess whether what they report is really having an impact on the ground whether they are really focusing their efforts on where the problems are etc
Holding companies to account on this will be difficult and will be a massive job for campaigners NGOs and activists ldquo
But she also has more fundamental concerns
ldquoThe current rhetoric on modern slavery in general is that modern slavery
(including forced and bonded labour) risks being seen as a distinct issue and treated quite separately from other forms of exploitation It is as though we can isolate a few criminal elements get rid of those and the rest of the industry can carry on as normalrdquo
Meanwhile TUC General Secretary Frances OrsquoGrady said that this legislation is just the start and that ldquoThe Government should build on the Modern Slavery Act and ratify the ILO Forced Labour Protocol immediatelyrdquo
This would mean not only to criminalise and prosecute forced labour but also to take more effective measures to prevent forced labour and provide victims with protection and access to remedies including compensation1
The way forwardDespite their criticisms campaigners are clear that the Act is a step in the right direction
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label
ldquoCompanies often have no idea where they are buying from so they may get a better grip of supply chains The act is also forcing the issue up from CSR to board level due to its legally binding naturerdquo
This is a view shared by Jane at Homeworkers Worldwide ldquoWhilst we donrsquot think it will in practice deliver much transparency the principle of companies taking responsibility for what goes on in global chains is an important one and making this a legal requirement is a starting point for pushing for greater responsibility and accountability in the futurerdquo
The Modern Slavery Act will force companies to publicly report on the steps they are taking to ensure there is no slavery or forced labour in their supply chains It has the potential to have a big impact on the clothing sector The Ethical Trading Initiative described the legislation as a ldquogame-changerrdquo
Karen Bradley the Home Office Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation said in a statement ldquoThe act will mean that major businesses will for the first time be expected to be transparent about the action they are taking to address modern slavery in their global supply chains
ldquoConsumers businesses and investors will now have valuable information to inform them on the companies they are supporting ndash and shoppers can make more informed decisions at the checkout Businesses risk damaging their reputation or their bottom line if they donrsquot take action to prevent modern slavery in their supply chainsrdquo
Huge numbers of bonded labourersThe legislation has the potential to have a positive impact on millions of workers all over the world
The International Labour Organisation estimates that almost 21 million people are currently working in some form of forced labour including many in the clothing sector2
Research from the Ashridge Centre for Business and Sustainability and the Ethical Trading Initiative found that 71 of companies believe there is a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some point in their supply chains3
Jane Tate from campaign group Homeworkers Worldwide is in no doubt that modern slavery is a big issue in the clothing sector ndash ldquoThere has been a lot of campaigning and work done attempting to address this issue including company projects and an ETI project but to our best knowledge the problem of forced labour still remains endemic in the industryrdquo
The new Modern Slavery Act
References 1 wwwiloorgwcmsp5groupspublic---ed_norm---declarationdocumentspublicationwcms_321414pdf 2 wwwtheguardiancomworld2015oct28uk-companies-proof-no-links-slave-labour-supply-chain 3 wwwethicaltradeorgnews-and-eventsnewsresearch-released-corporate-approaches-to-modern-slavery
Many campaigners are yet to be convinced that this new Act will have the desired effect Tim Hunt investigates
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
16
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
It is now more than two years since the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed killing over a thousand people and injuring 2500 ndash people who managers had ordered back to work despite cracks appearing in the walls Rana Plaza is considered the most fatal garment industry accident in history The resulting public outcry led to promises that things would change So have they
The Accord and the AllianceThere are three different factory safety schemes that were created in the aftermath of the disaster Two are industry-led ones The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (the Alliance) There is also a government-led scheme whose remit is to cover any factories not covered by the other two called the National Action Plan
For any industry scheme to be convincing it has to be substantially different from what went before because the track record of company safety audits in Bangladesh is not impressive Rana
Plaza had twice been audited by Primark and declared safe1 Primark says that it didnrsquot do a structural survey because nobody did them then but a building collapse was hardly unprecedented in 2005 one had killed 64 workers And this is only one of a string of audit failures that have been luridly illustrated by mass fatalities In 2010 a fire at the Garib amp Garib sweater factory killed 21 workers four months after HampM had audited it HampM officially required suppliersrsquo factories to have adequate exits and fire-fighting equipment but this one passed the audit with neither and two people had already died in a fire at the factory a few months earlier2
Factory safety two years on from Rana Plaza
Companies in these guides which have signed the Accordbull Arcadia bull Debenhams bull G Star bull Helly Hansen bull HampM bull John Lewis bull MampS bull Matalan bull New Look bull Next bull Primark bull PVH bull River Island bull Sainsburyrsquos bull Tesco bull Uniqlo
ldquoDonrsquot look for me where leaves are
falling
You will not find me there my beloved
At the machines where lives are
withered
It is there that I lie deadrdquo
A verse from a 1911 song written to commemorate the Triangle garment factory disaster in New York which generated a labour rights movement that revolutionised labour standards in the USA (Mayn Rue Platz by Morris Rosenfeld in translation)
The aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collpase in 2013 1134 people were killed and over 2500 injured as the 8-storey building housing five garment factories collapsed
Inte
rnat
iona
l Lab
or R
ight
s Fo
rum
Josie Wexler takes a look at progress towards creating safer clothing factories in Bangladesh
17
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The Accord however is different It is not another self-policed scheme that companies can adhere to if they feel like it It is a legally-binding agreement between brands and trade unions and signing it means that if safety issues are found in a companyrsquos suppliersrsquo factories and are not fixed the company can be sued
Campaigners had spent years trying and failing to get brands to enter into such an agreement Within weeks of Rana Plazarsquos collapse nearly 40 companies had signed The number is now over 200
However many American companies have refused to sign most notably Walmart (ASDA) and Gap They created the other alternative industry scheme the Alliance which is not legally binding and is widely believed to be basically meaningless window dressing It has only 26 members
Recent developmentsMost although not all of the 3500 clothing factories in Bangladesh have been inspected under one of the three schemes over the past two years largely by the Accord The Accord has closed thirty-five factories altogether and safety upgrades have begun in hundreds of others3 All of the Accordrsquos inspection reports with photographs are freely available on the web ndash transparency is one of its central principles which is another big break from the auditing schemes of the past
However progress on the upgrades has been terribly slow and the unions are now initiating a formal complaint about several brands including HampM who they say are not fulfilling their obligations at a reasonable pace The complaint is the first step towards legal arbitration which would be quite unprecedented4
A further development is that in June 2015 42 people in Bangladesh were
charged with murder over the Rana Plaza deaths including the buildingrsquos owner Sohel Rana the owners of the five factories in the building and 13 government officials If convicted they could face the death penalty
CompensationIn 2014 Labour Behind the Label ran a ldquopay uprdquo campaign pressuring companies to compensate Rana Plazarsquos victimsrsquo families The good news is that although it took a huge struggle the campaign was a success The Rana Plaza Donorrsquos Trust Fund met its target of $30 million in June 2015
Primark comes out by far the best in this story It donated a total of $8 million ndash $1 million to the fund and $7 million directly to victimsWalmart is estimated to have donated $1 million
bull
bull
References 1 Vogue 2014 How The World Has Changed Since Rana Plaza 2 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo 3 Good Choice Forex June 1 2015 ldquoTwo Years After Rana Plaza Disaster Uneven Progress In Bangladeshrsquos Garment Industryrdquo 4 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 5 Clean Clothes Campaign 2015 ldquoWho has paid and who is dragging their heelsrdquo 6 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo
The dumping ground for the Rana Plaza debris just metres away from the victimsrsquo homes
North Face Death TrapsAmerican student groups have been leading the way on pressurising companies who have refused to sign the Accord United Students Against Sweatshops have run a campaign called lsquoNorth Face Death Trapsrsquo targeting VF Corporation as the largest branded clothing manufacturer in the world over its refusal to sign The campaign can be found at httpnorthfacedeathtrapscom
North Face appears in the Waterproof jackets guide whilst VF Corporation owns Lee and Wrangler jeans
Matalan initially refused to donate anything but after being hounded by campaigners it made a rather half-hearted donation of $100000HampM donated approximately $200000 Unlike the three companies above it was not sourcing from Rana Plaza but it is the biggest buyer from Bangladesh as a whole5
Rana Plaza has started to change the game in more ways than one After the Garib amp Garib fire HampM commissioned Save the Children to assess workersrsquo familiesrsquo needs and it decided to focus just on helping children and the elderly But the Rana Plaza fund goes further and is compensating all victimsrsquo families based on loss of income6
There is talk in campaign groups about how to take the Accord further ndash extending it outside Bangladesh or using the same model in other areas such as wages Watch this space
bull
bull
http
f
oxfa
shio
nor
guk
18
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The garment industry is a major employer across the world ndash in Asia for example over 15 million people are employed by the industry With global brands making millions in profits every year this booming industry has come to rely on and exploit the cheap labour of millions of garment workers whose wages fall far short of a living wage
The lack of a living wage means many garment workers are forced to work long hours to earn overtime or bonuses and cannot risk refusing work due to unsafe working conditions or taking time off due to ill health The low wages mean that workers often have to rely on loans just to make ends meet and have no savings to use if they find themselves out of work
A living wage calculation across a region is key to ensuring not only that workers receive a decent wage but also that wage differences do not mean companies pull out of one country to move manufacturing to a country with lower costs ndash the so-called race to the bottom
Living wage calculations must take into account some common factors including the number of family members to be supported the basic nutritional needs of a worker and other basic needs including housing healthcare education and some basic savings
Clean Clothes Campaign is part of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance ndash an alliance of Asian trade unions and labour groups who have calculated a living wage formula for Asia
The Asia Floor Wage calculation cannot be simply applied to other regions as some of the assumptions do not apply For
example in Asia food costs are relatively high and standards of living such as housing are very low whereas in other regions such as Eastern Europe food costs are relatively lower when compared to housing
Clean Clothes Campaign partners are working on defining
and calculating living wages for other garment producing regions
They are calling forClothing brands and companies to set concrete measurable steps throughout their supply chain to ensure garment workers get paid a living wageNational governments in garment producing countries to make sure minimum wages are set at living wage standardsEuropean governments to implement regulation to ensure companies are responsible for the impact they have on the lives of workers in their supply chainSign the Clean Clothes Campaign
petition calling for all garment workers to receive a living wage ndash wwwcleanclothesorglivingwagesign
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bull
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Struggling for a living wage
A living wage in CambodiaFor several years garment workers and trade unions in Cambodia have been engaged in a bitter conflict with the government over the minimum wage with strikes protests and brutal government crackdowns resulting in deaths injuries and imprisonments Garment workers want US$177 per month enough cover their basic living expenses In 2014 Asia Floor Wage calculated the living wage in Cambodia to be US$396 per month
Though it has made increases the Cambodian government has still not reached the $177 called for Further negotiations and protests in October this year saw the government settle on $140 a month to come into effect in January 2016 Needless to say this has angered some ldquoThis figure is reasonable and acceptable Even itrsquos not acceptable to all we have no choicerdquo Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng was quoted as saying
The top five brands sourcing from Cambodia include three brands in these clothes guides HampM GAP Levi Strauss amp Co
Living wage initiativesLiving Wage Now Forum
In October this year the CCCrsquos Living Wage Now Forum brought together workersrsquo representatives from around the world brand representatives (HampM Primark CampA New Look Pentland NrsquoBrown and Tchibo) European policy makers experts and members of workerrsquos rights organisations to discuss the next concrete steps towards a fashion industry that respects human rights and pays all workers a living wage based on proposals from the CCC Follow its progress here wwwlivingwagenoweu
ACT initiative
A number of brands and retailers are collaborating with the IndustriALL Global Union on the Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT) making a commitment to work with their suppliers in order to support a living wage
Brands in this guide that are involved with ACT are ASOS HampM Arcadia Tesco Primark Next
A full list of members could not be found but these companies were mentioned online in connection with the project
For an average item of clothing only between
05-3 of the cost goes to the worker who made it This means that on an euro8 t-shirt the most a worker will get paid is 24 cents
Clean Clothes Campaign
What are the companies in this issue doing about living wagesThe following brands from this guide explicitly make provision for a living wage in their supply chain policies
Major clothes retailers Next Arcadia Primark Debenhams New Look Tesco John Lewis
Waterproof jacketstrousers Patagonia Jack Wolfskin Paramo Mountain Equipment
Jeans G-Star Nudie PVH brands (Calvin Klein amp Tommy Hilfiger)
19
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
For decades the Government of Uzbekistan has been forcing its citizens both children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest As a result of sustained campaign pressure on the issue of child labour 2014 saw the burden of labour shifted onto adults with lsquomassesrsquo of teachers and medical professionals forced into the cotton fields1
Having engaged companies on the issue since 2008 the Responsible Sourcing
Clothing campaigns
Best scores on Uzbek cottonIn order to receive Ethical Consumerrsquos best rating on this issue all medium- to large-sized companies are expected both to have signed the Cotton Pledge and to demonstrate concrete actions to implement it throughout their supply chains Otherwise the company must only use organic or Better Cotton Initiative cotton
Companies in this issue which receive a best score are
Major clothes retailers MampS Arcadia (Topshop etc) TK Maxx New Look
Waterproof jacketstrousers Jack Wolfskin Patagonia
Jeans Nudie Kuyichi Mud FREITAG (does not use cotton) Levirsquos PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
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bull
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Companies whorsquove signed the CanopyStyle Pledge Patagonia Levi Strauss amp Co HampM Marks amp Spencer ASOS G-Star RAW
Companies targeted by RAN Guess
Forest-friendly fashionForests probably arenrsquot something that immediately come to mind when considering the impacts of the fashion industry However many commonly used fabrics are derived from wood pulp Check your clothes labels for rayon viscose modal and tencel and itrsquos highly likely yoursquoll spot them ndash either on their own or blended with other fibres Mixed with polyester they give clothes a more pleasant lsquofeelrsquo and often replace cotton because theyrsquore cheaper to produce
So whatrsquos the issue
More than 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into cellulose fabric ndash if placed end to end those trees would circle the earth seven timesDissolving pulp (the base material for rayonviscose) wastes approximately 70 of the tree and is a chemically intensive manufacturing process Dissolving pulp production is projected to double by 2050 Less than 20 of the worldrsquos ancient forests remain intact in tracts large enough to maintain biological diversityForests in Indonesia Canadarsquos boreal and temperate rainforests and the Amazon are being logged for next seasonrsquos fashion
Canopyrsquos lsquoFashion Loved by Forestrsquo initiative partners with clothing brands to help them develop solutions to reduce the impact of their business on ancient forests Companies are asked to sign up to the CanopyStyle Pledge and create a policy on how they source wood-derived fabrics
Rainforest Action Networkrsquos (RAN) lsquoOut of Fashionrsquo campaign pinpointed several high-end fashion brands which it said must do more to ensure they werenrsquot making clothes from unsustainable wood pulp
Watch the campaign video and sign in support of RANrsquos Out of Fashion campaign wwwranorgout_of_fashion
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Fur-free shoppingAn investigation into angora farms in China by PETA Asia in December 2013 revealed shockingly cruel treatment of angora rabbits involving the live-plucking of fur from caged rabbits Many clothing companies have now stated that they will no longer sell angora The only companies covered in this issue who
are still selling it are Net-A-Porter in the Clothes Shops guide and Pepe and Guess covered in the Jeans guide
The following clothes shops have joined the Fur Free Alliancersquos Fur Free Retailer programme Topshop HampM ASOS MampS Next Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis From the other guides Nudie and MUD jeans and Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen are part of the programme More information from wwwfurfreeretailercomOther brands are listed as fur free by Humane Society International Mountain Hardwear Calvin Klein New Look Patagonia North Face Diesel Superdry Levirsquos Guess Tommy Hilfiger Howies and Uniqlo See wwwhumanesocietyorgissuesfur_fashiontipsfur-free_shoppinghtml for more details
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References 1 wwwantislaveryorgenglishcampaignscottoncrimesforced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgroundaspx
Network (RSN) introduced the lsquoCotton Pledge Against Child and Adult Forced Labour in Uzbek Cottonrsquo in 2011 To date over 160 companies have signed the pledge
However the RSN decided in 2014 that it was time to find out how companies were actually implementing the Cotton Pledge throughout their supply chains
It asked companies what efforts they were making to actually implement this pledge including communicating their policy to all parts of its supply chain including spinners and mills and auditing them for compliance The results were published in the lsquoCotton Sourcing Snapshotrsquo which can be downloaded from wwwsourcingnetworkorgcotton-sourcing-snapshot
See page 22 in the Jeans guide for discussion on the other issues associated with cotton production
Forced labour in the Uzbekrsquos cotton fields
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
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bull
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policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
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bull
Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
copy B
ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
copy A
nton
io G
rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
bull
bull
bull
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
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bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
bull
bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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Thousands of people across the UK disagree We think we urgently need to move to a zero-carbon energy system owned by and run for normal people Weve put our time and money into local green energy
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email informationvegetarian-shoescouk
ORDER DIRECT ON-LINEwwwvegetarian-shoescouk
35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Stuck for that unique Christmas present
Why not book a short course at CAT and stay with us for the weekend in our award-winning WISE building
Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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MSc Sustainability and Adaptation PlanningCities and communities transition strategy politics and economics
MSc Renewable Energy and the Built Environment
Apply now to start September 2016httpgsecatorguk
10 o Short C
ourses
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
Least fuel efficient
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Planning for your secure future without repression pollution or exploitation
Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
Ethical Investment Specialists
CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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consum r
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
copy M
icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
bull Overseas ordersPhoneuson01612262929orgotoourwebsite-wwwethicalconsumerorgSubscriptionsaspx
Your message
1st gift subscription pound2995
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Order by midnight
on Wednesday 16th December for delivery by
Christmas
42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
FoodJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 wwwethicalconsumerorg
Bacardi Give sugarcane workers a breakDrinks brand Bacardi has come under fire from several campaign groups over the conditions in its sugar supply chain
According to campaign group Fairfood International in the last decade 20000 agricultural workers have died from Chronic Kidney Disease of non-Traditional Causes (CKDnT) the majority of them are sugarcane workers
Three of the most likely causes of CKDnT are dehydration heat stress and exposure to agrochemicals The sugarcane industry in Central America is beset by poor working conditions such as long working days and heavy physical work with little access to water and shade which most likely contribute to the onset of the disease
The documentary lsquoUnder Canersquo by filmmaker Ed Kashi shows how harsh the working conditions of sugarcane workers are and the devastating effect of this fatal kidney disease See the video at wwwfairfoodorg
Campaign groups Fairfood International and The SumofUs are targeting Bacardi which does business directly with sugarcane mills in Guatemala and could help stop the epidemic Campaigners say that there are several simple steps that could be taken to stop the problem including
Better access to sufficient clean drinking water
Better access to shade
More regular breaks
Reduced working hours thus decreasing physical strain
Bacardi said in a statement
ldquoBacardi takes the unsubstantiated Fairfood International allegations made about its supply chain and human rights initiatives seriously as the Company operates in full compliance with all trade regulations and lawshellipSpecifically we do not source any product from Nicaragua and we have only continued to work with the two organizations we source from in Guatemala because they have committed to improving their practices and getting and maintaining certifiedhelliprdquo
Sign the SumofUs petition at httpactionsumofusorg
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Not just tunaPeople have been fighting destructive fishing for many years But increasingly we are seeing harm caused to more than just our oceans wersquore seeing the abuse and enslavement of people
Over the last year a series of shocking stories have come to light that expose the true cost of the tuna we consume
The truth is that our seafood is often the product of human trafficking and enslavement Thai Union the owner of John West tinned tuna is embroiled in the scandal
Fishers working in the Thai seafood industry have usually been encouraged to leave their families on the promise of a well-paid job to support their family For others the situation is even more extreme they were sold against their will and prevented from going home at gunpoint
Brought into Thailand illegally if they disobey the people who trafficked them they are threatened with arrest and imprisonment Many see no choice but to accept their fate and they remain on the ships for years on end
Therersquos no doubt that our desire for cheap tuna has helped cause the environmental degradation and human rights abuses we see in the seafood industry today
But if tuna companies stop paying for fish tainted by human trafficking and abuse fishing vessels with these practices will become unprofitable Greenpeace are calling on Thai Union to stop buying from fisheries where labour or human rights abuses are present
Greenpeace is targeting John West Almost 100000 people have pledged to stop buying John West tuna 50000 people have sent direct messages to Thai Union and John West
Join the campaign
Sign the pledge amp Email John West amp Thai Union httpssecuregreenpeaceorgukpagesnot-just-tuna
Write on John Westrsquos Facebook page wwwfacebookcomjohnwestuk
Tweet your NotJohnWest sandwich and let them know their behaviour is bad for business
Nestleacute water grab in OregonNestleacute has been planning on pumping fresh water out of Cascade Locks Oregon to bottle and sell for profit ndash a plan that local residents have been fighting for the last six years
Now as the plan closes in residents have launched a historic ballot initiative to prevent any major bottled water company from commercialising water anywhere in the region This legislation could serve as a national benchmark and a crucial model to any region around the world looking to keep its natural resources out of the reach of Big Bottled Water The
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Sugarcane cutters need access to unlimited clean drinking water and shade regular breaks shorter working hours and less physical strain
Fairf
ood
Inte
rnat
iona
l
Foodwwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
ballot measure has been filed and Oregon residents are furiously collecting signatures in the area to get the initiative on the ticket for the next yearrsquos election
This ballot measure comes at a crucial moment As the world eyes an impending water crisis brought on by climate change and the mismanagement of natural resources corporations like Nestleacute and Coca-Cola are eyeing precious natural water reserves too often in economically desperate areas that are themselves facing water shortages
Sign the SumofUs petition showing your support for the people-powered initiative in Oregon to stop Nestleacute from privatising public water ndash httpactionsumofusorgaoregon-david-goliath-nestle
Thorntons sold to Italian FerreroThe Italian chocolate company Ferrero famed for its provision of gold foil wrapped chocolates at ambassadorsrsquo parties has bought one of the most familiar brands on the UK high street Thorntons
The change does little to alter the brandsrsquo overall scores but Ferrero gets a best rating for palm oil policy and environmental reporting whilst Thorntons gets worst for both We hope that the better policies of the parent company will now also lift Thorntonsrsquo operations
Once seen as luxurious and upmarket Thorntons has lost out to the likes of Hotel Chocolat and Lindt Such was the competitive pressure that in 2007 one of Thorntonsrsquo master chocolatiers Barry Colenso was forced to resign in disgrace after being caught squashing truffles in one of competitor Hotel Chocolatrsquos stores
The buyout marks the loss of one of Britainrsquos last remaining home-grown chocolate brands to an overseas buyer Cadbury and Green amp Blackrsquos were sold to the US confectionery business Kraft Foods Inc ndash now renamed Mondelez ndash in 2009 while Rowntree the company which developed the Kit Kat and Aero was sold to the Swiss Nestleacute in 1988
The deal will enable Ferrero to become the UKrsquos fourth-largest chocolate brand ndash behind Mondelez Mars and Nestleacute Other brands owned by Ferrero are Nutella and Kinder
In June Francersquos ecology minister Seacutegolegravene Royal urged the public to boycott Nutella saying its use of palm oil contributes to deforestation She later had to apologise when Greenpeace and WWF leapt to the companyrsquos defence saying that Ferrero actually goes much further than most competitors on the responsible sourcing of palm oil
Pepsi lags behind on palm oilThe Rainforest Alliance has launched a new campaign against Pepsi over what it describes as a ldquoloopholerdquo in its new palm oil policy
PepsiCo has committed to cutting conflict palm oil from its supply chains everywhere but Indonesia the worldrsquos biggest palm oil producing country Its new policy exempts its Indofood partner which produces PepsiCo products containing palm oil in Indonesia
Moreover the policy commits to only source RSPO certified palm oil by 2020 Most lsquofront runnersrsquo have adopted 2015 as the year to fully meet their palm oil commitments
According to Rainforest Action Network ldquoThis latest move falls below the standard set by PepsiCorsquos peers which have recognized the need to go beyond sourcing Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified palm oil The RSPO is a scheme that permits the destruction of forests peatlands and has a poor track record of upholding the rights of local communities and workersrdquo
McDonaldrsquos and Yum Brands (owner of KFC Pizza Hut and Taco Bell) have both come out with zero-deforestation policies this year
RAN continues ldquoPepsiCo uses an immense amount of palm oil its annual consumption could fill enough Pepsi soda cans full of palm oil to circle the earth at the equator four times Put another way the tropical land base needed to feed PepsiCorsquos global appetite for palm oil each year is a quarter million acres of land most of which used to be rainforest Due to its size and influence PepsiCo has a key role to play in halting the destruction of Indonesiarsquos forests bulldozed for palm oilrdquo
People took action around the globe to close this destructive loophole They labelled PepsiCo vending machines and store displays lsquoOut of Orderrsquo
Pepsi brands in the UK are Walkers crisps Doritos Snack a Jacks Quaker Oats Scottrsquos Porage Oats Tropicana Copella Gatorade Mountain Dew V Water Naked juice and Nobbyrsquos Nuts
What you can do
Email PepsiCorsquos CEO Ms Indra Nooyi here and demand that it close the loophole in its palm oil policy wwwranorgpepsi_loophole
Post on PepsiCorsquos Facebook page wwwfacebookcomPepsiUS
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120 tribal members residents and concerned citizens rallied in Salem to protect Oregonrsquos water from Nestleacute
Keep
Nes
tle O
ut o
f the
Gor
ge C
oalit
ion
HomeJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 wwwethicalconsumerorg
Investment in technology which can replace animals in experiments stood at pound8 million in 2014 However funding for the research councils which develop animal-based tests ran to pound300 million
What can consumers do
Use the sliders next to the score tables on our product guide pages on the website so that you can just rate the brands on animal testing
Choose cruelty-free products from companies that donrsquot test on animals See Naturewatchrsquos Compassionate Shopping Guide available for pound5 from httpnaturewatchorgcompassionate-shopping
Support companies such as Lush Cosmetics who are fighting animal testing See the Lush Prize page for details of this yearrsquos pound450000 given by them to those developing non-animal testing methods For more on the Lush Prize see page 32
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Underwear Best Buy foldsUnfortunately the Who Made My Pants brand of womenrsquos underwear has had to close
The brand was set up in 2008 by Welsh businesswoman Becky John She said ldquoWe have struggled to achieve sustainable levels of production and this coupled with inconsistent supply of raw materials has meant it was always a struggle to sell the pants at a high enough margin to pay for our overheads and therefore cash flow has been a constant issue for usrdquo
Who Made Your Pants started after Ms John attended an Amnesty meeting in Southampton She had been a member of the human rights organisation since she was a teenager and at that meeting she saw a presentation from a group that worked with refugees in the area Who Made Your Pants employed women from refugee backgrounds from countries such as Sudan Somalia and Afghanistan
Who Made Your Pants was a Best Buy in our underwear guide That leaves Pants to Poverty who offer Fairtrade and organic certified pants We also recommended certified organic or Fairtrade underwear from the following companies Peau Ethique Living Crafts Do You Green Greenfibres and Cock amp Bull
New pet food Best BuyWe have just added a new brand to the pet food guides that we published in the last Issue ndash Lilyrsquos Kitchenrsquos organic varieties It makes organic and lsquonaturalrsquo meat cat and dog food
The range is currently available nationwide in Waitrose Tesco and Ocado as well as in wholefood shops vet surgeries organic health food shops and pet shops
Lilyrsquos Kitchen recently became a founding UK member of the global B Corp community Like Patagonia in the Waterproofs guide B Corps are legally required to serve stakeholders ndash workers communities and the wider environment ndash as well as shareholders through explicit reference to the triple bottom line They are certified in the UK by B Lab a non-profit organisation that assesses transparency accountability and performance
Animal experiments in the UKHome Office statistics published in October show that British universities companies government bodies and charities completed 387 million tests involving 38 million living animals in 2014 including horses dogs cats monkeys and cattle
UK laboratories regularly refer to the UK policy of replacing refining and reducing (3Rs) the use of animals in experiments but cleverly avoid acknowledging the total absence of any progress towards these goals ldquoClaims for the replacement refinement and reduction of the use of animals are not only hollow but also misleadingrdquo states animal welfare group the Naturewatch Foundation The statistics on animal use covering 2014 indicate a reduction in the total number of experiments of around 7 for that year
However a change in the reporting of data from experiments underway to experiments completed means that there is likely to have been no reduction at all
Statistics also donrsquot reveal these facts
More than a third of European tests involving live animals take place in the UK
Many animals bred for experiments donrsquot meet the requirements for inclusion in a trial and are euthanised with the result that the true number of animals affected will remain unknown
In August this year the Home Office approved plans for a new facility to breed and house beagle dogs without any access to outdoor space exclusively for sale to animal testing facilities This decision is particularly shocking because the approval was given to a company whose executives were arrested in Italy this year for institutional cruelty to animals Cruelty Free International has launched legal proceedings against the Home Office decision See wwwcrueltyfreeinternationalorgfighting-yorkshire-beagles-high-court
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Boycottsethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Barclays divests from Israeli arms companyHigh street bank Barclays is no longer listed as a shareholder in Israeli arms company Elbit Systems according to BDS
The news follows a high profile campaign launched after Barclays was named as a shareholder of the company owning $29 million worth of shares
The concerted campaign featured a petition signed by more than 17 million people and organised by Avaaz calling on Barclays to divest from Elbit Systems Campaigners occupied and protested at bank branches across the UK
The arms company has been the target of campaigners over its manufacture of drones used in Israelrsquos attacks on Palestinians and its role in building the illegal Apartheid Wall in occupied Palestine
Mahmoud Nawajaa co-ordinator with the Palestinian BDS National Committee the Palestinian civil society coalition that leads and supports the BDS movement said
ldquoWe hope that Barclays will now commit to not allowing clients to buy or sell Elbit shares on its platform and to making it clear to all its clients that Elbit is deeply complicit with Israeli violations of international lawrdquo
Veolia withdraws from Israel
The BDS movement celebrated another victory as long standing boycott target Veolia withdrew from its contracts in Jerusalem
After years of pressure the French corporation cut its ties with the Jerusalem Light Rail (JLR) project a railway that campaigners say is illegal and built to facilitate the growth and expansion of Israeli colonial settlements on occupied Palestinian territory
The sale of its stake in the JLR project ends all of Veoliarsquos involvement in the Israeli market
Veolia sold nearly all of its business operations in Israel in April 2015 but had until now remained a 5 shareholder in the JLR project
According to the BDS movement Veoliarsquos involvement in the project and the subsequent boycott had lead it to lose a slew of contracts across the world
For example in 2014 Kuwait Cityrsquos council excluded Veolia from a tender for the treatment of solid waste worth $750 million
Boycott Ben amp Jerryrsquos
Unilever subsidiary Ben amp Jerryrsquos has been added to the list of companies boycotted by BDS
The call comes due to the brandrsquos long-standing contractual relationship with an Israeli franchise that manufactures ice cream in Israel and sells it in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
Campaigners say that Ben amp Jerryrsquos Social Mission and ldquohistory of supporting progressive causes cannot be reconciled with its franchisersquos commercial ties to the settlementsrdquo
Since 2013 thousands of individuals and 239 organisations in 20 countries including Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory have called on Ben amp Jerryrsquos to put an end to its franchisersquos business in Israeli settlements
Jeff Furman chairperson of Ben amp Jerryrsquos Board of Directors travelled to occupied Palestine in 2012 with a group of American civil rightsrsquo leaders He described what he saw there as ldquoapartheidrdquo In spite of all this the company has refused not only to stop its practices but to even issue a statement calling for an end to Israelrsquos occupation and settlements
On the announcement of the boycott Ben amp Jerryrsquos released the following statement
ldquoBen amp Jerryrsquos corporate organization based in the US does not retain any profits from the business in Israel The company remains committed to contributing 100 of the net licensing fee to foster multicultural programs and values-led ingredient sourcing initiatives in the regionrdquo
Groups across the UK occupied and held protests at Barclays banks as part of the campaign
See the Top 10 BDS consumer boycott targets on our website at wwwethicalconsumerorgboycottsboycottslistisrael
News from the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement
In 2005 Palestinian civil society issued a call for boycotts divestment and sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law and universal principles of human rights The resulting movement is aimed at consumers (boycott) institutional investors (divestment) and states (sanctions)
10
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
This special report on clothing contains guides to clothes shops jeans and waterproof jackets We
also look at a few lsquoe-tailersrsquo (online clothes shops) and report on the latest clothing campaigns
Progress on the high streetTwo themes which have become apparent during our research for these guides are the positive impact of campaign action and the increase in transparency in some areas of the clothing industry
Small steps have been made on the catwalk to ethical fashion
The Bangladesh Accord has paved the way for future positive initiatives in more than just the field of workersrsquo rights by demonstrating that itrsquos possible to have a large number of companies working together within a legally-binding framework The level of transparency required by the Accord sets a new precedent and has set the bar for companiesrsquo future reporting Over two hundred companies have signed the Bangladeshi Accord on Fire and Factory Safety ndash see page 16 for more details
In October 2015 the UK Government enacted the Modern Slavery Act another piece of legislation which will force companies to be more transparent about whether slave labour is being used within their supply chains On page 15 campaigners tell us why they remain sceptical about how the new legislation will work in practice but why they also think it is a step in the right direction
Progress has also been made on other issues as a result of campaigns
160 companies have signed the Cotton Pledge against child and forced labour in Uzbekistan ndash see page 19There has been an increase in awareness among brands on the issue of living wages as a core issue ndash see page 1810 of the global retail fashion industry has committed to get rid of toxic chemicals by 2020 ndash see oppositeOutdoor companies are leading the way in cleaning up their goose and duck down supply chains ndash see page 29
An industry-wide problemWhile it is often the big high-street retailers who are the focus of campaigns it is worth remembering that the issues are endemic to the whole clothing industry Some retailers on the table such as Matalan score comparatively highly However this may reflect the fact that theyrsquove dodged criticisms rather than the fact that theyrsquore one step ahead on sustainability
Campaign actions get results But because there are such a large number of clothing brands campaigners canrsquot reach them all So certain companies (generally those with the biggest market share or whose labels have been uncovered in a sweatshop) find themselves targeted by campaigners more often With building pressure from customers these companies are forced to make efforts to clean up their act Meanwhile the ones left out of the spotlight are able to hide in the shadows
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The catwalk to ethical fashionHeather Webb Josie Wexler Ruth Strange and Bryony Moore provide an update on the progress made in the clothing industry
and allow others to take the flakIn order to reflect this in our ratings
we follow campaignersrsquo leads and request policies from companies on the issues they raise
For example all companies in this issue were asked for a policy on hazardous chemicals following Greenpeacersquos Detox campaign lead We also asked all companies for a cotton sourcing policy which matched the asks of the Responsible Sourcing Network on Uzbek cotton In this way we support campaigners in driving up standards
Supply chainsIn these guides we notice that nearly half of the big clothes shops and jeans companies are now scoring our best rating for their supply chain management an improvement since we last looked at the sector
This has been the result of many years of campaigns against clothing retailers to improve working conditions of workers within their supply chains
Yet even with companies achieving high scores for having best practice policies for workersrsquo rights in their supply chains investigations are still finding issues Virtually all of the clothes shops still get a worst rating in our Workersrsquo Rights column as do half of the outdoor gear and jeans companies
For example a report by SOMO and the India Committee of the Netherlands in October 2014 highlighted the abuse of girls and women workers in the South Indian textile industry Companies such as HampM and Next who get our best
copy G
reen
peac
e
Hat
i Kec
il V
isua
ls
11
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
rating for supply chain management were said to be sourcing from these factories Subsequently HampM stopped using the factories but nevertheless it highlights the complexity of supply chains and the need to closely monitor what is going on
Made in Europe
Due to complex supply chains and poor workersrsquo rights issues in Asia it is perhaps unsurprising to find that many clothing companies are now looking to bring production back to Europe and in some cases back to the UK Plus as the Guardian reported ldquoWhen a country such as Turkey Portugal Romania Slovakia or Bulgaria appears on a label the brand may also get a boost to their reputation as consumers assume the ethics behind a skirt made in Portugal are better than those behind one made in Chinardquo
But sadly it seems that this doesnrsquot guarantee that the clothes are made in decent conditions In 2014 the Clean Clothes Campaign released a report on clothing factories in eastern Europe It details appallingly low wages long hours and abuse Safety issues may not be at the same rock-bottom level as in parts of Asia
but Bulgaria Macedonia and Romania all have lower minimum wages than China2
Environment
Toxic chemicals
In July 2011 Greenpeace released its first report exposing the hidden links between textile manufacturing facilities in China that discharge hazardous chemicals into the water and international brands such as the sportswear giants Nike and Adidas That report gave rise to the Detox Campaign which called on companies to make a commitment to eliminate toxic chemicals from their supply chains by 2020
By March 2015 18 clothing companies had made the commitment
Of the clothes shops and jeans companies we have covered in our guides the following were rated by Greenpeace
Detox leaders G Star RAW HampM Levi Strauss MampS Primark and Fast Retailing (Uniqlo)Detox losers GAP and PVH (Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger)
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bull
Greenpeacersquos latest Detox report focuses on the outdoor industry and its use of PFCs ndash toxic chemicals used for waterproofing See page 28
Environmental reporting
Unfortunately a majority of companies are still not reporting on what steps they are taking to improve the environmental impact of their factories and of their products 64 of the companies we have covered scored our worst rating in this category Outdoor companies fared the worst whilst jeans companies did best
References 1 Gisela Burckhardt Price does not guarantee fairness 2015 2 Clean Clothes Campaign Stitched Up 2014 3 Business Human Rights Know the Chain ndash See which companies do and do not have statements under the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act January 2014 4 Lexology Recent developments in US legislation on modern slavery September 2014 wwwlexologycomlibrarydetailaspxg=f9b4675d-c785-4ac1-9d3d-7ed6346fb1cb 5 wwwlivingwagenoweuuploadsimagesPanel_introduction_EU_Flagship_webpdf 6 The White House Press Release G-7 Leaders Declaration June 8th 2015 wwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20150608g-7-leaders-declaration 7 SEDEX Modern Slavery Act 2015 wwwsedexglobalcomwp-contentuploads201106The-UK-Modern-Slavery-Act-20151pdf
Clothing product guides onlineOther clothing-related guides on our website are Online Clothing Retailers Alternative Clothing Companies Underwear Shoes Trainers Sportswear Walking boots and Fleeces Go to wwwethicalconsumerorgbuyersguidesclothing
The journey towards transparencyFinally we are seeing the beginnings of legislation on supply chain issues for which campaigners have been calling for years
From 2010 the
Transparency in Supply Chains Act has required that
large companies in California USA disclose the efforts they were
making to eradicate human trafficking and slavery from their supply chains
However research has found that many companies have not been complying3 and that they have
not been penalised for non-compliance4
2010 2014 2015 2015
2015
The EU Non-Financial
Reporting directive came into force on the 6th
December 2014 It requires large listed companies to disclose policies and risks regarding social issues respect for human rights
anti-corruption and bribery EU Member States have two
years to transpose it into national legislation
The EU convened
a multi-stakeholder forum on responsible management of the
garment supply chain with representatives of industry trade
unions retailers and workersrsquo rights organisations looking at a potential EU flagship initiative and what form
this might take5
A G7 Joint Declaration promised
to ldquostrive for better application of internationally
recognised labour social and environmental
standards principles and commitments in global
supply chainsrdquo6
This year saw the
arrival of the Modern Slavery Act in the UK The
Act includes the Transparency in Supply Chains Clause which
as of October 2015 requires large UK companies to
publish an annual slavery and human trafficking
statement7
12
ProductGUIDE
This guide examines the ten biggest selling UK high-street clothes shops as well as four supermarkets that are in the top 20 UK clothes sellers ASDA Tesco John Lewis and Sainsburyrsquos1 and the top three e-tailers (online clothes retailers) Of the e-tailers only ASOS manufactures its own clothes The other two Amazon and Net-a-Porter are just marketplaces although Amazon has been talking about starting to make its own line of clothes in the future2
The lowdown on high street clothes shops
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
HampM [O] 9 h H h h H H h H 1 Ramsbury Invest AB
HampM 8 h H h h H H h H Ramsbury Invest AB
New Look 8 h h H h h H H h h Brait SE New Look
Matalan 75 H H h h H H h H Hargreaves family
ASOS 7 H H H h H h h H h ASOS plc
Burton 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Dorothy Perkins 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Evans 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
John Lewis [O] 7 h H H H H H H H h h E 1 John Lewis Partnership
Miss Selfridge 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Topman Topshop 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Wallis 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Debenhams 65 H H h h H H h h h H Debenhams plc
Next 65 H H h h H H h H H Next plc
John Lewis 6 h H H H H H H H h h E John Lewis Partnership
Net-a-Porter 6 H H h H H H H h H Yoox spa
TK Maxx 5 H H H H H H H h h H TJX Companies inc
MampS 4 H H h h H H H H h h H H Marks and Spencer Group
River Island 35 H h H h H H H H H h h h H LFH International
Primark 3 H h H h H H H H H h h H H Garfield Weston Foundation
Sainsburyrsquos TU 25 h H H h H H H h H h H h H H J Sainsbury plc
Tesco FampF 25 h H H H h H H H H H h H H Tesco plc
Amazon 05 H H H H H H H H H H h H H H Amazoncom
ASDA George 05 h H H H H H H H H h H H h H H Walmart
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers [O] = organic
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Whatrsquos the yarn on the high street Josie Wexler examines the ethics of the top selling high-street shops and e-tailers
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
13
ProductGUIDE
Whilst not eligible for the Best Buy Label MampS is our recommended high street clothes shop
It scores low in our table because we rate companies
at group level and as it is also a supermarket it picks up a lot of negative marks in areas such as selling animal-tested products or factory-farmed meat But it scores high for its clothes policies (see Company Profiles overleaf)
We also recommend HampM and John Lewisrsquos organic clothing ranges
Our recommended e-tailer is ASOS
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Supply chainsAfter countless media exposeacutes on bad working conditions many high-street clothing shops are now making quite an effort to talk up their supply chain policies Next MampS Arcadia New Look Primark HampM Tesco and John Lewis all received our best rating for supply chain management
We are pleased that pressure has led to clothing retailers taking more responsibility for their supply chains although there are still many industry-wide issues that badly need to be addressed We look at the progress being made towards living wages and safe working conditions on pages 16 and 18
In light of this progress it is very disappointing that there are companies in this report who still have very little to say on the whole subject TK Maxx Matalan River Island Amazon and Net-a-Porter all received our worst rating in this category Matalan in particular have hardly any publicly available information
Sustainable clothesThere is a general lack of Fairtrade organic and recycled clothes on the high street although John Lewis and HampM do sell organic clothes
However one thing that has happened recently is that a couple of companies have started their own clothes recycling schemes See the lsquoLonger-lasting clothesrsquo article on page 24
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Arcadia (Topshop)
ASDA
ASOS
Debenhams
HampM
John Lewis
MampS
Matalan
New Look
Next
Primark
River Island
Sainsburyrsquos
Tesco
TK Maxx
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Goose and duck downIt is not just outdoor companies that use animal down ndash it is now a fashionable filling for many jackets from high-street retailers Several of the companies rated in this clothes shop report have made commitments not to use down which comes from live-plucked or fois gras birds (see table below) Yet none of them has adopted a methodology capable of ensuring that they actually donrsquot which requires tracing their whole down supply chain back to the higher-risk parent farms See page 29 for more information on how outdoor gear companies are ensuring that their down supply chains are cruelty-free
Alternative clothing companiesWe havenrsquot focused on Alternative Clothing Companies in this issue ndash although many feature in the guide to Jeans
Our Best Buy from the previous alternative clothing guide was People Tree who produce Fairtrade and Organic clothing Also a Best Buy was menswear company Brothers We Stand All their products have a footprint tab detailing their social and environmental impact
Positive policies
References 1 Mintel Clothing Retailing 2014 2 Business Insider 28 October Amazon may start making its own clothes
4
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
14
ProductGUIDE
Company profiles
Excessive executive compensation
Next MampS Arcadia Primark TK Maxx Amazon ASOS Asda Tesco Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis all pay their top executives over pound1 million which we rate as excessive
Tax avoidance
We covered the latest on Amazonrsquos tax avoidance in issue 157 and a full version of the article can be found on our website Neither of the other two e-tailers ndash ASOS and Net-a-Porter ndash show any signs of being engaged in tax avoidance
Other companies in the report who receive our worst rating for tax avoidance include Arcadia whose ultimate holding company is registered in Jersey Matalan which is registered in Guernsey and HampM which appears to use holding companies based in Hong Kong for operations in China
More stories behind the rankings
Marks and Spencer does pretty well in a lot of our rankings It receives our best rating for its supply chain and environmental policies has signed the Bangladesh Accord and was rated a leader in Greenpeacersquos lsquoDetox Catwalkrsquo It has checks in place to ensure that none of its cotton comes from Uzbekistan and aims to procure 70 of its cotton from sustainable sources by 2020 (ie either Better Cotton Initiative Fairtrade Organic or recycled)
It was also one of a very few companies to receive the Clean Clothes Campaignrsquos top rating in 2014 for its work towards improving wages in its supply chain (none of the others who received it are in this guide) although the campaign grouprsquos assessment is still fairly circumspect
ldquoWe are pleased to see MampS has been doing work to make sure there are financial incentives for buyers to source from factories that MampS says pay living wages[but] it is impossible to judge the real benefit to workersbecause no figures have been disclosed it could all still be smoke and mirrorsrdquo1
On the downside Marks and Spencer is involved in several free trade lobby groups such as the World Economic Forum and EuroCommerce
Next is the biggest selling UK clothes retailer having overtaken Marks and Spencer in 2014 Its CEO Simon Wolfson is a Conservative peer who has donated over pound500000 to the Conservative Party over the past ten years co-chaired the partyrsquos Economic Competitiveness policy review and in 2010 was one of 35 signatories of an open letter calling on the Government to press ahead with public spending cuts
Indian companies that supply Next were found in 2012 to be employing Indian women under the Sumangali Scheme which is a form of bonded labour that requires low-caste women to work for several years to earn money to pay for a dowry4
As Primark made its name by selling implausibly cheap clothing it has been much focused on by campaigners However in its favour Primark was the first UK company to sign up to the Bangladeshi Accord and as detailed on page 17 it has donated far more to Rana Plaza victims than any other retailer
Primark is owned by Associated British Foods One of Associated British Foodsrsquo foreign subsidiaries Zambia Sugar was accused in 2013 of ripping off its host country by avoiding paying millions of pounds of tax which is really shocking given that Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world2
HampM has promoted itself as a more ethical clothing retailer and produces reams of material about its supply chain policies although it is unclear how much is just talk and how much makes a real difference
HampM has been slammed recently for lagging behind on its commitments
under the Bangladeshi Accord However activists say the issues are not unique to HampM and the reason that they have focused on it is simply because it is such a big buyer from Bangladesh3
HampM has a lsquoRoadmap to a Fair Living Wagersquo aimed at increasing wages in its supplier factories which has been both praised and criticised by Labour Behind the Label ndash praised for including solid targets and dates but crucially criticised for failing to define what a living wage actually is
Like MampS HampM aims for all its cotton to come from ldquomore sustainable sourcesrdquo by 2020
Amazon currently has a boycott call against it called by us for its use of tax avoidance strategies
ASOS scores middle for its supply chain policy it has banned sandblasting in its supply chain and is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative On the downside it has no policy on toxics
References 1 Clean Clothes Campaign 2014 ldquoTailored Wagesrdquo EuroCommerce and World Economic Forum websites 2015 2 ActionAid 2013 ldquoSweet Nothingsrdquo 3 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 4 Maid in India report 2012 ndash India Committee of the Netherlands
copy S
ean
Pavo
ne |
Dre
amst
ime
com
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
15
ProductGUIDE
She believes that in the Tamil Nadu region alone 200000 young women and girls are working under conditions of forced or bonded labour Many are producing cotton jersey (t-shirt fabric) clothing for export to the UK
Samantha Maher from Labour Behind the Label agrees and singles out another vulnerable group that the legislation could help ndash migrants
ldquoLots of migrants are in forced labour especially in Malaysia where people are having their passports taken as well as in the middle east in places like Jordan and Egyptrdquo
Campaigners yet to be convincedHowever some labour rights campaigners are yet to be convinced that the legislation will have the desired effect in improving working conditions
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label feels that reporting alone canrsquot help and the new legislation raises a number of questions
ldquoHow they are reporting and how it [the information] is used still appears to be undecided There is an assumption that NGOs will use the information to expose poor practice but capacity is limited so this wonrsquot be easy without resources and a clear process We also wonder how we will know if the reporting is accuraterdquo
Jane from Homeworkers Worldwide concurs She told Ethical Consumer
ldquoIt is very hard to predict what impact the Modern Slavery Act will have The difficulty is that [the companies] have to report what they are doing but someone will have to sift through the ethical spin to assess whether what they report is really having an impact on the ground whether they are really focusing their efforts on where the problems are etc
Holding companies to account on this will be difficult and will be a massive job for campaigners NGOs and activists ldquo
But she also has more fundamental concerns
ldquoThe current rhetoric on modern slavery in general is that modern slavery
(including forced and bonded labour) risks being seen as a distinct issue and treated quite separately from other forms of exploitation It is as though we can isolate a few criminal elements get rid of those and the rest of the industry can carry on as normalrdquo
Meanwhile TUC General Secretary Frances OrsquoGrady said that this legislation is just the start and that ldquoThe Government should build on the Modern Slavery Act and ratify the ILO Forced Labour Protocol immediatelyrdquo
This would mean not only to criminalise and prosecute forced labour but also to take more effective measures to prevent forced labour and provide victims with protection and access to remedies including compensation1
The way forwardDespite their criticisms campaigners are clear that the Act is a step in the right direction
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label
ldquoCompanies often have no idea where they are buying from so they may get a better grip of supply chains The act is also forcing the issue up from CSR to board level due to its legally binding naturerdquo
This is a view shared by Jane at Homeworkers Worldwide ldquoWhilst we donrsquot think it will in practice deliver much transparency the principle of companies taking responsibility for what goes on in global chains is an important one and making this a legal requirement is a starting point for pushing for greater responsibility and accountability in the futurerdquo
The Modern Slavery Act will force companies to publicly report on the steps they are taking to ensure there is no slavery or forced labour in their supply chains It has the potential to have a big impact on the clothing sector The Ethical Trading Initiative described the legislation as a ldquogame-changerrdquo
Karen Bradley the Home Office Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation said in a statement ldquoThe act will mean that major businesses will for the first time be expected to be transparent about the action they are taking to address modern slavery in their global supply chains
ldquoConsumers businesses and investors will now have valuable information to inform them on the companies they are supporting ndash and shoppers can make more informed decisions at the checkout Businesses risk damaging their reputation or their bottom line if they donrsquot take action to prevent modern slavery in their supply chainsrdquo
Huge numbers of bonded labourersThe legislation has the potential to have a positive impact on millions of workers all over the world
The International Labour Organisation estimates that almost 21 million people are currently working in some form of forced labour including many in the clothing sector2
Research from the Ashridge Centre for Business and Sustainability and the Ethical Trading Initiative found that 71 of companies believe there is a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some point in their supply chains3
Jane Tate from campaign group Homeworkers Worldwide is in no doubt that modern slavery is a big issue in the clothing sector ndash ldquoThere has been a lot of campaigning and work done attempting to address this issue including company projects and an ETI project but to our best knowledge the problem of forced labour still remains endemic in the industryrdquo
The new Modern Slavery Act
References 1 wwwiloorgwcmsp5groupspublic---ed_norm---declarationdocumentspublicationwcms_321414pdf 2 wwwtheguardiancomworld2015oct28uk-companies-proof-no-links-slave-labour-supply-chain 3 wwwethicaltradeorgnews-and-eventsnewsresearch-released-corporate-approaches-to-modern-slavery
Many campaigners are yet to be convinced that this new Act will have the desired effect Tim Hunt investigates
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
16
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
It is now more than two years since the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed killing over a thousand people and injuring 2500 ndash people who managers had ordered back to work despite cracks appearing in the walls Rana Plaza is considered the most fatal garment industry accident in history The resulting public outcry led to promises that things would change So have they
The Accord and the AllianceThere are three different factory safety schemes that were created in the aftermath of the disaster Two are industry-led ones The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (the Alliance) There is also a government-led scheme whose remit is to cover any factories not covered by the other two called the National Action Plan
For any industry scheme to be convincing it has to be substantially different from what went before because the track record of company safety audits in Bangladesh is not impressive Rana
Plaza had twice been audited by Primark and declared safe1 Primark says that it didnrsquot do a structural survey because nobody did them then but a building collapse was hardly unprecedented in 2005 one had killed 64 workers And this is only one of a string of audit failures that have been luridly illustrated by mass fatalities In 2010 a fire at the Garib amp Garib sweater factory killed 21 workers four months after HampM had audited it HampM officially required suppliersrsquo factories to have adequate exits and fire-fighting equipment but this one passed the audit with neither and two people had already died in a fire at the factory a few months earlier2
Factory safety two years on from Rana Plaza
Companies in these guides which have signed the Accordbull Arcadia bull Debenhams bull G Star bull Helly Hansen bull HampM bull John Lewis bull MampS bull Matalan bull New Look bull Next bull Primark bull PVH bull River Island bull Sainsburyrsquos bull Tesco bull Uniqlo
ldquoDonrsquot look for me where leaves are
falling
You will not find me there my beloved
At the machines where lives are
withered
It is there that I lie deadrdquo
A verse from a 1911 song written to commemorate the Triangle garment factory disaster in New York which generated a labour rights movement that revolutionised labour standards in the USA (Mayn Rue Platz by Morris Rosenfeld in translation)
The aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collpase in 2013 1134 people were killed and over 2500 injured as the 8-storey building housing five garment factories collapsed
Inte
rnat
iona
l Lab
or R
ight
s Fo
rum
Josie Wexler takes a look at progress towards creating safer clothing factories in Bangladesh
17
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The Accord however is different It is not another self-policed scheme that companies can adhere to if they feel like it It is a legally-binding agreement between brands and trade unions and signing it means that if safety issues are found in a companyrsquos suppliersrsquo factories and are not fixed the company can be sued
Campaigners had spent years trying and failing to get brands to enter into such an agreement Within weeks of Rana Plazarsquos collapse nearly 40 companies had signed The number is now over 200
However many American companies have refused to sign most notably Walmart (ASDA) and Gap They created the other alternative industry scheme the Alliance which is not legally binding and is widely believed to be basically meaningless window dressing It has only 26 members
Recent developmentsMost although not all of the 3500 clothing factories in Bangladesh have been inspected under one of the three schemes over the past two years largely by the Accord The Accord has closed thirty-five factories altogether and safety upgrades have begun in hundreds of others3 All of the Accordrsquos inspection reports with photographs are freely available on the web ndash transparency is one of its central principles which is another big break from the auditing schemes of the past
However progress on the upgrades has been terribly slow and the unions are now initiating a formal complaint about several brands including HampM who they say are not fulfilling their obligations at a reasonable pace The complaint is the first step towards legal arbitration which would be quite unprecedented4
A further development is that in June 2015 42 people in Bangladesh were
charged with murder over the Rana Plaza deaths including the buildingrsquos owner Sohel Rana the owners of the five factories in the building and 13 government officials If convicted they could face the death penalty
CompensationIn 2014 Labour Behind the Label ran a ldquopay uprdquo campaign pressuring companies to compensate Rana Plazarsquos victimsrsquo families The good news is that although it took a huge struggle the campaign was a success The Rana Plaza Donorrsquos Trust Fund met its target of $30 million in June 2015
Primark comes out by far the best in this story It donated a total of $8 million ndash $1 million to the fund and $7 million directly to victimsWalmart is estimated to have donated $1 million
bull
bull
References 1 Vogue 2014 How The World Has Changed Since Rana Plaza 2 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo 3 Good Choice Forex June 1 2015 ldquoTwo Years After Rana Plaza Disaster Uneven Progress In Bangladeshrsquos Garment Industryrdquo 4 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 5 Clean Clothes Campaign 2015 ldquoWho has paid and who is dragging their heelsrdquo 6 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo
The dumping ground for the Rana Plaza debris just metres away from the victimsrsquo homes
North Face Death TrapsAmerican student groups have been leading the way on pressurising companies who have refused to sign the Accord United Students Against Sweatshops have run a campaign called lsquoNorth Face Death Trapsrsquo targeting VF Corporation as the largest branded clothing manufacturer in the world over its refusal to sign The campaign can be found at httpnorthfacedeathtrapscom
North Face appears in the Waterproof jackets guide whilst VF Corporation owns Lee and Wrangler jeans
Matalan initially refused to donate anything but after being hounded by campaigners it made a rather half-hearted donation of $100000HampM donated approximately $200000 Unlike the three companies above it was not sourcing from Rana Plaza but it is the biggest buyer from Bangladesh as a whole5
Rana Plaza has started to change the game in more ways than one After the Garib amp Garib fire HampM commissioned Save the Children to assess workersrsquo familiesrsquo needs and it decided to focus just on helping children and the elderly But the Rana Plaza fund goes further and is compensating all victimsrsquo families based on loss of income6
There is talk in campaign groups about how to take the Accord further ndash extending it outside Bangladesh or using the same model in other areas such as wages Watch this space
bull
bull
http
f
oxfa
shio
nor
guk
18
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The garment industry is a major employer across the world ndash in Asia for example over 15 million people are employed by the industry With global brands making millions in profits every year this booming industry has come to rely on and exploit the cheap labour of millions of garment workers whose wages fall far short of a living wage
The lack of a living wage means many garment workers are forced to work long hours to earn overtime or bonuses and cannot risk refusing work due to unsafe working conditions or taking time off due to ill health The low wages mean that workers often have to rely on loans just to make ends meet and have no savings to use if they find themselves out of work
A living wage calculation across a region is key to ensuring not only that workers receive a decent wage but also that wage differences do not mean companies pull out of one country to move manufacturing to a country with lower costs ndash the so-called race to the bottom
Living wage calculations must take into account some common factors including the number of family members to be supported the basic nutritional needs of a worker and other basic needs including housing healthcare education and some basic savings
Clean Clothes Campaign is part of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance ndash an alliance of Asian trade unions and labour groups who have calculated a living wage formula for Asia
The Asia Floor Wage calculation cannot be simply applied to other regions as some of the assumptions do not apply For
example in Asia food costs are relatively high and standards of living such as housing are very low whereas in other regions such as Eastern Europe food costs are relatively lower when compared to housing
Clean Clothes Campaign partners are working on defining
and calculating living wages for other garment producing regions
They are calling forClothing brands and companies to set concrete measurable steps throughout their supply chain to ensure garment workers get paid a living wageNational governments in garment producing countries to make sure minimum wages are set at living wage standardsEuropean governments to implement regulation to ensure companies are responsible for the impact they have on the lives of workers in their supply chainSign the Clean Clothes Campaign
petition calling for all garment workers to receive a living wage ndash wwwcleanclothesorglivingwagesign
bull
bull
bull
Struggling for a living wage
A living wage in CambodiaFor several years garment workers and trade unions in Cambodia have been engaged in a bitter conflict with the government over the minimum wage with strikes protests and brutal government crackdowns resulting in deaths injuries and imprisonments Garment workers want US$177 per month enough cover their basic living expenses In 2014 Asia Floor Wage calculated the living wage in Cambodia to be US$396 per month
Though it has made increases the Cambodian government has still not reached the $177 called for Further negotiations and protests in October this year saw the government settle on $140 a month to come into effect in January 2016 Needless to say this has angered some ldquoThis figure is reasonable and acceptable Even itrsquos not acceptable to all we have no choicerdquo Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng was quoted as saying
The top five brands sourcing from Cambodia include three brands in these clothes guides HampM GAP Levi Strauss amp Co
Living wage initiativesLiving Wage Now Forum
In October this year the CCCrsquos Living Wage Now Forum brought together workersrsquo representatives from around the world brand representatives (HampM Primark CampA New Look Pentland NrsquoBrown and Tchibo) European policy makers experts and members of workerrsquos rights organisations to discuss the next concrete steps towards a fashion industry that respects human rights and pays all workers a living wage based on proposals from the CCC Follow its progress here wwwlivingwagenoweu
ACT initiative
A number of brands and retailers are collaborating with the IndustriALL Global Union on the Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT) making a commitment to work with their suppliers in order to support a living wage
Brands in this guide that are involved with ACT are ASOS HampM Arcadia Tesco Primark Next
A full list of members could not be found but these companies were mentioned online in connection with the project
For an average item of clothing only between
05-3 of the cost goes to the worker who made it This means that on an euro8 t-shirt the most a worker will get paid is 24 cents
Clean Clothes Campaign
What are the companies in this issue doing about living wagesThe following brands from this guide explicitly make provision for a living wage in their supply chain policies
Major clothes retailers Next Arcadia Primark Debenhams New Look Tesco John Lewis
Waterproof jacketstrousers Patagonia Jack Wolfskin Paramo Mountain Equipment
Jeans G-Star Nudie PVH brands (Calvin Klein amp Tommy Hilfiger)
19
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
For decades the Government of Uzbekistan has been forcing its citizens both children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest As a result of sustained campaign pressure on the issue of child labour 2014 saw the burden of labour shifted onto adults with lsquomassesrsquo of teachers and medical professionals forced into the cotton fields1
Having engaged companies on the issue since 2008 the Responsible Sourcing
Clothing campaigns
Best scores on Uzbek cottonIn order to receive Ethical Consumerrsquos best rating on this issue all medium- to large-sized companies are expected both to have signed the Cotton Pledge and to demonstrate concrete actions to implement it throughout their supply chains Otherwise the company must only use organic or Better Cotton Initiative cotton
Companies in this issue which receive a best score are
Major clothes retailers MampS Arcadia (Topshop etc) TK Maxx New Look
Waterproof jacketstrousers Jack Wolfskin Patagonia
Jeans Nudie Kuyichi Mud FREITAG (does not use cotton) Levirsquos PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
bull
bull
bull
Companies whorsquove signed the CanopyStyle Pledge Patagonia Levi Strauss amp Co HampM Marks amp Spencer ASOS G-Star RAW
Companies targeted by RAN Guess
Forest-friendly fashionForests probably arenrsquot something that immediately come to mind when considering the impacts of the fashion industry However many commonly used fabrics are derived from wood pulp Check your clothes labels for rayon viscose modal and tencel and itrsquos highly likely yoursquoll spot them ndash either on their own or blended with other fibres Mixed with polyester they give clothes a more pleasant lsquofeelrsquo and often replace cotton because theyrsquore cheaper to produce
So whatrsquos the issue
More than 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into cellulose fabric ndash if placed end to end those trees would circle the earth seven timesDissolving pulp (the base material for rayonviscose) wastes approximately 70 of the tree and is a chemically intensive manufacturing process Dissolving pulp production is projected to double by 2050 Less than 20 of the worldrsquos ancient forests remain intact in tracts large enough to maintain biological diversityForests in Indonesia Canadarsquos boreal and temperate rainforests and the Amazon are being logged for next seasonrsquos fashion
Canopyrsquos lsquoFashion Loved by Forestrsquo initiative partners with clothing brands to help them develop solutions to reduce the impact of their business on ancient forests Companies are asked to sign up to the CanopyStyle Pledge and create a policy on how they source wood-derived fabrics
Rainforest Action Networkrsquos (RAN) lsquoOut of Fashionrsquo campaign pinpointed several high-end fashion brands which it said must do more to ensure they werenrsquot making clothes from unsustainable wood pulp
Watch the campaign video and sign in support of RANrsquos Out of Fashion campaign wwwranorgout_of_fashion
bull
bull
bull
bull
Fur-free shoppingAn investigation into angora farms in China by PETA Asia in December 2013 revealed shockingly cruel treatment of angora rabbits involving the live-plucking of fur from caged rabbits Many clothing companies have now stated that they will no longer sell angora The only companies covered in this issue who
are still selling it are Net-A-Porter in the Clothes Shops guide and Pepe and Guess covered in the Jeans guide
The following clothes shops have joined the Fur Free Alliancersquos Fur Free Retailer programme Topshop HampM ASOS MampS Next Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis From the other guides Nudie and MUD jeans and Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen are part of the programme More information from wwwfurfreeretailercomOther brands are listed as fur free by Humane Society International Mountain Hardwear Calvin Klein New Look Patagonia North Face Diesel Superdry Levirsquos Guess Tommy Hilfiger Howies and Uniqlo See wwwhumanesocietyorgissuesfur_fashiontipsfur-free_shoppinghtml for more details
bull
bull
References 1 wwwantislaveryorgenglishcampaignscottoncrimesforced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgroundaspx
Network (RSN) introduced the lsquoCotton Pledge Against Child and Adult Forced Labour in Uzbek Cottonrsquo in 2011 To date over 160 companies have signed the pledge
However the RSN decided in 2014 that it was time to find out how companies were actually implementing the Cotton Pledge throughout their supply chains
It asked companies what efforts they were making to actually implement this pledge including communicating their policy to all parts of its supply chain including spinners and mills and auditing them for compliance The results were published in the lsquoCotton Sourcing Snapshotrsquo which can be downloaded from wwwsourcingnetworkorgcotton-sourcing-snapshot
See page 22 in the Jeans guide for discussion on the other issues associated with cotton production
Forced labour in the Uzbekrsquos cotton fields
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
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Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
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Fin
ance
Com
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Eth
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Prod
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usta
inab
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USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
bull
bull
bull
policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
bull
bull
Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
copy B
ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
copy A
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rava
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| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
bull
bull
bull
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
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References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
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bull
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References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
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Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
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Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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Sustainable Architecture
MSc Sustainability and Adaptation in the Built EnvironmentEnergy in buildings natural materials applied projects
MSc Sustainability and Adaptation PlanningCities and communities transition strategy politics and economics
MSc Renewable Energy and the Built Environment
Apply now to start September 2016httpgsecatorguk
10 o Short C
ourses
for subscr
ibers
please quote
EC15
39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
Least fuel efficient
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Planning for your secure future without repression pollution or exploitation
Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
Ethical Investment Specialists
CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
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lippo
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ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
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issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
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For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
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Foodwwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
ballot measure has been filed and Oregon residents are furiously collecting signatures in the area to get the initiative on the ticket for the next yearrsquos election
This ballot measure comes at a crucial moment As the world eyes an impending water crisis brought on by climate change and the mismanagement of natural resources corporations like Nestleacute and Coca-Cola are eyeing precious natural water reserves too often in economically desperate areas that are themselves facing water shortages
Sign the SumofUs petition showing your support for the people-powered initiative in Oregon to stop Nestleacute from privatising public water ndash httpactionsumofusorgaoregon-david-goliath-nestle
Thorntons sold to Italian FerreroThe Italian chocolate company Ferrero famed for its provision of gold foil wrapped chocolates at ambassadorsrsquo parties has bought one of the most familiar brands on the UK high street Thorntons
The change does little to alter the brandsrsquo overall scores but Ferrero gets a best rating for palm oil policy and environmental reporting whilst Thorntons gets worst for both We hope that the better policies of the parent company will now also lift Thorntonsrsquo operations
Once seen as luxurious and upmarket Thorntons has lost out to the likes of Hotel Chocolat and Lindt Such was the competitive pressure that in 2007 one of Thorntonsrsquo master chocolatiers Barry Colenso was forced to resign in disgrace after being caught squashing truffles in one of competitor Hotel Chocolatrsquos stores
The buyout marks the loss of one of Britainrsquos last remaining home-grown chocolate brands to an overseas buyer Cadbury and Green amp Blackrsquos were sold to the US confectionery business Kraft Foods Inc ndash now renamed Mondelez ndash in 2009 while Rowntree the company which developed the Kit Kat and Aero was sold to the Swiss Nestleacute in 1988
The deal will enable Ferrero to become the UKrsquos fourth-largest chocolate brand ndash behind Mondelez Mars and Nestleacute Other brands owned by Ferrero are Nutella and Kinder
In June Francersquos ecology minister Seacutegolegravene Royal urged the public to boycott Nutella saying its use of palm oil contributes to deforestation She later had to apologise when Greenpeace and WWF leapt to the companyrsquos defence saying that Ferrero actually goes much further than most competitors on the responsible sourcing of palm oil
Pepsi lags behind on palm oilThe Rainforest Alliance has launched a new campaign against Pepsi over what it describes as a ldquoloopholerdquo in its new palm oil policy
PepsiCo has committed to cutting conflict palm oil from its supply chains everywhere but Indonesia the worldrsquos biggest palm oil producing country Its new policy exempts its Indofood partner which produces PepsiCo products containing palm oil in Indonesia
Moreover the policy commits to only source RSPO certified palm oil by 2020 Most lsquofront runnersrsquo have adopted 2015 as the year to fully meet their palm oil commitments
According to Rainforest Action Network ldquoThis latest move falls below the standard set by PepsiCorsquos peers which have recognized the need to go beyond sourcing Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certified palm oil The RSPO is a scheme that permits the destruction of forests peatlands and has a poor track record of upholding the rights of local communities and workersrdquo
McDonaldrsquos and Yum Brands (owner of KFC Pizza Hut and Taco Bell) have both come out with zero-deforestation policies this year
RAN continues ldquoPepsiCo uses an immense amount of palm oil its annual consumption could fill enough Pepsi soda cans full of palm oil to circle the earth at the equator four times Put another way the tropical land base needed to feed PepsiCorsquos global appetite for palm oil each year is a quarter million acres of land most of which used to be rainforest Due to its size and influence PepsiCo has a key role to play in halting the destruction of Indonesiarsquos forests bulldozed for palm oilrdquo
People took action around the globe to close this destructive loophole They labelled PepsiCo vending machines and store displays lsquoOut of Orderrsquo
Pepsi brands in the UK are Walkers crisps Doritos Snack a Jacks Quaker Oats Scottrsquos Porage Oats Tropicana Copella Gatorade Mountain Dew V Water Naked juice and Nobbyrsquos Nuts
What you can do
Email PepsiCorsquos CEO Ms Indra Nooyi here and demand that it close the loophole in its palm oil policy wwwranorgpepsi_loophole
Post on PepsiCorsquos Facebook page wwwfacebookcomPepsiUS
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120 tribal members residents and concerned citizens rallied in Salem to protect Oregonrsquos water from Nestleacute
Keep
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tle O
ut o
f the
Gor
ge C
oalit
ion
HomeJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 wwwethicalconsumerorg
Investment in technology which can replace animals in experiments stood at pound8 million in 2014 However funding for the research councils which develop animal-based tests ran to pound300 million
What can consumers do
Use the sliders next to the score tables on our product guide pages on the website so that you can just rate the brands on animal testing
Choose cruelty-free products from companies that donrsquot test on animals See Naturewatchrsquos Compassionate Shopping Guide available for pound5 from httpnaturewatchorgcompassionate-shopping
Support companies such as Lush Cosmetics who are fighting animal testing See the Lush Prize page for details of this yearrsquos pound450000 given by them to those developing non-animal testing methods For more on the Lush Prize see page 32
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bull
bull
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Underwear Best Buy foldsUnfortunately the Who Made My Pants brand of womenrsquos underwear has had to close
The brand was set up in 2008 by Welsh businesswoman Becky John She said ldquoWe have struggled to achieve sustainable levels of production and this coupled with inconsistent supply of raw materials has meant it was always a struggle to sell the pants at a high enough margin to pay for our overheads and therefore cash flow has been a constant issue for usrdquo
Who Made Your Pants started after Ms John attended an Amnesty meeting in Southampton She had been a member of the human rights organisation since she was a teenager and at that meeting she saw a presentation from a group that worked with refugees in the area Who Made Your Pants employed women from refugee backgrounds from countries such as Sudan Somalia and Afghanistan
Who Made Your Pants was a Best Buy in our underwear guide That leaves Pants to Poverty who offer Fairtrade and organic certified pants We also recommended certified organic or Fairtrade underwear from the following companies Peau Ethique Living Crafts Do You Green Greenfibres and Cock amp Bull
New pet food Best BuyWe have just added a new brand to the pet food guides that we published in the last Issue ndash Lilyrsquos Kitchenrsquos organic varieties It makes organic and lsquonaturalrsquo meat cat and dog food
The range is currently available nationwide in Waitrose Tesco and Ocado as well as in wholefood shops vet surgeries organic health food shops and pet shops
Lilyrsquos Kitchen recently became a founding UK member of the global B Corp community Like Patagonia in the Waterproofs guide B Corps are legally required to serve stakeholders ndash workers communities and the wider environment ndash as well as shareholders through explicit reference to the triple bottom line They are certified in the UK by B Lab a non-profit organisation that assesses transparency accountability and performance
Animal experiments in the UKHome Office statistics published in October show that British universities companies government bodies and charities completed 387 million tests involving 38 million living animals in 2014 including horses dogs cats monkeys and cattle
UK laboratories regularly refer to the UK policy of replacing refining and reducing (3Rs) the use of animals in experiments but cleverly avoid acknowledging the total absence of any progress towards these goals ldquoClaims for the replacement refinement and reduction of the use of animals are not only hollow but also misleadingrdquo states animal welfare group the Naturewatch Foundation The statistics on animal use covering 2014 indicate a reduction in the total number of experiments of around 7 for that year
However a change in the reporting of data from experiments underway to experiments completed means that there is likely to have been no reduction at all
Statistics also donrsquot reveal these facts
More than a third of European tests involving live animals take place in the UK
Many animals bred for experiments donrsquot meet the requirements for inclusion in a trial and are euthanised with the result that the true number of animals affected will remain unknown
In August this year the Home Office approved plans for a new facility to breed and house beagle dogs without any access to outdoor space exclusively for sale to animal testing facilities This decision is particularly shocking because the approval was given to a company whose executives were arrested in Italy this year for institutional cruelty to animals Cruelty Free International has launched legal proceedings against the Home Office decision See wwwcrueltyfreeinternationalorgfighting-yorkshire-beagles-high-court
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Boycottsethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Barclays divests from Israeli arms companyHigh street bank Barclays is no longer listed as a shareholder in Israeli arms company Elbit Systems according to BDS
The news follows a high profile campaign launched after Barclays was named as a shareholder of the company owning $29 million worth of shares
The concerted campaign featured a petition signed by more than 17 million people and organised by Avaaz calling on Barclays to divest from Elbit Systems Campaigners occupied and protested at bank branches across the UK
The arms company has been the target of campaigners over its manufacture of drones used in Israelrsquos attacks on Palestinians and its role in building the illegal Apartheid Wall in occupied Palestine
Mahmoud Nawajaa co-ordinator with the Palestinian BDS National Committee the Palestinian civil society coalition that leads and supports the BDS movement said
ldquoWe hope that Barclays will now commit to not allowing clients to buy or sell Elbit shares on its platform and to making it clear to all its clients that Elbit is deeply complicit with Israeli violations of international lawrdquo
Veolia withdraws from Israel
The BDS movement celebrated another victory as long standing boycott target Veolia withdrew from its contracts in Jerusalem
After years of pressure the French corporation cut its ties with the Jerusalem Light Rail (JLR) project a railway that campaigners say is illegal and built to facilitate the growth and expansion of Israeli colonial settlements on occupied Palestinian territory
The sale of its stake in the JLR project ends all of Veoliarsquos involvement in the Israeli market
Veolia sold nearly all of its business operations in Israel in April 2015 but had until now remained a 5 shareholder in the JLR project
According to the BDS movement Veoliarsquos involvement in the project and the subsequent boycott had lead it to lose a slew of contracts across the world
For example in 2014 Kuwait Cityrsquos council excluded Veolia from a tender for the treatment of solid waste worth $750 million
Boycott Ben amp Jerryrsquos
Unilever subsidiary Ben amp Jerryrsquos has been added to the list of companies boycotted by BDS
The call comes due to the brandrsquos long-standing contractual relationship with an Israeli franchise that manufactures ice cream in Israel and sells it in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
Campaigners say that Ben amp Jerryrsquos Social Mission and ldquohistory of supporting progressive causes cannot be reconciled with its franchisersquos commercial ties to the settlementsrdquo
Since 2013 thousands of individuals and 239 organisations in 20 countries including Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory have called on Ben amp Jerryrsquos to put an end to its franchisersquos business in Israeli settlements
Jeff Furman chairperson of Ben amp Jerryrsquos Board of Directors travelled to occupied Palestine in 2012 with a group of American civil rightsrsquo leaders He described what he saw there as ldquoapartheidrdquo In spite of all this the company has refused not only to stop its practices but to even issue a statement calling for an end to Israelrsquos occupation and settlements
On the announcement of the boycott Ben amp Jerryrsquos released the following statement
ldquoBen amp Jerryrsquos corporate organization based in the US does not retain any profits from the business in Israel The company remains committed to contributing 100 of the net licensing fee to foster multicultural programs and values-led ingredient sourcing initiatives in the regionrdquo
Groups across the UK occupied and held protests at Barclays banks as part of the campaign
See the Top 10 BDS consumer boycott targets on our website at wwwethicalconsumerorgboycottsboycottslistisrael
News from the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement
In 2005 Palestinian civil society issued a call for boycotts divestment and sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law and universal principles of human rights The resulting movement is aimed at consumers (boycott) institutional investors (divestment) and states (sanctions)
10
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
This special report on clothing contains guides to clothes shops jeans and waterproof jackets We
also look at a few lsquoe-tailersrsquo (online clothes shops) and report on the latest clothing campaigns
Progress on the high streetTwo themes which have become apparent during our research for these guides are the positive impact of campaign action and the increase in transparency in some areas of the clothing industry
Small steps have been made on the catwalk to ethical fashion
The Bangladesh Accord has paved the way for future positive initiatives in more than just the field of workersrsquo rights by demonstrating that itrsquos possible to have a large number of companies working together within a legally-binding framework The level of transparency required by the Accord sets a new precedent and has set the bar for companiesrsquo future reporting Over two hundred companies have signed the Bangladeshi Accord on Fire and Factory Safety ndash see page 16 for more details
In October 2015 the UK Government enacted the Modern Slavery Act another piece of legislation which will force companies to be more transparent about whether slave labour is being used within their supply chains On page 15 campaigners tell us why they remain sceptical about how the new legislation will work in practice but why they also think it is a step in the right direction
Progress has also been made on other issues as a result of campaigns
160 companies have signed the Cotton Pledge against child and forced labour in Uzbekistan ndash see page 19There has been an increase in awareness among brands on the issue of living wages as a core issue ndash see page 1810 of the global retail fashion industry has committed to get rid of toxic chemicals by 2020 ndash see oppositeOutdoor companies are leading the way in cleaning up their goose and duck down supply chains ndash see page 29
An industry-wide problemWhile it is often the big high-street retailers who are the focus of campaigns it is worth remembering that the issues are endemic to the whole clothing industry Some retailers on the table such as Matalan score comparatively highly However this may reflect the fact that theyrsquove dodged criticisms rather than the fact that theyrsquore one step ahead on sustainability
Campaign actions get results But because there are such a large number of clothing brands campaigners canrsquot reach them all So certain companies (generally those with the biggest market share or whose labels have been uncovered in a sweatshop) find themselves targeted by campaigners more often With building pressure from customers these companies are forced to make efforts to clean up their act Meanwhile the ones left out of the spotlight are able to hide in the shadows
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bull
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The catwalk to ethical fashionHeather Webb Josie Wexler Ruth Strange and Bryony Moore provide an update on the progress made in the clothing industry
and allow others to take the flakIn order to reflect this in our ratings
we follow campaignersrsquo leads and request policies from companies on the issues they raise
For example all companies in this issue were asked for a policy on hazardous chemicals following Greenpeacersquos Detox campaign lead We also asked all companies for a cotton sourcing policy which matched the asks of the Responsible Sourcing Network on Uzbek cotton In this way we support campaigners in driving up standards
Supply chainsIn these guides we notice that nearly half of the big clothes shops and jeans companies are now scoring our best rating for their supply chain management an improvement since we last looked at the sector
This has been the result of many years of campaigns against clothing retailers to improve working conditions of workers within their supply chains
Yet even with companies achieving high scores for having best practice policies for workersrsquo rights in their supply chains investigations are still finding issues Virtually all of the clothes shops still get a worst rating in our Workersrsquo Rights column as do half of the outdoor gear and jeans companies
For example a report by SOMO and the India Committee of the Netherlands in October 2014 highlighted the abuse of girls and women workers in the South Indian textile industry Companies such as HampM and Next who get our best
copy G
reen
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e
Hat
i Kec
il V
isua
ls
11
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
rating for supply chain management were said to be sourcing from these factories Subsequently HampM stopped using the factories but nevertheless it highlights the complexity of supply chains and the need to closely monitor what is going on
Made in Europe
Due to complex supply chains and poor workersrsquo rights issues in Asia it is perhaps unsurprising to find that many clothing companies are now looking to bring production back to Europe and in some cases back to the UK Plus as the Guardian reported ldquoWhen a country such as Turkey Portugal Romania Slovakia or Bulgaria appears on a label the brand may also get a boost to their reputation as consumers assume the ethics behind a skirt made in Portugal are better than those behind one made in Chinardquo
But sadly it seems that this doesnrsquot guarantee that the clothes are made in decent conditions In 2014 the Clean Clothes Campaign released a report on clothing factories in eastern Europe It details appallingly low wages long hours and abuse Safety issues may not be at the same rock-bottom level as in parts of Asia
but Bulgaria Macedonia and Romania all have lower minimum wages than China2
Environment
Toxic chemicals
In July 2011 Greenpeace released its first report exposing the hidden links between textile manufacturing facilities in China that discharge hazardous chemicals into the water and international brands such as the sportswear giants Nike and Adidas That report gave rise to the Detox Campaign which called on companies to make a commitment to eliminate toxic chemicals from their supply chains by 2020
By March 2015 18 clothing companies had made the commitment
Of the clothes shops and jeans companies we have covered in our guides the following were rated by Greenpeace
Detox leaders G Star RAW HampM Levi Strauss MampS Primark and Fast Retailing (Uniqlo)Detox losers GAP and PVH (Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger)
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Greenpeacersquos latest Detox report focuses on the outdoor industry and its use of PFCs ndash toxic chemicals used for waterproofing See page 28
Environmental reporting
Unfortunately a majority of companies are still not reporting on what steps they are taking to improve the environmental impact of their factories and of their products 64 of the companies we have covered scored our worst rating in this category Outdoor companies fared the worst whilst jeans companies did best
References 1 Gisela Burckhardt Price does not guarantee fairness 2015 2 Clean Clothes Campaign Stitched Up 2014 3 Business Human Rights Know the Chain ndash See which companies do and do not have statements under the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act January 2014 4 Lexology Recent developments in US legislation on modern slavery September 2014 wwwlexologycomlibrarydetailaspxg=f9b4675d-c785-4ac1-9d3d-7ed6346fb1cb 5 wwwlivingwagenoweuuploadsimagesPanel_introduction_EU_Flagship_webpdf 6 The White House Press Release G-7 Leaders Declaration June 8th 2015 wwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20150608g-7-leaders-declaration 7 SEDEX Modern Slavery Act 2015 wwwsedexglobalcomwp-contentuploads201106The-UK-Modern-Slavery-Act-20151pdf
Clothing product guides onlineOther clothing-related guides on our website are Online Clothing Retailers Alternative Clothing Companies Underwear Shoes Trainers Sportswear Walking boots and Fleeces Go to wwwethicalconsumerorgbuyersguidesclothing
The journey towards transparencyFinally we are seeing the beginnings of legislation on supply chain issues for which campaigners have been calling for years
From 2010 the
Transparency in Supply Chains Act has required that
large companies in California USA disclose the efforts they were
making to eradicate human trafficking and slavery from their supply chains
However research has found that many companies have not been complying3 and that they have
not been penalised for non-compliance4
2010 2014 2015 2015
2015
The EU Non-Financial
Reporting directive came into force on the 6th
December 2014 It requires large listed companies to disclose policies and risks regarding social issues respect for human rights
anti-corruption and bribery EU Member States have two
years to transpose it into national legislation
The EU convened
a multi-stakeholder forum on responsible management of the
garment supply chain with representatives of industry trade
unions retailers and workersrsquo rights organisations looking at a potential EU flagship initiative and what form
this might take5
A G7 Joint Declaration promised
to ldquostrive for better application of internationally
recognised labour social and environmental
standards principles and commitments in global
supply chainsrdquo6
This year saw the
arrival of the Modern Slavery Act in the UK The
Act includes the Transparency in Supply Chains Clause which
as of October 2015 requires large UK companies to
publish an annual slavery and human trafficking
statement7
12
ProductGUIDE
This guide examines the ten biggest selling UK high-street clothes shops as well as four supermarkets that are in the top 20 UK clothes sellers ASDA Tesco John Lewis and Sainsburyrsquos1 and the top three e-tailers (online clothes retailers) Of the e-tailers only ASOS manufactures its own clothes The other two Amazon and Net-a-Porter are just marketplaces although Amazon has been talking about starting to make its own line of clothes in the future2
The lowdown on high street clothes shops
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
HampM [O] 9 h H h h H H h H 1 Ramsbury Invest AB
HampM 8 h H h h H H h H Ramsbury Invest AB
New Look 8 h h H h h H H h h Brait SE New Look
Matalan 75 H H h h H H h H Hargreaves family
ASOS 7 H H H h H h h H h ASOS plc
Burton 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Dorothy Perkins 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Evans 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
John Lewis [O] 7 h H H H H H H H h h E 1 John Lewis Partnership
Miss Selfridge 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Topman Topshop 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Wallis 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Debenhams 65 H H h h H H h h h H Debenhams plc
Next 65 H H h h H H h H H Next plc
John Lewis 6 h H H H H H H H h h E John Lewis Partnership
Net-a-Porter 6 H H h H H H H h H Yoox spa
TK Maxx 5 H H H H H H H h h H TJX Companies inc
MampS 4 H H h h H H H H h h H H Marks and Spencer Group
River Island 35 H h H h H H H H H h h h H LFH International
Primark 3 H h H h H H H H H h h H H Garfield Weston Foundation
Sainsburyrsquos TU 25 h H H h H H H h H h H h H H J Sainsbury plc
Tesco FampF 25 h H H H h H H H H H h H H Tesco plc
Amazon 05 H H H H H H H H H H h H H H Amazoncom
ASDA George 05 h H H H H H H H H h H H h H H Walmart
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers [O] = organic
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Whatrsquos the yarn on the high street Josie Wexler examines the ethics of the top selling high-street shops and e-tailers
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
13
ProductGUIDE
Whilst not eligible for the Best Buy Label MampS is our recommended high street clothes shop
It scores low in our table because we rate companies
at group level and as it is also a supermarket it picks up a lot of negative marks in areas such as selling animal-tested products or factory-farmed meat But it scores high for its clothes policies (see Company Profiles overleaf)
We also recommend HampM and John Lewisrsquos organic clothing ranges
Our recommended e-tailer is ASOS
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Supply chainsAfter countless media exposeacutes on bad working conditions many high-street clothing shops are now making quite an effort to talk up their supply chain policies Next MampS Arcadia New Look Primark HampM Tesco and John Lewis all received our best rating for supply chain management
We are pleased that pressure has led to clothing retailers taking more responsibility for their supply chains although there are still many industry-wide issues that badly need to be addressed We look at the progress being made towards living wages and safe working conditions on pages 16 and 18
In light of this progress it is very disappointing that there are companies in this report who still have very little to say on the whole subject TK Maxx Matalan River Island Amazon and Net-a-Porter all received our worst rating in this category Matalan in particular have hardly any publicly available information
Sustainable clothesThere is a general lack of Fairtrade organic and recycled clothes on the high street although John Lewis and HampM do sell organic clothes
However one thing that has happened recently is that a couple of companies have started their own clothes recycling schemes See the lsquoLonger-lasting clothesrsquo article on page 24
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Arcadia (Topshop)
ASDA
ASOS
Debenhams
HampM
John Lewis
MampS
Matalan
New Look
Next
Primark
River Island
Sainsburyrsquos
Tesco
TK Maxx
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Goose and duck downIt is not just outdoor companies that use animal down ndash it is now a fashionable filling for many jackets from high-street retailers Several of the companies rated in this clothes shop report have made commitments not to use down which comes from live-plucked or fois gras birds (see table below) Yet none of them has adopted a methodology capable of ensuring that they actually donrsquot which requires tracing their whole down supply chain back to the higher-risk parent farms See page 29 for more information on how outdoor gear companies are ensuring that their down supply chains are cruelty-free
Alternative clothing companiesWe havenrsquot focused on Alternative Clothing Companies in this issue ndash although many feature in the guide to Jeans
Our Best Buy from the previous alternative clothing guide was People Tree who produce Fairtrade and Organic clothing Also a Best Buy was menswear company Brothers We Stand All their products have a footprint tab detailing their social and environmental impact
Positive policies
References 1 Mintel Clothing Retailing 2014 2 Business Insider 28 October Amazon may start making its own clothes
4
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
14
ProductGUIDE
Company profiles
Excessive executive compensation
Next MampS Arcadia Primark TK Maxx Amazon ASOS Asda Tesco Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis all pay their top executives over pound1 million which we rate as excessive
Tax avoidance
We covered the latest on Amazonrsquos tax avoidance in issue 157 and a full version of the article can be found on our website Neither of the other two e-tailers ndash ASOS and Net-a-Porter ndash show any signs of being engaged in tax avoidance
Other companies in the report who receive our worst rating for tax avoidance include Arcadia whose ultimate holding company is registered in Jersey Matalan which is registered in Guernsey and HampM which appears to use holding companies based in Hong Kong for operations in China
More stories behind the rankings
Marks and Spencer does pretty well in a lot of our rankings It receives our best rating for its supply chain and environmental policies has signed the Bangladesh Accord and was rated a leader in Greenpeacersquos lsquoDetox Catwalkrsquo It has checks in place to ensure that none of its cotton comes from Uzbekistan and aims to procure 70 of its cotton from sustainable sources by 2020 (ie either Better Cotton Initiative Fairtrade Organic or recycled)
It was also one of a very few companies to receive the Clean Clothes Campaignrsquos top rating in 2014 for its work towards improving wages in its supply chain (none of the others who received it are in this guide) although the campaign grouprsquos assessment is still fairly circumspect
ldquoWe are pleased to see MampS has been doing work to make sure there are financial incentives for buyers to source from factories that MampS says pay living wages[but] it is impossible to judge the real benefit to workersbecause no figures have been disclosed it could all still be smoke and mirrorsrdquo1
On the downside Marks and Spencer is involved in several free trade lobby groups such as the World Economic Forum and EuroCommerce
Next is the biggest selling UK clothes retailer having overtaken Marks and Spencer in 2014 Its CEO Simon Wolfson is a Conservative peer who has donated over pound500000 to the Conservative Party over the past ten years co-chaired the partyrsquos Economic Competitiveness policy review and in 2010 was one of 35 signatories of an open letter calling on the Government to press ahead with public spending cuts
Indian companies that supply Next were found in 2012 to be employing Indian women under the Sumangali Scheme which is a form of bonded labour that requires low-caste women to work for several years to earn money to pay for a dowry4
As Primark made its name by selling implausibly cheap clothing it has been much focused on by campaigners However in its favour Primark was the first UK company to sign up to the Bangladeshi Accord and as detailed on page 17 it has donated far more to Rana Plaza victims than any other retailer
Primark is owned by Associated British Foods One of Associated British Foodsrsquo foreign subsidiaries Zambia Sugar was accused in 2013 of ripping off its host country by avoiding paying millions of pounds of tax which is really shocking given that Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world2
HampM has promoted itself as a more ethical clothing retailer and produces reams of material about its supply chain policies although it is unclear how much is just talk and how much makes a real difference
HampM has been slammed recently for lagging behind on its commitments
under the Bangladeshi Accord However activists say the issues are not unique to HampM and the reason that they have focused on it is simply because it is such a big buyer from Bangladesh3
HampM has a lsquoRoadmap to a Fair Living Wagersquo aimed at increasing wages in its supplier factories which has been both praised and criticised by Labour Behind the Label ndash praised for including solid targets and dates but crucially criticised for failing to define what a living wage actually is
Like MampS HampM aims for all its cotton to come from ldquomore sustainable sourcesrdquo by 2020
Amazon currently has a boycott call against it called by us for its use of tax avoidance strategies
ASOS scores middle for its supply chain policy it has banned sandblasting in its supply chain and is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative On the downside it has no policy on toxics
References 1 Clean Clothes Campaign 2014 ldquoTailored Wagesrdquo EuroCommerce and World Economic Forum websites 2015 2 ActionAid 2013 ldquoSweet Nothingsrdquo 3 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 4 Maid in India report 2012 ndash India Committee of the Netherlands
copy S
ean
Pavo
ne |
Dre
amst
ime
com
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
15
ProductGUIDE
She believes that in the Tamil Nadu region alone 200000 young women and girls are working under conditions of forced or bonded labour Many are producing cotton jersey (t-shirt fabric) clothing for export to the UK
Samantha Maher from Labour Behind the Label agrees and singles out another vulnerable group that the legislation could help ndash migrants
ldquoLots of migrants are in forced labour especially in Malaysia where people are having their passports taken as well as in the middle east in places like Jordan and Egyptrdquo
Campaigners yet to be convincedHowever some labour rights campaigners are yet to be convinced that the legislation will have the desired effect in improving working conditions
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label feels that reporting alone canrsquot help and the new legislation raises a number of questions
ldquoHow they are reporting and how it [the information] is used still appears to be undecided There is an assumption that NGOs will use the information to expose poor practice but capacity is limited so this wonrsquot be easy without resources and a clear process We also wonder how we will know if the reporting is accuraterdquo
Jane from Homeworkers Worldwide concurs She told Ethical Consumer
ldquoIt is very hard to predict what impact the Modern Slavery Act will have The difficulty is that [the companies] have to report what they are doing but someone will have to sift through the ethical spin to assess whether what they report is really having an impact on the ground whether they are really focusing their efforts on where the problems are etc
Holding companies to account on this will be difficult and will be a massive job for campaigners NGOs and activists ldquo
But she also has more fundamental concerns
ldquoThe current rhetoric on modern slavery in general is that modern slavery
(including forced and bonded labour) risks being seen as a distinct issue and treated quite separately from other forms of exploitation It is as though we can isolate a few criminal elements get rid of those and the rest of the industry can carry on as normalrdquo
Meanwhile TUC General Secretary Frances OrsquoGrady said that this legislation is just the start and that ldquoThe Government should build on the Modern Slavery Act and ratify the ILO Forced Labour Protocol immediatelyrdquo
This would mean not only to criminalise and prosecute forced labour but also to take more effective measures to prevent forced labour and provide victims with protection and access to remedies including compensation1
The way forwardDespite their criticisms campaigners are clear that the Act is a step in the right direction
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label
ldquoCompanies often have no idea where they are buying from so they may get a better grip of supply chains The act is also forcing the issue up from CSR to board level due to its legally binding naturerdquo
This is a view shared by Jane at Homeworkers Worldwide ldquoWhilst we donrsquot think it will in practice deliver much transparency the principle of companies taking responsibility for what goes on in global chains is an important one and making this a legal requirement is a starting point for pushing for greater responsibility and accountability in the futurerdquo
The Modern Slavery Act will force companies to publicly report on the steps they are taking to ensure there is no slavery or forced labour in their supply chains It has the potential to have a big impact on the clothing sector The Ethical Trading Initiative described the legislation as a ldquogame-changerrdquo
Karen Bradley the Home Office Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation said in a statement ldquoThe act will mean that major businesses will for the first time be expected to be transparent about the action they are taking to address modern slavery in their global supply chains
ldquoConsumers businesses and investors will now have valuable information to inform them on the companies they are supporting ndash and shoppers can make more informed decisions at the checkout Businesses risk damaging their reputation or their bottom line if they donrsquot take action to prevent modern slavery in their supply chainsrdquo
Huge numbers of bonded labourersThe legislation has the potential to have a positive impact on millions of workers all over the world
The International Labour Organisation estimates that almost 21 million people are currently working in some form of forced labour including many in the clothing sector2
Research from the Ashridge Centre for Business and Sustainability and the Ethical Trading Initiative found that 71 of companies believe there is a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some point in their supply chains3
Jane Tate from campaign group Homeworkers Worldwide is in no doubt that modern slavery is a big issue in the clothing sector ndash ldquoThere has been a lot of campaigning and work done attempting to address this issue including company projects and an ETI project but to our best knowledge the problem of forced labour still remains endemic in the industryrdquo
The new Modern Slavery Act
References 1 wwwiloorgwcmsp5groupspublic---ed_norm---declarationdocumentspublicationwcms_321414pdf 2 wwwtheguardiancomworld2015oct28uk-companies-proof-no-links-slave-labour-supply-chain 3 wwwethicaltradeorgnews-and-eventsnewsresearch-released-corporate-approaches-to-modern-slavery
Many campaigners are yet to be convinced that this new Act will have the desired effect Tim Hunt investigates
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
16
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
It is now more than two years since the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed killing over a thousand people and injuring 2500 ndash people who managers had ordered back to work despite cracks appearing in the walls Rana Plaza is considered the most fatal garment industry accident in history The resulting public outcry led to promises that things would change So have they
The Accord and the AllianceThere are three different factory safety schemes that were created in the aftermath of the disaster Two are industry-led ones The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (the Alliance) There is also a government-led scheme whose remit is to cover any factories not covered by the other two called the National Action Plan
For any industry scheme to be convincing it has to be substantially different from what went before because the track record of company safety audits in Bangladesh is not impressive Rana
Plaza had twice been audited by Primark and declared safe1 Primark says that it didnrsquot do a structural survey because nobody did them then but a building collapse was hardly unprecedented in 2005 one had killed 64 workers And this is only one of a string of audit failures that have been luridly illustrated by mass fatalities In 2010 a fire at the Garib amp Garib sweater factory killed 21 workers four months after HampM had audited it HampM officially required suppliersrsquo factories to have adequate exits and fire-fighting equipment but this one passed the audit with neither and two people had already died in a fire at the factory a few months earlier2
Factory safety two years on from Rana Plaza
Companies in these guides which have signed the Accordbull Arcadia bull Debenhams bull G Star bull Helly Hansen bull HampM bull John Lewis bull MampS bull Matalan bull New Look bull Next bull Primark bull PVH bull River Island bull Sainsburyrsquos bull Tesco bull Uniqlo
ldquoDonrsquot look for me where leaves are
falling
You will not find me there my beloved
At the machines where lives are
withered
It is there that I lie deadrdquo
A verse from a 1911 song written to commemorate the Triangle garment factory disaster in New York which generated a labour rights movement that revolutionised labour standards in the USA (Mayn Rue Platz by Morris Rosenfeld in translation)
The aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collpase in 2013 1134 people were killed and over 2500 injured as the 8-storey building housing five garment factories collapsed
Inte
rnat
iona
l Lab
or R
ight
s Fo
rum
Josie Wexler takes a look at progress towards creating safer clothing factories in Bangladesh
17
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The Accord however is different It is not another self-policed scheme that companies can adhere to if they feel like it It is a legally-binding agreement between brands and trade unions and signing it means that if safety issues are found in a companyrsquos suppliersrsquo factories and are not fixed the company can be sued
Campaigners had spent years trying and failing to get brands to enter into such an agreement Within weeks of Rana Plazarsquos collapse nearly 40 companies had signed The number is now over 200
However many American companies have refused to sign most notably Walmart (ASDA) and Gap They created the other alternative industry scheme the Alliance which is not legally binding and is widely believed to be basically meaningless window dressing It has only 26 members
Recent developmentsMost although not all of the 3500 clothing factories in Bangladesh have been inspected under one of the three schemes over the past two years largely by the Accord The Accord has closed thirty-five factories altogether and safety upgrades have begun in hundreds of others3 All of the Accordrsquos inspection reports with photographs are freely available on the web ndash transparency is one of its central principles which is another big break from the auditing schemes of the past
However progress on the upgrades has been terribly slow and the unions are now initiating a formal complaint about several brands including HampM who they say are not fulfilling their obligations at a reasonable pace The complaint is the first step towards legal arbitration which would be quite unprecedented4
A further development is that in June 2015 42 people in Bangladesh were
charged with murder over the Rana Plaza deaths including the buildingrsquos owner Sohel Rana the owners of the five factories in the building and 13 government officials If convicted they could face the death penalty
CompensationIn 2014 Labour Behind the Label ran a ldquopay uprdquo campaign pressuring companies to compensate Rana Plazarsquos victimsrsquo families The good news is that although it took a huge struggle the campaign was a success The Rana Plaza Donorrsquos Trust Fund met its target of $30 million in June 2015
Primark comes out by far the best in this story It donated a total of $8 million ndash $1 million to the fund and $7 million directly to victimsWalmart is estimated to have donated $1 million
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References 1 Vogue 2014 How The World Has Changed Since Rana Plaza 2 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo 3 Good Choice Forex June 1 2015 ldquoTwo Years After Rana Plaza Disaster Uneven Progress In Bangladeshrsquos Garment Industryrdquo 4 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 5 Clean Clothes Campaign 2015 ldquoWho has paid and who is dragging their heelsrdquo 6 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo
The dumping ground for the Rana Plaza debris just metres away from the victimsrsquo homes
North Face Death TrapsAmerican student groups have been leading the way on pressurising companies who have refused to sign the Accord United Students Against Sweatshops have run a campaign called lsquoNorth Face Death Trapsrsquo targeting VF Corporation as the largest branded clothing manufacturer in the world over its refusal to sign The campaign can be found at httpnorthfacedeathtrapscom
North Face appears in the Waterproof jackets guide whilst VF Corporation owns Lee and Wrangler jeans
Matalan initially refused to donate anything but after being hounded by campaigners it made a rather half-hearted donation of $100000HampM donated approximately $200000 Unlike the three companies above it was not sourcing from Rana Plaza but it is the biggest buyer from Bangladesh as a whole5
Rana Plaza has started to change the game in more ways than one After the Garib amp Garib fire HampM commissioned Save the Children to assess workersrsquo familiesrsquo needs and it decided to focus just on helping children and the elderly But the Rana Plaza fund goes further and is compensating all victimsrsquo families based on loss of income6
There is talk in campaign groups about how to take the Accord further ndash extending it outside Bangladesh or using the same model in other areas such as wages Watch this space
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http
f
oxfa
shio
nor
guk
18
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The garment industry is a major employer across the world ndash in Asia for example over 15 million people are employed by the industry With global brands making millions in profits every year this booming industry has come to rely on and exploit the cheap labour of millions of garment workers whose wages fall far short of a living wage
The lack of a living wage means many garment workers are forced to work long hours to earn overtime or bonuses and cannot risk refusing work due to unsafe working conditions or taking time off due to ill health The low wages mean that workers often have to rely on loans just to make ends meet and have no savings to use if they find themselves out of work
A living wage calculation across a region is key to ensuring not only that workers receive a decent wage but also that wage differences do not mean companies pull out of one country to move manufacturing to a country with lower costs ndash the so-called race to the bottom
Living wage calculations must take into account some common factors including the number of family members to be supported the basic nutritional needs of a worker and other basic needs including housing healthcare education and some basic savings
Clean Clothes Campaign is part of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance ndash an alliance of Asian trade unions and labour groups who have calculated a living wage formula for Asia
The Asia Floor Wage calculation cannot be simply applied to other regions as some of the assumptions do not apply For
example in Asia food costs are relatively high and standards of living such as housing are very low whereas in other regions such as Eastern Europe food costs are relatively lower when compared to housing
Clean Clothes Campaign partners are working on defining
and calculating living wages for other garment producing regions
They are calling forClothing brands and companies to set concrete measurable steps throughout their supply chain to ensure garment workers get paid a living wageNational governments in garment producing countries to make sure minimum wages are set at living wage standardsEuropean governments to implement regulation to ensure companies are responsible for the impact they have on the lives of workers in their supply chainSign the Clean Clothes Campaign
petition calling for all garment workers to receive a living wage ndash wwwcleanclothesorglivingwagesign
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bull
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Struggling for a living wage
A living wage in CambodiaFor several years garment workers and trade unions in Cambodia have been engaged in a bitter conflict with the government over the minimum wage with strikes protests and brutal government crackdowns resulting in deaths injuries and imprisonments Garment workers want US$177 per month enough cover their basic living expenses In 2014 Asia Floor Wage calculated the living wage in Cambodia to be US$396 per month
Though it has made increases the Cambodian government has still not reached the $177 called for Further negotiations and protests in October this year saw the government settle on $140 a month to come into effect in January 2016 Needless to say this has angered some ldquoThis figure is reasonable and acceptable Even itrsquos not acceptable to all we have no choicerdquo Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng was quoted as saying
The top five brands sourcing from Cambodia include three brands in these clothes guides HampM GAP Levi Strauss amp Co
Living wage initiativesLiving Wage Now Forum
In October this year the CCCrsquos Living Wage Now Forum brought together workersrsquo representatives from around the world brand representatives (HampM Primark CampA New Look Pentland NrsquoBrown and Tchibo) European policy makers experts and members of workerrsquos rights organisations to discuss the next concrete steps towards a fashion industry that respects human rights and pays all workers a living wage based on proposals from the CCC Follow its progress here wwwlivingwagenoweu
ACT initiative
A number of brands and retailers are collaborating with the IndustriALL Global Union on the Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT) making a commitment to work with their suppliers in order to support a living wage
Brands in this guide that are involved with ACT are ASOS HampM Arcadia Tesco Primark Next
A full list of members could not be found but these companies were mentioned online in connection with the project
For an average item of clothing only between
05-3 of the cost goes to the worker who made it This means that on an euro8 t-shirt the most a worker will get paid is 24 cents
Clean Clothes Campaign
What are the companies in this issue doing about living wagesThe following brands from this guide explicitly make provision for a living wage in their supply chain policies
Major clothes retailers Next Arcadia Primark Debenhams New Look Tesco John Lewis
Waterproof jacketstrousers Patagonia Jack Wolfskin Paramo Mountain Equipment
Jeans G-Star Nudie PVH brands (Calvin Klein amp Tommy Hilfiger)
19
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
For decades the Government of Uzbekistan has been forcing its citizens both children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest As a result of sustained campaign pressure on the issue of child labour 2014 saw the burden of labour shifted onto adults with lsquomassesrsquo of teachers and medical professionals forced into the cotton fields1
Having engaged companies on the issue since 2008 the Responsible Sourcing
Clothing campaigns
Best scores on Uzbek cottonIn order to receive Ethical Consumerrsquos best rating on this issue all medium- to large-sized companies are expected both to have signed the Cotton Pledge and to demonstrate concrete actions to implement it throughout their supply chains Otherwise the company must only use organic or Better Cotton Initiative cotton
Companies in this issue which receive a best score are
Major clothes retailers MampS Arcadia (Topshop etc) TK Maxx New Look
Waterproof jacketstrousers Jack Wolfskin Patagonia
Jeans Nudie Kuyichi Mud FREITAG (does not use cotton) Levirsquos PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
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bull
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Companies whorsquove signed the CanopyStyle Pledge Patagonia Levi Strauss amp Co HampM Marks amp Spencer ASOS G-Star RAW
Companies targeted by RAN Guess
Forest-friendly fashionForests probably arenrsquot something that immediately come to mind when considering the impacts of the fashion industry However many commonly used fabrics are derived from wood pulp Check your clothes labels for rayon viscose modal and tencel and itrsquos highly likely yoursquoll spot them ndash either on their own or blended with other fibres Mixed with polyester they give clothes a more pleasant lsquofeelrsquo and often replace cotton because theyrsquore cheaper to produce
So whatrsquos the issue
More than 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into cellulose fabric ndash if placed end to end those trees would circle the earth seven timesDissolving pulp (the base material for rayonviscose) wastes approximately 70 of the tree and is a chemically intensive manufacturing process Dissolving pulp production is projected to double by 2050 Less than 20 of the worldrsquos ancient forests remain intact in tracts large enough to maintain biological diversityForests in Indonesia Canadarsquos boreal and temperate rainforests and the Amazon are being logged for next seasonrsquos fashion
Canopyrsquos lsquoFashion Loved by Forestrsquo initiative partners with clothing brands to help them develop solutions to reduce the impact of their business on ancient forests Companies are asked to sign up to the CanopyStyle Pledge and create a policy on how they source wood-derived fabrics
Rainforest Action Networkrsquos (RAN) lsquoOut of Fashionrsquo campaign pinpointed several high-end fashion brands which it said must do more to ensure they werenrsquot making clothes from unsustainable wood pulp
Watch the campaign video and sign in support of RANrsquos Out of Fashion campaign wwwranorgout_of_fashion
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Fur-free shoppingAn investigation into angora farms in China by PETA Asia in December 2013 revealed shockingly cruel treatment of angora rabbits involving the live-plucking of fur from caged rabbits Many clothing companies have now stated that they will no longer sell angora The only companies covered in this issue who
are still selling it are Net-A-Porter in the Clothes Shops guide and Pepe and Guess covered in the Jeans guide
The following clothes shops have joined the Fur Free Alliancersquos Fur Free Retailer programme Topshop HampM ASOS MampS Next Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis From the other guides Nudie and MUD jeans and Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen are part of the programme More information from wwwfurfreeretailercomOther brands are listed as fur free by Humane Society International Mountain Hardwear Calvin Klein New Look Patagonia North Face Diesel Superdry Levirsquos Guess Tommy Hilfiger Howies and Uniqlo See wwwhumanesocietyorgissuesfur_fashiontipsfur-free_shoppinghtml for more details
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References 1 wwwantislaveryorgenglishcampaignscottoncrimesforced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgroundaspx
Network (RSN) introduced the lsquoCotton Pledge Against Child and Adult Forced Labour in Uzbek Cottonrsquo in 2011 To date over 160 companies have signed the pledge
However the RSN decided in 2014 that it was time to find out how companies were actually implementing the Cotton Pledge throughout their supply chains
It asked companies what efforts they were making to actually implement this pledge including communicating their policy to all parts of its supply chain including spinners and mills and auditing them for compliance The results were published in the lsquoCotton Sourcing Snapshotrsquo which can be downloaded from wwwsourcingnetworkorgcotton-sourcing-snapshot
See page 22 in the Jeans guide for discussion on the other issues associated with cotton production
Forced labour in the Uzbekrsquos cotton fields
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
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bull
bull
policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
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bull
Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
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ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
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nton
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rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
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bull
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WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
bull
bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
bull
bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
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asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Stuck for that unique Christmas present
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Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
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wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
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CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
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lippo
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ream
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eco
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2nd gift subscription pound2995
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issue158
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Order by midnight
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
HomeJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 wwwethicalconsumerorg
Investment in technology which can replace animals in experiments stood at pound8 million in 2014 However funding for the research councils which develop animal-based tests ran to pound300 million
What can consumers do
Use the sliders next to the score tables on our product guide pages on the website so that you can just rate the brands on animal testing
Choose cruelty-free products from companies that donrsquot test on animals See Naturewatchrsquos Compassionate Shopping Guide available for pound5 from httpnaturewatchorgcompassionate-shopping
Support companies such as Lush Cosmetics who are fighting animal testing See the Lush Prize page for details of this yearrsquos pound450000 given by them to those developing non-animal testing methods For more on the Lush Prize see page 32
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bull
bull
bull
Underwear Best Buy foldsUnfortunately the Who Made My Pants brand of womenrsquos underwear has had to close
The brand was set up in 2008 by Welsh businesswoman Becky John She said ldquoWe have struggled to achieve sustainable levels of production and this coupled with inconsistent supply of raw materials has meant it was always a struggle to sell the pants at a high enough margin to pay for our overheads and therefore cash flow has been a constant issue for usrdquo
Who Made Your Pants started after Ms John attended an Amnesty meeting in Southampton She had been a member of the human rights organisation since she was a teenager and at that meeting she saw a presentation from a group that worked with refugees in the area Who Made Your Pants employed women from refugee backgrounds from countries such as Sudan Somalia and Afghanistan
Who Made Your Pants was a Best Buy in our underwear guide That leaves Pants to Poverty who offer Fairtrade and organic certified pants We also recommended certified organic or Fairtrade underwear from the following companies Peau Ethique Living Crafts Do You Green Greenfibres and Cock amp Bull
New pet food Best BuyWe have just added a new brand to the pet food guides that we published in the last Issue ndash Lilyrsquos Kitchenrsquos organic varieties It makes organic and lsquonaturalrsquo meat cat and dog food
The range is currently available nationwide in Waitrose Tesco and Ocado as well as in wholefood shops vet surgeries organic health food shops and pet shops
Lilyrsquos Kitchen recently became a founding UK member of the global B Corp community Like Patagonia in the Waterproofs guide B Corps are legally required to serve stakeholders ndash workers communities and the wider environment ndash as well as shareholders through explicit reference to the triple bottom line They are certified in the UK by B Lab a non-profit organisation that assesses transparency accountability and performance
Animal experiments in the UKHome Office statistics published in October show that British universities companies government bodies and charities completed 387 million tests involving 38 million living animals in 2014 including horses dogs cats monkeys and cattle
UK laboratories regularly refer to the UK policy of replacing refining and reducing (3Rs) the use of animals in experiments but cleverly avoid acknowledging the total absence of any progress towards these goals ldquoClaims for the replacement refinement and reduction of the use of animals are not only hollow but also misleadingrdquo states animal welfare group the Naturewatch Foundation The statistics on animal use covering 2014 indicate a reduction in the total number of experiments of around 7 for that year
However a change in the reporting of data from experiments underway to experiments completed means that there is likely to have been no reduction at all
Statistics also donrsquot reveal these facts
More than a third of European tests involving live animals take place in the UK
Many animals bred for experiments donrsquot meet the requirements for inclusion in a trial and are euthanised with the result that the true number of animals affected will remain unknown
In August this year the Home Office approved plans for a new facility to breed and house beagle dogs without any access to outdoor space exclusively for sale to animal testing facilities This decision is particularly shocking because the approval was given to a company whose executives were arrested in Italy this year for institutional cruelty to animals Cruelty Free International has launched legal proceedings against the Home Office decision See wwwcrueltyfreeinternationalorgfighting-yorkshire-beagles-high-court
bull
bull
bull
Boycottsethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Barclays divests from Israeli arms companyHigh street bank Barclays is no longer listed as a shareholder in Israeli arms company Elbit Systems according to BDS
The news follows a high profile campaign launched after Barclays was named as a shareholder of the company owning $29 million worth of shares
The concerted campaign featured a petition signed by more than 17 million people and organised by Avaaz calling on Barclays to divest from Elbit Systems Campaigners occupied and protested at bank branches across the UK
The arms company has been the target of campaigners over its manufacture of drones used in Israelrsquos attacks on Palestinians and its role in building the illegal Apartheid Wall in occupied Palestine
Mahmoud Nawajaa co-ordinator with the Palestinian BDS National Committee the Palestinian civil society coalition that leads and supports the BDS movement said
ldquoWe hope that Barclays will now commit to not allowing clients to buy or sell Elbit shares on its platform and to making it clear to all its clients that Elbit is deeply complicit with Israeli violations of international lawrdquo
Veolia withdraws from Israel
The BDS movement celebrated another victory as long standing boycott target Veolia withdrew from its contracts in Jerusalem
After years of pressure the French corporation cut its ties with the Jerusalem Light Rail (JLR) project a railway that campaigners say is illegal and built to facilitate the growth and expansion of Israeli colonial settlements on occupied Palestinian territory
The sale of its stake in the JLR project ends all of Veoliarsquos involvement in the Israeli market
Veolia sold nearly all of its business operations in Israel in April 2015 but had until now remained a 5 shareholder in the JLR project
According to the BDS movement Veoliarsquos involvement in the project and the subsequent boycott had lead it to lose a slew of contracts across the world
For example in 2014 Kuwait Cityrsquos council excluded Veolia from a tender for the treatment of solid waste worth $750 million
Boycott Ben amp Jerryrsquos
Unilever subsidiary Ben amp Jerryrsquos has been added to the list of companies boycotted by BDS
The call comes due to the brandrsquos long-standing contractual relationship with an Israeli franchise that manufactures ice cream in Israel and sells it in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
Campaigners say that Ben amp Jerryrsquos Social Mission and ldquohistory of supporting progressive causes cannot be reconciled with its franchisersquos commercial ties to the settlementsrdquo
Since 2013 thousands of individuals and 239 organisations in 20 countries including Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory have called on Ben amp Jerryrsquos to put an end to its franchisersquos business in Israeli settlements
Jeff Furman chairperson of Ben amp Jerryrsquos Board of Directors travelled to occupied Palestine in 2012 with a group of American civil rightsrsquo leaders He described what he saw there as ldquoapartheidrdquo In spite of all this the company has refused not only to stop its practices but to even issue a statement calling for an end to Israelrsquos occupation and settlements
On the announcement of the boycott Ben amp Jerryrsquos released the following statement
ldquoBen amp Jerryrsquos corporate organization based in the US does not retain any profits from the business in Israel The company remains committed to contributing 100 of the net licensing fee to foster multicultural programs and values-led ingredient sourcing initiatives in the regionrdquo
Groups across the UK occupied and held protests at Barclays banks as part of the campaign
See the Top 10 BDS consumer boycott targets on our website at wwwethicalconsumerorgboycottsboycottslistisrael
News from the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement
In 2005 Palestinian civil society issued a call for boycotts divestment and sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law and universal principles of human rights The resulting movement is aimed at consumers (boycott) institutional investors (divestment) and states (sanctions)
10
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
This special report on clothing contains guides to clothes shops jeans and waterproof jackets We
also look at a few lsquoe-tailersrsquo (online clothes shops) and report on the latest clothing campaigns
Progress on the high streetTwo themes which have become apparent during our research for these guides are the positive impact of campaign action and the increase in transparency in some areas of the clothing industry
Small steps have been made on the catwalk to ethical fashion
The Bangladesh Accord has paved the way for future positive initiatives in more than just the field of workersrsquo rights by demonstrating that itrsquos possible to have a large number of companies working together within a legally-binding framework The level of transparency required by the Accord sets a new precedent and has set the bar for companiesrsquo future reporting Over two hundred companies have signed the Bangladeshi Accord on Fire and Factory Safety ndash see page 16 for more details
In October 2015 the UK Government enacted the Modern Slavery Act another piece of legislation which will force companies to be more transparent about whether slave labour is being used within their supply chains On page 15 campaigners tell us why they remain sceptical about how the new legislation will work in practice but why they also think it is a step in the right direction
Progress has also been made on other issues as a result of campaigns
160 companies have signed the Cotton Pledge against child and forced labour in Uzbekistan ndash see page 19There has been an increase in awareness among brands on the issue of living wages as a core issue ndash see page 1810 of the global retail fashion industry has committed to get rid of toxic chemicals by 2020 ndash see oppositeOutdoor companies are leading the way in cleaning up their goose and duck down supply chains ndash see page 29
An industry-wide problemWhile it is often the big high-street retailers who are the focus of campaigns it is worth remembering that the issues are endemic to the whole clothing industry Some retailers on the table such as Matalan score comparatively highly However this may reflect the fact that theyrsquove dodged criticisms rather than the fact that theyrsquore one step ahead on sustainability
Campaign actions get results But because there are such a large number of clothing brands campaigners canrsquot reach them all So certain companies (generally those with the biggest market share or whose labels have been uncovered in a sweatshop) find themselves targeted by campaigners more often With building pressure from customers these companies are forced to make efforts to clean up their act Meanwhile the ones left out of the spotlight are able to hide in the shadows
bull
bull
bull
bull
The catwalk to ethical fashionHeather Webb Josie Wexler Ruth Strange and Bryony Moore provide an update on the progress made in the clothing industry
and allow others to take the flakIn order to reflect this in our ratings
we follow campaignersrsquo leads and request policies from companies on the issues they raise
For example all companies in this issue were asked for a policy on hazardous chemicals following Greenpeacersquos Detox campaign lead We also asked all companies for a cotton sourcing policy which matched the asks of the Responsible Sourcing Network on Uzbek cotton In this way we support campaigners in driving up standards
Supply chainsIn these guides we notice that nearly half of the big clothes shops and jeans companies are now scoring our best rating for their supply chain management an improvement since we last looked at the sector
This has been the result of many years of campaigns against clothing retailers to improve working conditions of workers within their supply chains
Yet even with companies achieving high scores for having best practice policies for workersrsquo rights in their supply chains investigations are still finding issues Virtually all of the clothes shops still get a worst rating in our Workersrsquo Rights column as do half of the outdoor gear and jeans companies
For example a report by SOMO and the India Committee of the Netherlands in October 2014 highlighted the abuse of girls and women workers in the South Indian textile industry Companies such as HampM and Next who get our best
copy G
reen
peac
e
Hat
i Kec
il V
isua
ls
11
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
rating for supply chain management were said to be sourcing from these factories Subsequently HampM stopped using the factories but nevertheless it highlights the complexity of supply chains and the need to closely monitor what is going on
Made in Europe
Due to complex supply chains and poor workersrsquo rights issues in Asia it is perhaps unsurprising to find that many clothing companies are now looking to bring production back to Europe and in some cases back to the UK Plus as the Guardian reported ldquoWhen a country such as Turkey Portugal Romania Slovakia or Bulgaria appears on a label the brand may also get a boost to their reputation as consumers assume the ethics behind a skirt made in Portugal are better than those behind one made in Chinardquo
But sadly it seems that this doesnrsquot guarantee that the clothes are made in decent conditions In 2014 the Clean Clothes Campaign released a report on clothing factories in eastern Europe It details appallingly low wages long hours and abuse Safety issues may not be at the same rock-bottom level as in parts of Asia
but Bulgaria Macedonia and Romania all have lower minimum wages than China2
Environment
Toxic chemicals
In July 2011 Greenpeace released its first report exposing the hidden links between textile manufacturing facilities in China that discharge hazardous chemicals into the water and international brands such as the sportswear giants Nike and Adidas That report gave rise to the Detox Campaign which called on companies to make a commitment to eliminate toxic chemicals from their supply chains by 2020
By March 2015 18 clothing companies had made the commitment
Of the clothes shops and jeans companies we have covered in our guides the following were rated by Greenpeace
Detox leaders G Star RAW HampM Levi Strauss MampS Primark and Fast Retailing (Uniqlo)Detox losers GAP and PVH (Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger)
bull
bull
Greenpeacersquos latest Detox report focuses on the outdoor industry and its use of PFCs ndash toxic chemicals used for waterproofing See page 28
Environmental reporting
Unfortunately a majority of companies are still not reporting on what steps they are taking to improve the environmental impact of their factories and of their products 64 of the companies we have covered scored our worst rating in this category Outdoor companies fared the worst whilst jeans companies did best
References 1 Gisela Burckhardt Price does not guarantee fairness 2015 2 Clean Clothes Campaign Stitched Up 2014 3 Business Human Rights Know the Chain ndash See which companies do and do not have statements under the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act January 2014 4 Lexology Recent developments in US legislation on modern slavery September 2014 wwwlexologycomlibrarydetailaspxg=f9b4675d-c785-4ac1-9d3d-7ed6346fb1cb 5 wwwlivingwagenoweuuploadsimagesPanel_introduction_EU_Flagship_webpdf 6 The White House Press Release G-7 Leaders Declaration June 8th 2015 wwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20150608g-7-leaders-declaration 7 SEDEX Modern Slavery Act 2015 wwwsedexglobalcomwp-contentuploads201106The-UK-Modern-Slavery-Act-20151pdf
Clothing product guides onlineOther clothing-related guides on our website are Online Clothing Retailers Alternative Clothing Companies Underwear Shoes Trainers Sportswear Walking boots and Fleeces Go to wwwethicalconsumerorgbuyersguidesclothing
The journey towards transparencyFinally we are seeing the beginnings of legislation on supply chain issues for which campaigners have been calling for years
From 2010 the
Transparency in Supply Chains Act has required that
large companies in California USA disclose the efforts they were
making to eradicate human trafficking and slavery from their supply chains
However research has found that many companies have not been complying3 and that they have
not been penalised for non-compliance4
2010 2014 2015 2015
2015
The EU Non-Financial
Reporting directive came into force on the 6th
December 2014 It requires large listed companies to disclose policies and risks regarding social issues respect for human rights
anti-corruption and bribery EU Member States have two
years to transpose it into national legislation
The EU convened
a multi-stakeholder forum on responsible management of the
garment supply chain with representatives of industry trade
unions retailers and workersrsquo rights organisations looking at a potential EU flagship initiative and what form
this might take5
A G7 Joint Declaration promised
to ldquostrive for better application of internationally
recognised labour social and environmental
standards principles and commitments in global
supply chainsrdquo6
This year saw the
arrival of the Modern Slavery Act in the UK The
Act includes the Transparency in Supply Chains Clause which
as of October 2015 requires large UK companies to
publish an annual slavery and human trafficking
statement7
12
ProductGUIDE
This guide examines the ten biggest selling UK high-street clothes shops as well as four supermarkets that are in the top 20 UK clothes sellers ASDA Tesco John Lewis and Sainsburyrsquos1 and the top three e-tailers (online clothes retailers) Of the e-tailers only ASOS manufactures its own clothes The other two Amazon and Net-a-Porter are just marketplaces although Amazon has been talking about starting to make its own line of clothes in the future2
The lowdown on high street clothes shops
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
HampM [O] 9 h H h h H H h H 1 Ramsbury Invest AB
HampM 8 h H h h H H h H Ramsbury Invest AB
New Look 8 h h H h h H H h h Brait SE New Look
Matalan 75 H H h h H H h H Hargreaves family
ASOS 7 H H H h H h h H h ASOS plc
Burton 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Dorothy Perkins 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Evans 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
John Lewis [O] 7 h H H H H H H H h h E 1 John Lewis Partnership
Miss Selfridge 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Topman Topshop 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Wallis 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Debenhams 65 H H h h H H h h h H Debenhams plc
Next 65 H H h h H H h H H Next plc
John Lewis 6 h H H H H H H H h h E John Lewis Partnership
Net-a-Porter 6 H H h H H H H h H Yoox spa
TK Maxx 5 H H H H H H H h h H TJX Companies inc
MampS 4 H H h h H H H H h h H H Marks and Spencer Group
River Island 35 H h H h H H H H H h h h H LFH International
Primark 3 H h H h H H H H H h h H H Garfield Weston Foundation
Sainsburyrsquos TU 25 h H H h H H H h H h H h H H J Sainsbury plc
Tesco FampF 25 h H H H h H H H H H h H H Tesco plc
Amazon 05 H H H H H H H H H H h H H H Amazoncom
ASDA George 05 h H H H H H H H H h H H h H H Walmart
Ethi
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e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers [O] = organic
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Whatrsquos the yarn on the high street Josie Wexler examines the ethics of the top selling high-street shops and e-tailers
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
13
ProductGUIDE
Whilst not eligible for the Best Buy Label MampS is our recommended high street clothes shop
It scores low in our table because we rate companies
at group level and as it is also a supermarket it picks up a lot of negative marks in areas such as selling animal-tested products or factory-farmed meat But it scores high for its clothes policies (see Company Profiles overleaf)
We also recommend HampM and John Lewisrsquos organic clothing ranges
Our recommended e-tailer is ASOS
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Supply chainsAfter countless media exposeacutes on bad working conditions many high-street clothing shops are now making quite an effort to talk up their supply chain policies Next MampS Arcadia New Look Primark HampM Tesco and John Lewis all received our best rating for supply chain management
We are pleased that pressure has led to clothing retailers taking more responsibility for their supply chains although there are still many industry-wide issues that badly need to be addressed We look at the progress being made towards living wages and safe working conditions on pages 16 and 18
In light of this progress it is very disappointing that there are companies in this report who still have very little to say on the whole subject TK Maxx Matalan River Island Amazon and Net-a-Porter all received our worst rating in this category Matalan in particular have hardly any publicly available information
Sustainable clothesThere is a general lack of Fairtrade organic and recycled clothes on the high street although John Lewis and HampM do sell organic clothes
However one thing that has happened recently is that a couple of companies have started their own clothes recycling schemes See the lsquoLonger-lasting clothesrsquo article on page 24
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Arcadia (Topshop)
ASDA
ASOS
Debenhams
HampM
John Lewis
MampS
Matalan
New Look
Next
Primark
River Island
Sainsburyrsquos
Tesco
TK Maxx
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Goose and duck downIt is not just outdoor companies that use animal down ndash it is now a fashionable filling for many jackets from high-street retailers Several of the companies rated in this clothes shop report have made commitments not to use down which comes from live-plucked or fois gras birds (see table below) Yet none of them has adopted a methodology capable of ensuring that they actually donrsquot which requires tracing their whole down supply chain back to the higher-risk parent farms See page 29 for more information on how outdoor gear companies are ensuring that their down supply chains are cruelty-free
Alternative clothing companiesWe havenrsquot focused on Alternative Clothing Companies in this issue ndash although many feature in the guide to Jeans
Our Best Buy from the previous alternative clothing guide was People Tree who produce Fairtrade and Organic clothing Also a Best Buy was menswear company Brothers We Stand All their products have a footprint tab detailing their social and environmental impact
Positive policies
References 1 Mintel Clothing Retailing 2014 2 Business Insider 28 October Amazon may start making its own clothes
4
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
14
ProductGUIDE
Company profiles
Excessive executive compensation
Next MampS Arcadia Primark TK Maxx Amazon ASOS Asda Tesco Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis all pay their top executives over pound1 million which we rate as excessive
Tax avoidance
We covered the latest on Amazonrsquos tax avoidance in issue 157 and a full version of the article can be found on our website Neither of the other two e-tailers ndash ASOS and Net-a-Porter ndash show any signs of being engaged in tax avoidance
Other companies in the report who receive our worst rating for tax avoidance include Arcadia whose ultimate holding company is registered in Jersey Matalan which is registered in Guernsey and HampM which appears to use holding companies based in Hong Kong for operations in China
More stories behind the rankings
Marks and Spencer does pretty well in a lot of our rankings It receives our best rating for its supply chain and environmental policies has signed the Bangladesh Accord and was rated a leader in Greenpeacersquos lsquoDetox Catwalkrsquo It has checks in place to ensure that none of its cotton comes from Uzbekistan and aims to procure 70 of its cotton from sustainable sources by 2020 (ie either Better Cotton Initiative Fairtrade Organic or recycled)
It was also one of a very few companies to receive the Clean Clothes Campaignrsquos top rating in 2014 for its work towards improving wages in its supply chain (none of the others who received it are in this guide) although the campaign grouprsquos assessment is still fairly circumspect
ldquoWe are pleased to see MampS has been doing work to make sure there are financial incentives for buyers to source from factories that MampS says pay living wages[but] it is impossible to judge the real benefit to workersbecause no figures have been disclosed it could all still be smoke and mirrorsrdquo1
On the downside Marks and Spencer is involved in several free trade lobby groups such as the World Economic Forum and EuroCommerce
Next is the biggest selling UK clothes retailer having overtaken Marks and Spencer in 2014 Its CEO Simon Wolfson is a Conservative peer who has donated over pound500000 to the Conservative Party over the past ten years co-chaired the partyrsquos Economic Competitiveness policy review and in 2010 was one of 35 signatories of an open letter calling on the Government to press ahead with public spending cuts
Indian companies that supply Next were found in 2012 to be employing Indian women under the Sumangali Scheme which is a form of bonded labour that requires low-caste women to work for several years to earn money to pay for a dowry4
As Primark made its name by selling implausibly cheap clothing it has been much focused on by campaigners However in its favour Primark was the first UK company to sign up to the Bangladeshi Accord and as detailed on page 17 it has donated far more to Rana Plaza victims than any other retailer
Primark is owned by Associated British Foods One of Associated British Foodsrsquo foreign subsidiaries Zambia Sugar was accused in 2013 of ripping off its host country by avoiding paying millions of pounds of tax which is really shocking given that Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world2
HampM has promoted itself as a more ethical clothing retailer and produces reams of material about its supply chain policies although it is unclear how much is just talk and how much makes a real difference
HampM has been slammed recently for lagging behind on its commitments
under the Bangladeshi Accord However activists say the issues are not unique to HampM and the reason that they have focused on it is simply because it is such a big buyer from Bangladesh3
HampM has a lsquoRoadmap to a Fair Living Wagersquo aimed at increasing wages in its supplier factories which has been both praised and criticised by Labour Behind the Label ndash praised for including solid targets and dates but crucially criticised for failing to define what a living wage actually is
Like MampS HampM aims for all its cotton to come from ldquomore sustainable sourcesrdquo by 2020
Amazon currently has a boycott call against it called by us for its use of tax avoidance strategies
ASOS scores middle for its supply chain policy it has banned sandblasting in its supply chain and is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative On the downside it has no policy on toxics
References 1 Clean Clothes Campaign 2014 ldquoTailored Wagesrdquo EuroCommerce and World Economic Forum websites 2015 2 ActionAid 2013 ldquoSweet Nothingsrdquo 3 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 4 Maid in India report 2012 ndash India Committee of the Netherlands
copy S
ean
Pavo
ne |
Dre
amst
ime
com
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
15
ProductGUIDE
She believes that in the Tamil Nadu region alone 200000 young women and girls are working under conditions of forced or bonded labour Many are producing cotton jersey (t-shirt fabric) clothing for export to the UK
Samantha Maher from Labour Behind the Label agrees and singles out another vulnerable group that the legislation could help ndash migrants
ldquoLots of migrants are in forced labour especially in Malaysia where people are having their passports taken as well as in the middle east in places like Jordan and Egyptrdquo
Campaigners yet to be convincedHowever some labour rights campaigners are yet to be convinced that the legislation will have the desired effect in improving working conditions
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label feels that reporting alone canrsquot help and the new legislation raises a number of questions
ldquoHow they are reporting and how it [the information] is used still appears to be undecided There is an assumption that NGOs will use the information to expose poor practice but capacity is limited so this wonrsquot be easy without resources and a clear process We also wonder how we will know if the reporting is accuraterdquo
Jane from Homeworkers Worldwide concurs She told Ethical Consumer
ldquoIt is very hard to predict what impact the Modern Slavery Act will have The difficulty is that [the companies] have to report what they are doing but someone will have to sift through the ethical spin to assess whether what they report is really having an impact on the ground whether they are really focusing their efforts on where the problems are etc
Holding companies to account on this will be difficult and will be a massive job for campaigners NGOs and activists ldquo
But she also has more fundamental concerns
ldquoThe current rhetoric on modern slavery in general is that modern slavery
(including forced and bonded labour) risks being seen as a distinct issue and treated quite separately from other forms of exploitation It is as though we can isolate a few criminal elements get rid of those and the rest of the industry can carry on as normalrdquo
Meanwhile TUC General Secretary Frances OrsquoGrady said that this legislation is just the start and that ldquoThe Government should build on the Modern Slavery Act and ratify the ILO Forced Labour Protocol immediatelyrdquo
This would mean not only to criminalise and prosecute forced labour but also to take more effective measures to prevent forced labour and provide victims with protection and access to remedies including compensation1
The way forwardDespite their criticisms campaigners are clear that the Act is a step in the right direction
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label
ldquoCompanies often have no idea where they are buying from so they may get a better grip of supply chains The act is also forcing the issue up from CSR to board level due to its legally binding naturerdquo
This is a view shared by Jane at Homeworkers Worldwide ldquoWhilst we donrsquot think it will in practice deliver much transparency the principle of companies taking responsibility for what goes on in global chains is an important one and making this a legal requirement is a starting point for pushing for greater responsibility and accountability in the futurerdquo
The Modern Slavery Act will force companies to publicly report on the steps they are taking to ensure there is no slavery or forced labour in their supply chains It has the potential to have a big impact on the clothing sector The Ethical Trading Initiative described the legislation as a ldquogame-changerrdquo
Karen Bradley the Home Office Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation said in a statement ldquoThe act will mean that major businesses will for the first time be expected to be transparent about the action they are taking to address modern slavery in their global supply chains
ldquoConsumers businesses and investors will now have valuable information to inform them on the companies they are supporting ndash and shoppers can make more informed decisions at the checkout Businesses risk damaging their reputation or their bottom line if they donrsquot take action to prevent modern slavery in their supply chainsrdquo
Huge numbers of bonded labourersThe legislation has the potential to have a positive impact on millions of workers all over the world
The International Labour Organisation estimates that almost 21 million people are currently working in some form of forced labour including many in the clothing sector2
Research from the Ashridge Centre for Business and Sustainability and the Ethical Trading Initiative found that 71 of companies believe there is a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some point in their supply chains3
Jane Tate from campaign group Homeworkers Worldwide is in no doubt that modern slavery is a big issue in the clothing sector ndash ldquoThere has been a lot of campaigning and work done attempting to address this issue including company projects and an ETI project but to our best knowledge the problem of forced labour still remains endemic in the industryrdquo
The new Modern Slavery Act
References 1 wwwiloorgwcmsp5groupspublic---ed_norm---declarationdocumentspublicationwcms_321414pdf 2 wwwtheguardiancomworld2015oct28uk-companies-proof-no-links-slave-labour-supply-chain 3 wwwethicaltradeorgnews-and-eventsnewsresearch-released-corporate-approaches-to-modern-slavery
Many campaigners are yet to be convinced that this new Act will have the desired effect Tim Hunt investigates
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
16
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
It is now more than two years since the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed killing over a thousand people and injuring 2500 ndash people who managers had ordered back to work despite cracks appearing in the walls Rana Plaza is considered the most fatal garment industry accident in history The resulting public outcry led to promises that things would change So have they
The Accord and the AllianceThere are three different factory safety schemes that were created in the aftermath of the disaster Two are industry-led ones The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (the Alliance) There is also a government-led scheme whose remit is to cover any factories not covered by the other two called the National Action Plan
For any industry scheme to be convincing it has to be substantially different from what went before because the track record of company safety audits in Bangladesh is not impressive Rana
Plaza had twice been audited by Primark and declared safe1 Primark says that it didnrsquot do a structural survey because nobody did them then but a building collapse was hardly unprecedented in 2005 one had killed 64 workers And this is only one of a string of audit failures that have been luridly illustrated by mass fatalities In 2010 a fire at the Garib amp Garib sweater factory killed 21 workers four months after HampM had audited it HampM officially required suppliersrsquo factories to have adequate exits and fire-fighting equipment but this one passed the audit with neither and two people had already died in a fire at the factory a few months earlier2
Factory safety two years on from Rana Plaza
Companies in these guides which have signed the Accordbull Arcadia bull Debenhams bull G Star bull Helly Hansen bull HampM bull John Lewis bull MampS bull Matalan bull New Look bull Next bull Primark bull PVH bull River Island bull Sainsburyrsquos bull Tesco bull Uniqlo
ldquoDonrsquot look for me where leaves are
falling
You will not find me there my beloved
At the machines where lives are
withered
It is there that I lie deadrdquo
A verse from a 1911 song written to commemorate the Triangle garment factory disaster in New York which generated a labour rights movement that revolutionised labour standards in the USA (Mayn Rue Platz by Morris Rosenfeld in translation)
The aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collpase in 2013 1134 people were killed and over 2500 injured as the 8-storey building housing five garment factories collapsed
Inte
rnat
iona
l Lab
or R
ight
s Fo
rum
Josie Wexler takes a look at progress towards creating safer clothing factories in Bangladesh
17
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The Accord however is different It is not another self-policed scheme that companies can adhere to if they feel like it It is a legally-binding agreement between brands and trade unions and signing it means that if safety issues are found in a companyrsquos suppliersrsquo factories and are not fixed the company can be sued
Campaigners had spent years trying and failing to get brands to enter into such an agreement Within weeks of Rana Plazarsquos collapse nearly 40 companies had signed The number is now over 200
However many American companies have refused to sign most notably Walmart (ASDA) and Gap They created the other alternative industry scheme the Alliance which is not legally binding and is widely believed to be basically meaningless window dressing It has only 26 members
Recent developmentsMost although not all of the 3500 clothing factories in Bangladesh have been inspected under one of the three schemes over the past two years largely by the Accord The Accord has closed thirty-five factories altogether and safety upgrades have begun in hundreds of others3 All of the Accordrsquos inspection reports with photographs are freely available on the web ndash transparency is one of its central principles which is another big break from the auditing schemes of the past
However progress on the upgrades has been terribly slow and the unions are now initiating a formal complaint about several brands including HampM who they say are not fulfilling their obligations at a reasonable pace The complaint is the first step towards legal arbitration which would be quite unprecedented4
A further development is that in June 2015 42 people in Bangladesh were
charged with murder over the Rana Plaza deaths including the buildingrsquos owner Sohel Rana the owners of the five factories in the building and 13 government officials If convicted they could face the death penalty
CompensationIn 2014 Labour Behind the Label ran a ldquopay uprdquo campaign pressuring companies to compensate Rana Plazarsquos victimsrsquo families The good news is that although it took a huge struggle the campaign was a success The Rana Plaza Donorrsquos Trust Fund met its target of $30 million in June 2015
Primark comes out by far the best in this story It donated a total of $8 million ndash $1 million to the fund and $7 million directly to victimsWalmart is estimated to have donated $1 million
bull
bull
References 1 Vogue 2014 How The World Has Changed Since Rana Plaza 2 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo 3 Good Choice Forex June 1 2015 ldquoTwo Years After Rana Plaza Disaster Uneven Progress In Bangladeshrsquos Garment Industryrdquo 4 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 5 Clean Clothes Campaign 2015 ldquoWho has paid and who is dragging their heelsrdquo 6 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo
The dumping ground for the Rana Plaza debris just metres away from the victimsrsquo homes
North Face Death TrapsAmerican student groups have been leading the way on pressurising companies who have refused to sign the Accord United Students Against Sweatshops have run a campaign called lsquoNorth Face Death Trapsrsquo targeting VF Corporation as the largest branded clothing manufacturer in the world over its refusal to sign The campaign can be found at httpnorthfacedeathtrapscom
North Face appears in the Waterproof jackets guide whilst VF Corporation owns Lee and Wrangler jeans
Matalan initially refused to donate anything but after being hounded by campaigners it made a rather half-hearted donation of $100000HampM donated approximately $200000 Unlike the three companies above it was not sourcing from Rana Plaza but it is the biggest buyer from Bangladesh as a whole5
Rana Plaza has started to change the game in more ways than one After the Garib amp Garib fire HampM commissioned Save the Children to assess workersrsquo familiesrsquo needs and it decided to focus just on helping children and the elderly But the Rana Plaza fund goes further and is compensating all victimsrsquo families based on loss of income6
There is talk in campaign groups about how to take the Accord further ndash extending it outside Bangladesh or using the same model in other areas such as wages Watch this space
bull
bull
http
f
oxfa
shio
nor
guk
18
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The garment industry is a major employer across the world ndash in Asia for example over 15 million people are employed by the industry With global brands making millions in profits every year this booming industry has come to rely on and exploit the cheap labour of millions of garment workers whose wages fall far short of a living wage
The lack of a living wage means many garment workers are forced to work long hours to earn overtime or bonuses and cannot risk refusing work due to unsafe working conditions or taking time off due to ill health The low wages mean that workers often have to rely on loans just to make ends meet and have no savings to use if they find themselves out of work
A living wage calculation across a region is key to ensuring not only that workers receive a decent wage but also that wage differences do not mean companies pull out of one country to move manufacturing to a country with lower costs ndash the so-called race to the bottom
Living wage calculations must take into account some common factors including the number of family members to be supported the basic nutritional needs of a worker and other basic needs including housing healthcare education and some basic savings
Clean Clothes Campaign is part of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance ndash an alliance of Asian trade unions and labour groups who have calculated a living wage formula for Asia
The Asia Floor Wage calculation cannot be simply applied to other regions as some of the assumptions do not apply For
example in Asia food costs are relatively high and standards of living such as housing are very low whereas in other regions such as Eastern Europe food costs are relatively lower when compared to housing
Clean Clothes Campaign partners are working on defining
and calculating living wages for other garment producing regions
They are calling forClothing brands and companies to set concrete measurable steps throughout their supply chain to ensure garment workers get paid a living wageNational governments in garment producing countries to make sure minimum wages are set at living wage standardsEuropean governments to implement regulation to ensure companies are responsible for the impact they have on the lives of workers in their supply chainSign the Clean Clothes Campaign
petition calling for all garment workers to receive a living wage ndash wwwcleanclothesorglivingwagesign
bull
bull
bull
Struggling for a living wage
A living wage in CambodiaFor several years garment workers and trade unions in Cambodia have been engaged in a bitter conflict with the government over the minimum wage with strikes protests and brutal government crackdowns resulting in deaths injuries and imprisonments Garment workers want US$177 per month enough cover their basic living expenses In 2014 Asia Floor Wage calculated the living wage in Cambodia to be US$396 per month
Though it has made increases the Cambodian government has still not reached the $177 called for Further negotiations and protests in October this year saw the government settle on $140 a month to come into effect in January 2016 Needless to say this has angered some ldquoThis figure is reasonable and acceptable Even itrsquos not acceptable to all we have no choicerdquo Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng was quoted as saying
The top five brands sourcing from Cambodia include three brands in these clothes guides HampM GAP Levi Strauss amp Co
Living wage initiativesLiving Wage Now Forum
In October this year the CCCrsquos Living Wage Now Forum brought together workersrsquo representatives from around the world brand representatives (HampM Primark CampA New Look Pentland NrsquoBrown and Tchibo) European policy makers experts and members of workerrsquos rights organisations to discuss the next concrete steps towards a fashion industry that respects human rights and pays all workers a living wage based on proposals from the CCC Follow its progress here wwwlivingwagenoweu
ACT initiative
A number of brands and retailers are collaborating with the IndustriALL Global Union on the Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT) making a commitment to work with their suppliers in order to support a living wage
Brands in this guide that are involved with ACT are ASOS HampM Arcadia Tesco Primark Next
A full list of members could not be found but these companies were mentioned online in connection with the project
For an average item of clothing only between
05-3 of the cost goes to the worker who made it This means that on an euro8 t-shirt the most a worker will get paid is 24 cents
Clean Clothes Campaign
What are the companies in this issue doing about living wagesThe following brands from this guide explicitly make provision for a living wage in their supply chain policies
Major clothes retailers Next Arcadia Primark Debenhams New Look Tesco John Lewis
Waterproof jacketstrousers Patagonia Jack Wolfskin Paramo Mountain Equipment
Jeans G-Star Nudie PVH brands (Calvin Klein amp Tommy Hilfiger)
19
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
For decades the Government of Uzbekistan has been forcing its citizens both children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest As a result of sustained campaign pressure on the issue of child labour 2014 saw the burden of labour shifted onto adults with lsquomassesrsquo of teachers and medical professionals forced into the cotton fields1
Having engaged companies on the issue since 2008 the Responsible Sourcing
Clothing campaigns
Best scores on Uzbek cottonIn order to receive Ethical Consumerrsquos best rating on this issue all medium- to large-sized companies are expected both to have signed the Cotton Pledge and to demonstrate concrete actions to implement it throughout their supply chains Otherwise the company must only use organic or Better Cotton Initiative cotton
Companies in this issue which receive a best score are
Major clothes retailers MampS Arcadia (Topshop etc) TK Maxx New Look
Waterproof jacketstrousers Jack Wolfskin Patagonia
Jeans Nudie Kuyichi Mud FREITAG (does not use cotton) Levirsquos PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
bull
bull
bull
Companies whorsquove signed the CanopyStyle Pledge Patagonia Levi Strauss amp Co HampM Marks amp Spencer ASOS G-Star RAW
Companies targeted by RAN Guess
Forest-friendly fashionForests probably arenrsquot something that immediately come to mind when considering the impacts of the fashion industry However many commonly used fabrics are derived from wood pulp Check your clothes labels for rayon viscose modal and tencel and itrsquos highly likely yoursquoll spot them ndash either on their own or blended with other fibres Mixed with polyester they give clothes a more pleasant lsquofeelrsquo and often replace cotton because theyrsquore cheaper to produce
So whatrsquos the issue
More than 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into cellulose fabric ndash if placed end to end those trees would circle the earth seven timesDissolving pulp (the base material for rayonviscose) wastes approximately 70 of the tree and is a chemically intensive manufacturing process Dissolving pulp production is projected to double by 2050 Less than 20 of the worldrsquos ancient forests remain intact in tracts large enough to maintain biological diversityForests in Indonesia Canadarsquos boreal and temperate rainforests and the Amazon are being logged for next seasonrsquos fashion
Canopyrsquos lsquoFashion Loved by Forestrsquo initiative partners with clothing brands to help them develop solutions to reduce the impact of their business on ancient forests Companies are asked to sign up to the CanopyStyle Pledge and create a policy on how they source wood-derived fabrics
Rainforest Action Networkrsquos (RAN) lsquoOut of Fashionrsquo campaign pinpointed several high-end fashion brands which it said must do more to ensure they werenrsquot making clothes from unsustainable wood pulp
Watch the campaign video and sign in support of RANrsquos Out of Fashion campaign wwwranorgout_of_fashion
bull
bull
bull
bull
Fur-free shoppingAn investigation into angora farms in China by PETA Asia in December 2013 revealed shockingly cruel treatment of angora rabbits involving the live-plucking of fur from caged rabbits Many clothing companies have now stated that they will no longer sell angora The only companies covered in this issue who
are still selling it are Net-A-Porter in the Clothes Shops guide and Pepe and Guess covered in the Jeans guide
The following clothes shops have joined the Fur Free Alliancersquos Fur Free Retailer programme Topshop HampM ASOS MampS Next Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis From the other guides Nudie and MUD jeans and Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen are part of the programme More information from wwwfurfreeretailercomOther brands are listed as fur free by Humane Society International Mountain Hardwear Calvin Klein New Look Patagonia North Face Diesel Superdry Levirsquos Guess Tommy Hilfiger Howies and Uniqlo See wwwhumanesocietyorgissuesfur_fashiontipsfur-free_shoppinghtml for more details
bull
bull
References 1 wwwantislaveryorgenglishcampaignscottoncrimesforced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgroundaspx
Network (RSN) introduced the lsquoCotton Pledge Against Child and Adult Forced Labour in Uzbek Cottonrsquo in 2011 To date over 160 companies have signed the pledge
However the RSN decided in 2014 that it was time to find out how companies were actually implementing the Cotton Pledge throughout their supply chains
It asked companies what efforts they were making to actually implement this pledge including communicating their policy to all parts of its supply chain including spinners and mills and auditing them for compliance The results were published in the lsquoCotton Sourcing Snapshotrsquo which can be downloaded from wwwsourcingnetworkorgcotton-sourcing-snapshot
See page 22 in the Jeans guide for discussion on the other issues associated with cotton production
Forced labour in the Uzbekrsquos cotton fields
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
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bull
bull
policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
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Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
copy B
ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
copy A
nton
io G
rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
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bull
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WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
bull
bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
bull
bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
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Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
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Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
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CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
copy M
icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
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M
Y
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CY
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Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
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Boycottsethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Barclays divests from Israeli arms companyHigh street bank Barclays is no longer listed as a shareholder in Israeli arms company Elbit Systems according to BDS
The news follows a high profile campaign launched after Barclays was named as a shareholder of the company owning $29 million worth of shares
The concerted campaign featured a petition signed by more than 17 million people and organised by Avaaz calling on Barclays to divest from Elbit Systems Campaigners occupied and protested at bank branches across the UK
The arms company has been the target of campaigners over its manufacture of drones used in Israelrsquos attacks on Palestinians and its role in building the illegal Apartheid Wall in occupied Palestine
Mahmoud Nawajaa co-ordinator with the Palestinian BDS National Committee the Palestinian civil society coalition that leads and supports the BDS movement said
ldquoWe hope that Barclays will now commit to not allowing clients to buy or sell Elbit shares on its platform and to making it clear to all its clients that Elbit is deeply complicit with Israeli violations of international lawrdquo
Veolia withdraws from Israel
The BDS movement celebrated another victory as long standing boycott target Veolia withdrew from its contracts in Jerusalem
After years of pressure the French corporation cut its ties with the Jerusalem Light Rail (JLR) project a railway that campaigners say is illegal and built to facilitate the growth and expansion of Israeli colonial settlements on occupied Palestinian territory
The sale of its stake in the JLR project ends all of Veoliarsquos involvement in the Israeli market
Veolia sold nearly all of its business operations in Israel in April 2015 but had until now remained a 5 shareholder in the JLR project
According to the BDS movement Veoliarsquos involvement in the project and the subsequent boycott had lead it to lose a slew of contracts across the world
For example in 2014 Kuwait Cityrsquos council excluded Veolia from a tender for the treatment of solid waste worth $750 million
Boycott Ben amp Jerryrsquos
Unilever subsidiary Ben amp Jerryrsquos has been added to the list of companies boycotted by BDS
The call comes due to the brandrsquos long-standing contractual relationship with an Israeli franchise that manufactures ice cream in Israel and sells it in Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank and East Jerusalem
Campaigners say that Ben amp Jerryrsquos Social Mission and ldquohistory of supporting progressive causes cannot be reconciled with its franchisersquos commercial ties to the settlementsrdquo
Since 2013 thousands of individuals and 239 organisations in 20 countries including Israel and the occupied Palestinian territory have called on Ben amp Jerryrsquos to put an end to its franchisersquos business in Israeli settlements
Jeff Furman chairperson of Ben amp Jerryrsquos Board of Directors travelled to occupied Palestine in 2012 with a group of American civil rightsrsquo leaders He described what he saw there as ldquoapartheidrdquo In spite of all this the company has refused not only to stop its practices but to even issue a statement calling for an end to Israelrsquos occupation and settlements
On the announcement of the boycott Ben amp Jerryrsquos released the following statement
ldquoBen amp Jerryrsquos corporate organization based in the US does not retain any profits from the business in Israel The company remains committed to contributing 100 of the net licensing fee to foster multicultural programs and values-led ingredient sourcing initiatives in the regionrdquo
Groups across the UK occupied and held protests at Barclays banks as part of the campaign
See the Top 10 BDS consumer boycott targets on our website at wwwethicalconsumerorgboycottsboycottslistisrael
News from the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement
In 2005 Palestinian civil society issued a call for boycotts divestment and sanctions against Israel until it complies with international law and universal principles of human rights The resulting movement is aimed at consumers (boycott) institutional investors (divestment) and states (sanctions)
10
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
This special report on clothing contains guides to clothes shops jeans and waterproof jackets We
also look at a few lsquoe-tailersrsquo (online clothes shops) and report on the latest clothing campaigns
Progress on the high streetTwo themes which have become apparent during our research for these guides are the positive impact of campaign action and the increase in transparency in some areas of the clothing industry
Small steps have been made on the catwalk to ethical fashion
The Bangladesh Accord has paved the way for future positive initiatives in more than just the field of workersrsquo rights by demonstrating that itrsquos possible to have a large number of companies working together within a legally-binding framework The level of transparency required by the Accord sets a new precedent and has set the bar for companiesrsquo future reporting Over two hundred companies have signed the Bangladeshi Accord on Fire and Factory Safety ndash see page 16 for more details
In October 2015 the UK Government enacted the Modern Slavery Act another piece of legislation which will force companies to be more transparent about whether slave labour is being used within their supply chains On page 15 campaigners tell us why they remain sceptical about how the new legislation will work in practice but why they also think it is a step in the right direction
Progress has also been made on other issues as a result of campaigns
160 companies have signed the Cotton Pledge against child and forced labour in Uzbekistan ndash see page 19There has been an increase in awareness among brands on the issue of living wages as a core issue ndash see page 1810 of the global retail fashion industry has committed to get rid of toxic chemicals by 2020 ndash see oppositeOutdoor companies are leading the way in cleaning up their goose and duck down supply chains ndash see page 29
An industry-wide problemWhile it is often the big high-street retailers who are the focus of campaigns it is worth remembering that the issues are endemic to the whole clothing industry Some retailers on the table such as Matalan score comparatively highly However this may reflect the fact that theyrsquove dodged criticisms rather than the fact that theyrsquore one step ahead on sustainability
Campaign actions get results But because there are such a large number of clothing brands campaigners canrsquot reach them all So certain companies (generally those with the biggest market share or whose labels have been uncovered in a sweatshop) find themselves targeted by campaigners more often With building pressure from customers these companies are forced to make efforts to clean up their act Meanwhile the ones left out of the spotlight are able to hide in the shadows
bull
bull
bull
bull
The catwalk to ethical fashionHeather Webb Josie Wexler Ruth Strange and Bryony Moore provide an update on the progress made in the clothing industry
and allow others to take the flakIn order to reflect this in our ratings
we follow campaignersrsquo leads and request policies from companies on the issues they raise
For example all companies in this issue were asked for a policy on hazardous chemicals following Greenpeacersquos Detox campaign lead We also asked all companies for a cotton sourcing policy which matched the asks of the Responsible Sourcing Network on Uzbek cotton In this way we support campaigners in driving up standards
Supply chainsIn these guides we notice that nearly half of the big clothes shops and jeans companies are now scoring our best rating for their supply chain management an improvement since we last looked at the sector
This has been the result of many years of campaigns against clothing retailers to improve working conditions of workers within their supply chains
Yet even with companies achieving high scores for having best practice policies for workersrsquo rights in their supply chains investigations are still finding issues Virtually all of the clothes shops still get a worst rating in our Workersrsquo Rights column as do half of the outdoor gear and jeans companies
For example a report by SOMO and the India Committee of the Netherlands in October 2014 highlighted the abuse of girls and women workers in the South Indian textile industry Companies such as HampM and Next who get our best
copy G
reen
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e
Hat
i Kec
il V
isua
ls
11
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
rating for supply chain management were said to be sourcing from these factories Subsequently HampM stopped using the factories but nevertheless it highlights the complexity of supply chains and the need to closely monitor what is going on
Made in Europe
Due to complex supply chains and poor workersrsquo rights issues in Asia it is perhaps unsurprising to find that many clothing companies are now looking to bring production back to Europe and in some cases back to the UK Plus as the Guardian reported ldquoWhen a country such as Turkey Portugal Romania Slovakia or Bulgaria appears on a label the brand may also get a boost to their reputation as consumers assume the ethics behind a skirt made in Portugal are better than those behind one made in Chinardquo
But sadly it seems that this doesnrsquot guarantee that the clothes are made in decent conditions In 2014 the Clean Clothes Campaign released a report on clothing factories in eastern Europe It details appallingly low wages long hours and abuse Safety issues may not be at the same rock-bottom level as in parts of Asia
but Bulgaria Macedonia and Romania all have lower minimum wages than China2
Environment
Toxic chemicals
In July 2011 Greenpeace released its first report exposing the hidden links between textile manufacturing facilities in China that discharge hazardous chemicals into the water and international brands such as the sportswear giants Nike and Adidas That report gave rise to the Detox Campaign which called on companies to make a commitment to eliminate toxic chemicals from their supply chains by 2020
By March 2015 18 clothing companies had made the commitment
Of the clothes shops and jeans companies we have covered in our guides the following were rated by Greenpeace
Detox leaders G Star RAW HampM Levi Strauss MampS Primark and Fast Retailing (Uniqlo)Detox losers GAP and PVH (Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger)
bull
bull
Greenpeacersquos latest Detox report focuses on the outdoor industry and its use of PFCs ndash toxic chemicals used for waterproofing See page 28
Environmental reporting
Unfortunately a majority of companies are still not reporting on what steps they are taking to improve the environmental impact of their factories and of their products 64 of the companies we have covered scored our worst rating in this category Outdoor companies fared the worst whilst jeans companies did best
References 1 Gisela Burckhardt Price does not guarantee fairness 2015 2 Clean Clothes Campaign Stitched Up 2014 3 Business Human Rights Know the Chain ndash See which companies do and do not have statements under the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act January 2014 4 Lexology Recent developments in US legislation on modern slavery September 2014 wwwlexologycomlibrarydetailaspxg=f9b4675d-c785-4ac1-9d3d-7ed6346fb1cb 5 wwwlivingwagenoweuuploadsimagesPanel_introduction_EU_Flagship_webpdf 6 The White House Press Release G-7 Leaders Declaration June 8th 2015 wwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20150608g-7-leaders-declaration 7 SEDEX Modern Slavery Act 2015 wwwsedexglobalcomwp-contentuploads201106The-UK-Modern-Slavery-Act-20151pdf
Clothing product guides onlineOther clothing-related guides on our website are Online Clothing Retailers Alternative Clothing Companies Underwear Shoes Trainers Sportswear Walking boots and Fleeces Go to wwwethicalconsumerorgbuyersguidesclothing
The journey towards transparencyFinally we are seeing the beginnings of legislation on supply chain issues for which campaigners have been calling for years
From 2010 the
Transparency in Supply Chains Act has required that
large companies in California USA disclose the efforts they were
making to eradicate human trafficking and slavery from their supply chains
However research has found that many companies have not been complying3 and that they have
not been penalised for non-compliance4
2010 2014 2015 2015
2015
The EU Non-Financial
Reporting directive came into force on the 6th
December 2014 It requires large listed companies to disclose policies and risks regarding social issues respect for human rights
anti-corruption and bribery EU Member States have two
years to transpose it into national legislation
The EU convened
a multi-stakeholder forum on responsible management of the
garment supply chain with representatives of industry trade
unions retailers and workersrsquo rights organisations looking at a potential EU flagship initiative and what form
this might take5
A G7 Joint Declaration promised
to ldquostrive for better application of internationally
recognised labour social and environmental
standards principles and commitments in global
supply chainsrdquo6
This year saw the
arrival of the Modern Slavery Act in the UK The
Act includes the Transparency in Supply Chains Clause which
as of October 2015 requires large UK companies to
publish an annual slavery and human trafficking
statement7
12
ProductGUIDE
This guide examines the ten biggest selling UK high-street clothes shops as well as four supermarkets that are in the top 20 UK clothes sellers ASDA Tesco John Lewis and Sainsburyrsquos1 and the top three e-tailers (online clothes retailers) Of the e-tailers only ASOS manufactures its own clothes The other two Amazon and Net-a-Porter are just marketplaces although Amazon has been talking about starting to make its own line of clothes in the future2
The lowdown on high street clothes shops
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
HampM [O] 9 h H h h H H h H 1 Ramsbury Invest AB
HampM 8 h H h h H H h H Ramsbury Invest AB
New Look 8 h h H h h H H h h Brait SE New Look
Matalan 75 H H h h H H h H Hargreaves family
ASOS 7 H H H h H h h H h ASOS plc
Burton 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Dorothy Perkins 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Evans 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
John Lewis [O] 7 h H H H H H H H h h E 1 John Lewis Partnership
Miss Selfridge 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Topman Topshop 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Wallis 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Debenhams 65 H H h h H H h h h H Debenhams plc
Next 65 H H h h H H h H H Next plc
John Lewis 6 h H H H H H H H h h E John Lewis Partnership
Net-a-Porter 6 H H h H H H H h H Yoox spa
TK Maxx 5 H H H H H H H h h H TJX Companies inc
MampS 4 H H h h H H H H h h H H Marks and Spencer Group
River Island 35 H h H h H H H H H h h h H LFH International
Primark 3 H h H h H H H H H h h H H Garfield Weston Foundation
Sainsburyrsquos TU 25 h H H h H H H h H h H h H H J Sainsbury plc
Tesco FampF 25 h H H H h H H H H H h H H Tesco plc
Amazon 05 H H H H H H H H H H h H H H Amazoncom
ASDA George 05 h H H H H H H H H h H H h H H Walmart
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers [O] = organic
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Whatrsquos the yarn on the high street Josie Wexler examines the ethics of the top selling high-street shops and e-tailers
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
13
ProductGUIDE
Whilst not eligible for the Best Buy Label MampS is our recommended high street clothes shop
It scores low in our table because we rate companies
at group level and as it is also a supermarket it picks up a lot of negative marks in areas such as selling animal-tested products or factory-farmed meat But it scores high for its clothes policies (see Company Profiles overleaf)
We also recommend HampM and John Lewisrsquos organic clothing ranges
Our recommended e-tailer is ASOS
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Supply chainsAfter countless media exposeacutes on bad working conditions many high-street clothing shops are now making quite an effort to talk up their supply chain policies Next MampS Arcadia New Look Primark HampM Tesco and John Lewis all received our best rating for supply chain management
We are pleased that pressure has led to clothing retailers taking more responsibility for their supply chains although there are still many industry-wide issues that badly need to be addressed We look at the progress being made towards living wages and safe working conditions on pages 16 and 18
In light of this progress it is very disappointing that there are companies in this report who still have very little to say on the whole subject TK Maxx Matalan River Island Amazon and Net-a-Porter all received our worst rating in this category Matalan in particular have hardly any publicly available information
Sustainable clothesThere is a general lack of Fairtrade organic and recycled clothes on the high street although John Lewis and HampM do sell organic clothes
However one thing that has happened recently is that a couple of companies have started their own clothes recycling schemes See the lsquoLonger-lasting clothesrsquo article on page 24
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Arcadia (Topshop)
ASDA
ASOS
Debenhams
HampM
John Lewis
MampS
Matalan
New Look
Next
Primark
River Island
Sainsburyrsquos
Tesco
TK Maxx
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Goose and duck downIt is not just outdoor companies that use animal down ndash it is now a fashionable filling for many jackets from high-street retailers Several of the companies rated in this clothes shop report have made commitments not to use down which comes from live-plucked or fois gras birds (see table below) Yet none of them has adopted a methodology capable of ensuring that they actually donrsquot which requires tracing their whole down supply chain back to the higher-risk parent farms See page 29 for more information on how outdoor gear companies are ensuring that their down supply chains are cruelty-free
Alternative clothing companiesWe havenrsquot focused on Alternative Clothing Companies in this issue ndash although many feature in the guide to Jeans
Our Best Buy from the previous alternative clothing guide was People Tree who produce Fairtrade and Organic clothing Also a Best Buy was menswear company Brothers We Stand All their products have a footprint tab detailing their social and environmental impact
Positive policies
References 1 Mintel Clothing Retailing 2014 2 Business Insider 28 October Amazon may start making its own clothes
4
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
14
ProductGUIDE
Company profiles
Excessive executive compensation
Next MampS Arcadia Primark TK Maxx Amazon ASOS Asda Tesco Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis all pay their top executives over pound1 million which we rate as excessive
Tax avoidance
We covered the latest on Amazonrsquos tax avoidance in issue 157 and a full version of the article can be found on our website Neither of the other two e-tailers ndash ASOS and Net-a-Porter ndash show any signs of being engaged in tax avoidance
Other companies in the report who receive our worst rating for tax avoidance include Arcadia whose ultimate holding company is registered in Jersey Matalan which is registered in Guernsey and HampM which appears to use holding companies based in Hong Kong for operations in China
More stories behind the rankings
Marks and Spencer does pretty well in a lot of our rankings It receives our best rating for its supply chain and environmental policies has signed the Bangladesh Accord and was rated a leader in Greenpeacersquos lsquoDetox Catwalkrsquo It has checks in place to ensure that none of its cotton comes from Uzbekistan and aims to procure 70 of its cotton from sustainable sources by 2020 (ie either Better Cotton Initiative Fairtrade Organic or recycled)
It was also one of a very few companies to receive the Clean Clothes Campaignrsquos top rating in 2014 for its work towards improving wages in its supply chain (none of the others who received it are in this guide) although the campaign grouprsquos assessment is still fairly circumspect
ldquoWe are pleased to see MampS has been doing work to make sure there are financial incentives for buyers to source from factories that MampS says pay living wages[but] it is impossible to judge the real benefit to workersbecause no figures have been disclosed it could all still be smoke and mirrorsrdquo1
On the downside Marks and Spencer is involved in several free trade lobby groups such as the World Economic Forum and EuroCommerce
Next is the biggest selling UK clothes retailer having overtaken Marks and Spencer in 2014 Its CEO Simon Wolfson is a Conservative peer who has donated over pound500000 to the Conservative Party over the past ten years co-chaired the partyrsquos Economic Competitiveness policy review and in 2010 was one of 35 signatories of an open letter calling on the Government to press ahead with public spending cuts
Indian companies that supply Next were found in 2012 to be employing Indian women under the Sumangali Scheme which is a form of bonded labour that requires low-caste women to work for several years to earn money to pay for a dowry4
As Primark made its name by selling implausibly cheap clothing it has been much focused on by campaigners However in its favour Primark was the first UK company to sign up to the Bangladeshi Accord and as detailed on page 17 it has donated far more to Rana Plaza victims than any other retailer
Primark is owned by Associated British Foods One of Associated British Foodsrsquo foreign subsidiaries Zambia Sugar was accused in 2013 of ripping off its host country by avoiding paying millions of pounds of tax which is really shocking given that Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world2
HampM has promoted itself as a more ethical clothing retailer and produces reams of material about its supply chain policies although it is unclear how much is just talk and how much makes a real difference
HampM has been slammed recently for lagging behind on its commitments
under the Bangladeshi Accord However activists say the issues are not unique to HampM and the reason that they have focused on it is simply because it is such a big buyer from Bangladesh3
HampM has a lsquoRoadmap to a Fair Living Wagersquo aimed at increasing wages in its supplier factories which has been both praised and criticised by Labour Behind the Label ndash praised for including solid targets and dates but crucially criticised for failing to define what a living wage actually is
Like MampS HampM aims for all its cotton to come from ldquomore sustainable sourcesrdquo by 2020
Amazon currently has a boycott call against it called by us for its use of tax avoidance strategies
ASOS scores middle for its supply chain policy it has banned sandblasting in its supply chain and is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative On the downside it has no policy on toxics
References 1 Clean Clothes Campaign 2014 ldquoTailored Wagesrdquo EuroCommerce and World Economic Forum websites 2015 2 ActionAid 2013 ldquoSweet Nothingsrdquo 3 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 4 Maid in India report 2012 ndash India Committee of the Netherlands
copy S
ean
Pavo
ne |
Dre
amst
ime
com
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
15
ProductGUIDE
She believes that in the Tamil Nadu region alone 200000 young women and girls are working under conditions of forced or bonded labour Many are producing cotton jersey (t-shirt fabric) clothing for export to the UK
Samantha Maher from Labour Behind the Label agrees and singles out another vulnerable group that the legislation could help ndash migrants
ldquoLots of migrants are in forced labour especially in Malaysia where people are having their passports taken as well as in the middle east in places like Jordan and Egyptrdquo
Campaigners yet to be convincedHowever some labour rights campaigners are yet to be convinced that the legislation will have the desired effect in improving working conditions
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label feels that reporting alone canrsquot help and the new legislation raises a number of questions
ldquoHow they are reporting and how it [the information] is used still appears to be undecided There is an assumption that NGOs will use the information to expose poor practice but capacity is limited so this wonrsquot be easy without resources and a clear process We also wonder how we will know if the reporting is accuraterdquo
Jane from Homeworkers Worldwide concurs She told Ethical Consumer
ldquoIt is very hard to predict what impact the Modern Slavery Act will have The difficulty is that [the companies] have to report what they are doing but someone will have to sift through the ethical spin to assess whether what they report is really having an impact on the ground whether they are really focusing their efforts on where the problems are etc
Holding companies to account on this will be difficult and will be a massive job for campaigners NGOs and activists ldquo
But she also has more fundamental concerns
ldquoThe current rhetoric on modern slavery in general is that modern slavery
(including forced and bonded labour) risks being seen as a distinct issue and treated quite separately from other forms of exploitation It is as though we can isolate a few criminal elements get rid of those and the rest of the industry can carry on as normalrdquo
Meanwhile TUC General Secretary Frances OrsquoGrady said that this legislation is just the start and that ldquoThe Government should build on the Modern Slavery Act and ratify the ILO Forced Labour Protocol immediatelyrdquo
This would mean not only to criminalise and prosecute forced labour but also to take more effective measures to prevent forced labour and provide victims with protection and access to remedies including compensation1
The way forwardDespite their criticisms campaigners are clear that the Act is a step in the right direction
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label
ldquoCompanies often have no idea where they are buying from so they may get a better grip of supply chains The act is also forcing the issue up from CSR to board level due to its legally binding naturerdquo
This is a view shared by Jane at Homeworkers Worldwide ldquoWhilst we donrsquot think it will in practice deliver much transparency the principle of companies taking responsibility for what goes on in global chains is an important one and making this a legal requirement is a starting point for pushing for greater responsibility and accountability in the futurerdquo
The Modern Slavery Act will force companies to publicly report on the steps they are taking to ensure there is no slavery or forced labour in their supply chains It has the potential to have a big impact on the clothing sector The Ethical Trading Initiative described the legislation as a ldquogame-changerrdquo
Karen Bradley the Home Office Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation said in a statement ldquoThe act will mean that major businesses will for the first time be expected to be transparent about the action they are taking to address modern slavery in their global supply chains
ldquoConsumers businesses and investors will now have valuable information to inform them on the companies they are supporting ndash and shoppers can make more informed decisions at the checkout Businesses risk damaging their reputation or their bottom line if they donrsquot take action to prevent modern slavery in their supply chainsrdquo
Huge numbers of bonded labourersThe legislation has the potential to have a positive impact on millions of workers all over the world
The International Labour Organisation estimates that almost 21 million people are currently working in some form of forced labour including many in the clothing sector2
Research from the Ashridge Centre for Business and Sustainability and the Ethical Trading Initiative found that 71 of companies believe there is a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some point in their supply chains3
Jane Tate from campaign group Homeworkers Worldwide is in no doubt that modern slavery is a big issue in the clothing sector ndash ldquoThere has been a lot of campaigning and work done attempting to address this issue including company projects and an ETI project but to our best knowledge the problem of forced labour still remains endemic in the industryrdquo
The new Modern Slavery Act
References 1 wwwiloorgwcmsp5groupspublic---ed_norm---declarationdocumentspublicationwcms_321414pdf 2 wwwtheguardiancomworld2015oct28uk-companies-proof-no-links-slave-labour-supply-chain 3 wwwethicaltradeorgnews-and-eventsnewsresearch-released-corporate-approaches-to-modern-slavery
Many campaigners are yet to be convinced that this new Act will have the desired effect Tim Hunt investigates
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
16
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
It is now more than two years since the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed killing over a thousand people and injuring 2500 ndash people who managers had ordered back to work despite cracks appearing in the walls Rana Plaza is considered the most fatal garment industry accident in history The resulting public outcry led to promises that things would change So have they
The Accord and the AllianceThere are three different factory safety schemes that were created in the aftermath of the disaster Two are industry-led ones The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (the Alliance) There is also a government-led scheme whose remit is to cover any factories not covered by the other two called the National Action Plan
For any industry scheme to be convincing it has to be substantially different from what went before because the track record of company safety audits in Bangladesh is not impressive Rana
Plaza had twice been audited by Primark and declared safe1 Primark says that it didnrsquot do a structural survey because nobody did them then but a building collapse was hardly unprecedented in 2005 one had killed 64 workers And this is only one of a string of audit failures that have been luridly illustrated by mass fatalities In 2010 a fire at the Garib amp Garib sweater factory killed 21 workers four months after HampM had audited it HampM officially required suppliersrsquo factories to have adequate exits and fire-fighting equipment but this one passed the audit with neither and two people had already died in a fire at the factory a few months earlier2
Factory safety two years on from Rana Plaza
Companies in these guides which have signed the Accordbull Arcadia bull Debenhams bull G Star bull Helly Hansen bull HampM bull John Lewis bull MampS bull Matalan bull New Look bull Next bull Primark bull PVH bull River Island bull Sainsburyrsquos bull Tesco bull Uniqlo
ldquoDonrsquot look for me where leaves are
falling
You will not find me there my beloved
At the machines where lives are
withered
It is there that I lie deadrdquo
A verse from a 1911 song written to commemorate the Triangle garment factory disaster in New York which generated a labour rights movement that revolutionised labour standards in the USA (Mayn Rue Platz by Morris Rosenfeld in translation)
The aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collpase in 2013 1134 people were killed and over 2500 injured as the 8-storey building housing five garment factories collapsed
Inte
rnat
iona
l Lab
or R
ight
s Fo
rum
Josie Wexler takes a look at progress towards creating safer clothing factories in Bangladesh
17
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The Accord however is different It is not another self-policed scheme that companies can adhere to if they feel like it It is a legally-binding agreement between brands and trade unions and signing it means that if safety issues are found in a companyrsquos suppliersrsquo factories and are not fixed the company can be sued
Campaigners had spent years trying and failing to get brands to enter into such an agreement Within weeks of Rana Plazarsquos collapse nearly 40 companies had signed The number is now over 200
However many American companies have refused to sign most notably Walmart (ASDA) and Gap They created the other alternative industry scheme the Alliance which is not legally binding and is widely believed to be basically meaningless window dressing It has only 26 members
Recent developmentsMost although not all of the 3500 clothing factories in Bangladesh have been inspected under one of the three schemes over the past two years largely by the Accord The Accord has closed thirty-five factories altogether and safety upgrades have begun in hundreds of others3 All of the Accordrsquos inspection reports with photographs are freely available on the web ndash transparency is one of its central principles which is another big break from the auditing schemes of the past
However progress on the upgrades has been terribly slow and the unions are now initiating a formal complaint about several brands including HampM who they say are not fulfilling their obligations at a reasonable pace The complaint is the first step towards legal arbitration which would be quite unprecedented4
A further development is that in June 2015 42 people in Bangladesh were
charged with murder over the Rana Plaza deaths including the buildingrsquos owner Sohel Rana the owners of the five factories in the building and 13 government officials If convicted they could face the death penalty
CompensationIn 2014 Labour Behind the Label ran a ldquopay uprdquo campaign pressuring companies to compensate Rana Plazarsquos victimsrsquo families The good news is that although it took a huge struggle the campaign was a success The Rana Plaza Donorrsquos Trust Fund met its target of $30 million in June 2015
Primark comes out by far the best in this story It donated a total of $8 million ndash $1 million to the fund and $7 million directly to victimsWalmart is estimated to have donated $1 million
bull
bull
References 1 Vogue 2014 How The World Has Changed Since Rana Plaza 2 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo 3 Good Choice Forex June 1 2015 ldquoTwo Years After Rana Plaza Disaster Uneven Progress In Bangladeshrsquos Garment Industryrdquo 4 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 5 Clean Clothes Campaign 2015 ldquoWho has paid and who is dragging their heelsrdquo 6 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo
The dumping ground for the Rana Plaza debris just metres away from the victimsrsquo homes
North Face Death TrapsAmerican student groups have been leading the way on pressurising companies who have refused to sign the Accord United Students Against Sweatshops have run a campaign called lsquoNorth Face Death Trapsrsquo targeting VF Corporation as the largest branded clothing manufacturer in the world over its refusal to sign The campaign can be found at httpnorthfacedeathtrapscom
North Face appears in the Waterproof jackets guide whilst VF Corporation owns Lee and Wrangler jeans
Matalan initially refused to donate anything but after being hounded by campaigners it made a rather half-hearted donation of $100000HampM donated approximately $200000 Unlike the three companies above it was not sourcing from Rana Plaza but it is the biggest buyer from Bangladesh as a whole5
Rana Plaza has started to change the game in more ways than one After the Garib amp Garib fire HampM commissioned Save the Children to assess workersrsquo familiesrsquo needs and it decided to focus just on helping children and the elderly But the Rana Plaza fund goes further and is compensating all victimsrsquo families based on loss of income6
There is talk in campaign groups about how to take the Accord further ndash extending it outside Bangladesh or using the same model in other areas such as wages Watch this space
bull
bull
http
f
oxfa
shio
nor
guk
18
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The garment industry is a major employer across the world ndash in Asia for example over 15 million people are employed by the industry With global brands making millions in profits every year this booming industry has come to rely on and exploit the cheap labour of millions of garment workers whose wages fall far short of a living wage
The lack of a living wage means many garment workers are forced to work long hours to earn overtime or bonuses and cannot risk refusing work due to unsafe working conditions or taking time off due to ill health The low wages mean that workers often have to rely on loans just to make ends meet and have no savings to use if they find themselves out of work
A living wage calculation across a region is key to ensuring not only that workers receive a decent wage but also that wage differences do not mean companies pull out of one country to move manufacturing to a country with lower costs ndash the so-called race to the bottom
Living wage calculations must take into account some common factors including the number of family members to be supported the basic nutritional needs of a worker and other basic needs including housing healthcare education and some basic savings
Clean Clothes Campaign is part of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance ndash an alliance of Asian trade unions and labour groups who have calculated a living wage formula for Asia
The Asia Floor Wage calculation cannot be simply applied to other regions as some of the assumptions do not apply For
example in Asia food costs are relatively high and standards of living such as housing are very low whereas in other regions such as Eastern Europe food costs are relatively lower when compared to housing
Clean Clothes Campaign partners are working on defining
and calculating living wages for other garment producing regions
They are calling forClothing brands and companies to set concrete measurable steps throughout their supply chain to ensure garment workers get paid a living wageNational governments in garment producing countries to make sure minimum wages are set at living wage standardsEuropean governments to implement regulation to ensure companies are responsible for the impact they have on the lives of workers in their supply chainSign the Clean Clothes Campaign
petition calling for all garment workers to receive a living wage ndash wwwcleanclothesorglivingwagesign
bull
bull
bull
Struggling for a living wage
A living wage in CambodiaFor several years garment workers and trade unions in Cambodia have been engaged in a bitter conflict with the government over the minimum wage with strikes protests and brutal government crackdowns resulting in deaths injuries and imprisonments Garment workers want US$177 per month enough cover their basic living expenses In 2014 Asia Floor Wage calculated the living wage in Cambodia to be US$396 per month
Though it has made increases the Cambodian government has still not reached the $177 called for Further negotiations and protests in October this year saw the government settle on $140 a month to come into effect in January 2016 Needless to say this has angered some ldquoThis figure is reasonable and acceptable Even itrsquos not acceptable to all we have no choicerdquo Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng was quoted as saying
The top five brands sourcing from Cambodia include three brands in these clothes guides HampM GAP Levi Strauss amp Co
Living wage initiativesLiving Wage Now Forum
In October this year the CCCrsquos Living Wage Now Forum brought together workersrsquo representatives from around the world brand representatives (HampM Primark CampA New Look Pentland NrsquoBrown and Tchibo) European policy makers experts and members of workerrsquos rights organisations to discuss the next concrete steps towards a fashion industry that respects human rights and pays all workers a living wage based on proposals from the CCC Follow its progress here wwwlivingwagenoweu
ACT initiative
A number of brands and retailers are collaborating with the IndustriALL Global Union on the Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT) making a commitment to work with their suppliers in order to support a living wage
Brands in this guide that are involved with ACT are ASOS HampM Arcadia Tesco Primark Next
A full list of members could not be found but these companies were mentioned online in connection with the project
For an average item of clothing only between
05-3 of the cost goes to the worker who made it This means that on an euro8 t-shirt the most a worker will get paid is 24 cents
Clean Clothes Campaign
What are the companies in this issue doing about living wagesThe following brands from this guide explicitly make provision for a living wage in their supply chain policies
Major clothes retailers Next Arcadia Primark Debenhams New Look Tesco John Lewis
Waterproof jacketstrousers Patagonia Jack Wolfskin Paramo Mountain Equipment
Jeans G-Star Nudie PVH brands (Calvin Klein amp Tommy Hilfiger)
19
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
For decades the Government of Uzbekistan has been forcing its citizens both children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest As a result of sustained campaign pressure on the issue of child labour 2014 saw the burden of labour shifted onto adults with lsquomassesrsquo of teachers and medical professionals forced into the cotton fields1
Having engaged companies on the issue since 2008 the Responsible Sourcing
Clothing campaigns
Best scores on Uzbek cottonIn order to receive Ethical Consumerrsquos best rating on this issue all medium- to large-sized companies are expected both to have signed the Cotton Pledge and to demonstrate concrete actions to implement it throughout their supply chains Otherwise the company must only use organic or Better Cotton Initiative cotton
Companies in this issue which receive a best score are
Major clothes retailers MampS Arcadia (Topshop etc) TK Maxx New Look
Waterproof jacketstrousers Jack Wolfskin Patagonia
Jeans Nudie Kuyichi Mud FREITAG (does not use cotton) Levirsquos PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
bull
bull
bull
Companies whorsquove signed the CanopyStyle Pledge Patagonia Levi Strauss amp Co HampM Marks amp Spencer ASOS G-Star RAW
Companies targeted by RAN Guess
Forest-friendly fashionForests probably arenrsquot something that immediately come to mind when considering the impacts of the fashion industry However many commonly used fabrics are derived from wood pulp Check your clothes labels for rayon viscose modal and tencel and itrsquos highly likely yoursquoll spot them ndash either on their own or blended with other fibres Mixed with polyester they give clothes a more pleasant lsquofeelrsquo and often replace cotton because theyrsquore cheaper to produce
So whatrsquos the issue
More than 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into cellulose fabric ndash if placed end to end those trees would circle the earth seven timesDissolving pulp (the base material for rayonviscose) wastes approximately 70 of the tree and is a chemically intensive manufacturing process Dissolving pulp production is projected to double by 2050 Less than 20 of the worldrsquos ancient forests remain intact in tracts large enough to maintain biological diversityForests in Indonesia Canadarsquos boreal and temperate rainforests and the Amazon are being logged for next seasonrsquos fashion
Canopyrsquos lsquoFashion Loved by Forestrsquo initiative partners with clothing brands to help them develop solutions to reduce the impact of their business on ancient forests Companies are asked to sign up to the CanopyStyle Pledge and create a policy on how they source wood-derived fabrics
Rainforest Action Networkrsquos (RAN) lsquoOut of Fashionrsquo campaign pinpointed several high-end fashion brands which it said must do more to ensure they werenrsquot making clothes from unsustainable wood pulp
Watch the campaign video and sign in support of RANrsquos Out of Fashion campaign wwwranorgout_of_fashion
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bull
bull
bull
Fur-free shoppingAn investigation into angora farms in China by PETA Asia in December 2013 revealed shockingly cruel treatment of angora rabbits involving the live-plucking of fur from caged rabbits Many clothing companies have now stated that they will no longer sell angora The only companies covered in this issue who
are still selling it are Net-A-Porter in the Clothes Shops guide and Pepe and Guess covered in the Jeans guide
The following clothes shops have joined the Fur Free Alliancersquos Fur Free Retailer programme Topshop HampM ASOS MampS Next Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis From the other guides Nudie and MUD jeans and Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen are part of the programme More information from wwwfurfreeretailercomOther brands are listed as fur free by Humane Society International Mountain Hardwear Calvin Klein New Look Patagonia North Face Diesel Superdry Levirsquos Guess Tommy Hilfiger Howies and Uniqlo See wwwhumanesocietyorgissuesfur_fashiontipsfur-free_shoppinghtml for more details
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bull
References 1 wwwantislaveryorgenglishcampaignscottoncrimesforced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgroundaspx
Network (RSN) introduced the lsquoCotton Pledge Against Child and Adult Forced Labour in Uzbek Cottonrsquo in 2011 To date over 160 companies have signed the pledge
However the RSN decided in 2014 that it was time to find out how companies were actually implementing the Cotton Pledge throughout their supply chains
It asked companies what efforts they were making to actually implement this pledge including communicating their policy to all parts of its supply chain including spinners and mills and auditing them for compliance The results were published in the lsquoCotton Sourcing Snapshotrsquo which can be downloaded from wwwsourcingnetworkorgcotton-sourcing-snapshot
See page 22 in the Jeans guide for discussion on the other issues associated with cotton production
Forced labour in the Uzbekrsquos cotton fields
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
Ethi
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f 20)
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ortin
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Nuc
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er
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nge
Pollu
tion
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oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
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Eth
os
Prod
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USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
bull
bull
bull
policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
bull
bull
Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
copy B
ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
copy A
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amst
ime
com
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ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
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ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
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ortin
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lear
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er
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nge
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s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
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Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
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ply
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ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
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bull
bull
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
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bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
bull
bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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Thousands of people across the UK disagree We think we urgently need to move to a zero-carbon energy system owned by and run for normal people Weve put our time and money into local green energy
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12 Gardner Street Brighton East Sussex BN1 1UP TelFax 01273 691913
email informationvegetarian-shoescouk
ORDER DIRECT ON-LINEwwwvegetarian-shoescouk
35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Stuck for that unique Christmas present
Why not book a short course at CAT and stay with us for the weekend in our award-winning WISE building
Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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Apply now to start September 2016httpgsecatorguk
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ourses
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
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Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
Ethical Investment Specialists
CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
copy M
icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
bull Overseas ordersPhoneuson01612262929orgotoourwebsite-wwwethicalconsumerorgSubscriptionsaspx
Your message
1st gift subscription pound2995
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Order by midnight
on Wednesday 16th December for delivery by
Christmas
42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
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Together wersquoll make your savings do more
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Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
10
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
This special report on clothing contains guides to clothes shops jeans and waterproof jackets We
also look at a few lsquoe-tailersrsquo (online clothes shops) and report on the latest clothing campaigns
Progress on the high streetTwo themes which have become apparent during our research for these guides are the positive impact of campaign action and the increase in transparency in some areas of the clothing industry
Small steps have been made on the catwalk to ethical fashion
The Bangladesh Accord has paved the way for future positive initiatives in more than just the field of workersrsquo rights by demonstrating that itrsquos possible to have a large number of companies working together within a legally-binding framework The level of transparency required by the Accord sets a new precedent and has set the bar for companiesrsquo future reporting Over two hundred companies have signed the Bangladeshi Accord on Fire and Factory Safety ndash see page 16 for more details
In October 2015 the UK Government enacted the Modern Slavery Act another piece of legislation which will force companies to be more transparent about whether slave labour is being used within their supply chains On page 15 campaigners tell us why they remain sceptical about how the new legislation will work in practice but why they also think it is a step in the right direction
Progress has also been made on other issues as a result of campaigns
160 companies have signed the Cotton Pledge against child and forced labour in Uzbekistan ndash see page 19There has been an increase in awareness among brands on the issue of living wages as a core issue ndash see page 1810 of the global retail fashion industry has committed to get rid of toxic chemicals by 2020 ndash see oppositeOutdoor companies are leading the way in cleaning up their goose and duck down supply chains ndash see page 29
An industry-wide problemWhile it is often the big high-street retailers who are the focus of campaigns it is worth remembering that the issues are endemic to the whole clothing industry Some retailers on the table such as Matalan score comparatively highly However this may reflect the fact that theyrsquove dodged criticisms rather than the fact that theyrsquore one step ahead on sustainability
Campaign actions get results But because there are such a large number of clothing brands campaigners canrsquot reach them all So certain companies (generally those with the biggest market share or whose labels have been uncovered in a sweatshop) find themselves targeted by campaigners more often With building pressure from customers these companies are forced to make efforts to clean up their act Meanwhile the ones left out of the spotlight are able to hide in the shadows
bull
bull
bull
bull
The catwalk to ethical fashionHeather Webb Josie Wexler Ruth Strange and Bryony Moore provide an update on the progress made in the clothing industry
and allow others to take the flakIn order to reflect this in our ratings
we follow campaignersrsquo leads and request policies from companies on the issues they raise
For example all companies in this issue were asked for a policy on hazardous chemicals following Greenpeacersquos Detox campaign lead We also asked all companies for a cotton sourcing policy which matched the asks of the Responsible Sourcing Network on Uzbek cotton In this way we support campaigners in driving up standards
Supply chainsIn these guides we notice that nearly half of the big clothes shops and jeans companies are now scoring our best rating for their supply chain management an improvement since we last looked at the sector
This has been the result of many years of campaigns against clothing retailers to improve working conditions of workers within their supply chains
Yet even with companies achieving high scores for having best practice policies for workersrsquo rights in their supply chains investigations are still finding issues Virtually all of the clothes shops still get a worst rating in our Workersrsquo Rights column as do half of the outdoor gear and jeans companies
For example a report by SOMO and the India Committee of the Netherlands in October 2014 highlighted the abuse of girls and women workers in the South Indian textile industry Companies such as HampM and Next who get our best
copy G
reen
peac
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Hat
i Kec
il V
isua
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11
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
rating for supply chain management were said to be sourcing from these factories Subsequently HampM stopped using the factories but nevertheless it highlights the complexity of supply chains and the need to closely monitor what is going on
Made in Europe
Due to complex supply chains and poor workersrsquo rights issues in Asia it is perhaps unsurprising to find that many clothing companies are now looking to bring production back to Europe and in some cases back to the UK Plus as the Guardian reported ldquoWhen a country such as Turkey Portugal Romania Slovakia or Bulgaria appears on a label the brand may also get a boost to their reputation as consumers assume the ethics behind a skirt made in Portugal are better than those behind one made in Chinardquo
But sadly it seems that this doesnrsquot guarantee that the clothes are made in decent conditions In 2014 the Clean Clothes Campaign released a report on clothing factories in eastern Europe It details appallingly low wages long hours and abuse Safety issues may not be at the same rock-bottom level as in parts of Asia
but Bulgaria Macedonia and Romania all have lower minimum wages than China2
Environment
Toxic chemicals
In July 2011 Greenpeace released its first report exposing the hidden links between textile manufacturing facilities in China that discharge hazardous chemicals into the water and international brands such as the sportswear giants Nike and Adidas That report gave rise to the Detox Campaign which called on companies to make a commitment to eliminate toxic chemicals from their supply chains by 2020
By March 2015 18 clothing companies had made the commitment
Of the clothes shops and jeans companies we have covered in our guides the following were rated by Greenpeace
Detox leaders G Star RAW HampM Levi Strauss MampS Primark and Fast Retailing (Uniqlo)Detox losers GAP and PVH (Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger)
bull
bull
Greenpeacersquos latest Detox report focuses on the outdoor industry and its use of PFCs ndash toxic chemicals used for waterproofing See page 28
Environmental reporting
Unfortunately a majority of companies are still not reporting on what steps they are taking to improve the environmental impact of their factories and of their products 64 of the companies we have covered scored our worst rating in this category Outdoor companies fared the worst whilst jeans companies did best
References 1 Gisela Burckhardt Price does not guarantee fairness 2015 2 Clean Clothes Campaign Stitched Up 2014 3 Business Human Rights Know the Chain ndash See which companies do and do not have statements under the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act January 2014 4 Lexology Recent developments in US legislation on modern slavery September 2014 wwwlexologycomlibrarydetailaspxg=f9b4675d-c785-4ac1-9d3d-7ed6346fb1cb 5 wwwlivingwagenoweuuploadsimagesPanel_introduction_EU_Flagship_webpdf 6 The White House Press Release G-7 Leaders Declaration June 8th 2015 wwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20150608g-7-leaders-declaration 7 SEDEX Modern Slavery Act 2015 wwwsedexglobalcomwp-contentuploads201106The-UK-Modern-Slavery-Act-20151pdf
Clothing product guides onlineOther clothing-related guides on our website are Online Clothing Retailers Alternative Clothing Companies Underwear Shoes Trainers Sportswear Walking boots and Fleeces Go to wwwethicalconsumerorgbuyersguidesclothing
The journey towards transparencyFinally we are seeing the beginnings of legislation on supply chain issues for which campaigners have been calling for years
From 2010 the
Transparency in Supply Chains Act has required that
large companies in California USA disclose the efforts they were
making to eradicate human trafficking and slavery from their supply chains
However research has found that many companies have not been complying3 and that they have
not been penalised for non-compliance4
2010 2014 2015 2015
2015
The EU Non-Financial
Reporting directive came into force on the 6th
December 2014 It requires large listed companies to disclose policies and risks regarding social issues respect for human rights
anti-corruption and bribery EU Member States have two
years to transpose it into national legislation
The EU convened
a multi-stakeholder forum on responsible management of the
garment supply chain with representatives of industry trade
unions retailers and workersrsquo rights organisations looking at a potential EU flagship initiative and what form
this might take5
A G7 Joint Declaration promised
to ldquostrive for better application of internationally
recognised labour social and environmental
standards principles and commitments in global
supply chainsrdquo6
This year saw the
arrival of the Modern Slavery Act in the UK The
Act includes the Transparency in Supply Chains Clause which
as of October 2015 requires large UK companies to
publish an annual slavery and human trafficking
statement7
12
ProductGUIDE
This guide examines the ten biggest selling UK high-street clothes shops as well as four supermarkets that are in the top 20 UK clothes sellers ASDA Tesco John Lewis and Sainsburyrsquos1 and the top three e-tailers (online clothes retailers) Of the e-tailers only ASOS manufactures its own clothes The other two Amazon and Net-a-Porter are just marketplaces although Amazon has been talking about starting to make its own line of clothes in the future2
The lowdown on high street clothes shops
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
HampM [O] 9 h H h h H H h H 1 Ramsbury Invest AB
HampM 8 h H h h H H h H Ramsbury Invest AB
New Look 8 h h H h h H H h h Brait SE New Look
Matalan 75 H H h h H H h H Hargreaves family
ASOS 7 H H H h H h h H h ASOS plc
Burton 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Dorothy Perkins 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Evans 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
John Lewis [O] 7 h H H H H H H H h h E 1 John Lewis Partnership
Miss Selfridge 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Topman Topshop 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Wallis 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Debenhams 65 H H h h H H h h h H Debenhams plc
Next 65 H H h h H H h H H Next plc
John Lewis 6 h H H H H H H H h h E John Lewis Partnership
Net-a-Porter 6 H H h H H H H h H Yoox spa
TK Maxx 5 H H H H H H H h h H TJX Companies inc
MampS 4 H H h h H H H H h h H H Marks and Spencer Group
River Island 35 H h H h H H H H H h h h H LFH International
Primark 3 H h H h H H H H H h h H H Garfield Weston Foundation
Sainsburyrsquos TU 25 h H H h H H H h H h H h H H J Sainsbury plc
Tesco FampF 25 h H H H h H H H H H h H H Tesco plc
Amazon 05 H H H H H H H H H H h H H H Amazoncom
ASDA George 05 h H H H H H H H H h H H h H H Walmart
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers [O] = organic
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Whatrsquos the yarn on the high street Josie Wexler examines the ethics of the top selling high-street shops and e-tailers
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
13
ProductGUIDE
Whilst not eligible for the Best Buy Label MampS is our recommended high street clothes shop
It scores low in our table because we rate companies
at group level and as it is also a supermarket it picks up a lot of negative marks in areas such as selling animal-tested products or factory-farmed meat But it scores high for its clothes policies (see Company Profiles overleaf)
We also recommend HampM and John Lewisrsquos organic clothing ranges
Our recommended e-tailer is ASOS
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Supply chainsAfter countless media exposeacutes on bad working conditions many high-street clothing shops are now making quite an effort to talk up their supply chain policies Next MampS Arcadia New Look Primark HampM Tesco and John Lewis all received our best rating for supply chain management
We are pleased that pressure has led to clothing retailers taking more responsibility for their supply chains although there are still many industry-wide issues that badly need to be addressed We look at the progress being made towards living wages and safe working conditions on pages 16 and 18
In light of this progress it is very disappointing that there are companies in this report who still have very little to say on the whole subject TK Maxx Matalan River Island Amazon and Net-a-Porter all received our worst rating in this category Matalan in particular have hardly any publicly available information
Sustainable clothesThere is a general lack of Fairtrade organic and recycled clothes on the high street although John Lewis and HampM do sell organic clothes
However one thing that has happened recently is that a couple of companies have started their own clothes recycling schemes See the lsquoLonger-lasting clothesrsquo article on page 24
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Arcadia (Topshop)
ASDA
ASOS
Debenhams
HampM
John Lewis
MampS
Matalan
New Look
Next
Primark
River Island
Sainsburyrsquos
Tesco
TK Maxx
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Goose and duck downIt is not just outdoor companies that use animal down ndash it is now a fashionable filling for many jackets from high-street retailers Several of the companies rated in this clothes shop report have made commitments not to use down which comes from live-plucked or fois gras birds (see table below) Yet none of them has adopted a methodology capable of ensuring that they actually donrsquot which requires tracing their whole down supply chain back to the higher-risk parent farms See page 29 for more information on how outdoor gear companies are ensuring that their down supply chains are cruelty-free
Alternative clothing companiesWe havenrsquot focused on Alternative Clothing Companies in this issue ndash although many feature in the guide to Jeans
Our Best Buy from the previous alternative clothing guide was People Tree who produce Fairtrade and Organic clothing Also a Best Buy was menswear company Brothers We Stand All their products have a footprint tab detailing their social and environmental impact
Positive policies
References 1 Mintel Clothing Retailing 2014 2 Business Insider 28 October Amazon may start making its own clothes
4
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
14
ProductGUIDE
Company profiles
Excessive executive compensation
Next MampS Arcadia Primark TK Maxx Amazon ASOS Asda Tesco Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis all pay their top executives over pound1 million which we rate as excessive
Tax avoidance
We covered the latest on Amazonrsquos tax avoidance in issue 157 and a full version of the article can be found on our website Neither of the other two e-tailers ndash ASOS and Net-a-Porter ndash show any signs of being engaged in tax avoidance
Other companies in the report who receive our worst rating for tax avoidance include Arcadia whose ultimate holding company is registered in Jersey Matalan which is registered in Guernsey and HampM which appears to use holding companies based in Hong Kong for operations in China
More stories behind the rankings
Marks and Spencer does pretty well in a lot of our rankings It receives our best rating for its supply chain and environmental policies has signed the Bangladesh Accord and was rated a leader in Greenpeacersquos lsquoDetox Catwalkrsquo It has checks in place to ensure that none of its cotton comes from Uzbekistan and aims to procure 70 of its cotton from sustainable sources by 2020 (ie either Better Cotton Initiative Fairtrade Organic or recycled)
It was also one of a very few companies to receive the Clean Clothes Campaignrsquos top rating in 2014 for its work towards improving wages in its supply chain (none of the others who received it are in this guide) although the campaign grouprsquos assessment is still fairly circumspect
ldquoWe are pleased to see MampS has been doing work to make sure there are financial incentives for buyers to source from factories that MampS says pay living wages[but] it is impossible to judge the real benefit to workersbecause no figures have been disclosed it could all still be smoke and mirrorsrdquo1
On the downside Marks and Spencer is involved in several free trade lobby groups such as the World Economic Forum and EuroCommerce
Next is the biggest selling UK clothes retailer having overtaken Marks and Spencer in 2014 Its CEO Simon Wolfson is a Conservative peer who has donated over pound500000 to the Conservative Party over the past ten years co-chaired the partyrsquos Economic Competitiveness policy review and in 2010 was one of 35 signatories of an open letter calling on the Government to press ahead with public spending cuts
Indian companies that supply Next were found in 2012 to be employing Indian women under the Sumangali Scheme which is a form of bonded labour that requires low-caste women to work for several years to earn money to pay for a dowry4
As Primark made its name by selling implausibly cheap clothing it has been much focused on by campaigners However in its favour Primark was the first UK company to sign up to the Bangladeshi Accord and as detailed on page 17 it has donated far more to Rana Plaza victims than any other retailer
Primark is owned by Associated British Foods One of Associated British Foodsrsquo foreign subsidiaries Zambia Sugar was accused in 2013 of ripping off its host country by avoiding paying millions of pounds of tax which is really shocking given that Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world2
HampM has promoted itself as a more ethical clothing retailer and produces reams of material about its supply chain policies although it is unclear how much is just talk and how much makes a real difference
HampM has been slammed recently for lagging behind on its commitments
under the Bangladeshi Accord However activists say the issues are not unique to HampM and the reason that they have focused on it is simply because it is such a big buyer from Bangladesh3
HampM has a lsquoRoadmap to a Fair Living Wagersquo aimed at increasing wages in its supplier factories which has been both praised and criticised by Labour Behind the Label ndash praised for including solid targets and dates but crucially criticised for failing to define what a living wage actually is
Like MampS HampM aims for all its cotton to come from ldquomore sustainable sourcesrdquo by 2020
Amazon currently has a boycott call against it called by us for its use of tax avoidance strategies
ASOS scores middle for its supply chain policy it has banned sandblasting in its supply chain and is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative On the downside it has no policy on toxics
References 1 Clean Clothes Campaign 2014 ldquoTailored Wagesrdquo EuroCommerce and World Economic Forum websites 2015 2 ActionAid 2013 ldquoSweet Nothingsrdquo 3 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 4 Maid in India report 2012 ndash India Committee of the Netherlands
copy S
ean
Pavo
ne |
Dre
amst
ime
com
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
15
ProductGUIDE
She believes that in the Tamil Nadu region alone 200000 young women and girls are working under conditions of forced or bonded labour Many are producing cotton jersey (t-shirt fabric) clothing for export to the UK
Samantha Maher from Labour Behind the Label agrees and singles out another vulnerable group that the legislation could help ndash migrants
ldquoLots of migrants are in forced labour especially in Malaysia where people are having their passports taken as well as in the middle east in places like Jordan and Egyptrdquo
Campaigners yet to be convincedHowever some labour rights campaigners are yet to be convinced that the legislation will have the desired effect in improving working conditions
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label feels that reporting alone canrsquot help and the new legislation raises a number of questions
ldquoHow they are reporting and how it [the information] is used still appears to be undecided There is an assumption that NGOs will use the information to expose poor practice but capacity is limited so this wonrsquot be easy without resources and a clear process We also wonder how we will know if the reporting is accuraterdquo
Jane from Homeworkers Worldwide concurs She told Ethical Consumer
ldquoIt is very hard to predict what impact the Modern Slavery Act will have The difficulty is that [the companies] have to report what they are doing but someone will have to sift through the ethical spin to assess whether what they report is really having an impact on the ground whether they are really focusing their efforts on where the problems are etc
Holding companies to account on this will be difficult and will be a massive job for campaigners NGOs and activists ldquo
But she also has more fundamental concerns
ldquoThe current rhetoric on modern slavery in general is that modern slavery
(including forced and bonded labour) risks being seen as a distinct issue and treated quite separately from other forms of exploitation It is as though we can isolate a few criminal elements get rid of those and the rest of the industry can carry on as normalrdquo
Meanwhile TUC General Secretary Frances OrsquoGrady said that this legislation is just the start and that ldquoThe Government should build on the Modern Slavery Act and ratify the ILO Forced Labour Protocol immediatelyrdquo
This would mean not only to criminalise and prosecute forced labour but also to take more effective measures to prevent forced labour and provide victims with protection and access to remedies including compensation1
The way forwardDespite their criticisms campaigners are clear that the Act is a step in the right direction
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label
ldquoCompanies often have no idea where they are buying from so they may get a better grip of supply chains The act is also forcing the issue up from CSR to board level due to its legally binding naturerdquo
This is a view shared by Jane at Homeworkers Worldwide ldquoWhilst we donrsquot think it will in practice deliver much transparency the principle of companies taking responsibility for what goes on in global chains is an important one and making this a legal requirement is a starting point for pushing for greater responsibility and accountability in the futurerdquo
The Modern Slavery Act will force companies to publicly report on the steps they are taking to ensure there is no slavery or forced labour in their supply chains It has the potential to have a big impact on the clothing sector The Ethical Trading Initiative described the legislation as a ldquogame-changerrdquo
Karen Bradley the Home Office Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation said in a statement ldquoThe act will mean that major businesses will for the first time be expected to be transparent about the action they are taking to address modern slavery in their global supply chains
ldquoConsumers businesses and investors will now have valuable information to inform them on the companies they are supporting ndash and shoppers can make more informed decisions at the checkout Businesses risk damaging their reputation or their bottom line if they donrsquot take action to prevent modern slavery in their supply chainsrdquo
Huge numbers of bonded labourersThe legislation has the potential to have a positive impact on millions of workers all over the world
The International Labour Organisation estimates that almost 21 million people are currently working in some form of forced labour including many in the clothing sector2
Research from the Ashridge Centre for Business and Sustainability and the Ethical Trading Initiative found that 71 of companies believe there is a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some point in their supply chains3
Jane Tate from campaign group Homeworkers Worldwide is in no doubt that modern slavery is a big issue in the clothing sector ndash ldquoThere has been a lot of campaigning and work done attempting to address this issue including company projects and an ETI project but to our best knowledge the problem of forced labour still remains endemic in the industryrdquo
The new Modern Slavery Act
References 1 wwwiloorgwcmsp5groupspublic---ed_norm---declarationdocumentspublicationwcms_321414pdf 2 wwwtheguardiancomworld2015oct28uk-companies-proof-no-links-slave-labour-supply-chain 3 wwwethicaltradeorgnews-and-eventsnewsresearch-released-corporate-approaches-to-modern-slavery
Many campaigners are yet to be convinced that this new Act will have the desired effect Tim Hunt investigates
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
16
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
It is now more than two years since the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed killing over a thousand people and injuring 2500 ndash people who managers had ordered back to work despite cracks appearing in the walls Rana Plaza is considered the most fatal garment industry accident in history The resulting public outcry led to promises that things would change So have they
The Accord and the AllianceThere are three different factory safety schemes that were created in the aftermath of the disaster Two are industry-led ones The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (the Alliance) There is also a government-led scheme whose remit is to cover any factories not covered by the other two called the National Action Plan
For any industry scheme to be convincing it has to be substantially different from what went before because the track record of company safety audits in Bangladesh is not impressive Rana
Plaza had twice been audited by Primark and declared safe1 Primark says that it didnrsquot do a structural survey because nobody did them then but a building collapse was hardly unprecedented in 2005 one had killed 64 workers And this is only one of a string of audit failures that have been luridly illustrated by mass fatalities In 2010 a fire at the Garib amp Garib sweater factory killed 21 workers four months after HampM had audited it HampM officially required suppliersrsquo factories to have adequate exits and fire-fighting equipment but this one passed the audit with neither and two people had already died in a fire at the factory a few months earlier2
Factory safety two years on from Rana Plaza
Companies in these guides which have signed the Accordbull Arcadia bull Debenhams bull G Star bull Helly Hansen bull HampM bull John Lewis bull MampS bull Matalan bull New Look bull Next bull Primark bull PVH bull River Island bull Sainsburyrsquos bull Tesco bull Uniqlo
ldquoDonrsquot look for me where leaves are
falling
You will not find me there my beloved
At the machines where lives are
withered
It is there that I lie deadrdquo
A verse from a 1911 song written to commemorate the Triangle garment factory disaster in New York which generated a labour rights movement that revolutionised labour standards in the USA (Mayn Rue Platz by Morris Rosenfeld in translation)
The aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collpase in 2013 1134 people were killed and over 2500 injured as the 8-storey building housing five garment factories collapsed
Inte
rnat
iona
l Lab
or R
ight
s Fo
rum
Josie Wexler takes a look at progress towards creating safer clothing factories in Bangladesh
17
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The Accord however is different It is not another self-policed scheme that companies can adhere to if they feel like it It is a legally-binding agreement between brands and trade unions and signing it means that if safety issues are found in a companyrsquos suppliersrsquo factories and are not fixed the company can be sued
Campaigners had spent years trying and failing to get brands to enter into such an agreement Within weeks of Rana Plazarsquos collapse nearly 40 companies had signed The number is now over 200
However many American companies have refused to sign most notably Walmart (ASDA) and Gap They created the other alternative industry scheme the Alliance which is not legally binding and is widely believed to be basically meaningless window dressing It has only 26 members
Recent developmentsMost although not all of the 3500 clothing factories in Bangladesh have been inspected under one of the three schemes over the past two years largely by the Accord The Accord has closed thirty-five factories altogether and safety upgrades have begun in hundreds of others3 All of the Accordrsquos inspection reports with photographs are freely available on the web ndash transparency is one of its central principles which is another big break from the auditing schemes of the past
However progress on the upgrades has been terribly slow and the unions are now initiating a formal complaint about several brands including HampM who they say are not fulfilling their obligations at a reasonable pace The complaint is the first step towards legal arbitration which would be quite unprecedented4
A further development is that in June 2015 42 people in Bangladesh were
charged with murder over the Rana Plaza deaths including the buildingrsquos owner Sohel Rana the owners of the five factories in the building and 13 government officials If convicted they could face the death penalty
CompensationIn 2014 Labour Behind the Label ran a ldquopay uprdquo campaign pressuring companies to compensate Rana Plazarsquos victimsrsquo families The good news is that although it took a huge struggle the campaign was a success The Rana Plaza Donorrsquos Trust Fund met its target of $30 million in June 2015
Primark comes out by far the best in this story It donated a total of $8 million ndash $1 million to the fund and $7 million directly to victimsWalmart is estimated to have donated $1 million
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References 1 Vogue 2014 How The World Has Changed Since Rana Plaza 2 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo 3 Good Choice Forex June 1 2015 ldquoTwo Years After Rana Plaza Disaster Uneven Progress In Bangladeshrsquos Garment Industryrdquo 4 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 5 Clean Clothes Campaign 2015 ldquoWho has paid and who is dragging their heelsrdquo 6 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo
The dumping ground for the Rana Plaza debris just metres away from the victimsrsquo homes
North Face Death TrapsAmerican student groups have been leading the way on pressurising companies who have refused to sign the Accord United Students Against Sweatshops have run a campaign called lsquoNorth Face Death Trapsrsquo targeting VF Corporation as the largest branded clothing manufacturer in the world over its refusal to sign The campaign can be found at httpnorthfacedeathtrapscom
North Face appears in the Waterproof jackets guide whilst VF Corporation owns Lee and Wrangler jeans
Matalan initially refused to donate anything but after being hounded by campaigners it made a rather half-hearted donation of $100000HampM donated approximately $200000 Unlike the three companies above it was not sourcing from Rana Plaza but it is the biggest buyer from Bangladesh as a whole5
Rana Plaza has started to change the game in more ways than one After the Garib amp Garib fire HampM commissioned Save the Children to assess workersrsquo familiesrsquo needs and it decided to focus just on helping children and the elderly But the Rana Plaza fund goes further and is compensating all victimsrsquo families based on loss of income6
There is talk in campaign groups about how to take the Accord further ndash extending it outside Bangladesh or using the same model in other areas such as wages Watch this space
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http
f
oxfa
shio
nor
guk
18
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The garment industry is a major employer across the world ndash in Asia for example over 15 million people are employed by the industry With global brands making millions in profits every year this booming industry has come to rely on and exploit the cheap labour of millions of garment workers whose wages fall far short of a living wage
The lack of a living wage means many garment workers are forced to work long hours to earn overtime or bonuses and cannot risk refusing work due to unsafe working conditions or taking time off due to ill health The low wages mean that workers often have to rely on loans just to make ends meet and have no savings to use if they find themselves out of work
A living wage calculation across a region is key to ensuring not only that workers receive a decent wage but also that wage differences do not mean companies pull out of one country to move manufacturing to a country with lower costs ndash the so-called race to the bottom
Living wage calculations must take into account some common factors including the number of family members to be supported the basic nutritional needs of a worker and other basic needs including housing healthcare education and some basic savings
Clean Clothes Campaign is part of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance ndash an alliance of Asian trade unions and labour groups who have calculated a living wage formula for Asia
The Asia Floor Wage calculation cannot be simply applied to other regions as some of the assumptions do not apply For
example in Asia food costs are relatively high and standards of living such as housing are very low whereas in other regions such as Eastern Europe food costs are relatively lower when compared to housing
Clean Clothes Campaign partners are working on defining
and calculating living wages for other garment producing regions
They are calling forClothing brands and companies to set concrete measurable steps throughout their supply chain to ensure garment workers get paid a living wageNational governments in garment producing countries to make sure minimum wages are set at living wage standardsEuropean governments to implement regulation to ensure companies are responsible for the impact they have on the lives of workers in their supply chainSign the Clean Clothes Campaign
petition calling for all garment workers to receive a living wage ndash wwwcleanclothesorglivingwagesign
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bull
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Struggling for a living wage
A living wage in CambodiaFor several years garment workers and trade unions in Cambodia have been engaged in a bitter conflict with the government over the minimum wage with strikes protests and brutal government crackdowns resulting in deaths injuries and imprisonments Garment workers want US$177 per month enough cover their basic living expenses In 2014 Asia Floor Wage calculated the living wage in Cambodia to be US$396 per month
Though it has made increases the Cambodian government has still not reached the $177 called for Further negotiations and protests in October this year saw the government settle on $140 a month to come into effect in January 2016 Needless to say this has angered some ldquoThis figure is reasonable and acceptable Even itrsquos not acceptable to all we have no choicerdquo Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng was quoted as saying
The top five brands sourcing from Cambodia include three brands in these clothes guides HampM GAP Levi Strauss amp Co
Living wage initiativesLiving Wage Now Forum
In October this year the CCCrsquos Living Wage Now Forum brought together workersrsquo representatives from around the world brand representatives (HampM Primark CampA New Look Pentland NrsquoBrown and Tchibo) European policy makers experts and members of workerrsquos rights organisations to discuss the next concrete steps towards a fashion industry that respects human rights and pays all workers a living wage based on proposals from the CCC Follow its progress here wwwlivingwagenoweu
ACT initiative
A number of brands and retailers are collaborating with the IndustriALL Global Union on the Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT) making a commitment to work with their suppliers in order to support a living wage
Brands in this guide that are involved with ACT are ASOS HampM Arcadia Tesco Primark Next
A full list of members could not be found but these companies were mentioned online in connection with the project
For an average item of clothing only between
05-3 of the cost goes to the worker who made it This means that on an euro8 t-shirt the most a worker will get paid is 24 cents
Clean Clothes Campaign
What are the companies in this issue doing about living wagesThe following brands from this guide explicitly make provision for a living wage in their supply chain policies
Major clothes retailers Next Arcadia Primark Debenhams New Look Tesco John Lewis
Waterproof jacketstrousers Patagonia Jack Wolfskin Paramo Mountain Equipment
Jeans G-Star Nudie PVH brands (Calvin Klein amp Tommy Hilfiger)
19
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
For decades the Government of Uzbekistan has been forcing its citizens both children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest As a result of sustained campaign pressure on the issue of child labour 2014 saw the burden of labour shifted onto adults with lsquomassesrsquo of teachers and medical professionals forced into the cotton fields1
Having engaged companies on the issue since 2008 the Responsible Sourcing
Clothing campaigns
Best scores on Uzbek cottonIn order to receive Ethical Consumerrsquos best rating on this issue all medium- to large-sized companies are expected both to have signed the Cotton Pledge and to demonstrate concrete actions to implement it throughout their supply chains Otherwise the company must only use organic or Better Cotton Initiative cotton
Companies in this issue which receive a best score are
Major clothes retailers MampS Arcadia (Topshop etc) TK Maxx New Look
Waterproof jacketstrousers Jack Wolfskin Patagonia
Jeans Nudie Kuyichi Mud FREITAG (does not use cotton) Levirsquos PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
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bull
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Companies whorsquove signed the CanopyStyle Pledge Patagonia Levi Strauss amp Co HampM Marks amp Spencer ASOS G-Star RAW
Companies targeted by RAN Guess
Forest-friendly fashionForests probably arenrsquot something that immediately come to mind when considering the impacts of the fashion industry However many commonly used fabrics are derived from wood pulp Check your clothes labels for rayon viscose modal and tencel and itrsquos highly likely yoursquoll spot them ndash either on their own or blended with other fibres Mixed with polyester they give clothes a more pleasant lsquofeelrsquo and often replace cotton because theyrsquore cheaper to produce
So whatrsquos the issue
More than 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into cellulose fabric ndash if placed end to end those trees would circle the earth seven timesDissolving pulp (the base material for rayonviscose) wastes approximately 70 of the tree and is a chemically intensive manufacturing process Dissolving pulp production is projected to double by 2050 Less than 20 of the worldrsquos ancient forests remain intact in tracts large enough to maintain biological diversityForests in Indonesia Canadarsquos boreal and temperate rainforests and the Amazon are being logged for next seasonrsquos fashion
Canopyrsquos lsquoFashion Loved by Forestrsquo initiative partners with clothing brands to help them develop solutions to reduce the impact of their business on ancient forests Companies are asked to sign up to the CanopyStyle Pledge and create a policy on how they source wood-derived fabrics
Rainforest Action Networkrsquos (RAN) lsquoOut of Fashionrsquo campaign pinpointed several high-end fashion brands which it said must do more to ensure they werenrsquot making clothes from unsustainable wood pulp
Watch the campaign video and sign in support of RANrsquos Out of Fashion campaign wwwranorgout_of_fashion
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Fur-free shoppingAn investigation into angora farms in China by PETA Asia in December 2013 revealed shockingly cruel treatment of angora rabbits involving the live-plucking of fur from caged rabbits Many clothing companies have now stated that they will no longer sell angora The only companies covered in this issue who
are still selling it are Net-A-Porter in the Clothes Shops guide and Pepe and Guess covered in the Jeans guide
The following clothes shops have joined the Fur Free Alliancersquos Fur Free Retailer programme Topshop HampM ASOS MampS Next Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis From the other guides Nudie and MUD jeans and Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen are part of the programme More information from wwwfurfreeretailercomOther brands are listed as fur free by Humane Society International Mountain Hardwear Calvin Klein New Look Patagonia North Face Diesel Superdry Levirsquos Guess Tommy Hilfiger Howies and Uniqlo See wwwhumanesocietyorgissuesfur_fashiontipsfur-free_shoppinghtml for more details
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References 1 wwwantislaveryorgenglishcampaignscottoncrimesforced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgroundaspx
Network (RSN) introduced the lsquoCotton Pledge Against Child and Adult Forced Labour in Uzbek Cottonrsquo in 2011 To date over 160 companies have signed the pledge
However the RSN decided in 2014 that it was time to find out how companies were actually implementing the Cotton Pledge throughout their supply chains
It asked companies what efforts they were making to actually implement this pledge including communicating their policy to all parts of its supply chain including spinners and mills and auditing them for compliance The results were published in the lsquoCotton Sourcing Snapshotrsquo which can be downloaded from wwwsourcingnetworkorgcotton-sourcing-snapshot
See page 22 in the Jeans guide for discussion on the other issues associated with cotton production
Forced labour in the Uzbekrsquos cotton fields
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
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bull
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policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
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bull
Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
copy B
ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
copy A
nton
io G
rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
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bull
bull
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
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bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
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bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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Thousands of people across the UK disagree We think we urgently need to move to a zero-carbon energy system owned by and run for normal people Weve put our time and money into local green energy
At Sharenergy we are proud to have supported over 30 successful community energy projects across the UK Theyre innovative 100 community-owned and financially stable Weve got plenty more on the way
Come and join us
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tel 01484 461705wwwgreenbuildingstorecouk
Pioneers in low energy building for over 20 years
Whether you are building your dream eco home from scratch or insulating your attic Green Building Store has the products and technical expertise to help
low energy homes
Windows
Doors
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Stuck for that unique Christmas present
Why not book a short course at CAT and stay with us for the weekend in our award-winning WISE building
Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
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Planning for your secure future without repression pollution or exploitation
Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
Ethical Investment Specialists
CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
copy M
icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
bull Overseas ordersPhoneuson01612262929orgotoourwebsite-wwwethicalconsumerorgSubscriptionsaspx
Your message
1st gift subscription pound2995
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Order by midnight
on Wednesday 16th December for delivery by
Christmas
42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
11
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
rating for supply chain management were said to be sourcing from these factories Subsequently HampM stopped using the factories but nevertheless it highlights the complexity of supply chains and the need to closely monitor what is going on
Made in Europe
Due to complex supply chains and poor workersrsquo rights issues in Asia it is perhaps unsurprising to find that many clothing companies are now looking to bring production back to Europe and in some cases back to the UK Plus as the Guardian reported ldquoWhen a country such as Turkey Portugal Romania Slovakia or Bulgaria appears on a label the brand may also get a boost to their reputation as consumers assume the ethics behind a skirt made in Portugal are better than those behind one made in Chinardquo
But sadly it seems that this doesnrsquot guarantee that the clothes are made in decent conditions In 2014 the Clean Clothes Campaign released a report on clothing factories in eastern Europe It details appallingly low wages long hours and abuse Safety issues may not be at the same rock-bottom level as in parts of Asia
but Bulgaria Macedonia and Romania all have lower minimum wages than China2
Environment
Toxic chemicals
In July 2011 Greenpeace released its first report exposing the hidden links between textile manufacturing facilities in China that discharge hazardous chemicals into the water and international brands such as the sportswear giants Nike and Adidas That report gave rise to the Detox Campaign which called on companies to make a commitment to eliminate toxic chemicals from their supply chains by 2020
By March 2015 18 clothing companies had made the commitment
Of the clothes shops and jeans companies we have covered in our guides the following were rated by Greenpeace
Detox leaders G Star RAW HampM Levi Strauss MampS Primark and Fast Retailing (Uniqlo)Detox losers GAP and PVH (Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger)
bull
bull
Greenpeacersquos latest Detox report focuses on the outdoor industry and its use of PFCs ndash toxic chemicals used for waterproofing See page 28
Environmental reporting
Unfortunately a majority of companies are still not reporting on what steps they are taking to improve the environmental impact of their factories and of their products 64 of the companies we have covered scored our worst rating in this category Outdoor companies fared the worst whilst jeans companies did best
References 1 Gisela Burckhardt Price does not guarantee fairness 2015 2 Clean Clothes Campaign Stitched Up 2014 3 Business Human Rights Know the Chain ndash See which companies do and do not have statements under the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act January 2014 4 Lexology Recent developments in US legislation on modern slavery September 2014 wwwlexologycomlibrarydetailaspxg=f9b4675d-c785-4ac1-9d3d-7ed6346fb1cb 5 wwwlivingwagenoweuuploadsimagesPanel_introduction_EU_Flagship_webpdf 6 The White House Press Release G-7 Leaders Declaration June 8th 2015 wwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20150608g-7-leaders-declaration 7 SEDEX Modern Slavery Act 2015 wwwsedexglobalcomwp-contentuploads201106The-UK-Modern-Slavery-Act-20151pdf
Clothing product guides onlineOther clothing-related guides on our website are Online Clothing Retailers Alternative Clothing Companies Underwear Shoes Trainers Sportswear Walking boots and Fleeces Go to wwwethicalconsumerorgbuyersguidesclothing
The journey towards transparencyFinally we are seeing the beginnings of legislation on supply chain issues for which campaigners have been calling for years
From 2010 the
Transparency in Supply Chains Act has required that
large companies in California USA disclose the efforts they were
making to eradicate human trafficking and slavery from their supply chains
However research has found that many companies have not been complying3 and that they have
not been penalised for non-compliance4
2010 2014 2015 2015
2015
The EU Non-Financial
Reporting directive came into force on the 6th
December 2014 It requires large listed companies to disclose policies and risks regarding social issues respect for human rights
anti-corruption and bribery EU Member States have two
years to transpose it into national legislation
The EU convened
a multi-stakeholder forum on responsible management of the
garment supply chain with representatives of industry trade
unions retailers and workersrsquo rights organisations looking at a potential EU flagship initiative and what form
this might take5
A G7 Joint Declaration promised
to ldquostrive for better application of internationally
recognised labour social and environmental
standards principles and commitments in global
supply chainsrdquo6
This year saw the
arrival of the Modern Slavery Act in the UK The
Act includes the Transparency in Supply Chains Clause which
as of October 2015 requires large UK companies to
publish an annual slavery and human trafficking
statement7
12
ProductGUIDE
This guide examines the ten biggest selling UK high-street clothes shops as well as four supermarkets that are in the top 20 UK clothes sellers ASDA Tesco John Lewis and Sainsburyrsquos1 and the top three e-tailers (online clothes retailers) Of the e-tailers only ASOS manufactures its own clothes The other two Amazon and Net-a-Porter are just marketplaces although Amazon has been talking about starting to make its own line of clothes in the future2
The lowdown on high street clothes shops
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
HampM [O] 9 h H h h H H h H 1 Ramsbury Invest AB
HampM 8 h H h h H H h H Ramsbury Invest AB
New Look 8 h h H h h H H h h Brait SE New Look
Matalan 75 H H h h H H h H Hargreaves family
ASOS 7 H H H h H h h H h ASOS plc
Burton 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Dorothy Perkins 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Evans 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
John Lewis [O] 7 h H H H H H H H h h E 1 John Lewis Partnership
Miss Selfridge 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Topman Topshop 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Wallis 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Debenhams 65 H H h h H H h h h H Debenhams plc
Next 65 H H h h H H h H H Next plc
John Lewis 6 h H H H H H H H h h E John Lewis Partnership
Net-a-Porter 6 H H h H H H H h H Yoox spa
TK Maxx 5 H H H H H H H h h H TJX Companies inc
MampS 4 H H h h H H H H h h H H Marks and Spencer Group
River Island 35 H h H h H H H H H h h h H LFH International
Primark 3 H h H h H H H H H h h H H Garfield Weston Foundation
Sainsburyrsquos TU 25 h H H h H H H h H h H h H H J Sainsbury plc
Tesco FampF 25 h H H H h H H H H H h H H Tesco plc
Amazon 05 H H H H H H H H H H h H H H Amazoncom
ASDA George 05 h H H H H H H H H h H H h H H Walmart
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers [O] = organic
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Whatrsquos the yarn on the high street Josie Wexler examines the ethics of the top selling high-street shops and e-tailers
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
13
ProductGUIDE
Whilst not eligible for the Best Buy Label MampS is our recommended high street clothes shop
It scores low in our table because we rate companies
at group level and as it is also a supermarket it picks up a lot of negative marks in areas such as selling animal-tested products or factory-farmed meat But it scores high for its clothes policies (see Company Profiles overleaf)
We also recommend HampM and John Lewisrsquos organic clothing ranges
Our recommended e-tailer is ASOS
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Supply chainsAfter countless media exposeacutes on bad working conditions many high-street clothing shops are now making quite an effort to talk up their supply chain policies Next MampS Arcadia New Look Primark HampM Tesco and John Lewis all received our best rating for supply chain management
We are pleased that pressure has led to clothing retailers taking more responsibility for their supply chains although there are still many industry-wide issues that badly need to be addressed We look at the progress being made towards living wages and safe working conditions on pages 16 and 18
In light of this progress it is very disappointing that there are companies in this report who still have very little to say on the whole subject TK Maxx Matalan River Island Amazon and Net-a-Porter all received our worst rating in this category Matalan in particular have hardly any publicly available information
Sustainable clothesThere is a general lack of Fairtrade organic and recycled clothes on the high street although John Lewis and HampM do sell organic clothes
However one thing that has happened recently is that a couple of companies have started their own clothes recycling schemes See the lsquoLonger-lasting clothesrsquo article on page 24
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Arcadia (Topshop)
ASDA
ASOS
Debenhams
HampM
John Lewis
MampS
Matalan
New Look
Next
Primark
River Island
Sainsburyrsquos
Tesco
TK Maxx
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Goose and duck downIt is not just outdoor companies that use animal down ndash it is now a fashionable filling for many jackets from high-street retailers Several of the companies rated in this clothes shop report have made commitments not to use down which comes from live-plucked or fois gras birds (see table below) Yet none of them has adopted a methodology capable of ensuring that they actually donrsquot which requires tracing their whole down supply chain back to the higher-risk parent farms See page 29 for more information on how outdoor gear companies are ensuring that their down supply chains are cruelty-free
Alternative clothing companiesWe havenrsquot focused on Alternative Clothing Companies in this issue ndash although many feature in the guide to Jeans
Our Best Buy from the previous alternative clothing guide was People Tree who produce Fairtrade and Organic clothing Also a Best Buy was menswear company Brothers We Stand All their products have a footprint tab detailing their social and environmental impact
Positive policies
References 1 Mintel Clothing Retailing 2014 2 Business Insider 28 October Amazon may start making its own clothes
4
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
14
ProductGUIDE
Company profiles
Excessive executive compensation
Next MampS Arcadia Primark TK Maxx Amazon ASOS Asda Tesco Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis all pay their top executives over pound1 million which we rate as excessive
Tax avoidance
We covered the latest on Amazonrsquos tax avoidance in issue 157 and a full version of the article can be found on our website Neither of the other two e-tailers ndash ASOS and Net-a-Porter ndash show any signs of being engaged in tax avoidance
Other companies in the report who receive our worst rating for tax avoidance include Arcadia whose ultimate holding company is registered in Jersey Matalan which is registered in Guernsey and HampM which appears to use holding companies based in Hong Kong for operations in China
More stories behind the rankings
Marks and Spencer does pretty well in a lot of our rankings It receives our best rating for its supply chain and environmental policies has signed the Bangladesh Accord and was rated a leader in Greenpeacersquos lsquoDetox Catwalkrsquo It has checks in place to ensure that none of its cotton comes from Uzbekistan and aims to procure 70 of its cotton from sustainable sources by 2020 (ie either Better Cotton Initiative Fairtrade Organic or recycled)
It was also one of a very few companies to receive the Clean Clothes Campaignrsquos top rating in 2014 for its work towards improving wages in its supply chain (none of the others who received it are in this guide) although the campaign grouprsquos assessment is still fairly circumspect
ldquoWe are pleased to see MampS has been doing work to make sure there are financial incentives for buyers to source from factories that MampS says pay living wages[but] it is impossible to judge the real benefit to workersbecause no figures have been disclosed it could all still be smoke and mirrorsrdquo1
On the downside Marks and Spencer is involved in several free trade lobby groups such as the World Economic Forum and EuroCommerce
Next is the biggest selling UK clothes retailer having overtaken Marks and Spencer in 2014 Its CEO Simon Wolfson is a Conservative peer who has donated over pound500000 to the Conservative Party over the past ten years co-chaired the partyrsquos Economic Competitiveness policy review and in 2010 was one of 35 signatories of an open letter calling on the Government to press ahead with public spending cuts
Indian companies that supply Next were found in 2012 to be employing Indian women under the Sumangali Scheme which is a form of bonded labour that requires low-caste women to work for several years to earn money to pay for a dowry4
As Primark made its name by selling implausibly cheap clothing it has been much focused on by campaigners However in its favour Primark was the first UK company to sign up to the Bangladeshi Accord and as detailed on page 17 it has donated far more to Rana Plaza victims than any other retailer
Primark is owned by Associated British Foods One of Associated British Foodsrsquo foreign subsidiaries Zambia Sugar was accused in 2013 of ripping off its host country by avoiding paying millions of pounds of tax which is really shocking given that Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world2
HampM has promoted itself as a more ethical clothing retailer and produces reams of material about its supply chain policies although it is unclear how much is just talk and how much makes a real difference
HampM has been slammed recently for lagging behind on its commitments
under the Bangladeshi Accord However activists say the issues are not unique to HampM and the reason that they have focused on it is simply because it is such a big buyer from Bangladesh3
HampM has a lsquoRoadmap to a Fair Living Wagersquo aimed at increasing wages in its supplier factories which has been both praised and criticised by Labour Behind the Label ndash praised for including solid targets and dates but crucially criticised for failing to define what a living wage actually is
Like MampS HampM aims for all its cotton to come from ldquomore sustainable sourcesrdquo by 2020
Amazon currently has a boycott call against it called by us for its use of tax avoidance strategies
ASOS scores middle for its supply chain policy it has banned sandblasting in its supply chain and is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative On the downside it has no policy on toxics
References 1 Clean Clothes Campaign 2014 ldquoTailored Wagesrdquo EuroCommerce and World Economic Forum websites 2015 2 ActionAid 2013 ldquoSweet Nothingsrdquo 3 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 4 Maid in India report 2012 ndash India Committee of the Netherlands
copy S
ean
Pavo
ne |
Dre
amst
ime
com
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
15
ProductGUIDE
She believes that in the Tamil Nadu region alone 200000 young women and girls are working under conditions of forced or bonded labour Many are producing cotton jersey (t-shirt fabric) clothing for export to the UK
Samantha Maher from Labour Behind the Label agrees and singles out another vulnerable group that the legislation could help ndash migrants
ldquoLots of migrants are in forced labour especially in Malaysia where people are having their passports taken as well as in the middle east in places like Jordan and Egyptrdquo
Campaigners yet to be convincedHowever some labour rights campaigners are yet to be convinced that the legislation will have the desired effect in improving working conditions
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label feels that reporting alone canrsquot help and the new legislation raises a number of questions
ldquoHow they are reporting and how it [the information] is used still appears to be undecided There is an assumption that NGOs will use the information to expose poor practice but capacity is limited so this wonrsquot be easy without resources and a clear process We also wonder how we will know if the reporting is accuraterdquo
Jane from Homeworkers Worldwide concurs She told Ethical Consumer
ldquoIt is very hard to predict what impact the Modern Slavery Act will have The difficulty is that [the companies] have to report what they are doing but someone will have to sift through the ethical spin to assess whether what they report is really having an impact on the ground whether they are really focusing their efforts on where the problems are etc
Holding companies to account on this will be difficult and will be a massive job for campaigners NGOs and activists ldquo
But she also has more fundamental concerns
ldquoThe current rhetoric on modern slavery in general is that modern slavery
(including forced and bonded labour) risks being seen as a distinct issue and treated quite separately from other forms of exploitation It is as though we can isolate a few criminal elements get rid of those and the rest of the industry can carry on as normalrdquo
Meanwhile TUC General Secretary Frances OrsquoGrady said that this legislation is just the start and that ldquoThe Government should build on the Modern Slavery Act and ratify the ILO Forced Labour Protocol immediatelyrdquo
This would mean not only to criminalise and prosecute forced labour but also to take more effective measures to prevent forced labour and provide victims with protection and access to remedies including compensation1
The way forwardDespite their criticisms campaigners are clear that the Act is a step in the right direction
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label
ldquoCompanies often have no idea where they are buying from so they may get a better grip of supply chains The act is also forcing the issue up from CSR to board level due to its legally binding naturerdquo
This is a view shared by Jane at Homeworkers Worldwide ldquoWhilst we donrsquot think it will in practice deliver much transparency the principle of companies taking responsibility for what goes on in global chains is an important one and making this a legal requirement is a starting point for pushing for greater responsibility and accountability in the futurerdquo
The Modern Slavery Act will force companies to publicly report on the steps they are taking to ensure there is no slavery or forced labour in their supply chains It has the potential to have a big impact on the clothing sector The Ethical Trading Initiative described the legislation as a ldquogame-changerrdquo
Karen Bradley the Home Office Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation said in a statement ldquoThe act will mean that major businesses will for the first time be expected to be transparent about the action they are taking to address modern slavery in their global supply chains
ldquoConsumers businesses and investors will now have valuable information to inform them on the companies they are supporting ndash and shoppers can make more informed decisions at the checkout Businesses risk damaging their reputation or their bottom line if they donrsquot take action to prevent modern slavery in their supply chainsrdquo
Huge numbers of bonded labourersThe legislation has the potential to have a positive impact on millions of workers all over the world
The International Labour Organisation estimates that almost 21 million people are currently working in some form of forced labour including many in the clothing sector2
Research from the Ashridge Centre for Business and Sustainability and the Ethical Trading Initiative found that 71 of companies believe there is a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some point in their supply chains3
Jane Tate from campaign group Homeworkers Worldwide is in no doubt that modern slavery is a big issue in the clothing sector ndash ldquoThere has been a lot of campaigning and work done attempting to address this issue including company projects and an ETI project but to our best knowledge the problem of forced labour still remains endemic in the industryrdquo
The new Modern Slavery Act
References 1 wwwiloorgwcmsp5groupspublic---ed_norm---declarationdocumentspublicationwcms_321414pdf 2 wwwtheguardiancomworld2015oct28uk-companies-proof-no-links-slave-labour-supply-chain 3 wwwethicaltradeorgnews-and-eventsnewsresearch-released-corporate-approaches-to-modern-slavery
Many campaigners are yet to be convinced that this new Act will have the desired effect Tim Hunt investigates
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
16
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
It is now more than two years since the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed killing over a thousand people and injuring 2500 ndash people who managers had ordered back to work despite cracks appearing in the walls Rana Plaza is considered the most fatal garment industry accident in history The resulting public outcry led to promises that things would change So have they
The Accord and the AllianceThere are three different factory safety schemes that were created in the aftermath of the disaster Two are industry-led ones The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (the Alliance) There is also a government-led scheme whose remit is to cover any factories not covered by the other two called the National Action Plan
For any industry scheme to be convincing it has to be substantially different from what went before because the track record of company safety audits in Bangladesh is not impressive Rana
Plaza had twice been audited by Primark and declared safe1 Primark says that it didnrsquot do a structural survey because nobody did them then but a building collapse was hardly unprecedented in 2005 one had killed 64 workers And this is only one of a string of audit failures that have been luridly illustrated by mass fatalities In 2010 a fire at the Garib amp Garib sweater factory killed 21 workers four months after HampM had audited it HampM officially required suppliersrsquo factories to have adequate exits and fire-fighting equipment but this one passed the audit with neither and two people had already died in a fire at the factory a few months earlier2
Factory safety two years on from Rana Plaza
Companies in these guides which have signed the Accordbull Arcadia bull Debenhams bull G Star bull Helly Hansen bull HampM bull John Lewis bull MampS bull Matalan bull New Look bull Next bull Primark bull PVH bull River Island bull Sainsburyrsquos bull Tesco bull Uniqlo
ldquoDonrsquot look for me where leaves are
falling
You will not find me there my beloved
At the machines where lives are
withered
It is there that I lie deadrdquo
A verse from a 1911 song written to commemorate the Triangle garment factory disaster in New York which generated a labour rights movement that revolutionised labour standards in the USA (Mayn Rue Platz by Morris Rosenfeld in translation)
The aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collpase in 2013 1134 people were killed and over 2500 injured as the 8-storey building housing five garment factories collapsed
Inte
rnat
iona
l Lab
or R
ight
s Fo
rum
Josie Wexler takes a look at progress towards creating safer clothing factories in Bangladesh
17
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The Accord however is different It is not another self-policed scheme that companies can adhere to if they feel like it It is a legally-binding agreement between brands and trade unions and signing it means that if safety issues are found in a companyrsquos suppliersrsquo factories and are not fixed the company can be sued
Campaigners had spent years trying and failing to get brands to enter into such an agreement Within weeks of Rana Plazarsquos collapse nearly 40 companies had signed The number is now over 200
However many American companies have refused to sign most notably Walmart (ASDA) and Gap They created the other alternative industry scheme the Alliance which is not legally binding and is widely believed to be basically meaningless window dressing It has only 26 members
Recent developmentsMost although not all of the 3500 clothing factories in Bangladesh have been inspected under one of the three schemes over the past two years largely by the Accord The Accord has closed thirty-five factories altogether and safety upgrades have begun in hundreds of others3 All of the Accordrsquos inspection reports with photographs are freely available on the web ndash transparency is one of its central principles which is another big break from the auditing schemes of the past
However progress on the upgrades has been terribly slow and the unions are now initiating a formal complaint about several brands including HampM who they say are not fulfilling their obligations at a reasonable pace The complaint is the first step towards legal arbitration which would be quite unprecedented4
A further development is that in June 2015 42 people in Bangladesh were
charged with murder over the Rana Plaza deaths including the buildingrsquos owner Sohel Rana the owners of the five factories in the building and 13 government officials If convicted they could face the death penalty
CompensationIn 2014 Labour Behind the Label ran a ldquopay uprdquo campaign pressuring companies to compensate Rana Plazarsquos victimsrsquo families The good news is that although it took a huge struggle the campaign was a success The Rana Plaza Donorrsquos Trust Fund met its target of $30 million in June 2015
Primark comes out by far the best in this story It donated a total of $8 million ndash $1 million to the fund and $7 million directly to victimsWalmart is estimated to have donated $1 million
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References 1 Vogue 2014 How The World Has Changed Since Rana Plaza 2 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo 3 Good Choice Forex June 1 2015 ldquoTwo Years After Rana Plaza Disaster Uneven Progress In Bangladeshrsquos Garment Industryrdquo 4 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 5 Clean Clothes Campaign 2015 ldquoWho has paid and who is dragging their heelsrdquo 6 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo
The dumping ground for the Rana Plaza debris just metres away from the victimsrsquo homes
North Face Death TrapsAmerican student groups have been leading the way on pressurising companies who have refused to sign the Accord United Students Against Sweatshops have run a campaign called lsquoNorth Face Death Trapsrsquo targeting VF Corporation as the largest branded clothing manufacturer in the world over its refusal to sign The campaign can be found at httpnorthfacedeathtrapscom
North Face appears in the Waterproof jackets guide whilst VF Corporation owns Lee and Wrangler jeans
Matalan initially refused to donate anything but after being hounded by campaigners it made a rather half-hearted donation of $100000HampM donated approximately $200000 Unlike the three companies above it was not sourcing from Rana Plaza but it is the biggest buyer from Bangladesh as a whole5
Rana Plaza has started to change the game in more ways than one After the Garib amp Garib fire HampM commissioned Save the Children to assess workersrsquo familiesrsquo needs and it decided to focus just on helping children and the elderly But the Rana Plaza fund goes further and is compensating all victimsrsquo families based on loss of income6
There is talk in campaign groups about how to take the Accord further ndash extending it outside Bangladesh or using the same model in other areas such as wages Watch this space
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http
f
oxfa
shio
nor
guk
18
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The garment industry is a major employer across the world ndash in Asia for example over 15 million people are employed by the industry With global brands making millions in profits every year this booming industry has come to rely on and exploit the cheap labour of millions of garment workers whose wages fall far short of a living wage
The lack of a living wage means many garment workers are forced to work long hours to earn overtime or bonuses and cannot risk refusing work due to unsafe working conditions or taking time off due to ill health The low wages mean that workers often have to rely on loans just to make ends meet and have no savings to use if they find themselves out of work
A living wage calculation across a region is key to ensuring not only that workers receive a decent wage but also that wage differences do not mean companies pull out of one country to move manufacturing to a country with lower costs ndash the so-called race to the bottom
Living wage calculations must take into account some common factors including the number of family members to be supported the basic nutritional needs of a worker and other basic needs including housing healthcare education and some basic savings
Clean Clothes Campaign is part of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance ndash an alliance of Asian trade unions and labour groups who have calculated a living wage formula for Asia
The Asia Floor Wage calculation cannot be simply applied to other regions as some of the assumptions do not apply For
example in Asia food costs are relatively high and standards of living such as housing are very low whereas in other regions such as Eastern Europe food costs are relatively lower when compared to housing
Clean Clothes Campaign partners are working on defining
and calculating living wages for other garment producing regions
They are calling forClothing brands and companies to set concrete measurable steps throughout their supply chain to ensure garment workers get paid a living wageNational governments in garment producing countries to make sure minimum wages are set at living wage standardsEuropean governments to implement regulation to ensure companies are responsible for the impact they have on the lives of workers in their supply chainSign the Clean Clothes Campaign
petition calling for all garment workers to receive a living wage ndash wwwcleanclothesorglivingwagesign
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bull
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Struggling for a living wage
A living wage in CambodiaFor several years garment workers and trade unions in Cambodia have been engaged in a bitter conflict with the government over the minimum wage with strikes protests and brutal government crackdowns resulting in deaths injuries and imprisonments Garment workers want US$177 per month enough cover their basic living expenses In 2014 Asia Floor Wage calculated the living wage in Cambodia to be US$396 per month
Though it has made increases the Cambodian government has still not reached the $177 called for Further negotiations and protests in October this year saw the government settle on $140 a month to come into effect in January 2016 Needless to say this has angered some ldquoThis figure is reasonable and acceptable Even itrsquos not acceptable to all we have no choicerdquo Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng was quoted as saying
The top five brands sourcing from Cambodia include three brands in these clothes guides HampM GAP Levi Strauss amp Co
Living wage initiativesLiving Wage Now Forum
In October this year the CCCrsquos Living Wage Now Forum brought together workersrsquo representatives from around the world brand representatives (HampM Primark CampA New Look Pentland NrsquoBrown and Tchibo) European policy makers experts and members of workerrsquos rights organisations to discuss the next concrete steps towards a fashion industry that respects human rights and pays all workers a living wage based on proposals from the CCC Follow its progress here wwwlivingwagenoweu
ACT initiative
A number of brands and retailers are collaborating with the IndustriALL Global Union on the Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT) making a commitment to work with their suppliers in order to support a living wage
Brands in this guide that are involved with ACT are ASOS HampM Arcadia Tesco Primark Next
A full list of members could not be found but these companies were mentioned online in connection with the project
For an average item of clothing only between
05-3 of the cost goes to the worker who made it This means that on an euro8 t-shirt the most a worker will get paid is 24 cents
Clean Clothes Campaign
What are the companies in this issue doing about living wagesThe following brands from this guide explicitly make provision for a living wage in their supply chain policies
Major clothes retailers Next Arcadia Primark Debenhams New Look Tesco John Lewis
Waterproof jacketstrousers Patagonia Jack Wolfskin Paramo Mountain Equipment
Jeans G-Star Nudie PVH brands (Calvin Klein amp Tommy Hilfiger)
19
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
For decades the Government of Uzbekistan has been forcing its citizens both children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest As a result of sustained campaign pressure on the issue of child labour 2014 saw the burden of labour shifted onto adults with lsquomassesrsquo of teachers and medical professionals forced into the cotton fields1
Having engaged companies on the issue since 2008 the Responsible Sourcing
Clothing campaigns
Best scores on Uzbek cottonIn order to receive Ethical Consumerrsquos best rating on this issue all medium- to large-sized companies are expected both to have signed the Cotton Pledge and to demonstrate concrete actions to implement it throughout their supply chains Otherwise the company must only use organic or Better Cotton Initiative cotton
Companies in this issue which receive a best score are
Major clothes retailers MampS Arcadia (Topshop etc) TK Maxx New Look
Waterproof jacketstrousers Jack Wolfskin Patagonia
Jeans Nudie Kuyichi Mud FREITAG (does not use cotton) Levirsquos PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
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bull
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Companies whorsquove signed the CanopyStyle Pledge Patagonia Levi Strauss amp Co HampM Marks amp Spencer ASOS G-Star RAW
Companies targeted by RAN Guess
Forest-friendly fashionForests probably arenrsquot something that immediately come to mind when considering the impacts of the fashion industry However many commonly used fabrics are derived from wood pulp Check your clothes labels for rayon viscose modal and tencel and itrsquos highly likely yoursquoll spot them ndash either on their own or blended with other fibres Mixed with polyester they give clothes a more pleasant lsquofeelrsquo and often replace cotton because theyrsquore cheaper to produce
So whatrsquos the issue
More than 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into cellulose fabric ndash if placed end to end those trees would circle the earth seven timesDissolving pulp (the base material for rayonviscose) wastes approximately 70 of the tree and is a chemically intensive manufacturing process Dissolving pulp production is projected to double by 2050 Less than 20 of the worldrsquos ancient forests remain intact in tracts large enough to maintain biological diversityForests in Indonesia Canadarsquos boreal and temperate rainforests and the Amazon are being logged for next seasonrsquos fashion
Canopyrsquos lsquoFashion Loved by Forestrsquo initiative partners with clothing brands to help them develop solutions to reduce the impact of their business on ancient forests Companies are asked to sign up to the CanopyStyle Pledge and create a policy on how they source wood-derived fabrics
Rainforest Action Networkrsquos (RAN) lsquoOut of Fashionrsquo campaign pinpointed several high-end fashion brands which it said must do more to ensure they werenrsquot making clothes from unsustainable wood pulp
Watch the campaign video and sign in support of RANrsquos Out of Fashion campaign wwwranorgout_of_fashion
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Fur-free shoppingAn investigation into angora farms in China by PETA Asia in December 2013 revealed shockingly cruel treatment of angora rabbits involving the live-plucking of fur from caged rabbits Many clothing companies have now stated that they will no longer sell angora The only companies covered in this issue who
are still selling it are Net-A-Porter in the Clothes Shops guide and Pepe and Guess covered in the Jeans guide
The following clothes shops have joined the Fur Free Alliancersquos Fur Free Retailer programme Topshop HampM ASOS MampS Next Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis From the other guides Nudie and MUD jeans and Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen are part of the programme More information from wwwfurfreeretailercomOther brands are listed as fur free by Humane Society International Mountain Hardwear Calvin Klein New Look Patagonia North Face Diesel Superdry Levirsquos Guess Tommy Hilfiger Howies and Uniqlo See wwwhumanesocietyorgissuesfur_fashiontipsfur-free_shoppinghtml for more details
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References 1 wwwantislaveryorgenglishcampaignscottoncrimesforced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgroundaspx
Network (RSN) introduced the lsquoCotton Pledge Against Child and Adult Forced Labour in Uzbek Cottonrsquo in 2011 To date over 160 companies have signed the pledge
However the RSN decided in 2014 that it was time to find out how companies were actually implementing the Cotton Pledge throughout their supply chains
It asked companies what efforts they were making to actually implement this pledge including communicating their policy to all parts of its supply chain including spinners and mills and auditing them for compliance The results were published in the lsquoCotton Sourcing Snapshotrsquo which can be downloaded from wwwsourcingnetworkorgcotton-sourcing-snapshot
See page 22 in the Jeans guide for discussion on the other issues associated with cotton production
Forced labour in the Uzbekrsquos cotton fields
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
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bull
bull
policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
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bull
Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
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ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
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nton
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rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
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bull
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WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
bull
bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
bull
bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
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asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Stuck for that unique Christmas present
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Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
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wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
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CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
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lippo
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ream
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eco
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2nd gift subscription pound2995
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issue158
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Order by midnight
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
12
ProductGUIDE
This guide examines the ten biggest selling UK high-street clothes shops as well as four supermarkets that are in the top 20 UK clothes sellers ASDA Tesco John Lewis and Sainsburyrsquos1 and the top three e-tailers (online clothes retailers) Of the e-tailers only ASOS manufactures its own clothes The other two Amazon and Net-a-Porter are just marketplaces although Amazon has been talking about starting to make its own line of clothes in the future2
The lowdown on high street clothes shops
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
HampM [O] 9 h H h h H H h H 1 Ramsbury Invest AB
HampM 8 h H h h H H h H Ramsbury Invest AB
New Look 8 h h H h h H H h h Brait SE New Look
Matalan 75 H H h h H H h H Hargreaves family
ASOS 7 H H H h H h h H h ASOS plc
Burton 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Dorothy Perkins 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Evans 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
John Lewis [O] 7 h H H H H H H H h h E 1 John Lewis Partnership
Miss Selfridge 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Topman Topshop 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Wallis 7 H H H h H H h H ArcadiaTina Green
Debenhams 65 H H h h H H h h h H Debenhams plc
Next 65 H H h h H H h H H Next plc
John Lewis 6 h H H H H H H H h h E John Lewis Partnership
Net-a-Porter 6 H H h H H H H h H Yoox spa
TK Maxx 5 H H H H H H H h h H TJX Companies inc
MampS 4 H H h h H H H H h h H H Marks and Spencer Group
River Island 35 H h H h H H H H H h h h H LFH International
Primark 3 H h H h H H H H H h h H H Garfield Weston Foundation
Sainsburyrsquos TU 25 h H H h H H H h H h H h H H J Sainsbury plc
Tesco FampF 25 h H H H h H H H H H h H H Tesco plc
Amazon 05 H H H H H H H H H H h H H H Amazoncom
ASDA George 05 h H H H H H H H H h H H h H H Walmart
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers [O] = organic
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Whatrsquos the yarn on the high street Josie Wexler examines the ethics of the top selling high-street shops and e-tailers
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
13
ProductGUIDE
Whilst not eligible for the Best Buy Label MampS is our recommended high street clothes shop
It scores low in our table because we rate companies
at group level and as it is also a supermarket it picks up a lot of negative marks in areas such as selling animal-tested products or factory-farmed meat But it scores high for its clothes policies (see Company Profiles overleaf)
We also recommend HampM and John Lewisrsquos organic clothing ranges
Our recommended e-tailer is ASOS
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Supply chainsAfter countless media exposeacutes on bad working conditions many high-street clothing shops are now making quite an effort to talk up their supply chain policies Next MampS Arcadia New Look Primark HampM Tesco and John Lewis all received our best rating for supply chain management
We are pleased that pressure has led to clothing retailers taking more responsibility for their supply chains although there are still many industry-wide issues that badly need to be addressed We look at the progress being made towards living wages and safe working conditions on pages 16 and 18
In light of this progress it is very disappointing that there are companies in this report who still have very little to say on the whole subject TK Maxx Matalan River Island Amazon and Net-a-Porter all received our worst rating in this category Matalan in particular have hardly any publicly available information
Sustainable clothesThere is a general lack of Fairtrade organic and recycled clothes on the high street although John Lewis and HampM do sell organic clothes
However one thing that has happened recently is that a couple of companies have started their own clothes recycling schemes See the lsquoLonger-lasting clothesrsquo article on page 24
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Arcadia (Topshop)
ASDA
ASOS
Debenhams
HampM
John Lewis
MampS
Matalan
New Look
Next
Primark
River Island
Sainsburyrsquos
Tesco
TK Maxx
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Goose and duck downIt is not just outdoor companies that use animal down ndash it is now a fashionable filling for many jackets from high-street retailers Several of the companies rated in this clothes shop report have made commitments not to use down which comes from live-plucked or fois gras birds (see table below) Yet none of them has adopted a methodology capable of ensuring that they actually donrsquot which requires tracing their whole down supply chain back to the higher-risk parent farms See page 29 for more information on how outdoor gear companies are ensuring that their down supply chains are cruelty-free
Alternative clothing companiesWe havenrsquot focused on Alternative Clothing Companies in this issue ndash although many feature in the guide to Jeans
Our Best Buy from the previous alternative clothing guide was People Tree who produce Fairtrade and Organic clothing Also a Best Buy was menswear company Brothers We Stand All their products have a footprint tab detailing their social and environmental impact
Positive policies
References 1 Mintel Clothing Retailing 2014 2 Business Insider 28 October Amazon may start making its own clothes
4
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
14
ProductGUIDE
Company profiles
Excessive executive compensation
Next MampS Arcadia Primark TK Maxx Amazon ASOS Asda Tesco Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis all pay their top executives over pound1 million which we rate as excessive
Tax avoidance
We covered the latest on Amazonrsquos tax avoidance in issue 157 and a full version of the article can be found on our website Neither of the other two e-tailers ndash ASOS and Net-a-Porter ndash show any signs of being engaged in tax avoidance
Other companies in the report who receive our worst rating for tax avoidance include Arcadia whose ultimate holding company is registered in Jersey Matalan which is registered in Guernsey and HampM which appears to use holding companies based in Hong Kong for operations in China
More stories behind the rankings
Marks and Spencer does pretty well in a lot of our rankings It receives our best rating for its supply chain and environmental policies has signed the Bangladesh Accord and was rated a leader in Greenpeacersquos lsquoDetox Catwalkrsquo It has checks in place to ensure that none of its cotton comes from Uzbekistan and aims to procure 70 of its cotton from sustainable sources by 2020 (ie either Better Cotton Initiative Fairtrade Organic or recycled)
It was also one of a very few companies to receive the Clean Clothes Campaignrsquos top rating in 2014 for its work towards improving wages in its supply chain (none of the others who received it are in this guide) although the campaign grouprsquos assessment is still fairly circumspect
ldquoWe are pleased to see MampS has been doing work to make sure there are financial incentives for buyers to source from factories that MampS says pay living wages[but] it is impossible to judge the real benefit to workersbecause no figures have been disclosed it could all still be smoke and mirrorsrdquo1
On the downside Marks and Spencer is involved in several free trade lobby groups such as the World Economic Forum and EuroCommerce
Next is the biggest selling UK clothes retailer having overtaken Marks and Spencer in 2014 Its CEO Simon Wolfson is a Conservative peer who has donated over pound500000 to the Conservative Party over the past ten years co-chaired the partyrsquos Economic Competitiveness policy review and in 2010 was one of 35 signatories of an open letter calling on the Government to press ahead with public spending cuts
Indian companies that supply Next were found in 2012 to be employing Indian women under the Sumangali Scheme which is a form of bonded labour that requires low-caste women to work for several years to earn money to pay for a dowry4
As Primark made its name by selling implausibly cheap clothing it has been much focused on by campaigners However in its favour Primark was the first UK company to sign up to the Bangladeshi Accord and as detailed on page 17 it has donated far more to Rana Plaza victims than any other retailer
Primark is owned by Associated British Foods One of Associated British Foodsrsquo foreign subsidiaries Zambia Sugar was accused in 2013 of ripping off its host country by avoiding paying millions of pounds of tax which is really shocking given that Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world2
HampM has promoted itself as a more ethical clothing retailer and produces reams of material about its supply chain policies although it is unclear how much is just talk and how much makes a real difference
HampM has been slammed recently for lagging behind on its commitments
under the Bangladeshi Accord However activists say the issues are not unique to HampM and the reason that they have focused on it is simply because it is such a big buyer from Bangladesh3
HampM has a lsquoRoadmap to a Fair Living Wagersquo aimed at increasing wages in its supplier factories which has been both praised and criticised by Labour Behind the Label ndash praised for including solid targets and dates but crucially criticised for failing to define what a living wage actually is
Like MampS HampM aims for all its cotton to come from ldquomore sustainable sourcesrdquo by 2020
Amazon currently has a boycott call against it called by us for its use of tax avoidance strategies
ASOS scores middle for its supply chain policy it has banned sandblasting in its supply chain and is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative On the downside it has no policy on toxics
References 1 Clean Clothes Campaign 2014 ldquoTailored Wagesrdquo EuroCommerce and World Economic Forum websites 2015 2 ActionAid 2013 ldquoSweet Nothingsrdquo 3 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 4 Maid in India report 2012 ndash India Committee of the Netherlands
copy S
ean
Pavo
ne |
Dre
amst
ime
com
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
15
ProductGUIDE
She believes that in the Tamil Nadu region alone 200000 young women and girls are working under conditions of forced or bonded labour Many are producing cotton jersey (t-shirt fabric) clothing for export to the UK
Samantha Maher from Labour Behind the Label agrees and singles out another vulnerable group that the legislation could help ndash migrants
ldquoLots of migrants are in forced labour especially in Malaysia where people are having their passports taken as well as in the middle east in places like Jordan and Egyptrdquo
Campaigners yet to be convincedHowever some labour rights campaigners are yet to be convinced that the legislation will have the desired effect in improving working conditions
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label feels that reporting alone canrsquot help and the new legislation raises a number of questions
ldquoHow they are reporting and how it [the information] is used still appears to be undecided There is an assumption that NGOs will use the information to expose poor practice but capacity is limited so this wonrsquot be easy without resources and a clear process We also wonder how we will know if the reporting is accuraterdquo
Jane from Homeworkers Worldwide concurs She told Ethical Consumer
ldquoIt is very hard to predict what impact the Modern Slavery Act will have The difficulty is that [the companies] have to report what they are doing but someone will have to sift through the ethical spin to assess whether what they report is really having an impact on the ground whether they are really focusing their efforts on where the problems are etc
Holding companies to account on this will be difficult and will be a massive job for campaigners NGOs and activists ldquo
But she also has more fundamental concerns
ldquoThe current rhetoric on modern slavery in general is that modern slavery
(including forced and bonded labour) risks being seen as a distinct issue and treated quite separately from other forms of exploitation It is as though we can isolate a few criminal elements get rid of those and the rest of the industry can carry on as normalrdquo
Meanwhile TUC General Secretary Frances OrsquoGrady said that this legislation is just the start and that ldquoThe Government should build on the Modern Slavery Act and ratify the ILO Forced Labour Protocol immediatelyrdquo
This would mean not only to criminalise and prosecute forced labour but also to take more effective measures to prevent forced labour and provide victims with protection and access to remedies including compensation1
The way forwardDespite their criticisms campaigners are clear that the Act is a step in the right direction
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label
ldquoCompanies often have no idea where they are buying from so they may get a better grip of supply chains The act is also forcing the issue up from CSR to board level due to its legally binding naturerdquo
This is a view shared by Jane at Homeworkers Worldwide ldquoWhilst we donrsquot think it will in practice deliver much transparency the principle of companies taking responsibility for what goes on in global chains is an important one and making this a legal requirement is a starting point for pushing for greater responsibility and accountability in the futurerdquo
The Modern Slavery Act will force companies to publicly report on the steps they are taking to ensure there is no slavery or forced labour in their supply chains It has the potential to have a big impact on the clothing sector The Ethical Trading Initiative described the legislation as a ldquogame-changerrdquo
Karen Bradley the Home Office Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation said in a statement ldquoThe act will mean that major businesses will for the first time be expected to be transparent about the action they are taking to address modern slavery in their global supply chains
ldquoConsumers businesses and investors will now have valuable information to inform them on the companies they are supporting ndash and shoppers can make more informed decisions at the checkout Businesses risk damaging their reputation or their bottom line if they donrsquot take action to prevent modern slavery in their supply chainsrdquo
Huge numbers of bonded labourersThe legislation has the potential to have a positive impact on millions of workers all over the world
The International Labour Organisation estimates that almost 21 million people are currently working in some form of forced labour including many in the clothing sector2
Research from the Ashridge Centre for Business and Sustainability and the Ethical Trading Initiative found that 71 of companies believe there is a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some point in their supply chains3
Jane Tate from campaign group Homeworkers Worldwide is in no doubt that modern slavery is a big issue in the clothing sector ndash ldquoThere has been a lot of campaigning and work done attempting to address this issue including company projects and an ETI project but to our best knowledge the problem of forced labour still remains endemic in the industryrdquo
The new Modern Slavery Act
References 1 wwwiloorgwcmsp5groupspublic---ed_norm---declarationdocumentspublicationwcms_321414pdf 2 wwwtheguardiancomworld2015oct28uk-companies-proof-no-links-slave-labour-supply-chain 3 wwwethicaltradeorgnews-and-eventsnewsresearch-released-corporate-approaches-to-modern-slavery
Many campaigners are yet to be convinced that this new Act will have the desired effect Tim Hunt investigates
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
16
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
It is now more than two years since the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed killing over a thousand people and injuring 2500 ndash people who managers had ordered back to work despite cracks appearing in the walls Rana Plaza is considered the most fatal garment industry accident in history The resulting public outcry led to promises that things would change So have they
The Accord and the AllianceThere are three different factory safety schemes that were created in the aftermath of the disaster Two are industry-led ones The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (the Alliance) There is also a government-led scheme whose remit is to cover any factories not covered by the other two called the National Action Plan
For any industry scheme to be convincing it has to be substantially different from what went before because the track record of company safety audits in Bangladesh is not impressive Rana
Plaza had twice been audited by Primark and declared safe1 Primark says that it didnrsquot do a structural survey because nobody did them then but a building collapse was hardly unprecedented in 2005 one had killed 64 workers And this is only one of a string of audit failures that have been luridly illustrated by mass fatalities In 2010 a fire at the Garib amp Garib sweater factory killed 21 workers four months after HampM had audited it HampM officially required suppliersrsquo factories to have adequate exits and fire-fighting equipment but this one passed the audit with neither and two people had already died in a fire at the factory a few months earlier2
Factory safety two years on from Rana Plaza
Companies in these guides which have signed the Accordbull Arcadia bull Debenhams bull G Star bull Helly Hansen bull HampM bull John Lewis bull MampS bull Matalan bull New Look bull Next bull Primark bull PVH bull River Island bull Sainsburyrsquos bull Tesco bull Uniqlo
ldquoDonrsquot look for me where leaves are
falling
You will not find me there my beloved
At the machines where lives are
withered
It is there that I lie deadrdquo
A verse from a 1911 song written to commemorate the Triangle garment factory disaster in New York which generated a labour rights movement that revolutionised labour standards in the USA (Mayn Rue Platz by Morris Rosenfeld in translation)
The aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collpase in 2013 1134 people were killed and over 2500 injured as the 8-storey building housing five garment factories collapsed
Inte
rnat
iona
l Lab
or R
ight
s Fo
rum
Josie Wexler takes a look at progress towards creating safer clothing factories in Bangladesh
17
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The Accord however is different It is not another self-policed scheme that companies can adhere to if they feel like it It is a legally-binding agreement between brands and trade unions and signing it means that if safety issues are found in a companyrsquos suppliersrsquo factories and are not fixed the company can be sued
Campaigners had spent years trying and failing to get brands to enter into such an agreement Within weeks of Rana Plazarsquos collapse nearly 40 companies had signed The number is now over 200
However many American companies have refused to sign most notably Walmart (ASDA) and Gap They created the other alternative industry scheme the Alliance which is not legally binding and is widely believed to be basically meaningless window dressing It has only 26 members
Recent developmentsMost although not all of the 3500 clothing factories in Bangladesh have been inspected under one of the three schemes over the past two years largely by the Accord The Accord has closed thirty-five factories altogether and safety upgrades have begun in hundreds of others3 All of the Accordrsquos inspection reports with photographs are freely available on the web ndash transparency is one of its central principles which is another big break from the auditing schemes of the past
However progress on the upgrades has been terribly slow and the unions are now initiating a formal complaint about several brands including HampM who they say are not fulfilling their obligations at a reasonable pace The complaint is the first step towards legal arbitration which would be quite unprecedented4
A further development is that in June 2015 42 people in Bangladesh were
charged with murder over the Rana Plaza deaths including the buildingrsquos owner Sohel Rana the owners of the five factories in the building and 13 government officials If convicted they could face the death penalty
CompensationIn 2014 Labour Behind the Label ran a ldquopay uprdquo campaign pressuring companies to compensate Rana Plazarsquos victimsrsquo families The good news is that although it took a huge struggle the campaign was a success The Rana Plaza Donorrsquos Trust Fund met its target of $30 million in June 2015
Primark comes out by far the best in this story It donated a total of $8 million ndash $1 million to the fund and $7 million directly to victimsWalmart is estimated to have donated $1 million
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References 1 Vogue 2014 How The World Has Changed Since Rana Plaza 2 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo 3 Good Choice Forex June 1 2015 ldquoTwo Years After Rana Plaza Disaster Uneven Progress In Bangladeshrsquos Garment Industryrdquo 4 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 5 Clean Clothes Campaign 2015 ldquoWho has paid and who is dragging their heelsrdquo 6 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo
The dumping ground for the Rana Plaza debris just metres away from the victimsrsquo homes
North Face Death TrapsAmerican student groups have been leading the way on pressurising companies who have refused to sign the Accord United Students Against Sweatshops have run a campaign called lsquoNorth Face Death Trapsrsquo targeting VF Corporation as the largest branded clothing manufacturer in the world over its refusal to sign The campaign can be found at httpnorthfacedeathtrapscom
North Face appears in the Waterproof jackets guide whilst VF Corporation owns Lee and Wrangler jeans
Matalan initially refused to donate anything but after being hounded by campaigners it made a rather half-hearted donation of $100000HampM donated approximately $200000 Unlike the three companies above it was not sourcing from Rana Plaza but it is the biggest buyer from Bangladesh as a whole5
Rana Plaza has started to change the game in more ways than one After the Garib amp Garib fire HampM commissioned Save the Children to assess workersrsquo familiesrsquo needs and it decided to focus just on helping children and the elderly But the Rana Plaza fund goes further and is compensating all victimsrsquo families based on loss of income6
There is talk in campaign groups about how to take the Accord further ndash extending it outside Bangladesh or using the same model in other areas such as wages Watch this space
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http
f
oxfa
shio
nor
guk
18
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The garment industry is a major employer across the world ndash in Asia for example over 15 million people are employed by the industry With global brands making millions in profits every year this booming industry has come to rely on and exploit the cheap labour of millions of garment workers whose wages fall far short of a living wage
The lack of a living wage means many garment workers are forced to work long hours to earn overtime or bonuses and cannot risk refusing work due to unsafe working conditions or taking time off due to ill health The low wages mean that workers often have to rely on loans just to make ends meet and have no savings to use if they find themselves out of work
A living wage calculation across a region is key to ensuring not only that workers receive a decent wage but also that wage differences do not mean companies pull out of one country to move manufacturing to a country with lower costs ndash the so-called race to the bottom
Living wage calculations must take into account some common factors including the number of family members to be supported the basic nutritional needs of a worker and other basic needs including housing healthcare education and some basic savings
Clean Clothes Campaign is part of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance ndash an alliance of Asian trade unions and labour groups who have calculated a living wage formula for Asia
The Asia Floor Wage calculation cannot be simply applied to other regions as some of the assumptions do not apply For
example in Asia food costs are relatively high and standards of living such as housing are very low whereas in other regions such as Eastern Europe food costs are relatively lower when compared to housing
Clean Clothes Campaign partners are working on defining
and calculating living wages for other garment producing regions
They are calling forClothing brands and companies to set concrete measurable steps throughout their supply chain to ensure garment workers get paid a living wageNational governments in garment producing countries to make sure minimum wages are set at living wage standardsEuropean governments to implement regulation to ensure companies are responsible for the impact they have on the lives of workers in their supply chainSign the Clean Clothes Campaign
petition calling for all garment workers to receive a living wage ndash wwwcleanclothesorglivingwagesign
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bull
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Struggling for a living wage
A living wage in CambodiaFor several years garment workers and trade unions in Cambodia have been engaged in a bitter conflict with the government over the minimum wage with strikes protests and brutal government crackdowns resulting in deaths injuries and imprisonments Garment workers want US$177 per month enough cover their basic living expenses In 2014 Asia Floor Wage calculated the living wage in Cambodia to be US$396 per month
Though it has made increases the Cambodian government has still not reached the $177 called for Further negotiations and protests in October this year saw the government settle on $140 a month to come into effect in January 2016 Needless to say this has angered some ldquoThis figure is reasonable and acceptable Even itrsquos not acceptable to all we have no choicerdquo Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng was quoted as saying
The top five brands sourcing from Cambodia include three brands in these clothes guides HampM GAP Levi Strauss amp Co
Living wage initiativesLiving Wage Now Forum
In October this year the CCCrsquos Living Wage Now Forum brought together workersrsquo representatives from around the world brand representatives (HampM Primark CampA New Look Pentland NrsquoBrown and Tchibo) European policy makers experts and members of workerrsquos rights organisations to discuss the next concrete steps towards a fashion industry that respects human rights and pays all workers a living wage based on proposals from the CCC Follow its progress here wwwlivingwagenoweu
ACT initiative
A number of brands and retailers are collaborating with the IndustriALL Global Union on the Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT) making a commitment to work with their suppliers in order to support a living wage
Brands in this guide that are involved with ACT are ASOS HampM Arcadia Tesco Primark Next
A full list of members could not be found but these companies were mentioned online in connection with the project
For an average item of clothing only between
05-3 of the cost goes to the worker who made it This means that on an euro8 t-shirt the most a worker will get paid is 24 cents
Clean Clothes Campaign
What are the companies in this issue doing about living wagesThe following brands from this guide explicitly make provision for a living wage in their supply chain policies
Major clothes retailers Next Arcadia Primark Debenhams New Look Tesco John Lewis
Waterproof jacketstrousers Patagonia Jack Wolfskin Paramo Mountain Equipment
Jeans G-Star Nudie PVH brands (Calvin Klein amp Tommy Hilfiger)
19
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
For decades the Government of Uzbekistan has been forcing its citizens both children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest As a result of sustained campaign pressure on the issue of child labour 2014 saw the burden of labour shifted onto adults with lsquomassesrsquo of teachers and medical professionals forced into the cotton fields1
Having engaged companies on the issue since 2008 the Responsible Sourcing
Clothing campaigns
Best scores on Uzbek cottonIn order to receive Ethical Consumerrsquos best rating on this issue all medium- to large-sized companies are expected both to have signed the Cotton Pledge and to demonstrate concrete actions to implement it throughout their supply chains Otherwise the company must only use organic or Better Cotton Initiative cotton
Companies in this issue which receive a best score are
Major clothes retailers MampS Arcadia (Topshop etc) TK Maxx New Look
Waterproof jacketstrousers Jack Wolfskin Patagonia
Jeans Nudie Kuyichi Mud FREITAG (does not use cotton) Levirsquos PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
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bull
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Companies whorsquove signed the CanopyStyle Pledge Patagonia Levi Strauss amp Co HampM Marks amp Spencer ASOS G-Star RAW
Companies targeted by RAN Guess
Forest-friendly fashionForests probably arenrsquot something that immediately come to mind when considering the impacts of the fashion industry However many commonly used fabrics are derived from wood pulp Check your clothes labels for rayon viscose modal and tencel and itrsquos highly likely yoursquoll spot them ndash either on their own or blended with other fibres Mixed with polyester they give clothes a more pleasant lsquofeelrsquo and often replace cotton because theyrsquore cheaper to produce
So whatrsquos the issue
More than 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into cellulose fabric ndash if placed end to end those trees would circle the earth seven timesDissolving pulp (the base material for rayonviscose) wastes approximately 70 of the tree and is a chemically intensive manufacturing process Dissolving pulp production is projected to double by 2050 Less than 20 of the worldrsquos ancient forests remain intact in tracts large enough to maintain biological diversityForests in Indonesia Canadarsquos boreal and temperate rainforests and the Amazon are being logged for next seasonrsquos fashion
Canopyrsquos lsquoFashion Loved by Forestrsquo initiative partners with clothing brands to help them develop solutions to reduce the impact of their business on ancient forests Companies are asked to sign up to the CanopyStyle Pledge and create a policy on how they source wood-derived fabrics
Rainforest Action Networkrsquos (RAN) lsquoOut of Fashionrsquo campaign pinpointed several high-end fashion brands which it said must do more to ensure they werenrsquot making clothes from unsustainable wood pulp
Watch the campaign video and sign in support of RANrsquos Out of Fashion campaign wwwranorgout_of_fashion
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Fur-free shoppingAn investigation into angora farms in China by PETA Asia in December 2013 revealed shockingly cruel treatment of angora rabbits involving the live-plucking of fur from caged rabbits Many clothing companies have now stated that they will no longer sell angora The only companies covered in this issue who
are still selling it are Net-A-Porter in the Clothes Shops guide and Pepe and Guess covered in the Jeans guide
The following clothes shops have joined the Fur Free Alliancersquos Fur Free Retailer programme Topshop HampM ASOS MampS Next Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis From the other guides Nudie and MUD jeans and Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen are part of the programme More information from wwwfurfreeretailercomOther brands are listed as fur free by Humane Society International Mountain Hardwear Calvin Klein New Look Patagonia North Face Diesel Superdry Levirsquos Guess Tommy Hilfiger Howies and Uniqlo See wwwhumanesocietyorgissuesfur_fashiontipsfur-free_shoppinghtml for more details
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References 1 wwwantislaveryorgenglishcampaignscottoncrimesforced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgroundaspx
Network (RSN) introduced the lsquoCotton Pledge Against Child and Adult Forced Labour in Uzbek Cottonrsquo in 2011 To date over 160 companies have signed the pledge
However the RSN decided in 2014 that it was time to find out how companies were actually implementing the Cotton Pledge throughout their supply chains
It asked companies what efforts they were making to actually implement this pledge including communicating their policy to all parts of its supply chain including spinners and mills and auditing them for compliance The results were published in the lsquoCotton Sourcing Snapshotrsquo which can be downloaded from wwwsourcingnetworkorgcotton-sourcing-snapshot
See page 22 in the Jeans guide for discussion on the other issues associated with cotton production
Forced labour in the Uzbekrsquos cotton fields
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
bull
bull
bull
policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
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bull
Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
copy B
ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
copy A
nton
io G
rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
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bull
bull
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
bull
bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
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bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
The Government seems to think renewable energy is just a drain on taxpayers
Thousands of people across the UK disagree We think we urgently need to move to a zero-carbon energy system owned by and run for normal people Weve put our time and money into local green energy
At Sharenergy we are proud to have supported over 30 successful community energy projects across the UK Theyre innovative 100 community-owned and financially stable Weve got plenty more on the way
Come and join us
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Stuck for that unique Christmas present
Why not book a short course at CAT and stay with us for the weekend in our award-winning WISE building
Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
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Planning for your secure future without repression pollution or exploitation
Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
Ethical Investment Specialists
CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
Dead EasyLeaving a campaigning legacy to Ethical Consumer can be done by making a simple ammendment to your will
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consum r
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
copy M
icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
bull Overseas ordersPhoneuson01612262929orgotoourwebsite-wwwethicalconsumerorgSubscriptionsaspx
Your message
1st gift subscription pound2995
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Order by midnight
on Wednesday 16th December for delivery by
Christmas
42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
13
ProductGUIDE
Whilst not eligible for the Best Buy Label MampS is our recommended high street clothes shop
It scores low in our table because we rate companies
at group level and as it is also a supermarket it picks up a lot of negative marks in areas such as selling animal-tested products or factory-farmed meat But it scores high for its clothes policies (see Company Profiles overleaf)
We also recommend HampM and John Lewisrsquos organic clothing ranges
Our recommended e-tailer is ASOS
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Supply chainsAfter countless media exposeacutes on bad working conditions many high-street clothing shops are now making quite an effort to talk up their supply chain policies Next MampS Arcadia New Look Primark HampM Tesco and John Lewis all received our best rating for supply chain management
We are pleased that pressure has led to clothing retailers taking more responsibility for their supply chains although there are still many industry-wide issues that badly need to be addressed We look at the progress being made towards living wages and safe working conditions on pages 16 and 18
In light of this progress it is very disappointing that there are companies in this report who still have very little to say on the whole subject TK Maxx Matalan River Island Amazon and Net-a-Porter all received our worst rating in this category Matalan in particular have hardly any publicly available information
Sustainable clothesThere is a general lack of Fairtrade organic and recycled clothes on the high street although John Lewis and HampM do sell organic clothes
However one thing that has happened recently is that a couple of companies have started their own clothes recycling schemes See the lsquoLonger-lasting clothesrsquo article on page 24
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Arcadia (Topshop)
ASDA
ASOS
Debenhams
HampM
John Lewis
MampS
Matalan
New Look
Next
Primark
River Island
Sainsburyrsquos
Tesco
TK Maxx
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Goose and duck downIt is not just outdoor companies that use animal down ndash it is now a fashionable filling for many jackets from high-street retailers Several of the companies rated in this clothes shop report have made commitments not to use down which comes from live-plucked or fois gras birds (see table below) Yet none of them has adopted a methodology capable of ensuring that they actually donrsquot which requires tracing their whole down supply chain back to the higher-risk parent farms See page 29 for more information on how outdoor gear companies are ensuring that their down supply chains are cruelty-free
Alternative clothing companiesWe havenrsquot focused on Alternative Clothing Companies in this issue ndash although many feature in the guide to Jeans
Our Best Buy from the previous alternative clothing guide was People Tree who produce Fairtrade and Organic clothing Also a Best Buy was menswear company Brothers We Stand All their products have a footprint tab detailing their social and environmental impact
Positive policies
References 1 Mintel Clothing Retailing 2014 2 Business Insider 28 October Amazon may start making its own clothes
4
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
14
ProductGUIDE
Company profiles
Excessive executive compensation
Next MampS Arcadia Primark TK Maxx Amazon ASOS Asda Tesco Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis all pay their top executives over pound1 million which we rate as excessive
Tax avoidance
We covered the latest on Amazonrsquos tax avoidance in issue 157 and a full version of the article can be found on our website Neither of the other two e-tailers ndash ASOS and Net-a-Porter ndash show any signs of being engaged in tax avoidance
Other companies in the report who receive our worst rating for tax avoidance include Arcadia whose ultimate holding company is registered in Jersey Matalan which is registered in Guernsey and HampM which appears to use holding companies based in Hong Kong for operations in China
More stories behind the rankings
Marks and Spencer does pretty well in a lot of our rankings It receives our best rating for its supply chain and environmental policies has signed the Bangladesh Accord and was rated a leader in Greenpeacersquos lsquoDetox Catwalkrsquo It has checks in place to ensure that none of its cotton comes from Uzbekistan and aims to procure 70 of its cotton from sustainable sources by 2020 (ie either Better Cotton Initiative Fairtrade Organic or recycled)
It was also one of a very few companies to receive the Clean Clothes Campaignrsquos top rating in 2014 for its work towards improving wages in its supply chain (none of the others who received it are in this guide) although the campaign grouprsquos assessment is still fairly circumspect
ldquoWe are pleased to see MampS has been doing work to make sure there are financial incentives for buyers to source from factories that MampS says pay living wages[but] it is impossible to judge the real benefit to workersbecause no figures have been disclosed it could all still be smoke and mirrorsrdquo1
On the downside Marks and Spencer is involved in several free trade lobby groups such as the World Economic Forum and EuroCommerce
Next is the biggest selling UK clothes retailer having overtaken Marks and Spencer in 2014 Its CEO Simon Wolfson is a Conservative peer who has donated over pound500000 to the Conservative Party over the past ten years co-chaired the partyrsquos Economic Competitiveness policy review and in 2010 was one of 35 signatories of an open letter calling on the Government to press ahead with public spending cuts
Indian companies that supply Next were found in 2012 to be employing Indian women under the Sumangali Scheme which is a form of bonded labour that requires low-caste women to work for several years to earn money to pay for a dowry4
As Primark made its name by selling implausibly cheap clothing it has been much focused on by campaigners However in its favour Primark was the first UK company to sign up to the Bangladeshi Accord and as detailed on page 17 it has donated far more to Rana Plaza victims than any other retailer
Primark is owned by Associated British Foods One of Associated British Foodsrsquo foreign subsidiaries Zambia Sugar was accused in 2013 of ripping off its host country by avoiding paying millions of pounds of tax which is really shocking given that Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world2
HampM has promoted itself as a more ethical clothing retailer and produces reams of material about its supply chain policies although it is unclear how much is just talk and how much makes a real difference
HampM has been slammed recently for lagging behind on its commitments
under the Bangladeshi Accord However activists say the issues are not unique to HampM and the reason that they have focused on it is simply because it is such a big buyer from Bangladesh3
HampM has a lsquoRoadmap to a Fair Living Wagersquo aimed at increasing wages in its supplier factories which has been both praised and criticised by Labour Behind the Label ndash praised for including solid targets and dates but crucially criticised for failing to define what a living wage actually is
Like MampS HampM aims for all its cotton to come from ldquomore sustainable sourcesrdquo by 2020
Amazon currently has a boycott call against it called by us for its use of tax avoidance strategies
ASOS scores middle for its supply chain policy it has banned sandblasting in its supply chain and is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative On the downside it has no policy on toxics
References 1 Clean Clothes Campaign 2014 ldquoTailored Wagesrdquo EuroCommerce and World Economic Forum websites 2015 2 ActionAid 2013 ldquoSweet Nothingsrdquo 3 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 4 Maid in India report 2012 ndash India Committee of the Netherlands
copy S
ean
Pavo
ne |
Dre
amst
ime
com
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
15
ProductGUIDE
She believes that in the Tamil Nadu region alone 200000 young women and girls are working under conditions of forced or bonded labour Many are producing cotton jersey (t-shirt fabric) clothing for export to the UK
Samantha Maher from Labour Behind the Label agrees and singles out another vulnerable group that the legislation could help ndash migrants
ldquoLots of migrants are in forced labour especially in Malaysia where people are having their passports taken as well as in the middle east in places like Jordan and Egyptrdquo
Campaigners yet to be convincedHowever some labour rights campaigners are yet to be convinced that the legislation will have the desired effect in improving working conditions
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label feels that reporting alone canrsquot help and the new legislation raises a number of questions
ldquoHow they are reporting and how it [the information] is used still appears to be undecided There is an assumption that NGOs will use the information to expose poor practice but capacity is limited so this wonrsquot be easy without resources and a clear process We also wonder how we will know if the reporting is accuraterdquo
Jane from Homeworkers Worldwide concurs She told Ethical Consumer
ldquoIt is very hard to predict what impact the Modern Slavery Act will have The difficulty is that [the companies] have to report what they are doing but someone will have to sift through the ethical spin to assess whether what they report is really having an impact on the ground whether they are really focusing their efforts on where the problems are etc
Holding companies to account on this will be difficult and will be a massive job for campaigners NGOs and activists ldquo
But she also has more fundamental concerns
ldquoThe current rhetoric on modern slavery in general is that modern slavery
(including forced and bonded labour) risks being seen as a distinct issue and treated quite separately from other forms of exploitation It is as though we can isolate a few criminal elements get rid of those and the rest of the industry can carry on as normalrdquo
Meanwhile TUC General Secretary Frances OrsquoGrady said that this legislation is just the start and that ldquoThe Government should build on the Modern Slavery Act and ratify the ILO Forced Labour Protocol immediatelyrdquo
This would mean not only to criminalise and prosecute forced labour but also to take more effective measures to prevent forced labour and provide victims with protection and access to remedies including compensation1
The way forwardDespite their criticisms campaigners are clear that the Act is a step in the right direction
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label
ldquoCompanies often have no idea where they are buying from so they may get a better grip of supply chains The act is also forcing the issue up from CSR to board level due to its legally binding naturerdquo
This is a view shared by Jane at Homeworkers Worldwide ldquoWhilst we donrsquot think it will in practice deliver much transparency the principle of companies taking responsibility for what goes on in global chains is an important one and making this a legal requirement is a starting point for pushing for greater responsibility and accountability in the futurerdquo
The Modern Slavery Act will force companies to publicly report on the steps they are taking to ensure there is no slavery or forced labour in their supply chains It has the potential to have a big impact on the clothing sector The Ethical Trading Initiative described the legislation as a ldquogame-changerrdquo
Karen Bradley the Home Office Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation said in a statement ldquoThe act will mean that major businesses will for the first time be expected to be transparent about the action they are taking to address modern slavery in their global supply chains
ldquoConsumers businesses and investors will now have valuable information to inform them on the companies they are supporting ndash and shoppers can make more informed decisions at the checkout Businesses risk damaging their reputation or their bottom line if they donrsquot take action to prevent modern slavery in their supply chainsrdquo
Huge numbers of bonded labourersThe legislation has the potential to have a positive impact on millions of workers all over the world
The International Labour Organisation estimates that almost 21 million people are currently working in some form of forced labour including many in the clothing sector2
Research from the Ashridge Centre for Business and Sustainability and the Ethical Trading Initiative found that 71 of companies believe there is a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some point in their supply chains3
Jane Tate from campaign group Homeworkers Worldwide is in no doubt that modern slavery is a big issue in the clothing sector ndash ldquoThere has been a lot of campaigning and work done attempting to address this issue including company projects and an ETI project but to our best knowledge the problem of forced labour still remains endemic in the industryrdquo
The new Modern Slavery Act
References 1 wwwiloorgwcmsp5groupspublic---ed_norm---declarationdocumentspublicationwcms_321414pdf 2 wwwtheguardiancomworld2015oct28uk-companies-proof-no-links-slave-labour-supply-chain 3 wwwethicaltradeorgnews-and-eventsnewsresearch-released-corporate-approaches-to-modern-slavery
Many campaigners are yet to be convinced that this new Act will have the desired effect Tim Hunt investigates
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
16
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
It is now more than two years since the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed killing over a thousand people and injuring 2500 ndash people who managers had ordered back to work despite cracks appearing in the walls Rana Plaza is considered the most fatal garment industry accident in history The resulting public outcry led to promises that things would change So have they
The Accord and the AllianceThere are three different factory safety schemes that were created in the aftermath of the disaster Two are industry-led ones The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (the Alliance) There is also a government-led scheme whose remit is to cover any factories not covered by the other two called the National Action Plan
For any industry scheme to be convincing it has to be substantially different from what went before because the track record of company safety audits in Bangladesh is not impressive Rana
Plaza had twice been audited by Primark and declared safe1 Primark says that it didnrsquot do a structural survey because nobody did them then but a building collapse was hardly unprecedented in 2005 one had killed 64 workers And this is only one of a string of audit failures that have been luridly illustrated by mass fatalities In 2010 a fire at the Garib amp Garib sweater factory killed 21 workers four months after HampM had audited it HampM officially required suppliersrsquo factories to have adequate exits and fire-fighting equipment but this one passed the audit with neither and two people had already died in a fire at the factory a few months earlier2
Factory safety two years on from Rana Plaza
Companies in these guides which have signed the Accordbull Arcadia bull Debenhams bull G Star bull Helly Hansen bull HampM bull John Lewis bull MampS bull Matalan bull New Look bull Next bull Primark bull PVH bull River Island bull Sainsburyrsquos bull Tesco bull Uniqlo
ldquoDonrsquot look for me where leaves are
falling
You will not find me there my beloved
At the machines where lives are
withered
It is there that I lie deadrdquo
A verse from a 1911 song written to commemorate the Triangle garment factory disaster in New York which generated a labour rights movement that revolutionised labour standards in the USA (Mayn Rue Platz by Morris Rosenfeld in translation)
The aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collpase in 2013 1134 people were killed and over 2500 injured as the 8-storey building housing five garment factories collapsed
Inte
rnat
iona
l Lab
or R
ight
s Fo
rum
Josie Wexler takes a look at progress towards creating safer clothing factories in Bangladesh
17
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The Accord however is different It is not another self-policed scheme that companies can adhere to if they feel like it It is a legally-binding agreement between brands and trade unions and signing it means that if safety issues are found in a companyrsquos suppliersrsquo factories and are not fixed the company can be sued
Campaigners had spent years trying and failing to get brands to enter into such an agreement Within weeks of Rana Plazarsquos collapse nearly 40 companies had signed The number is now over 200
However many American companies have refused to sign most notably Walmart (ASDA) and Gap They created the other alternative industry scheme the Alliance which is not legally binding and is widely believed to be basically meaningless window dressing It has only 26 members
Recent developmentsMost although not all of the 3500 clothing factories in Bangladesh have been inspected under one of the three schemes over the past two years largely by the Accord The Accord has closed thirty-five factories altogether and safety upgrades have begun in hundreds of others3 All of the Accordrsquos inspection reports with photographs are freely available on the web ndash transparency is one of its central principles which is another big break from the auditing schemes of the past
However progress on the upgrades has been terribly slow and the unions are now initiating a formal complaint about several brands including HampM who they say are not fulfilling their obligations at a reasonable pace The complaint is the first step towards legal arbitration which would be quite unprecedented4
A further development is that in June 2015 42 people in Bangladesh were
charged with murder over the Rana Plaza deaths including the buildingrsquos owner Sohel Rana the owners of the five factories in the building and 13 government officials If convicted they could face the death penalty
CompensationIn 2014 Labour Behind the Label ran a ldquopay uprdquo campaign pressuring companies to compensate Rana Plazarsquos victimsrsquo families The good news is that although it took a huge struggle the campaign was a success The Rana Plaza Donorrsquos Trust Fund met its target of $30 million in June 2015
Primark comes out by far the best in this story It donated a total of $8 million ndash $1 million to the fund and $7 million directly to victimsWalmart is estimated to have donated $1 million
bull
bull
References 1 Vogue 2014 How The World Has Changed Since Rana Plaza 2 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo 3 Good Choice Forex June 1 2015 ldquoTwo Years After Rana Plaza Disaster Uneven Progress In Bangladeshrsquos Garment Industryrdquo 4 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 5 Clean Clothes Campaign 2015 ldquoWho has paid and who is dragging their heelsrdquo 6 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo
The dumping ground for the Rana Plaza debris just metres away from the victimsrsquo homes
North Face Death TrapsAmerican student groups have been leading the way on pressurising companies who have refused to sign the Accord United Students Against Sweatshops have run a campaign called lsquoNorth Face Death Trapsrsquo targeting VF Corporation as the largest branded clothing manufacturer in the world over its refusal to sign The campaign can be found at httpnorthfacedeathtrapscom
North Face appears in the Waterproof jackets guide whilst VF Corporation owns Lee and Wrangler jeans
Matalan initially refused to donate anything but after being hounded by campaigners it made a rather half-hearted donation of $100000HampM donated approximately $200000 Unlike the three companies above it was not sourcing from Rana Plaza but it is the biggest buyer from Bangladesh as a whole5
Rana Plaza has started to change the game in more ways than one After the Garib amp Garib fire HampM commissioned Save the Children to assess workersrsquo familiesrsquo needs and it decided to focus just on helping children and the elderly But the Rana Plaza fund goes further and is compensating all victimsrsquo families based on loss of income6
There is talk in campaign groups about how to take the Accord further ndash extending it outside Bangladesh or using the same model in other areas such as wages Watch this space
bull
bull
http
f
oxfa
shio
nor
guk
18
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The garment industry is a major employer across the world ndash in Asia for example over 15 million people are employed by the industry With global brands making millions in profits every year this booming industry has come to rely on and exploit the cheap labour of millions of garment workers whose wages fall far short of a living wage
The lack of a living wage means many garment workers are forced to work long hours to earn overtime or bonuses and cannot risk refusing work due to unsafe working conditions or taking time off due to ill health The low wages mean that workers often have to rely on loans just to make ends meet and have no savings to use if they find themselves out of work
A living wage calculation across a region is key to ensuring not only that workers receive a decent wage but also that wage differences do not mean companies pull out of one country to move manufacturing to a country with lower costs ndash the so-called race to the bottom
Living wage calculations must take into account some common factors including the number of family members to be supported the basic nutritional needs of a worker and other basic needs including housing healthcare education and some basic savings
Clean Clothes Campaign is part of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance ndash an alliance of Asian trade unions and labour groups who have calculated a living wage formula for Asia
The Asia Floor Wage calculation cannot be simply applied to other regions as some of the assumptions do not apply For
example in Asia food costs are relatively high and standards of living such as housing are very low whereas in other regions such as Eastern Europe food costs are relatively lower when compared to housing
Clean Clothes Campaign partners are working on defining
and calculating living wages for other garment producing regions
They are calling forClothing brands and companies to set concrete measurable steps throughout their supply chain to ensure garment workers get paid a living wageNational governments in garment producing countries to make sure minimum wages are set at living wage standardsEuropean governments to implement regulation to ensure companies are responsible for the impact they have on the lives of workers in their supply chainSign the Clean Clothes Campaign
petition calling for all garment workers to receive a living wage ndash wwwcleanclothesorglivingwagesign
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bull
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Struggling for a living wage
A living wage in CambodiaFor several years garment workers and trade unions in Cambodia have been engaged in a bitter conflict with the government over the minimum wage with strikes protests and brutal government crackdowns resulting in deaths injuries and imprisonments Garment workers want US$177 per month enough cover their basic living expenses In 2014 Asia Floor Wage calculated the living wage in Cambodia to be US$396 per month
Though it has made increases the Cambodian government has still not reached the $177 called for Further negotiations and protests in October this year saw the government settle on $140 a month to come into effect in January 2016 Needless to say this has angered some ldquoThis figure is reasonable and acceptable Even itrsquos not acceptable to all we have no choicerdquo Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng was quoted as saying
The top five brands sourcing from Cambodia include three brands in these clothes guides HampM GAP Levi Strauss amp Co
Living wage initiativesLiving Wage Now Forum
In October this year the CCCrsquos Living Wage Now Forum brought together workersrsquo representatives from around the world brand representatives (HampM Primark CampA New Look Pentland NrsquoBrown and Tchibo) European policy makers experts and members of workerrsquos rights organisations to discuss the next concrete steps towards a fashion industry that respects human rights and pays all workers a living wage based on proposals from the CCC Follow its progress here wwwlivingwagenoweu
ACT initiative
A number of brands and retailers are collaborating with the IndustriALL Global Union on the Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT) making a commitment to work with their suppliers in order to support a living wage
Brands in this guide that are involved with ACT are ASOS HampM Arcadia Tesco Primark Next
A full list of members could not be found but these companies were mentioned online in connection with the project
For an average item of clothing only between
05-3 of the cost goes to the worker who made it This means that on an euro8 t-shirt the most a worker will get paid is 24 cents
Clean Clothes Campaign
What are the companies in this issue doing about living wagesThe following brands from this guide explicitly make provision for a living wage in their supply chain policies
Major clothes retailers Next Arcadia Primark Debenhams New Look Tesco John Lewis
Waterproof jacketstrousers Patagonia Jack Wolfskin Paramo Mountain Equipment
Jeans G-Star Nudie PVH brands (Calvin Klein amp Tommy Hilfiger)
19
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
For decades the Government of Uzbekistan has been forcing its citizens both children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest As a result of sustained campaign pressure on the issue of child labour 2014 saw the burden of labour shifted onto adults with lsquomassesrsquo of teachers and medical professionals forced into the cotton fields1
Having engaged companies on the issue since 2008 the Responsible Sourcing
Clothing campaigns
Best scores on Uzbek cottonIn order to receive Ethical Consumerrsquos best rating on this issue all medium- to large-sized companies are expected both to have signed the Cotton Pledge and to demonstrate concrete actions to implement it throughout their supply chains Otherwise the company must only use organic or Better Cotton Initiative cotton
Companies in this issue which receive a best score are
Major clothes retailers MampS Arcadia (Topshop etc) TK Maxx New Look
Waterproof jacketstrousers Jack Wolfskin Patagonia
Jeans Nudie Kuyichi Mud FREITAG (does not use cotton) Levirsquos PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
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bull
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Companies whorsquove signed the CanopyStyle Pledge Patagonia Levi Strauss amp Co HampM Marks amp Spencer ASOS G-Star RAW
Companies targeted by RAN Guess
Forest-friendly fashionForests probably arenrsquot something that immediately come to mind when considering the impacts of the fashion industry However many commonly used fabrics are derived from wood pulp Check your clothes labels for rayon viscose modal and tencel and itrsquos highly likely yoursquoll spot them ndash either on their own or blended with other fibres Mixed with polyester they give clothes a more pleasant lsquofeelrsquo and often replace cotton because theyrsquore cheaper to produce
So whatrsquos the issue
More than 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into cellulose fabric ndash if placed end to end those trees would circle the earth seven timesDissolving pulp (the base material for rayonviscose) wastes approximately 70 of the tree and is a chemically intensive manufacturing process Dissolving pulp production is projected to double by 2050 Less than 20 of the worldrsquos ancient forests remain intact in tracts large enough to maintain biological diversityForests in Indonesia Canadarsquos boreal and temperate rainforests and the Amazon are being logged for next seasonrsquos fashion
Canopyrsquos lsquoFashion Loved by Forestrsquo initiative partners with clothing brands to help them develop solutions to reduce the impact of their business on ancient forests Companies are asked to sign up to the CanopyStyle Pledge and create a policy on how they source wood-derived fabrics
Rainforest Action Networkrsquos (RAN) lsquoOut of Fashionrsquo campaign pinpointed several high-end fashion brands which it said must do more to ensure they werenrsquot making clothes from unsustainable wood pulp
Watch the campaign video and sign in support of RANrsquos Out of Fashion campaign wwwranorgout_of_fashion
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Fur-free shoppingAn investigation into angora farms in China by PETA Asia in December 2013 revealed shockingly cruel treatment of angora rabbits involving the live-plucking of fur from caged rabbits Many clothing companies have now stated that they will no longer sell angora The only companies covered in this issue who
are still selling it are Net-A-Porter in the Clothes Shops guide and Pepe and Guess covered in the Jeans guide
The following clothes shops have joined the Fur Free Alliancersquos Fur Free Retailer programme Topshop HampM ASOS MampS Next Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis From the other guides Nudie and MUD jeans and Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen are part of the programme More information from wwwfurfreeretailercomOther brands are listed as fur free by Humane Society International Mountain Hardwear Calvin Klein New Look Patagonia North Face Diesel Superdry Levirsquos Guess Tommy Hilfiger Howies and Uniqlo See wwwhumanesocietyorgissuesfur_fashiontipsfur-free_shoppinghtml for more details
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References 1 wwwantislaveryorgenglishcampaignscottoncrimesforced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgroundaspx
Network (RSN) introduced the lsquoCotton Pledge Against Child and Adult Forced Labour in Uzbek Cottonrsquo in 2011 To date over 160 companies have signed the pledge
However the RSN decided in 2014 that it was time to find out how companies were actually implementing the Cotton Pledge throughout their supply chains
It asked companies what efforts they were making to actually implement this pledge including communicating their policy to all parts of its supply chain including spinners and mills and auditing them for compliance The results were published in the lsquoCotton Sourcing Snapshotrsquo which can be downloaded from wwwsourcingnetworkorgcotton-sourcing-snapshot
See page 22 in the Jeans guide for discussion on the other issues associated with cotton production
Forced labour in the Uzbekrsquos cotton fields
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
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e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
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bull
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policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
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bull
Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
copy B
ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
copy A
nton
io G
rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
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bull
bull
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
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bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
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bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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email informationvegetarian-shoescouk
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Stuck for that unique Christmas present
Why not book a short course at CAT and stay with us for the weekend in our award-winning WISE building
Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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Apply now to start September 2016httpgsecatorguk
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ourses
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
Least fuel efficient
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Planning for your secure future without repression pollution or exploitation
Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
Ethical Investment Specialists
CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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For further information visitwwwethicalconsumerorglegacyenquiriesethicalconsumerorg0161 226 2929 thical
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
copy M
icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
bull Overseas ordersPhoneuson01612262929orgotoourwebsite-wwwethicalconsumerorgSubscriptionsaspx
Your message
1st gift subscription pound2995
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Order by midnight
on Wednesday 16th December for delivery by
Christmas
42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
14
ProductGUIDE
Company profiles
Excessive executive compensation
Next MampS Arcadia Primark TK Maxx Amazon ASOS Asda Tesco Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis all pay their top executives over pound1 million which we rate as excessive
Tax avoidance
We covered the latest on Amazonrsquos tax avoidance in issue 157 and a full version of the article can be found on our website Neither of the other two e-tailers ndash ASOS and Net-a-Porter ndash show any signs of being engaged in tax avoidance
Other companies in the report who receive our worst rating for tax avoidance include Arcadia whose ultimate holding company is registered in Jersey Matalan which is registered in Guernsey and HampM which appears to use holding companies based in Hong Kong for operations in China
More stories behind the rankings
Marks and Spencer does pretty well in a lot of our rankings It receives our best rating for its supply chain and environmental policies has signed the Bangladesh Accord and was rated a leader in Greenpeacersquos lsquoDetox Catwalkrsquo It has checks in place to ensure that none of its cotton comes from Uzbekistan and aims to procure 70 of its cotton from sustainable sources by 2020 (ie either Better Cotton Initiative Fairtrade Organic or recycled)
It was also one of a very few companies to receive the Clean Clothes Campaignrsquos top rating in 2014 for its work towards improving wages in its supply chain (none of the others who received it are in this guide) although the campaign grouprsquos assessment is still fairly circumspect
ldquoWe are pleased to see MampS has been doing work to make sure there are financial incentives for buyers to source from factories that MampS says pay living wages[but] it is impossible to judge the real benefit to workersbecause no figures have been disclosed it could all still be smoke and mirrorsrdquo1
On the downside Marks and Spencer is involved in several free trade lobby groups such as the World Economic Forum and EuroCommerce
Next is the biggest selling UK clothes retailer having overtaken Marks and Spencer in 2014 Its CEO Simon Wolfson is a Conservative peer who has donated over pound500000 to the Conservative Party over the past ten years co-chaired the partyrsquos Economic Competitiveness policy review and in 2010 was one of 35 signatories of an open letter calling on the Government to press ahead with public spending cuts
Indian companies that supply Next were found in 2012 to be employing Indian women under the Sumangali Scheme which is a form of bonded labour that requires low-caste women to work for several years to earn money to pay for a dowry4
As Primark made its name by selling implausibly cheap clothing it has been much focused on by campaigners However in its favour Primark was the first UK company to sign up to the Bangladeshi Accord and as detailed on page 17 it has donated far more to Rana Plaza victims than any other retailer
Primark is owned by Associated British Foods One of Associated British Foodsrsquo foreign subsidiaries Zambia Sugar was accused in 2013 of ripping off its host country by avoiding paying millions of pounds of tax which is really shocking given that Zambia is one of the poorest countries in the world2
HampM has promoted itself as a more ethical clothing retailer and produces reams of material about its supply chain policies although it is unclear how much is just talk and how much makes a real difference
HampM has been slammed recently for lagging behind on its commitments
under the Bangladeshi Accord However activists say the issues are not unique to HampM and the reason that they have focused on it is simply because it is such a big buyer from Bangladesh3
HampM has a lsquoRoadmap to a Fair Living Wagersquo aimed at increasing wages in its supplier factories which has been both praised and criticised by Labour Behind the Label ndash praised for including solid targets and dates but crucially criticised for failing to define what a living wage actually is
Like MampS HampM aims for all its cotton to come from ldquomore sustainable sourcesrdquo by 2020
Amazon currently has a boycott call against it called by us for its use of tax avoidance strategies
ASOS scores middle for its supply chain policy it has banned sandblasting in its supply chain and is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative On the downside it has no policy on toxics
References 1 Clean Clothes Campaign 2014 ldquoTailored Wagesrdquo EuroCommerce and World Economic Forum websites 2015 2 ActionAid 2013 ldquoSweet Nothingsrdquo 3 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 4 Maid in India report 2012 ndash India Committee of the Netherlands
copy S
ean
Pavo
ne |
Dre
amst
ime
com
Clothes shopsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
15
ProductGUIDE
She believes that in the Tamil Nadu region alone 200000 young women and girls are working under conditions of forced or bonded labour Many are producing cotton jersey (t-shirt fabric) clothing for export to the UK
Samantha Maher from Labour Behind the Label agrees and singles out another vulnerable group that the legislation could help ndash migrants
ldquoLots of migrants are in forced labour especially in Malaysia where people are having their passports taken as well as in the middle east in places like Jordan and Egyptrdquo
Campaigners yet to be convincedHowever some labour rights campaigners are yet to be convinced that the legislation will have the desired effect in improving working conditions
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label feels that reporting alone canrsquot help and the new legislation raises a number of questions
ldquoHow they are reporting and how it [the information] is used still appears to be undecided There is an assumption that NGOs will use the information to expose poor practice but capacity is limited so this wonrsquot be easy without resources and a clear process We also wonder how we will know if the reporting is accuraterdquo
Jane from Homeworkers Worldwide concurs She told Ethical Consumer
ldquoIt is very hard to predict what impact the Modern Slavery Act will have The difficulty is that [the companies] have to report what they are doing but someone will have to sift through the ethical spin to assess whether what they report is really having an impact on the ground whether they are really focusing their efforts on where the problems are etc
Holding companies to account on this will be difficult and will be a massive job for campaigners NGOs and activists ldquo
But she also has more fundamental concerns
ldquoThe current rhetoric on modern slavery in general is that modern slavery
(including forced and bonded labour) risks being seen as a distinct issue and treated quite separately from other forms of exploitation It is as though we can isolate a few criminal elements get rid of those and the rest of the industry can carry on as normalrdquo
Meanwhile TUC General Secretary Frances OrsquoGrady said that this legislation is just the start and that ldquoThe Government should build on the Modern Slavery Act and ratify the ILO Forced Labour Protocol immediatelyrdquo
This would mean not only to criminalise and prosecute forced labour but also to take more effective measures to prevent forced labour and provide victims with protection and access to remedies including compensation1
The way forwardDespite their criticisms campaigners are clear that the Act is a step in the right direction
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label
ldquoCompanies often have no idea where they are buying from so they may get a better grip of supply chains The act is also forcing the issue up from CSR to board level due to its legally binding naturerdquo
This is a view shared by Jane at Homeworkers Worldwide ldquoWhilst we donrsquot think it will in practice deliver much transparency the principle of companies taking responsibility for what goes on in global chains is an important one and making this a legal requirement is a starting point for pushing for greater responsibility and accountability in the futurerdquo
The Modern Slavery Act will force companies to publicly report on the steps they are taking to ensure there is no slavery or forced labour in their supply chains It has the potential to have a big impact on the clothing sector The Ethical Trading Initiative described the legislation as a ldquogame-changerrdquo
Karen Bradley the Home Office Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation said in a statement ldquoThe act will mean that major businesses will for the first time be expected to be transparent about the action they are taking to address modern slavery in their global supply chains
ldquoConsumers businesses and investors will now have valuable information to inform them on the companies they are supporting ndash and shoppers can make more informed decisions at the checkout Businesses risk damaging their reputation or their bottom line if they donrsquot take action to prevent modern slavery in their supply chainsrdquo
Huge numbers of bonded labourersThe legislation has the potential to have a positive impact on millions of workers all over the world
The International Labour Organisation estimates that almost 21 million people are currently working in some form of forced labour including many in the clothing sector2
Research from the Ashridge Centre for Business and Sustainability and the Ethical Trading Initiative found that 71 of companies believe there is a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some point in their supply chains3
Jane Tate from campaign group Homeworkers Worldwide is in no doubt that modern slavery is a big issue in the clothing sector ndash ldquoThere has been a lot of campaigning and work done attempting to address this issue including company projects and an ETI project but to our best knowledge the problem of forced labour still remains endemic in the industryrdquo
The new Modern Slavery Act
References 1 wwwiloorgwcmsp5groupspublic---ed_norm---declarationdocumentspublicationwcms_321414pdf 2 wwwtheguardiancomworld2015oct28uk-companies-proof-no-links-slave-labour-supply-chain 3 wwwethicaltradeorgnews-and-eventsnewsresearch-released-corporate-approaches-to-modern-slavery
Many campaigners are yet to be convinced that this new Act will have the desired effect Tim Hunt investigates
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
16
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
It is now more than two years since the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed killing over a thousand people and injuring 2500 ndash people who managers had ordered back to work despite cracks appearing in the walls Rana Plaza is considered the most fatal garment industry accident in history The resulting public outcry led to promises that things would change So have they
The Accord and the AllianceThere are three different factory safety schemes that were created in the aftermath of the disaster Two are industry-led ones The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (the Alliance) There is also a government-led scheme whose remit is to cover any factories not covered by the other two called the National Action Plan
For any industry scheme to be convincing it has to be substantially different from what went before because the track record of company safety audits in Bangladesh is not impressive Rana
Plaza had twice been audited by Primark and declared safe1 Primark says that it didnrsquot do a structural survey because nobody did them then but a building collapse was hardly unprecedented in 2005 one had killed 64 workers And this is only one of a string of audit failures that have been luridly illustrated by mass fatalities In 2010 a fire at the Garib amp Garib sweater factory killed 21 workers four months after HampM had audited it HampM officially required suppliersrsquo factories to have adequate exits and fire-fighting equipment but this one passed the audit with neither and two people had already died in a fire at the factory a few months earlier2
Factory safety two years on from Rana Plaza
Companies in these guides which have signed the Accordbull Arcadia bull Debenhams bull G Star bull Helly Hansen bull HampM bull John Lewis bull MampS bull Matalan bull New Look bull Next bull Primark bull PVH bull River Island bull Sainsburyrsquos bull Tesco bull Uniqlo
ldquoDonrsquot look for me where leaves are
falling
You will not find me there my beloved
At the machines where lives are
withered
It is there that I lie deadrdquo
A verse from a 1911 song written to commemorate the Triangle garment factory disaster in New York which generated a labour rights movement that revolutionised labour standards in the USA (Mayn Rue Platz by Morris Rosenfeld in translation)
The aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collpase in 2013 1134 people were killed and over 2500 injured as the 8-storey building housing five garment factories collapsed
Inte
rnat
iona
l Lab
or R
ight
s Fo
rum
Josie Wexler takes a look at progress towards creating safer clothing factories in Bangladesh
17
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The Accord however is different It is not another self-policed scheme that companies can adhere to if they feel like it It is a legally-binding agreement between brands and trade unions and signing it means that if safety issues are found in a companyrsquos suppliersrsquo factories and are not fixed the company can be sued
Campaigners had spent years trying and failing to get brands to enter into such an agreement Within weeks of Rana Plazarsquos collapse nearly 40 companies had signed The number is now over 200
However many American companies have refused to sign most notably Walmart (ASDA) and Gap They created the other alternative industry scheme the Alliance which is not legally binding and is widely believed to be basically meaningless window dressing It has only 26 members
Recent developmentsMost although not all of the 3500 clothing factories in Bangladesh have been inspected under one of the three schemes over the past two years largely by the Accord The Accord has closed thirty-five factories altogether and safety upgrades have begun in hundreds of others3 All of the Accordrsquos inspection reports with photographs are freely available on the web ndash transparency is one of its central principles which is another big break from the auditing schemes of the past
However progress on the upgrades has been terribly slow and the unions are now initiating a formal complaint about several brands including HampM who they say are not fulfilling their obligations at a reasonable pace The complaint is the first step towards legal arbitration which would be quite unprecedented4
A further development is that in June 2015 42 people in Bangladesh were
charged with murder over the Rana Plaza deaths including the buildingrsquos owner Sohel Rana the owners of the five factories in the building and 13 government officials If convicted they could face the death penalty
CompensationIn 2014 Labour Behind the Label ran a ldquopay uprdquo campaign pressuring companies to compensate Rana Plazarsquos victimsrsquo families The good news is that although it took a huge struggle the campaign was a success The Rana Plaza Donorrsquos Trust Fund met its target of $30 million in June 2015
Primark comes out by far the best in this story It donated a total of $8 million ndash $1 million to the fund and $7 million directly to victimsWalmart is estimated to have donated $1 million
bull
bull
References 1 Vogue 2014 How The World Has Changed Since Rana Plaza 2 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo 3 Good Choice Forex June 1 2015 ldquoTwo Years After Rana Plaza Disaster Uneven Progress In Bangladeshrsquos Garment Industryrdquo 4 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 5 Clean Clothes Campaign 2015 ldquoWho has paid and who is dragging their heelsrdquo 6 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo
The dumping ground for the Rana Plaza debris just metres away from the victimsrsquo homes
North Face Death TrapsAmerican student groups have been leading the way on pressurising companies who have refused to sign the Accord United Students Against Sweatshops have run a campaign called lsquoNorth Face Death Trapsrsquo targeting VF Corporation as the largest branded clothing manufacturer in the world over its refusal to sign The campaign can be found at httpnorthfacedeathtrapscom
North Face appears in the Waterproof jackets guide whilst VF Corporation owns Lee and Wrangler jeans
Matalan initially refused to donate anything but after being hounded by campaigners it made a rather half-hearted donation of $100000HampM donated approximately $200000 Unlike the three companies above it was not sourcing from Rana Plaza but it is the biggest buyer from Bangladesh as a whole5
Rana Plaza has started to change the game in more ways than one After the Garib amp Garib fire HampM commissioned Save the Children to assess workersrsquo familiesrsquo needs and it decided to focus just on helping children and the elderly But the Rana Plaza fund goes further and is compensating all victimsrsquo families based on loss of income6
There is talk in campaign groups about how to take the Accord further ndash extending it outside Bangladesh or using the same model in other areas such as wages Watch this space
bull
bull
http
f
oxfa
shio
nor
guk
18
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The garment industry is a major employer across the world ndash in Asia for example over 15 million people are employed by the industry With global brands making millions in profits every year this booming industry has come to rely on and exploit the cheap labour of millions of garment workers whose wages fall far short of a living wage
The lack of a living wage means many garment workers are forced to work long hours to earn overtime or bonuses and cannot risk refusing work due to unsafe working conditions or taking time off due to ill health The low wages mean that workers often have to rely on loans just to make ends meet and have no savings to use if they find themselves out of work
A living wage calculation across a region is key to ensuring not only that workers receive a decent wage but also that wage differences do not mean companies pull out of one country to move manufacturing to a country with lower costs ndash the so-called race to the bottom
Living wage calculations must take into account some common factors including the number of family members to be supported the basic nutritional needs of a worker and other basic needs including housing healthcare education and some basic savings
Clean Clothes Campaign is part of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance ndash an alliance of Asian trade unions and labour groups who have calculated a living wage formula for Asia
The Asia Floor Wage calculation cannot be simply applied to other regions as some of the assumptions do not apply For
example in Asia food costs are relatively high and standards of living such as housing are very low whereas in other regions such as Eastern Europe food costs are relatively lower when compared to housing
Clean Clothes Campaign partners are working on defining
and calculating living wages for other garment producing regions
They are calling forClothing brands and companies to set concrete measurable steps throughout their supply chain to ensure garment workers get paid a living wageNational governments in garment producing countries to make sure minimum wages are set at living wage standardsEuropean governments to implement regulation to ensure companies are responsible for the impact they have on the lives of workers in their supply chainSign the Clean Clothes Campaign
petition calling for all garment workers to receive a living wage ndash wwwcleanclothesorglivingwagesign
bull
bull
bull
Struggling for a living wage
A living wage in CambodiaFor several years garment workers and trade unions in Cambodia have been engaged in a bitter conflict with the government over the minimum wage with strikes protests and brutal government crackdowns resulting in deaths injuries and imprisonments Garment workers want US$177 per month enough cover their basic living expenses In 2014 Asia Floor Wage calculated the living wage in Cambodia to be US$396 per month
Though it has made increases the Cambodian government has still not reached the $177 called for Further negotiations and protests in October this year saw the government settle on $140 a month to come into effect in January 2016 Needless to say this has angered some ldquoThis figure is reasonable and acceptable Even itrsquos not acceptable to all we have no choicerdquo Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng was quoted as saying
The top five brands sourcing from Cambodia include three brands in these clothes guides HampM GAP Levi Strauss amp Co
Living wage initiativesLiving Wage Now Forum
In October this year the CCCrsquos Living Wage Now Forum brought together workersrsquo representatives from around the world brand representatives (HampM Primark CampA New Look Pentland NrsquoBrown and Tchibo) European policy makers experts and members of workerrsquos rights organisations to discuss the next concrete steps towards a fashion industry that respects human rights and pays all workers a living wage based on proposals from the CCC Follow its progress here wwwlivingwagenoweu
ACT initiative
A number of brands and retailers are collaborating with the IndustriALL Global Union on the Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT) making a commitment to work with their suppliers in order to support a living wage
Brands in this guide that are involved with ACT are ASOS HampM Arcadia Tesco Primark Next
A full list of members could not be found but these companies were mentioned online in connection with the project
For an average item of clothing only between
05-3 of the cost goes to the worker who made it This means that on an euro8 t-shirt the most a worker will get paid is 24 cents
Clean Clothes Campaign
What are the companies in this issue doing about living wagesThe following brands from this guide explicitly make provision for a living wage in their supply chain policies
Major clothes retailers Next Arcadia Primark Debenhams New Look Tesco John Lewis
Waterproof jacketstrousers Patagonia Jack Wolfskin Paramo Mountain Equipment
Jeans G-Star Nudie PVH brands (Calvin Klein amp Tommy Hilfiger)
19
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
For decades the Government of Uzbekistan has been forcing its citizens both children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest As a result of sustained campaign pressure on the issue of child labour 2014 saw the burden of labour shifted onto adults with lsquomassesrsquo of teachers and medical professionals forced into the cotton fields1
Having engaged companies on the issue since 2008 the Responsible Sourcing
Clothing campaigns
Best scores on Uzbek cottonIn order to receive Ethical Consumerrsquos best rating on this issue all medium- to large-sized companies are expected both to have signed the Cotton Pledge and to demonstrate concrete actions to implement it throughout their supply chains Otherwise the company must only use organic or Better Cotton Initiative cotton
Companies in this issue which receive a best score are
Major clothes retailers MampS Arcadia (Topshop etc) TK Maxx New Look
Waterproof jacketstrousers Jack Wolfskin Patagonia
Jeans Nudie Kuyichi Mud FREITAG (does not use cotton) Levirsquos PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
bull
bull
bull
Companies whorsquove signed the CanopyStyle Pledge Patagonia Levi Strauss amp Co HampM Marks amp Spencer ASOS G-Star RAW
Companies targeted by RAN Guess
Forest-friendly fashionForests probably arenrsquot something that immediately come to mind when considering the impacts of the fashion industry However many commonly used fabrics are derived from wood pulp Check your clothes labels for rayon viscose modal and tencel and itrsquos highly likely yoursquoll spot them ndash either on their own or blended with other fibres Mixed with polyester they give clothes a more pleasant lsquofeelrsquo and often replace cotton because theyrsquore cheaper to produce
So whatrsquos the issue
More than 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into cellulose fabric ndash if placed end to end those trees would circle the earth seven timesDissolving pulp (the base material for rayonviscose) wastes approximately 70 of the tree and is a chemically intensive manufacturing process Dissolving pulp production is projected to double by 2050 Less than 20 of the worldrsquos ancient forests remain intact in tracts large enough to maintain biological diversityForests in Indonesia Canadarsquos boreal and temperate rainforests and the Amazon are being logged for next seasonrsquos fashion
Canopyrsquos lsquoFashion Loved by Forestrsquo initiative partners with clothing brands to help them develop solutions to reduce the impact of their business on ancient forests Companies are asked to sign up to the CanopyStyle Pledge and create a policy on how they source wood-derived fabrics
Rainforest Action Networkrsquos (RAN) lsquoOut of Fashionrsquo campaign pinpointed several high-end fashion brands which it said must do more to ensure they werenrsquot making clothes from unsustainable wood pulp
Watch the campaign video and sign in support of RANrsquos Out of Fashion campaign wwwranorgout_of_fashion
bull
bull
bull
bull
Fur-free shoppingAn investigation into angora farms in China by PETA Asia in December 2013 revealed shockingly cruel treatment of angora rabbits involving the live-plucking of fur from caged rabbits Many clothing companies have now stated that they will no longer sell angora The only companies covered in this issue who
are still selling it are Net-A-Porter in the Clothes Shops guide and Pepe and Guess covered in the Jeans guide
The following clothes shops have joined the Fur Free Alliancersquos Fur Free Retailer programme Topshop HampM ASOS MampS Next Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis From the other guides Nudie and MUD jeans and Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen are part of the programme More information from wwwfurfreeretailercomOther brands are listed as fur free by Humane Society International Mountain Hardwear Calvin Klein New Look Patagonia North Face Diesel Superdry Levirsquos Guess Tommy Hilfiger Howies and Uniqlo See wwwhumanesocietyorgissuesfur_fashiontipsfur-free_shoppinghtml for more details
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bull
References 1 wwwantislaveryorgenglishcampaignscottoncrimesforced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgroundaspx
Network (RSN) introduced the lsquoCotton Pledge Against Child and Adult Forced Labour in Uzbek Cottonrsquo in 2011 To date over 160 companies have signed the pledge
However the RSN decided in 2014 that it was time to find out how companies were actually implementing the Cotton Pledge throughout their supply chains
It asked companies what efforts they were making to actually implement this pledge including communicating their policy to all parts of its supply chain including spinners and mills and auditing them for compliance The results were published in the lsquoCotton Sourcing Snapshotrsquo which can be downloaded from wwwsourcingnetworkorgcotton-sourcing-snapshot
See page 22 in the Jeans guide for discussion on the other issues associated with cotton production
Forced labour in the Uzbekrsquos cotton fields
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
bull
bull
bull
policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
bull
bull
Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
copy B
ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
copy A
nton
io G
rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
bull
bull
bull
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
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References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
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bull
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References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
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Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
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Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
httpcoursescatorguk
Transformative Postgraduate Programmes
Sustainable Architecture
MSc Sustainability and Adaptation in the Built EnvironmentEnergy in buildings natural materials applied projects
MSc Sustainability and Adaptation PlanningCities and communities transition strategy politics and economics
MSc Renewable Energy and the Built Environment
Apply now to start September 2016httpgsecatorguk
10 o Short C
ourses
for subscr
ibers
please quote
EC15
39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
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Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
copy M
icha
el F
lippo
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ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
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Address
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issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
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ProductGUIDE
She believes that in the Tamil Nadu region alone 200000 young women and girls are working under conditions of forced or bonded labour Many are producing cotton jersey (t-shirt fabric) clothing for export to the UK
Samantha Maher from Labour Behind the Label agrees and singles out another vulnerable group that the legislation could help ndash migrants
ldquoLots of migrants are in forced labour especially in Malaysia where people are having their passports taken as well as in the middle east in places like Jordan and Egyptrdquo
Campaigners yet to be convincedHowever some labour rights campaigners are yet to be convinced that the legislation will have the desired effect in improving working conditions
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label feels that reporting alone canrsquot help and the new legislation raises a number of questions
ldquoHow they are reporting and how it [the information] is used still appears to be undecided There is an assumption that NGOs will use the information to expose poor practice but capacity is limited so this wonrsquot be easy without resources and a clear process We also wonder how we will know if the reporting is accuraterdquo
Jane from Homeworkers Worldwide concurs She told Ethical Consumer
ldquoIt is very hard to predict what impact the Modern Slavery Act will have The difficulty is that [the companies] have to report what they are doing but someone will have to sift through the ethical spin to assess whether what they report is really having an impact on the ground whether they are really focusing their efforts on where the problems are etc
Holding companies to account on this will be difficult and will be a massive job for campaigners NGOs and activists ldquo
But she also has more fundamental concerns
ldquoThe current rhetoric on modern slavery in general is that modern slavery
(including forced and bonded labour) risks being seen as a distinct issue and treated quite separately from other forms of exploitation It is as though we can isolate a few criminal elements get rid of those and the rest of the industry can carry on as normalrdquo
Meanwhile TUC General Secretary Frances OrsquoGrady said that this legislation is just the start and that ldquoThe Government should build on the Modern Slavery Act and ratify the ILO Forced Labour Protocol immediatelyrdquo
This would mean not only to criminalise and prosecute forced labour but also to take more effective measures to prevent forced labour and provide victims with protection and access to remedies including compensation1
The way forwardDespite their criticisms campaigners are clear that the Act is a step in the right direction
Samantha from Labour Behind the Label
ldquoCompanies often have no idea where they are buying from so they may get a better grip of supply chains The act is also forcing the issue up from CSR to board level due to its legally binding naturerdquo
This is a view shared by Jane at Homeworkers Worldwide ldquoWhilst we donrsquot think it will in practice deliver much transparency the principle of companies taking responsibility for what goes on in global chains is an important one and making this a legal requirement is a starting point for pushing for greater responsibility and accountability in the futurerdquo
The Modern Slavery Act will force companies to publicly report on the steps they are taking to ensure there is no slavery or forced labour in their supply chains It has the potential to have a big impact on the clothing sector The Ethical Trading Initiative described the legislation as a ldquogame-changerrdquo
Karen Bradley the Home Office Minister for Preventing Abuse and Exploitation said in a statement ldquoThe act will mean that major businesses will for the first time be expected to be transparent about the action they are taking to address modern slavery in their global supply chains
ldquoConsumers businesses and investors will now have valuable information to inform them on the companies they are supporting ndash and shoppers can make more informed decisions at the checkout Businesses risk damaging their reputation or their bottom line if they donrsquot take action to prevent modern slavery in their supply chainsrdquo
Huge numbers of bonded labourersThe legislation has the potential to have a positive impact on millions of workers all over the world
The International Labour Organisation estimates that almost 21 million people are currently working in some form of forced labour including many in the clothing sector2
Research from the Ashridge Centre for Business and Sustainability and the Ethical Trading Initiative found that 71 of companies believe there is a likelihood of modern slavery occurring at some point in their supply chains3
Jane Tate from campaign group Homeworkers Worldwide is in no doubt that modern slavery is a big issue in the clothing sector ndash ldquoThere has been a lot of campaigning and work done attempting to address this issue including company projects and an ETI project but to our best knowledge the problem of forced labour still remains endemic in the industryrdquo
The new Modern Slavery Act
References 1 wwwiloorgwcmsp5groupspublic---ed_norm---declarationdocumentspublicationwcms_321414pdf 2 wwwtheguardiancomworld2015oct28uk-companies-proof-no-links-slave-labour-supply-chain 3 wwwethicaltradeorgnews-and-eventsnewsresearch-released-corporate-approaches-to-modern-slavery
Many campaigners are yet to be convinced that this new Act will have the desired effect Tim Hunt investigates
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
16
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
It is now more than two years since the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed killing over a thousand people and injuring 2500 ndash people who managers had ordered back to work despite cracks appearing in the walls Rana Plaza is considered the most fatal garment industry accident in history The resulting public outcry led to promises that things would change So have they
The Accord and the AllianceThere are three different factory safety schemes that were created in the aftermath of the disaster Two are industry-led ones The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (the Alliance) There is also a government-led scheme whose remit is to cover any factories not covered by the other two called the National Action Plan
For any industry scheme to be convincing it has to be substantially different from what went before because the track record of company safety audits in Bangladesh is not impressive Rana
Plaza had twice been audited by Primark and declared safe1 Primark says that it didnrsquot do a structural survey because nobody did them then but a building collapse was hardly unprecedented in 2005 one had killed 64 workers And this is only one of a string of audit failures that have been luridly illustrated by mass fatalities In 2010 a fire at the Garib amp Garib sweater factory killed 21 workers four months after HampM had audited it HampM officially required suppliersrsquo factories to have adequate exits and fire-fighting equipment but this one passed the audit with neither and two people had already died in a fire at the factory a few months earlier2
Factory safety two years on from Rana Plaza
Companies in these guides which have signed the Accordbull Arcadia bull Debenhams bull G Star bull Helly Hansen bull HampM bull John Lewis bull MampS bull Matalan bull New Look bull Next bull Primark bull PVH bull River Island bull Sainsburyrsquos bull Tesco bull Uniqlo
ldquoDonrsquot look for me where leaves are
falling
You will not find me there my beloved
At the machines where lives are
withered
It is there that I lie deadrdquo
A verse from a 1911 song written to commemorate the Triangle garment factory disaster in New York which generated a labour rights movement that revolutionised labour standards in the USA (Mayn Rue Platz by Morris Rosenfeld in translation)
The aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collpase in 2013 1134 people were killed and over 2500 injured as the 8-storey building housing five garment factories collapsed
Inte
rnat
iona
l Lab
or R
ight
s Fo
rum
Josie Wexler takes a look at progress towards creating safer clothing factories in Bangladesh
17
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The Accord however is different It is not another self-policed scheme that companies can adhere to if they feel like it It is a legally-binding agreement between brands and trade unions and signing it means that if safety issues are found in a companyrsquos suppliersrsquo factories and are not fixed the company can be sued
Campaigners had spent years trying and failing to get brands to enter into such an agreement Within weeks of Rana Plazarsquos collapse nearly 40 companies had signed The number is now over 200
However many American companies have refused to sign most notably Walmart (ASDA) and Gap They created the other alternative industry scheme the Alliance which is not legally binding and is widely believed to be basically meaningless window dressing It has only 26 members
Recent developmentsMost although not all of the 3500 clothing factories in Bangladesh have been inspected under one of the three schemes over the past two years largely by the Accord The Accord has closed thirty-five factories altogether and safety upgrades have begun in hundreds of others3 All of the Accordrsquos inspection reports with photographs are freely available on the web ndash transparency is one of its central principles which is another big break from the auditing schemes of the past
However progress on the upgrades has been terribly slow and the unions are now initiating a formal complaint about several brands including HampM who they say are not fulfilling their obligations at a reasonable pace The complaint is the first step towards legal arbitration which would be quite unprecedented4
A further development is that in June 2015 42 people in Bangladesh were
charged with murder over the Rana Plaza deaths including the buildingrsquos owner Sohel Rana the owners of the five factories in the building and 13 government officials If convicted they could face the death penalty
CompensationIn 2014 Labour Behind the Label ran a ldquopay uprdquo campaign pressuring companies to compensate Rana Plazarsquos victimsrsquo families The good news is that although it took a huge struggle the campaign was a success The Rana Plaza Donorrsquos Trust Fund met its target of $30 million in June 2015
Primark comes out by far the best in this story It donated a total of $8 million ndash $1 million to the fund and $7 million directly to victimsWalmart is estimated to have donated $1 million
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bull
References 1 Vogue 2014 How The World Has Changed Since Rana Plaza 2 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo 3 Good Choice Forex June 1 2015 ldquoTwo Years After Rana Plaza Disaster Uneven Progress In Bangladeshrsquos Garment Industryrdquo 4 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 5 Clean Clothes Campaign 2015 ldquoWho has paid and who is dragging their heelsrdquo 6 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo
The dumping ground for the Rana Plaza debris just metres away from the victimsrsquo homes
North Face Death TrapsAmerican student groups have been leading the way on pressurising companies who have refused to sign the Accord United Students Against Sweatshops have run a campaign called lsquoNorth Face Death Trapsrsquo targeting VF Corporation as the largest branded clothing manufacturer in the world over its refusal to sign The campaign can be found at httpnorthfacedeathtrapscom
North Face appears in the Waterproof jackets guide whilst VF Corporation owns Lee and Wrangler jeans
Matalan initially refused to donate anything but after being hounded by campaigners it made a rather half-hearted donation of $100000HampM donated approximately $200000 Unlike the three companies above it was not sourcing from Rana Plaza but it is the biggest buyer from Bangladesh as a whole5
Rana Plaza has started to change the game in more ways than one After the Garib amp Garib fire HampM commissioned Save the Children to assess workersrsquo familiesrsquo needs and it decided to focus just on helping children and the elderly But the Rana Plaza fund goes further and is compensating all victimsrsquo families based on loss of income6
There is talk in campaign groups about how to take the Accord further ndash extending it outside Bangladesh or using the same model in other areas such as wages Watch this space
bull
bull
http
f
oxfa
shio
nor
guk
18
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The garment industry is a major employer across the world ndash in Asia for example over 15 million people are employed by the industry With global brands making millions in profits every year this booming industry has come to rely on and exploit the cheap labour of millions of garment workers whose wages fall far short of a living wage
The lack of a living wage means many garment workers are forced to work long hours to earn overtime or bonuses and cannot risk refusing work due to unsafe working conditions or taking time off due to ill health The low wages mean that workers often have to rely on loans just to make ends meet and have no savings to use if they find themselves out of work
A living wage calculation across a region is key to ensuring not only that workers receive a decent wage but also that wage differences do not mean companies pull out of one country to move manufacturing to a country with lower costs ndash the so-called race to the bottom
Living wage calculations must take into account some common factors including the number of family members to be supported the basic nutritional needs of a worker and other basic needs including housing healthcare education and some basic savings
Clean Clothes Campaign is part of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance ndash an alliance of Asian trade unions and labour groups who have calculated a living wage formula for Asia
The Asia Floor Wage calculation cannot be simply applied to other regions as some of the assumptions do not apply For
example in Asia food costs are relatively high and standards of living such as housing are very low whereas in other regions such as Eastern Europe food costs are relatively lower when compared to housing
Clean Clothes Campaign partners are working on defining
and calculating living wages for other garment producing regions
They are calling forClothing brands and companies to set concrete measurable steps throughout their supply chain to ensure garment workers get paid a living wageNational governments in garment producing countries to make sure minimum wages are set at living wage standardsEuropean governments to implement regulation to ensure companies are responsible for the impact they have on the lives of workers in their supply chainSign the Clean Clothes Campaign
petition calling for all garment workers to receive a living wage ndash wwwcleanclothesorglivingwagesign
bull
bull
bull
Struggling for a living wage
A living wage in CambodiaFor several years garment workers and trade unions in Cambodia have been engaged in a bitter conflict with the government over the minimum wage with strikes protests and brutal government crackdowns resulting in deaths injuries and imprisonments Garment workers want US$177 per month enough cover their basic living expenses In 2014 Asia Floor Wage calculated the living wage in Cambodia to be US$396 per month
Though it has made increases the Cambodian government has still not reached the $177 called for Further negotiations and protests in October this year saw the government settle on $140 a month to come into effect in January 2016 Needless to say this has angered some ldquoThis figure is reasonable and acceptable Even itrsquos not acceptable to all we have no choicerdquo Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng was quoted as saying
The top five brands sourcing from Cambodia include three brands in these clothes guides HampM GAP Levi Strauss amp Co
Living wage initiativesLiving Wage Now Forum
In October this year the CCCrsquos Living Wage Now Forum brought together workersrsquo representatives from around the world brand representatives (HampM Primark CampA New Look Pentland NrsquoBrown and Tchibo) European policy makers experts and members of workerrsquos rights organisations to discuss the next concrete steps towards a fashion industry that respects human rights and pays all workers a living wage based on proposals from the CCC Follow its progress here wwwlivingwagenoweu
ACT initiative
A number of brands and retailers are collaborating with the IndustriALL Global Union on the Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT) making a commitment to work with their suppliers in order to support a living wage
Brands in this guide that are involved with ACT are ASOS HampM Arcadia Tesco Primark Next
A full list of members could not be found but these companies were mentioned online in connection with the project
For an average item of clothing only between
05-3 of the cost goes to the worker who made it This means that on an euro8 t-shirt the most a worker will get paid is 24 cents
Clean Clothes Campaign
What are the companies in this issue doing about living wagesThe following brands from this guide explicitly make provision for a living wage in their supply chain policies
Major clothes retailers Next Arcadia Primark Debenhams New Look Tesco John Lewis
Waterproof jacketstrousers Patagonia Jack Wolfskin Paramo Mountain Equipment
Jeans G-Star Nudie PVH brands (Calvin Klein amp Tommy Hilfiger)
19
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
For decades the Government of Uzbekistan has been forcing its citizens both children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest As a result of sustained campaign pressure on the issue of child labour 2014 saw the burden of labour shifted onto adults with lsquomassesrsquo of teachers and medical professionals forced into the cotton fields1
Having engaged companies on the issue since 2008 the Responsible Sourcing
Clothing campaigns
Best scores on Uzbek cottonIn order to receive Ethical Consumerrsquos best rating on this issue all medium- to large-sized companies are expected both to have signed the Cotton Pledge and to demonstrate concrete actions to implement it throughout their supply chains Otherwise the company must only use organic or Better Cotton Initiative cotton
Companies in this issue which receive a best score are
Major clothes retailers MampS Arcadia (Topshop etc) TK Maxx New Look
Waterproof jacketstrousers Jack Wolfskin Patagonia
Jeans Nudie Kuyichi Mud FREITAG (does not use cotton) Levirsquos PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
bull
bull
bull
Companies whorsquove signed the CanopyStyle Pledge Patagonia Levi Strauss amp Co HampM Marks amp Spencer ASOS G-Star RAW
Companies targeted by RAN Guess
Forest-friendly fashionForests probably arenrsquot something that immediately come to mind when considering the impacts of the fashion industry However many commonly used fabrics are derived from wood pulp Check your clothes labels for rayon viscose modal and tencel and itrsquos highly likely yoursquoll spot them ndash either on their own or blended with other fibres Mixed with polyester they give clothes a more pleasant lsquofeelrsquo and often replace cotton because theyrsquore cheaper to produce
So whatrsquos the issue
More than 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into cellulose fabric ndash if placed end to end those trees would circle the earth seven timesDissolving pulp (the base material for rayonviscose) wastes approximately 70 of the tree and is a chemically intensive manufacturing process Dissolving pulp production is projected to double by 2050 Less than 20 of the worldrsquos ancient forests remain intact in tracts large enough to maintain biological diversityForests in Indonesia Canadarsquos boreal and temperate rainforests and the Amazon are being logged for next seasonrsquos fashion
Canopyrsquos lsquoFashion Loved by Forestrsquo initiative partners with clothing brands to help them develop solutions to reduce the impact of their business on ancient forests Companies are asked to sign up to the CanopyStyle Pledge and create a policy on how they source wood-derived fabrics
Rainforest Action Networkrsquos (RAN) lsquoOut of Fashionrsquo campaign pinpointed several high-end fashion brands which it said must do more to ensure they werenrsquot making clothes from unsustainable wood pulp
Watch the campaign video and sign in support of RANrsquos Out of Fashion campaign wwwranorgout_of_fashion
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bull
bull
bull
Fur-free shoppingAn investigation into angora farms in China by PETA Asia in December 2013 revealed shockingly cruel treatment of angora rabbits involving the live-plucking of fur from caged rabbits Many clothing companies have now stated that they will no longer sell angora The only companies covered in this issue who
are still selling it are Net-A-Porter in the Clothes Shops guide and Pepe and Guess covered in the Jeans guide
The following clothes shops have joined the Fur Free Alliancersquos Fur Free Retailer programme Topshop HampM ASOS MampS Next Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis From the other guides Nudie and MUD jeans and Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen are part of the programme More information from wwwfurfreeretailercomOther brands are listed as fur free by Humane Society International Mountain Hardwear Calvin Klein New Look Patagonia North Face Diesel Superdry Levirsquos Guess Tommy Hilfiger Howies and Uniqlo See wwwhumanesocietyorgissuesfur_fashiontipsfur-free_shoppinghtml for more details
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References 1 wwwantislaveryorgenglishcampaignscottoncrimesforced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgroundaspx
Network (RSN) introduced the lsquoCotton Pledge Against Child and Adult Forced Labour in Uzbek Cottonrsquo in 2011 To date over 160 companies have signed the pledge
However the RSN decided in 2014 that it was time to find out how companies were actually implementing the Cotton Pledge throughout their supply chains
It asked companies what efforts they were making to actually implement this pledge including communicating their policy to all parts of its supply chain including spinners and mills and auditing them for compliance The results were published in the lsquoCotton Sourcing Snapshotrsquo which can be downloaded from wwwsourcingnetworkorgcotton-sourcing-snapshot
See page 22 in the Jeans guide for discussion on the other issues associated with cotton production
Forced labour in the Uzbekrsquos cotton fields
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
bull
bull
bull
policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
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Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
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ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
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nton
io G
rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
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bull
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WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
bull
bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
bull
bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
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asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
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Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
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Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
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CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
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lippo
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ream
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eco
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2nd gift subscription pound2995
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issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
16
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
It is now more than two years since the Rana Plaza building in Bangladesh collapsed killing over a thousand people and injuring 2500 ndash people who managers had ordered back to work despite cracks appearing in the walls Rana Plaza is considered the most fatal garment industry accident in history The resulting public outcry led to promises that things would change So have they
The Accord and the AllianceThere are three different factory safety schemes that were created in the aftermath of the disaster Two are industry-led ones The Bangladesh Accord on Fire and Building Safety (the Accord) and the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety (the Alliance) There is also a government-led scheme whose remit is to cover any factories not covered by the other two called the National Action Plan
For any industry scheme to be convincing it has to be substantially different from what went before because the track record of company safety audits in Bangladesh is not impressive Rana
Plaza had twice been audited by Primark and declared safe1 Primark says that it didnrsquot do a structural survey because nobody did them then but a building collapse was hardly unprecedented in 2005 one had killed 64 workers And this is only one of a string of audit failures that have been luridly illustrated by mass fatalities In 2010 a fire at the Garib amp Garib sweater factory killed 21 workers four months after HampM had audited it HampM officially required suppliersrsquo factories to have adequate exits and fire-fighting equipment but this one passed the audit with neither and two people had already died in a fire at the factory a few months earlier2
Factory safety two years on from Rana Plaza
Companies in these guides which have signed the Accordbull Arcadia bull Debenhams bull G Star bull Helly Hansen bull HampM bull John Lewis bull MampS bull Matalan bull New Look bull Next bull Primark bull PVH bull River Island bull Sainsburyrsquos bull Tesco bull Uniqlo
ldquoDonrsquot look for me where leaves are
falling
You will not find me there my beloved
At the machines where lives are
withered
It is there that I lie deadrdquo
A verse from a 1911 song written to commemorate the Triangle garment factory disaster in New York which generated a labour rights movement that revolutionised labour standards in the USA (Mayn Rue Platz by Morris Rosenfeld in translation)
The aftermath of the Rana Plaza factory collpase in 2013 1134 people were killed and over 2500 injured as the 8-storey building housing five garment factories collapsed
Inte
rnat
iona
l Lab
or R
ight
s Fo
rum
Josie Wexler takes a look at progress towards creating safer clothing factories in Bangladesh
17
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The Accord however is different It is not another self-policed scheme that companies can adhere to if they feel like it It is a legally-binding agreement between brands and trade unions and signing it means that if safety issues are found in a companyrsquos suppliersrsquo factories and are not fixed the company can be sued
Campaigners had spent years trying and failing to get brands to enter into such an agreement Within weeks of Rana Plazarsquos collapse nearly 40 companies had signed The number is now over 200
However many American companies have refused to sign most notably Walmart (ASDA) and Gap They created the other alternative industry scheme the Alliance which is not legally binding and is widely believed to be basically meaningless window dressing It has only 26 members
Recent developmentsMost although not all of the 3500 clothing factories in Bangladesh have been inspected under one of the three schemes over the past two years largely by the Accord The Accord has closed thirty-five factories altogether and safety upgrades have begun in hundreds of others3 All of the Accordrsquos inspection reports with photographs are freely available on the web ndash transparency is one of its central principles which is another big break from the auditing schemes of the past
However progress on the upgrades has been terribly slow and the unions are now initiating a formal complaint about several brands including HampM who they say are not fulfilling their obligations at a reasonable pace The complaint is the first step towards legal arbitration which would be quite unprecedented4
A further development is that in June 2015 42 people in Bangladesh were
charged with murder over the Rana Plaza deaths including the buildingrsquos owner Sohel Rana the owners of the five factories in the building and 13 government officials If convicted they could face the death penalty
CompensationIn 2014 Labour Behind the Label ran a ldquopay uprdquo campaign pressuring companies to compensate Rana Plazarsquos victimsrsquo families The good news is that although it took a huge struggle the campaign was a success The Rana Plaza Donorrsquos Trust Fund met its target of $30 million in June 2015
Primark comes out by far the best in this story It donated a total of $8 million ndash $1 million to the fund and $7 million directly to victimsWalmart is estimated to have donated $1 million
bull
bull
References 1 Vogue 2014 How The World Has Changed Since Rana Plaza 2 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo 3 Good Choice Forex June 1 2015 ldquoTwo Years After Rana Plaza Disaster Uneven Progress In Bangladeshrsquos Garment Industryrdquo 4 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 5 Clean Clothes Campaign 2015 ldquoWho has paid and who is dragging their heelsrdquo 6 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo
The dumping ground for the Rana Plaza debris just metres away from the victimsrsquo homes
North Face Death TrapsAmerican student groups have been leading the way on pressurising companies who have refused to sign the Accord United Students Against Sweatshops have run a campaign called lsquoNorth Face Death Trapsrsquo targeting VF Corporation as the largest branded clothing manufacturer in the world over its refusal to sign The campaign can be found at httpnorthfacedeathtrapscom
North Face appears in the Waterproof jackets guide whilst VF Corporation owns Lee and Wrangler jeans
Matalan initially refused to donate anything but after being hounded by campaigners it made a rather half-hearted donation of $100000HampM donated approximately $200000 Unlike the three companies above it was not sourcing from Rana Plaza but it is the biggest buyer from Bangladesh as a whole5
Rana Plaza has started to change the game in more ways than one After the Garib amp Garib fire HampM commissioned Save the Children to assess workersrsquo familiesrsquo needs and it decided to focus just on helping children and the elderly But the Rana Plaza fund goes further and is compensating all victimsrsquo families based on loss of income6
There is talk in campaign groups about how to take the Accord further ndash extending it outside Bangladesh or using the same model in other areas such as wages Watch this space
bull
bull
http
f
oxfa
shio
nor
guk
18
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The garment industry is a major employer across the world ndash in Asia for example over 15 million people are employed by the industry With global brands making millions in profits every year this booming industry has come to rely on and exploit the cheap labour of millions of garment workers whose wages fall far short of a living wage
The lack of a living wage means many garment workers are forced to work long hours to earn overtime or bonuses and cannot risk refusing work due to unsafe working conditions or taking time off due to ill health The low wages mean that workers often have to rely on loans just to make ends meet and have no savings to use if they find themselves out of work
A living wage calculation across a region is key to ensuring not only that workers receive a decent wage but also that wage differences do not mean companies pull out of one country to move manufacturing to a country with lower costs ndash the so-called race to the bottom
Living wage calculations must take into account some common factors including the number of family members to be supported the basic nutritional needs of a worker and other basic needs including housing healthcare education and some basic savings
Clean Clothes Campaign is part of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance ndash an alliance of Asian trade unions and labour groups who have calculated a living wage formula for Asia
The Asia Floor Wage calculation cannot be simply applied to other regions as some of the assumptions do not apply For
example in Asia food costs are relatively high and standards of living such as housing are very low whereas in other regions such as Eastern Europe food costs are relatively lower when compared to housing
Clean Clothes Campaign partners are working on defining
and calculating living wages for other garment producing regions
They are calling forClothing brands and companies to set concrete measurable steps throughout their supply chain to ensure garment workers get paid a living wageNational governments in garment producing countries to make sure minimum wages are set at living wage standardsEuropean governments to implement regulation to ensure companies are responsible for the impact they have on the lives of workers in their supply chainSign the Clean Clothes Campaign
petition calling for all garment workers to receive a living wage ndash wwwcleanclothesorglivingwagesign
bull
bull
bull
Struggling for a living wage
A living wage in CambodiaFor several years garment workers and trade unions in Cambodia have been engaged in a bitter conflict with the government over the minimum wage with strikes protests and brutal government crackdowns resulting in deaths injuries and imprisonments Garment workers want US$177 per month enough cover their basic living expenses In 2014 Asia Floor Wage calculated the living wage in Cambodia to be US$396 per month
Though it has made increases the Cambodian government has still not reached the $177 called for Further negotiations and protests in October this year saw the government settle on $140 a month to come into effect in January 2016 Needless to say this has angered some ldquoThis figure is reasonable and acceptable Even itrsquos not acceptable to all we have no choicerdquo Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng was quoted as saying
The top five brands sourcing from Cambodia include three brands in these clothes guides HampM GAP Levi Strauss amp Co
Living wage initiativesLiving Wage Now Forum
In October this year the CCCrsquos Living Wage Now Forum brought together workersrsquo representatives from around the world brand representatives (HampM Primark CampA New Look Pentland NrsquoBrown and Tchibo) European policy makers experts and members of workerrsquos rights organisations to discuss the next concrete steps towards a fashion industry that respects human rights and pays all workers a living wage based on proposals from the CCC Follow its progress here wwwlivingwagenoweu
ACT initiative
A number of brands and retailers are collaborating with the IndustriALL Global Union on the Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT) making a commitment to work with their suppliers in order to support a living wage
Brands in this guide that are involved with ACT are ASOS HampM Arcadia Tesco Primark Next
A full list of members could not be found but these companies were mentioned online in connection with the project
For an average item of clothing only between
05-3 of the cost goes to the worker who made it This means that on an euro8 t-shirt the most a worker will get paid is 24 cents
Clean Clothes Campaign
What are the companies in this issue doing about living wagesThe following brands from this guide explicitly make provision for a living wage in their supply chain policies
Major clothes retailers Next Arcadia Primark Debenhams New Look Tesco John Lewis
Waterproof jacketstrousers Patagonia Jack Wolfskin Paramo Mountain Equipment
Jeans G-Star Nudie PVH brands (Calvin Klein amp Tommy Hilfiger)
19
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
For decades the Government of Uzbekistan has been forcing its citizens both children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest As a result of sustained campaign pressure on the issue of child labour 2014 saw the burden of labour shifted onto adults with lsquomassesrsquo of teachers and medical professionals forced into the cotton fields1
Having engaged companies on the issue since 2008 the Responsible Sourcing
Clothing campaigns
Best scores on Uzbek cottonIn order to receive Ethical Consumerrsquos best rating on this issue all medium- to large-sized companies are expected both to have signed the Cotton Pledge and to demonstrate concrete actions to implement it throughout their supply chains Otherwise the company must only use organic or Better Cotton Initiative cotton
Companies in this issue which receive a best score are
Major clothes retailers MampS Arcadia (Topshop etc) TK Maxx New Look
Waterproof jacketstrousers Jack Wolfskin Patagonia
Jeans Nudie Kuyichi Mud FREITAG (does not use cotton) Levirsquos PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
bull
bull
bull
Companies whorsquove signed the CanopyStyle Pledge Patagonia Levi Strauss amp Co HampM Marks amp Spencer ASOS G-Star RAW
Companies targeted by RAN Guess
Forest-friendly fashionForests probably arenrsquot something that immediately come to mind when considering the impacts of the fashion industry However many commonly used fabrics are derived from wood pulp Check your clothes labels for rayon viscose modal and tencel and itrsquos highly likely yoursquoll spot them ndash either on their own or blended with other fibres Mixed with polyester they give clothes a more pleasant lsquofeelrsquo and often replace cotton because theyrsquore cheaper to produce
So whatrsquos the issue
More than 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into cellulose fabric ndash if placed end to end those trees would circle the earth seven timesDissolving pulp (the base material for rayonviscose) wastes approximately 70 of the tree and is a chemically intensive manufacturing process Dissolving pulp production is projected to double by 2050 Less than 20 of the worldrsquos ancient forests remain intact in tracts large enough to maintain biological diversityForests in Indonesia Canadarsquos boreal and temperate rainforests and the Amazon are being logged for next seasonrsquos fashion
Canopyrsquos lsquoFashion Loved by Forestrsquo initiative partners with clothing brands to help them develop solutions to reduce the impact of their business on ancient forests Companies are asked to sign up to the CanopyStyle Pledge and create a policy on how they source wood-derived fabrics
Rainforest Action Networkrsquos (RAN) lsquoOut of Fashionrsquo campaign pinpointed several high-end fashion brands which it said must do more to ensure they werenrsquot making clothes from unsustainable wood pulp
Watch the campaign video and sign in support of RANrsquos Out of Fashion campaign wwwranorgout_of_fashion
bull
bull
bull
bull
Fur-free shoppingAn investigation into angora farms in China by PETA Asia in December 2013 revealed shockingly cruel treatment of angora rabbits involving the live-plucking of fur from caged rabbits Many clothing companies have now stated that they will no longer sell angora The only companies covered in this issue who
are still selling it are Net-A-Porter in the Clothes Shops guide and Pepe and Guess covered in the Jeans guide
The following clothes shops have joined the Fur Free Alliancersquos Fur Free Retailer programme Topshop HampM ASOS MampS Next Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis From the other guides Nudie and MUD jeans and Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen are part of the programme More information from wwwfurfreeretailercomOther brands are listed as fur free by Humane Society International Mountain Hardwear Calvin Klein New Look Patagonia North Face Diesel Superdry Levirsquos Guess Tommy Hilfiger Howies and Uniqlo See wwwhumanesocietyorgissuesfur_fashiontipsfur-free_shoppinghtml for more details
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bull
References 1 wwwantislaveryorgenglishcampaignscottoncrimesforced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgroundaspx
Network (RSN) introduced the lsquoCotton Pledge Against Child and Adult Forced Labour in Uzbek Cottonrsquo in 2011 To date over 160 companies have signed the pledge
However the RSN decided in 2014 that it was time to find out how companies were actually implementing the Cotton Pledge throughout their supply chains
It asked companies what efforts they were making to actually implement this pledge including communicating their policy to all parts of its supply chain including spinners and mills and auditing them for compliance The results were published in the lsquoCotton Sourcing Snapshotrsquo which can be downloaded from wwwsourcingnetworkorgcotton-sourcing-snapshot
See page 22 in the Jeans guide for discussion on the other issues associated with cotton production
Forced labour in the Uzbekrsquos cotton fields
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
bull
bull
bull
policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
bull
bull
Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
copy B
ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
copy A
nton
io G
rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
bull
bull
bull
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
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References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
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References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
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Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
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Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Our projects are long term investments in shares to deliver environmental and social impacts as well as a financial returnAs with any investment there are risks Your capital is at risk and may not be readily realisable Returns are projectedvariable depend on the performance of the project and are not guaranteed Consider all risks before investing and read theShare Offers
wwwenergy4allcouk
call 01229 821028
register your interest at wwwenergy4allcouk
Stuck for that unique Christmas present
Why not book a short course at CAT and stay with us for the weekend in our award-winning WISE building
Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
httpcoursescatorguk
Transformative Postgraduate Programmes
Sustainable Architecture
MSc Sustainability and Adaptation in the Built EnvironmentEnergy in buildings natural materials applied projects
MSc Sustainability and Adaptation PlanningCities and communities transition strategy politics and economics
MSc Renewable Energy and the Built Environment
Apply now to start September 2016httpgsecatorguk
10 o Short C
ourses
for subscr
ibers
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
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Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
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Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
Ethical Investment Specialists
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consum r
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
copy M
icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
bull Overseas ordersPhoneuson01612262929orgotoourwebsite-wwwethicalconsumerorgSubscriptionsaspx
Your message
1st gift subscription pound2995
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Order by midnight
on Wednesday 16th December for delivery by
Christmas
42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
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Follow your heartUse your head
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For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
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17
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The Accord however is different It is not another self-policed scheme that companies can adhere to if they feel like it It is a legally-binding agreement between brands and trade unions and signing it means that if safety issues are found in a companyrsquos suppliersrsquo factories and are not fixed the company can be sued
Campaigners had spent years trying and failing to get brands to enter into such an agreement Within weeks of Rana Plazarsquos collapse nearly 40 companies had signed The number is now over 200
However many American companies have refused to sign most notably Walmart (ASDA) and Gap They created the other alternative industry scheme the Alliance which is not legally binding and is widely believed to be basically meaningless window dressing It has only 26 members
Recent developmentsMost although not all of the 3500 clothing factories in Bangladesh have been inspected under one of the three schemes over the past two years largely by the Accord The Accord has closed thirty-five factories altogether and safety upgrades have begun in hundreds of others3 All of the Accordrsquos inspection reports with photographs are freely available on the web ndash transparency is one of its central principles which is another big break from the auditing schemes of the past
However progress on the upgrades has been terribly slow and the unions are now initiating a formal complaint about several brands including HampM who they say are not fulfilling their obligations at a reasonable pace The complaint is the first step towards legal arbitration which would be quite unprecedented4
A further development is that in June 2015 42 people in Bangladesh were
charged with murder over the Rana Plaza deaths including the buildingrsquos owner Sohel Rana the owners of the five factories in the building and 13 government officials If convicted they could face the death penalty
CompensationIn 2014 Labour Behind the Label ran a ldquopay uprdquo campaign pressuring companies to compensate Rana Plazarsquos victimsrsquo families The good news is that although it took a huge struggle the campaign was a success The Rana Plaza Donorrsquos Trust Fund met its target of $30 million in June 2015
Primark comes out by far the best in this story It donated a total of $8 million ndash $1 million to the fund and $7 million directly to victimsWalmart is estimated to have donated $1 million
bull
bull
References 1 Vogue 2014 How The World Has Changed Since Rana Plaza 2 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo 3 Good Choice Forex June 1 2015 ldquoTwo Years After Rana Plaza Disaster Uneven Progress In Bangladeshrsquos Garment Industryrdquo 4 Financial Times 1st October 2015 Unions censure western brands over Bangladesh factory safety delays 5 Clean Clothes Campaign 2015 ldquoWho has paid and who is dragging their heelsrdquo 6 The International Labor Rights Forum 2012 ldquoDeadly Secretsrdquo
The dumping ground for the Rana Plaza debris just metres away from the victimsrsquo homes
North Face Death TrapsAmerican student groups have been leading the way on pressurising companies who have refused to sign the Accord United Students Against Sweatshops have run a campaign called lsquoNorth Face Death Trapsrsquo targeting VF Corporation as the largest branded clothing manufacturer in the world over its refusal to sign The campaign can be found at httpnorthfacedeathtrapscom
North Face appears in the Waterproof jackets guide whilst VF Corporation owns Lee and Wrangler jeans
Matalan initially refused to donate anything but after being hounded by campaigners it made a rather half-hearted donation of $100000HampM donated approximately $200000 Unlike the three companies above it was not sourcing from Rana Plaza but it is the biggest buyer from Bangladesh as a whole5
Rana Plaza has started to change the game in more ways than one After the Garib amp Garib fire HampM commissioned Save the Children to assess workersrsquo familiesrsquo needs and it decided to focus just on helping children and the elderly But the Rana Plaza fund goes further and is compensating all victimsrsquo families based on loss of income6
There is talk in campaign groups about how to take the Accord further ndash extending it outside Bangladesh or using the same model in other areas such as wages Watch this space
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f
oxfa
shio
nor
guk
18
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The garment industry is a major employer across the world ndash in Asia for example over 15 million people are employed by the industry With global brands making millions in profits every year this booming industry has come to rely on and exploit the cheap labour of millions of garment workers whose wages fall far short of a living wage
The lack of a living wage means many garment workers are forced to work long hours to earn overtime or bonuses and cannot risk refusing work due to unsafe working conditions or taking time off due to ill health The low wages mean that workers often have to rely on loans just to make ends meet and have no savings to use if they find themselves out of work
A living wage calculation across a region is key to ensuring not only that workers receive a decent wage but also that wage differences do not mean companies pull out of one country to move manufacturing to a country with lower costs ndash the so-called race to the bottom
Living wage calculations must take into account some common factors including the number of family members to be supported the basic nutritional needs of a worker and other basic needs including housing healthcare education and some basic savings
Clean Clothes Campaign is part of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance ndash an alliance of Asian trade unions and labour groups who have calculated a living wage formula for Asia
The Asia Floor Wage calculation cannot be simply applied to other regions as some of the assumptions do not apply For
example in Asia food costs are relatively high and standards of living such as housing are very low whereas in other regions such as Eastern Europe food costs are relatively lower when compared to housing
Clean Clothes Campaign partners are working on defining
and calculating living wages for other garment producing regions
They are calling forClothing brands and companies to set concrete measurable steps throughout their supply chain to ensure garment workers get paid a living wageNational governments in garment producing countries to make sure minimum wages are set at living wage standardsEuropean governments to implement regulation to ensure companies are responsible for the impact they have on the lives of workers in their supply chainSign the Clean Clothes Campaign
petition calling for all garment workers to receive a living wage ndash wwwcleanclothesorglivingwagesign
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bull
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Struggling for a living wage
A living wage in CambodiaFor several years garment workers and trade unions in Cambodia have been engaged in a bitter conflict with the government over the minimum wage with strikes protests and brutal government crackdowns resulting in deaths injuries and imprisonments Garment workers want US$177 per month enough cover their basic living expenses In 2014 Asia Floor Wage calculated the living wage in Cambodia to be US$396 per month
Though it has made increases the Cambodian government has still not reached the $177 called for Further negotiations and protests in October this year saw the government settle on $140 a month to come into effect in January 2016 Needless to say this has angered some ldquoThis figure is reasonable and acceptable Even itrsquos not acceptable to all we have no choicerdquo Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng was quoted as saying
The top five brands sourcing from Cambodia include three brands in these clothes guides HampM GAP Levi Strauss amp Co
Living wage initiativesLiving Wage Now Forum
In October this year the CCCrsquos Living Wage Now Forum brought together workersrsquo representatives from around the world brand representatives (HampM Primark CampA New Look Pentland NrsquoBrown and Tchibo) European policy makers experts and members of workerrsquos rights organisations to discuss the next concrete steps towards a fashion industry that respects human rights and pays all workers a living wage based on proposals from the CCC Follow its progress here wwwlivingwagenoweu
ACT initiative
A number of brands and retailers are collaborating with the IndustriALL Global Union on the Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT) making a commitment to work with their suppliers in order to support a living wage
Brands in this guide that are involved with ACT are ASOS HampM Arcadia Tesco Primark Next
A full list of members could not be found but these companies were mentioned online in connection with the project
For an average item of clothing only between
05-3 of the cost goes to the worker who made it This means that on an euro8 t-shirt the most a worker will get paid is 24 cents
Clean Clothes Campaign
What are the companies in this issue doing about living wagesThe following brands from this guide explicitly make provision for a living wage in their supply chain policies
Major clothes retailers Next Arcadia Primark Debenhams New Look Tesco John Lewis
Waterproof jacketstrousers Patagonia Jack Wolfskin Paramo Mountain Equipment
Jeans G-Star Nudie PVH brands (Calvin Klein amp Tommy Hilfiger)
19
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
For decades the Government of Uzbekistan has been forcing its citizens both children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest As a result of sustained campaign pressure on the issue of child labour 2014 saw the burden of labour shifted onto adults with lsquomassesrsquo of teachers and medical professionals forced into the cotton fields1
Having engaged companies on the issue since 2008 the Responsible Sourcing
Clothing campaigns
Best scores on Uzbek cottonIn order to receive Ethical Consumerrsquos best rating on this issue all medium- to large-sized companies are expected both to have signed the Cotton Pledge and to demonstrate concrete actions to implement it throughout their supply chains Otherwise the company must only use organic or Better Cotton Initiative cotton
Companies in this issue which receive a best score are
Major clothes retailers MampS Arcadia (Topshop etc) TK Maxx New Look
Waterproof jacketstrousers Jack Wolfskin Patagonia
Jeans Nudie Kuyichi Mud FREITAG (does not use cotton) Levirsquos PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
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Companies whorsquove signed the CanopyStyle Pledge Patagonia Levi Strauss amp Co HampM Marks amp Spencer ASOS G-Star RAW
Companies targeted by RAN Guess
Forest-friendly fashionForests probably arenrsquot something that immediately come to mind when considering the impacts of the fashion industry However many commonly used fabrics are derived from wood pulp Check your clothes labels for rayon viscose modal and tencel and itrsquos highly likely yoursquoll spot them ndash either on their own or blended with other fibres Mixed with polyester they give clothes a more pleasant lsquofeelrsquo and often replace cotton because theyrsquore cheaper to produce
So whatrsquos the issue
More than 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into cellulose fabric ndash if placed end to end those trees would circle the earth seven timesDissolving pulp (the base material for rayonviscose) wastes approximately 70 of the tree and is a chemically intensive manufacturing process Dissolving pulp production is projected to double by 2050 Less than 20 of the worldrsquos ancient forests remain intact in tracts large enough to maintain biological diversityForests in Indonesia Canadarsquos boreal and temperate rainforests and the Amazon are being logged for next seasonrsquos fashion
Canopyrsquos lsquoFashion Loved by Forestrsquo initiative partners with clothing brands to help them develop solutions to reduce the impact of their business on ancient forests Companies are asked to sign up to the CanopyStyle Pledge and create a policy on how they source wood-derived fabrics
Rainforest Action Networkrsquos (RAN) lsquoOut of Fashionrsquo campaign pinpointed several high-end fashion brands which it said must do more to ensure they werenrsquot making clothes from unsustainable wood pulp
Watch the campaign video and sign in support of RANrsquos Out of Fashion campaign wwwranorgout_of_fashion
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Fur-free shoppingAn investigation into angora farms in China by PETA Asia in December 2013 revealed shockingly cruel treatment of angora rabbits involving the live-plucking of fur from caged rabbits Many clothing companies have now stated that they will no longer sell angora The only companies covered in this issue who
are still selling it are Net-A-Porter in the Clothes Shops guide and Pepe and Guess covered in the Jeans guide
The following clothes shops have joined the Fur Free Alliancersquos Fur Free Retailer programme Topshop HampM ASOS MampS Next Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis From the other guides Nudie and MUD jeans and Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen are part of the programme More information from wwwfurfreeretailercomOther brands are listed as fur free by Humane Society International Mountain Hardwear Calvin Klein New Look Patagonia North Face Diesel Superdry Levirsquos Guess Tommy Hilfiger Howies and Uniqlo See wwwhumanesocietyorgissuesfur_fashiontipsfur-free_shoppinghtml for more details
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References 1 wwwantislaveryorgenglishcampaignscottoncrimesforced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgroundaspx
Network (RSN) introduced the lsquoCotton Pledge Against Child and Adult Forced Labour in Uzbek Cottonrsquo in 2011 To date over 160 companies have signed the pledge
However the RSN decided in 2014 that it was time to find out how companies were actually implementing the Cotton Pledge throughout their supply chains
It asked companies what efforts they were making to actually implement this pledge including communicating their policy to all parts of its supply chain including spinners and mills and auditing them for compliance The results were published in the lsquoCotton Sourcing Snapshotrsquo which can be downloaded from wwwsourcingnetworkorgcotton-sourcing-snapshot
See page 22 in the Jeans guide for discussion on the other issues associated with cotton production
Forced labour in the Uzbekrsquos cotton fields
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
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bull
bull
policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
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bull
Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
copy B
ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
copy A
nton
io G
rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
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bull
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WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
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bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
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References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
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bull
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bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
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Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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email informationvegetarian-shoescouk
ORDER DIRECT ON-LINEwwwvegetarian-shoescouk
35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Stuck for that unique Christmas present
Why not book a short course at CAT and stay with us for the weekend in our award-winning WISE building
Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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Apply now to start September 2016httpgsecatorguk
10 o Short C
ourses
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
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Planning for your secure future without repression pollution or exploitation
Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
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CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
copy M
icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
bull Overseas ordersPhoneuson01612262929orgotoourwebsite-wwwethicalconsumerorgSubscriptionsaspx
Your message
1st gift subscription pound2995
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Order by midnight
on Wednesday 16th December for delivery by
Christmas
42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
18
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
The garment industry is a major employer across the world ndash in Asia for example over 15 million people are employed by the industry With global brands making millions in profits every year this booming industry has come to rely on and exploit the cheap labour of millions of garment workers whose wages fall far short of a living wage
The lack of a living wage means many garment workers are forced to work long hours to earn overtime or bonuses and cannot risk refusing work due to unsafe working conditions or taking time off due to ill health The low wages mean that workers often have to rely on loans just to make ends meet and have no savings to use if they find themselves out of work
A living wage calculation across a region is key to ensuring not only that workers receive a decent wage but also that wage differences do not mean companies pull out of one country to move manufacturing to a country with lower costs ndash the so-called race to the bottom
Living wage calculations must take into account some common factors including the number of family members to be supported the basic nutritional needs of a worker and other basic needs including housing healthcare education and some basic savings
Clean Clothes Campaign is part of the Asia Floor Wage Alliance ndash an alliance of Asian trade unions and labour groups who have calculated a living wage formula for Asia
The Asia Floor Wage calculation cannot be simply applied to other regions as some of the assumptions do not apply For
example in Asia food costs are relatively high and standards of living such as housing are very low whereas in other regions such as Eastern Europe food costs are relatively lower when compared to housing
Clean Clothes Campaign partners are working on defining
and calculating living wages for other garment producing regions
They are calling forClothing brands and companies to set concrete measurable steps throughout their supply chain to ensure garment workers get paid a living wageNational governments in garment producing countries to make sure minimum wages are set at living wage standardsEuropean governments to implement regulation to ensure companies are responsible for the impact they have on the lives of workers in their supply chainSign the Clean Clothes Campaign
petition calling for all garment workers to receive a living wage ndash wwwcleanclothesorglivingwagesign
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bull
bull
Struggling for a living wage
A living wage in CambodiaFor several years garment workers and trade unions in Cambodia have been engaged in a bitter conflict with the government over the minimum wage with strikes protests and brutal government crackdowns resulting in deaths injuries and imprisonments Garment workers want US$177 per month enough cover their basic living expenses In 2014 Asia Floor Wage calculated the living wage in Cambodia to be US$396 per month
Though it has made increases the Cambodian government has still not reached the $177 called for Further negotiations and protests in October this year saw the government settle on $140 a month to come into effect in January 2016 Needless to say this has angered some ldquoThis figure is reasonable and acceptable Even itrsquos not acceptable to all we have no choicerdquo Labour Minister Ith Sam Heng was quoted as saying
The top five brands sourcing from Cambodia include three brands in these clothes guides HampM GAP Levi Strauss amp Co
Living wage initiativesLiving Wage Now Forum
In October this year the CCCrsquos Living Wage Now Forum brought together workersrsquo representatives from around the world brand representatives (HampM Primark CampA New Look Pentland NrsquoBrown and Tchibo) European policy makers experts and members of workerrsquos rights organisations to discuss the next concrete steps towards a fashion industry that respects human rights and pays all workers a living wage based on proposals from the CCC Follow its progress here wwwlivingwagenoweu
ACT initiative
A number of brands and retailers are collaborating with the IndustriALL Global Union on the Action Collaboration Transformation (ACT) making a commitment to work with their suppliers in order to support a living wage
Brands in this guide that are involved with ACT are ASOS HampM Arcadia Tesco Primark Next
A full list of members could not be found but these companies were mentioned online in connection with the project
For an average item of clothing only between
05-3 of the cost goes to the worker who made it This means that on an euro8 t-shirt the most a worker will get paid is 24 cents
Clean Clothes Campaign
What are the companies in this issue doing about living wagesThe following brands from this guide explicitly make provision for a living wage in their supply chain policies
Major clothes retailers Next Arcadia Primark Debenhams New Look Tesco John Lewis
Waterproof jacketstrousers Patagonia Jack Wolfskin Paramo Mountain Equipment
Jeans G-Star Nudie PVH brands (Calvin Klein amp Tommy Hilfiger)
19
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
For decades the Government of Uzbekistan has been forcing its citizens both children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest As a result of sustained campaign pressure on the issue of child labour 2014 saw the burden of labour shifted onto adults with lsquomassesrsquo of teachers and medical professionals forced into the cotton fields1
Having engaged companies on the issue since 2008 the Responsible Sourcing
Clothing campaigns
Best scores on Uzbek cottonIn order to receive Ethical Consumerrsquos best rating on this issue all medium- to large-sized companies are expected both to have signed the Cotton Pledge and to demonstrate concrete actions to implement it throughout their supply chains Otherwise the company must only use organic or Better Cotton Initiative cotton
Companies in this issue which receive a best score are
Major clothes retailers MampS Arcadia (Topshop etc) TK Maxx New Look
Waterproof jacketstrousers Jack Wolfskin Patagonia
Jeans Nudie Kuyichi Mud FREITAG (does not use cotton) Levirsquos PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
bull
bull
bull
Companies whorsquove signed the CanopyStyle Pledge Patagonia Levi Strauss amp Co HampM Marks amp Spencer ASOS G-Star RAW
Companies targeted by RAN Guess
Forest-friendly fashionForests probably arenrsquot something that immediately come to mind when considering the impacts of the fashion industry However many commonly used fabrics are derived from wood pulp Check your clothes labels for rayon viscose modal and tencel and itrsquos highly likely yoursquoll spot them ndash either on their own or blended with other fibres Mixed with polyester they give clothes a more pleasant lsquofeelrsquo and often replace cotton because theyrsquore cheaper to produce
So whatrsquos the issue
More than 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into cellulose fabric ndash if placed end to end those trees would circle the earth seven timesDissolving pulp (the base material for rayonviscose) wastes approximately 70 of the tree and is a chemically intensive manufacturing process Dissolving pulp production is projected to double by 2050 Less than 20 of the worldrsquos ancient forests remain intact in tracts large enough to maintain biological diversityForests in Indonesia Canadarsquos boreal and temperate rainforests and the Amazon are being logged for next seasonrsquos fashion
Canopyrsquos lsquoFashion Loved by Forestrsquo initiative partners with clothing brands to help them develop solutions to reduce the impact of their business on ancient forests Companies are asked to sign up to the CanopyStyle Pledge and create a policy on how they source wood-derived fabrics
Rainforest Action Networkrsquos (RAN) lsquoOut of Fashionrsquo campaign pinpointed several high-end fashion brands which it said must do more to ensure they werenrsquot making clothes from unsustainable wood pulp
Watch the campaign video and sign in support of RANrsquos Out of Fashion campaign wwwranorgout_of_fashion
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bull
bull
bull
Fur-free shoppingAn investigation into angora farms in China by PETA Asia in December 2013 revealed shockingly cruel treatment of angora rabbits involving the live-plucking of fur from caged rabbits Many clothing companies have now stated that they will no longer sell angora The only companies covered in this issue who
are still selling it are Net-A-Porter in the Clothes Shops guide and Pepe and Guess covered in the Jeans guide
The following clothes shops have joined the Fur Free Alliancersquos Fur Free Retailer programme Topshop HampM ASOS MampS Next Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis From the other guides Nudie and MUD jeans and Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen are part of the programme More information from wwwfurfreeretailercomOther brands are listed as fur free by Humane Society International Mountain Hardwear Calvin Klein New Look Patagonia North Face Diesel Superdry Levirsquos Guess Tommy Hilfiger Howies and Uniqlo See wwwhumanesocietyorgissuesfur_fashiontipsfur-free_shoppinghtml for more details
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References 1 wwwantislaveryorgenglishcampaignscottoncrimesforced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgroundaspx
Network (RSN) introduced the lsquoCotton Pledge Against Child and Adult Forced Labour in Uzbek Cottonrsquo in 2011 To date over 160 companies have signed the pledge
However the RSN decided in 2014 that it was time to find out how companies were actually implementing the Cotton Pledge throughout their supply chains
It asked companies what efforts they were making to actually implement this pledge including communicating their policy to all parts of its supply chain including spinners and mills and auditing them for compliance The results were published in the lsquoCotton Sourcing Snapshotrsquo which can be downloaded from wwwsourcingnetworkorgcotton-sourcing-snapshot
See page 22 in the Jeans guide for discussion on the other issues associated with cotton production
Forced labour in the Uzbekrsquos cotton fields
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
bull
bull
bull
policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
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bull
Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
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ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
copy A
nton
io G
rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
bull
bull
bull
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
bull
bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
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bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
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bull
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bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
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asec
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ream
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eco
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37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
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Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
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CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
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lippo
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ream
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eco
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
19
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
For decades the Government of Uzbekistan has been forcing its citizens both children and adults to work in the annual cotton harvest As a result of sustained campaign pressure on the issue of child labour 2014 saw the burden of labour shifted onto adults with lsquomassesrsquo of teachers and medical professionals forced into the cotton fields1
Having engaged companies on the issue since 2008 the Responsible Sourcing
Clothing campaigns
Best scores on Uzbek cottonIn order to receive Ethical Consumerrsquos best rating on this issue all medium- to large-sized companies are expected both to have signed the Cotton Pledge and to demonstrate concrete actions to implement it throughout their supply chains Otherwise the company must only use organic or Better Cotton Initiative cotton
Companies in this issue which receive a best score are
Major clothes retailers MampS Arcadia (Topshop etc) TK Maxx New Look
Waterproof jacketstrousers Jack Wolfskin Patagonia
Jeans Nudie Kuyichi Mud FREITAG (does not use cotton) Levirsquos PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
bull
bull
bull
Companies whorsquove signed the CanopyStyle Pledge Patagonia Levi Strauss amp Co HampM Marks amp Spencer ASOS G-Star RAW
Companies targeted by RAN Guess
Forest-friendly fashionForests probably arenrsquot something that immediately come to mind when considering the impacts of the fashion industry However many commonly used fabrics are derived from wood pulp Check your clothes labels for rayon viscose modal and tencel and itrsquos highly likely yoursquoll spot them ndash either on their own or blended with other fibres Mixed with polyester they give clothes a more pleasant lsquofeelrsquo and often replace cotton because theyrsquore cheaper to produce
So whatrsquos the issue
More than 70 million trees are logged every year and turned into cellulose fabric ndash if placed end to end those trees would circle the earth seven timesDissolving pulp (the base material for rayonviscose) wastes approximately 70 of the tree and is a chemically intensive manufacturing process Dissolving pulp production is projected to double by 2050 Less than 20 of the worldrsquos ancient forests remain intact in tracts large enough to maintain biological diversityForests in Indonesia Canadarsquos boreal and temperate rainforests and the Amazon are being logged for next seasonrsquos fashion
Canopyrsquos lsquoFashion Loved by Forestrsquo initiative partners with clothing brands to help them develop solutions to reduce the impact of their business on ancient forests Companies are asked to sign up to the CanopyStyle Pledge and create a policy on how they source wood-derived fabrics
Rainforest Action Networkrsquos (RAN) lsquoOut of Fashionrsquo campaign pinpointed several high-end fashion brands which it said must do more to ensure they werenrsquot making clothes from unsustainable wood pulp
Watch the campaign video and sign in support of RANrsquos Out of Fashion campaign wwwranorgout_of_fashion
bull
bull
bull
bull
Fur-free shoppingAn investigation into angora farms in China by PETA Asia in December 2013 revealed shockingly cruel treatment of angora rabbits involving the live-plucking of fur from caged rabbits Many clothing companies have now stated that they will no longer sell angora The only companies covered in this issue who
are still selling it are Net-A-Porter in the Clothes Shops guide and Pepe and Guess covered in the Jeans guide
The following clothes shops have joined the Fur Free Alliancersquos Fur Free Retailer programme Topshop HampM ASOS MampS Next Sainsburyrsquos and John Lewis From the other guides Nudie and MUD jeans and Jack Wolfskin and Helly Hansen are part of the programme More information from wwwfurfreeretailercomOther brands are listed as fur free by Humane Society International Mountain Hardwear Calvin Klein New Look Patagonia North Face Diesel Superdry Levirsquos Guess Tommy Hilfiger Howies and Uniqlo See wwwhumanesocietyorgissuesfur_fashiontipsfur-free_shoppinghtml for more details
bull
bull
References 1 wwwantislaveryorgenglishcampaignscottoncrimesforced_labour_in_uzbekistan_backgroundaspx
Network (RSN) introduced the lsquoCotton Pledge Against Child and Adult Forced Labour in Uzbek Cottonrsquo in 2011 To date over 160 companies have signed the pledge
However the RSN decided in 2014 that it was time to find out how companies were actually implementing the Cotton Pledge throughout their supply chains
It asked companies what efforts they were making to actually implement this pledge including communicating their policy to all parts of its supply chain including spinners and mills and auditing them for compliance The results were published in the lsquoCotton Sourcing Snapshotrsquo which can be downloaded from wwwsourcingnetworkorgcotton-sourcing-snapshot
See page 22 in the Jeans guide for discussion on the other issues associated with cotton production
Forced labour in the Uzbekrsquos cotton fields
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
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bull
bull
policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
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Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
copy B
ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
copy A
nton
io G
rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
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bull
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WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
bull
bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
bull
bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
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icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
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Address
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issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
20
ProductGUIDE
Are your jeans true blueColour psychology says that indigo reflects great devotion wisdom and justice along with fairness and impartialityhellip a defender of peoplersquos rights to the end But can the jeans industry claim such integrity Bryony Moore discovers what our denims really say about us
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Monkee Genes org [O] 16 e 1 Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
Monkee Genes 15 e Stop Taking the Pennies Ltd
MUD organic [OS] 145 h h 15 Global Brands Fashion BV
Cock amp Bull [R] 14 h 05 Insider Tradng
Hiut organic [OS] 135 h h h h 15 Hiut Ltd
MUD [S] 135 h h 05 Global Brands Fashion BV
Nudie organic [OS] 135 H h h h 15 Svenska Jeans AB
Kuyichi org amp recycled [OR] 125 h H h h h 15 Kuyichi International
Hiut [S] 125 h h h h 05 Hiut Ltd
F-ABRIC Compostable [C] 12 H H h 05 FREITAG lab ag
Kuyichi organic [O] 12 h H h h h 1 Kuyichi International
Nudie 12 H h h h Svenska Jeans AB
Howies organic [O] 115 h h H H h 1 Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW for Oceans [R] 105 H h h h h h h 05 G-Star International BV
Howies 105 h h H H h Yokozuna LtdKachikoshi
G Star RAW 10 H h h h h h h G-Star International BV
Levirsquos Waste ltLess [R] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos Water ltLess [W] 85 H h H H h H H 05 Levi Strauss amp Co
Levirsquos 8 H h H H h H H Levi Strauss amp Co
Uniqlo 8 H h H h h H h H Fast Retailing Co Ltd
Superdry 7 H H H h H H h H SuperGroup Plc
Diesel 6 H H H h H H H h h h OTB SpA
Gap 6 H H h h H H h h H H The Gap Inc
Lee 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Wrangler 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation
Calvin Klein 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Tommy Hilfiger 5 H H H H h H H h H H PVH Corp
Pepe 45 H H h H H H H H H h h M1 Ltd L Capital
Guess 4 H H H H H H H H h h H Guess Inc
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLESPositive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[O] organic [S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service [R] recycled content [C] compostable [W] less water in production
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
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bull
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policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
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Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
copy B
ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
copy A
nton
io G
rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
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bull
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WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
bull
bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
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bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
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copy M
icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
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issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
21
ProductGUIDE
Made from a durable cloth and solidly constructed jeans were adopted initially as a sturdy choice of workwear worn by miners then cattle ranchers through the ages
Originally made with a mixed-fibre cloth slavery and a growth in cotton plantations led to 100 cotton jeans becoming the norm dyed with indigo from the Americas and India to give them their trademark blue colour Levirsquos claims to have lsquoinventedrsquo the blue jean after patenting its idea of riveting on the pockets in 1873 but even so the company admits that denim trousers had been worn as workwear for many years previously1
Possibly the most enduring garment of all time in more ways than one jeans are the backbone of every Westernerrsquos wardrobe You can buy a pair for pound20 on the high street pre-faded to spare you the years of manual labour required for an authentic look Of course pre-fading denim by sandblasting it comes at a cost Not to the consumer or corporate CEO of course It is waterways and factory workers further down the supply chain who are paying the price
In this guide we look at the main brands of jeans plus some ethical alternatives But see also the Clothes Shops guide many of which sell their own brand of jeans
Whatrsquos changedWhen we last looked at Jeans in 2011 the use of sandblasting was a big issue within the industry Four years on some companies are no longer so vocal in banning the practice from their supply chains This is examined in more detail below
Also since 2011 wersquove noticed no Fairtrade jeans on offer from the brands we have covered ndash backed up by data from the Fairtrade Foundation who reported in February that sales of Fairtrade cotton had dropped by 38 in the previous year2 In 2011 the only Fairtrade brand was from Bishopston Trading which sadly had to stop trading in 2013
Luckily there are still plenty of brands using organic cotton with some like Kuyichi significantly increasing their ranges of organic jeans since the last guide and Nudie which has recently achieved its goal of using 100 organic cotton Wersquove also seen the emergence of some exciting new brands such as Mud and Hiut which are testing out new innovative business models challenging our ideas of ownership while also using
sustainable materials and working hard to ensure fairness in their supply chains See the Slow Jeans article on page xx
Kuyichi MUD and Nudie are also members of the Fair Wear Foundation (see Waterproofs guide on page 27)
SandblastingIn 2010 campaigners drew our attention to the practice of sandblasting ndash a process carried out to give jeans their pre-worn look It involves quite literally blasting sand particles at a pair of jeans with a jet of air Unless extensive safety precautions are taken the practice is deadly resulting in lung silicosis for the workers who breathe in the tiny particles Thanks to campaign action many brands announced bans on sandblasting in 201011 But a follow-up report in 2013 found that all this had done in effect was to force the practice underground An exposeacute on Aljazeera earlier this year discovered that sandblasting was still being used in Xintang China ndash the lsquoJeans Capital of the Worldrsquo In one case a mobile sandblasting operation travelled around to different jeans-sewing factories which is one way for a factory to ensure that sandblasting equipment is never found on-site
As a result in order to receive a best rating on this issue Ethical Consumer expects companies to not only commit to a ban on sandblasting but also to state publicly how they monitor their supply chains for compliance with their policy
The best scoring companies in this issue are
Clothes shops MampS Arcadia Primark New Look HampM and Asda
Jeans brands Monkee Genes Nudie Kuyichi Hiut Mud Jeans F-ABRIC (does not make faded-look jeans) VF Corp (Lee
Eligible for the Best Buy label are the organic jeans from the following brands Monkee Genes
MUD Jeans Hiut Nudie and Kuyichi Also a Best Buy
are the F-ABRIC compostable jeans by FREITAG and Cock amp Bullrsquos hemp and recycled polyester mensrsquo jeans
Best of the most widely available are Levirsquos
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUYWrangler) G-Star and PVH Corp (Calvin Klein Tommy Hilfiger)
WaterIt takes around 11000 litres of water to make a pair of jeans Much of this impact is in the growing of cotton which is a very thirsty crop and is usually irrigated But the lsquowet processingrsquo stage is also a very thirsty one with the dyes fabric treatments and washing all consuming lots of water
Companies are lsquocottoning onrsquo to this hot topic and developing new production methods which reduce water use
Levirsquos WaterltLess jeans (launched in 2011) and Gap Wise Wash denim (launched in 2012) use low-impact manufacturing techniques that the companies claim consume around 25 less water electricity and chemicals than conventional wet processing Levi says some styles of its WaterltLess jeans use up to 96 less water
Currently both only produce small ranges but express an interest in scaling up the program Levirsquos says it aims to make 80 of its products using WaterltLess techniques by 2020 up from nearly 25 currently
16
145
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
bull
bull
bull
policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
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Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
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ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
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amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
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bull
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WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
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bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
bull
bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
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asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
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37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
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Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
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CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
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lippo
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ream
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eco
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issue158
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
22
ProductGUIDE
References 1 wwwlevistrausscomour-storythe-history-of-denim 2 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015feb23fairtrade-sales-fall-first-time-20-year-existence
CottonNot only does cotton require huge amounts of water and land but itrsquos also linked with slave labour in Uzbekistan (see page 19) and when grown conventionally is doused with huge amounts of chemicals
Cotton is planted on 24 of the worldrsquos crop land but accounts for 24 and 11 of the global sales of insecticide and pesticides respectively
It is also largely grown from genetically modified seed Based on a global hectarage of 30 million hectares genetically modified cotton accounted for 81 of cotton grown in 2012 The most popular is insect-resistant Bt cotton followed by stacked cotton (insect resistant and herbicide tolerant) Several companies in this guide are signed up to the Better Cotton Initiative but this doesnrsquot commit to remove chemicals entirely and abstains from passing judgement on the use of GM cotton seed
ACTION gt
Choose jeans made from organically-grown or recycled cotton Brands which sell some organic jeans Mud Jeans Kuyichi Hiut Howies Monkee Genes and NudieChoose F-ABRIC jeans by Freitag which use no cotton at all but instead use a mix of 81 linen and 19 hempIf you canrsquot find organic jeans the next best thing is to buy from companies who have a policy to ban Uzbek cotton and have processes to monitor its implementation throughout their supply chain See page 19
Company profiles Since our last buyersrsquo guide Guess has gone fur-free according to the Humane Societyrsquos fur-free fashion shopping guide This is great news because the company was found to be selling fur when it was last rated by Ethical Consumer back in 2011 But it still sells fur from Angora rabbits ndash see page 19
Guess unfortunately still falls short on our other reporting requirements making no mention of cotton sourcing elimination of the use of hazardous chemicals or sandblasting It has been targeted by Rainforest Action Network for using unsustainable wood pulp in its fabrics ndash see page 19
The founder and CEO of Fast Retailing UNIQLOrsquos parent company is Tadashi Yanai ndash Japanrsquos richest man Since our last guide Fast Retailing has announced a
bull
bull
bull
policy banning Merino wool after a PETA campaign
The company also runs a new social enterprise Grameen UNIQLO Ltd in Bangladesh a joint venture with the Grameen Healthcare Trust
Grameen UNIQLO seeks to provide clothing that is designed and made in Bangladesh for the people of Bangladesh In the companyrsquos own words ldquoThe objective behind this was to address issues related to poverty public sanitation and education by establishing a sustainable community-level business cyclerdquo It started out in 2010 with local partner factories manufacturing clothes that were then sold to the poor door-to-door by lsquoGrameen Ladiesrsquo for $1 each Then the company set up a showroom and mobile shops introducing stretchy fabrics and raising its prices to $2-$4 per item It now has stores in the capital Dhaka
Whether this enterprise is any more than a back-door entry to a new market for UNIQLO remains to be seen Find out more on the website wwwgrameenuniqlocom
Diesel is perhaps best known for its lsquoedgyrsquo (read offensive) marketing adverts one of which was banned by the Advertising Standards Authority for featuring nudity and the slogan lsquoBE STUPIDrsquo The advertising agency which carried out the campaign then resigned
While it may be bold and vocal in its ad campaigns therersquos not a peep from the company on any of the issues currently facing the fashion industry The company is not signed up to the Cotton Pledge or the Bangladesh Accord or any toxics plan
In 2015 Monkee Genes a familiar face in the ethical jeans market has made a transformation into Stop Taking The Pennies Ltd This charitable company will continue to sell ethical jeans but with a positive twist ndash 50 cents from each item sold from its new collection will go to a foundation which provides education for children in Bangladesh local to the companyrsquos manufacturing partner The STTP profits will go ldquotowards raising awareness on the true cost of fast fashion and the thirst for ever cheaper clothing This will be done via a variety of methods including educational trips workshops lectures talks and road showsrdquo
You could be forgiven for getting confused between the Hiut and Howies brands Hiut jeans are made by the founders of Howies who started that
brand in 1995 then sold it in 2006 Now it says it has no shareholding in Howies as it stands today
Itrsquos not so long ago that it made a significant proportion of its own clothing here in the UK This includes jeans which were a specialism of Cardigan in Wales Hiut Denim set out on a mission to bring jeans manufacturing back to Cardigan with its raw denims some of which are made with organic cotton Hiut says its goal is to make all of its jeans from organic cotton though it doesnrsquot give a date for achieving this
Mud Jeans is an innovative brand demonstrating a real commitment to doing business ethically Itrsquos a member of Fair Wear Foundationrsquos (FWF) Young Designer Programme an information-sharing programme for new start-ups with a view to them joining the full FWF supply chain monitoring programme as they become more established However Mud Jeans demonstrates that its commitment to transparency goes above and beyond the reporting requirements of a small company At the time of writing it had just published a full audit report of one of its suppliers The 41-page document includes photographs from inside the factory and full disclosure of all non-compliances found as well as the plans for making improvements at the factory
VF Corp is the subject of a campaign run by United Students Against Sweatshops over its refusal to sign the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
No sandblasting
ndash page 21
Freitag
G Star
Hiut
Howies
Kuyichi
Levis
Monkee
Mud
Nudie
PVH
Uniqlo
VF corp
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Positive policies
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
bull
bull
Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
copy B
ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
copy A
nton
io G
rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
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bull
bull
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
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bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
bull
bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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Thousands of people across the UK disagree We think we urgently need to move to a zero-carbon energy system owned by and run for normal people Weve put our time and money into local green energy
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email informationvegetarian-shoescouk
ORDER DIRECT ON-LINEwwwvegetarian-shoescouk
35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Stuck for that unique Christmas present
Why not book a short course at CAT and stay with us for the weekend in our award-winning WISE building
Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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MSc Sustainability and Adaptation PlanningCities and communities transition strategy politics and economics
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Apply now to start September 2016httpgsecatorguk
10 o Short C
ourses
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
Least fuel efficient
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ethical investments
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Planning for your secure future without repression pollution or exploitation
Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
Ethical Investment Specialists
CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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For further information visitwwwethicalconsumerorglegacyenquiriesethicalconsumerorg0161 226 2929 thical
consum r
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
copy M
icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
bull Overseas ordersPhoneuson01612262929orgotoourwebsite-wwwethicalconsumerorgSubscriptionsaspx
Your message
1st gift subscription pound2995
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Order by midnight
on Wednesday 16th December for delivery by
Christmas
42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
23
ProductGUIDE
Slow jeansOur penchant for hurrying the long-lived jean through its natural life-cycle is peculiar After prematurely fading it and making artificial holes in it we keep it in our wardrobe for a year or so wear it a handful of times if itrsquos lucky then chuck it away Until the next more fashionable jean takes its place
But amongst these blue depths of despair there is hope
Thanks to their continued appeal in various states of (dis)repair and in-built longevity jeans have the potential to become a beacon of sustainability in the fashion world A growing movement of people prize their oldest pair of denims as a wearable chronicle of their past adventures And there are brands popping up which challenge the overconsumption of denim in all sorts of ways
Raw denimThis is a term for un-faded denim Denim purists get an authentic distressed look by not washing their jeans at all for the first six months The resulting marks are a true reflection of your own unique shape movements and lifestyle Hiut will even pay you to wear in a new pair of their raw jeans for 6 months Denim Breaker Club members pay a deposit then simply wear a pair of Hiut jeans for six months (without washing them) After this time you can return them and receive 20 of the sale by way of payment hiutdenimcoukpagesdenim-breaker-club
Free repairsBoth larger companies and niche jeans brands are beginning to offer life-long free repair services for their jeans Even what appears irreparable damage can be salvaged by a denim expert - if you donrsquot believe it check out the Denim Doctor website And of course denim lovers are even more enchanted by a pair of jeans displaying the scars of a life well lived Mud Jeans Hiut and Nudie all offer a free jeans repair service the latter two with an in-store service
Denim Doctor wwwthedenimdoctorcoukDIY jeans repair tips wwwnudiejeanscomrepair
bull
bull
Lease your jeansSome jeans brands are also developing innovative new business models which challenge the notion of lsquoownershiprsquo of garments Mud Jeans doesnrsquot sell you a pair of jeans ndash it leases them to you You make monthly payments and after 12 months it will offer you a new pair If you choose to take a new pair you return the old ones and continue making the monthly payments Your returned jeans are sold on to someone who prefers a more worn-in look or if theyrsquore beyond re-use theyrsquoll be recycled into new products
Lease A Jeans from Mud wwwmudjeanseulease-philosophy
Composting jeansUpcycling pioneers FREITAG who started out transforming lorry tarps into bags have lately turned their attention to denim Theyrsquove developed a fabric which contains no cotton but is entirely compostable with the single exception of a removable and re-usable button F-ABRIC jeans will biodegrade completely within about two months on a compost heap
Have a go at composting Any natural materials will biodegrade (cotton hemp linen etc) but donrsquot put any clothes containing synthetic fibres on the heap Also unless yoursquore buying jeans like F-ABRIC which are made of 100 biodegradable materials yoursquoll first need to remove the stitching and any zips buttons or leather patches
Find some tips here wwwcompostthiscoukold-clothes
JeansJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Keep your jeans going by doing your own repairs
copy B
ryon
y M
oore
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
copy A
nton
io G
rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
bull
bull
bull
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
bull
bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
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bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
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bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
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Planning for your secure future without repression pollution or exploitation
Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
Ethical Investment Specialists
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For further information visitwwwethicalconsumerorglegacyenquiriesethicalconsumerorg0161 226 2929 thical
consum r
The Somerset Willow Company somersetwillowcouk
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
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icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
bull Overseas ordersPhoneuson01612262929orgotoourwebsite-wwwethicalconsumerorgSubscriptionsaspx
Your message
1st gift subscription pound2995
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Order by midnight
on Wednesday 16th December for delivery by
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
24
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Repair and recycleWe have given companies in these guides an extra positive mark for offering a repair service or a recycling-into-new-fibre service Mud Hiut and Nudie jeans offer this service as do Paramo Patagonia and Rab waterproofs
HampM and MampS both operate their own clothes recycling schemes as do UNIQLO and Levirsquos from the Jeans guide
Longer-lasting clothes
Extending the average life of [your] clothes by just
three months of active use per item would lead to a 5-10 reduction in each of the carbon water and
waste footprintsWRAP1
Clothing longevity projectHelen Goworek discusses a new research project on clothing longevityA team of academics from Nottingham Trent University is in the process of completing a research project funded by Defra to explore the obstacles to making clothing last longer The team includes experts in the fields of fashion design clothing technology supply chain management and consumer behaviour They have consulted consumers retailers and manufacturers to discover ways in which products can be designed by companies and used by consumers to increase garmentsrsquo useful lifetime Existing research from WRAP (Waste and Resources Action Programme) suggests that mature consumers and those seeking good value are more willing to buy longer-lasting clothing
The results of the project will contribute to a series of guidelines that designers in industry can follow to design longer-lasting clothing and to encourage consumers to keep clothes in use for longer There will also be a free report published by Defra in 2016
schemes are used with little understanding about where the returned clothes end up Added to this it was noted that there were no clear or transparent systems for re-use or recycling of materials and that these schemes were currently being ldquounderstood as a marketing idea rather than a technical or practical strategyrdquo The main criticism
raised was that ldquotake-back schemes are being used to consolidate existing business models based on the logic of growth economics and not as part of a deeper and more systemic process of change that sustainability demands of the sectorrdquo
The discussion raised the hierarchy of
waste and that ldquoit is desirable to preserve the productsmaterials in their highest value state (ie with greatest embodied energy) for as long as possible So a hierarchy of strategies emerges reuse of clothes as is repair and reconditioning of clothes recycling of raw materialsrdquo
See our Slow Jeans article on page 23 which looks at ways you can preserve your jeans and other garments
Local authorities also collect clothes for recycling ndash details of collection schemes are available on council websites Information on local charity shops can be found at wwwcharityretailorguk
The 30-year shirtsIn 2015 successful menswear designer Tom Cridland launched a 30-year sweatshirt and a 30-year t-shirt costing pound55 and pound25 respectively
A reaction against built-in obsolescence and the over-consumption of clothing they are made to last for 30 years They are handmade in Portugal from organic cotton and constructed with durability in mind If they do rip or tear during the 30-year guarantee period you can send them back to be repaired completely free of charge
To find out more visit tomcridlandcouk
It can be unclear whether clothes from recycling schemes are sold or donated to charity and recycling partners However money is clearly being made as evidenced by HampMrsquos statement on their website ldquowersquoll invest any money we make from this service into social projectsrdquo
Around 70 of clothing donated to UK charity shops is indeed sold on overseas Critics have warned that the influx of cheap Western clothing has negatively impacted local textile industries See our website for an article which examines this issue in detail
In October this year the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) for Ethics and Sustainability in Fashion hosted a debate to discuss what (if any) contribution clothing take-back schemes offer to fashion sustainability The panel raised several important points including the lack of openness about how take-back
copy A
nton
io G
rava
nte
| Dre
amst
ime
com
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
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bull
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WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
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References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
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bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
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References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
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bull
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bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
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bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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Thousands of people across the UK disagree We think we urgently need to move to a zero-carbon energy system owned by and run for normal people Weve put our time and money into local green energy
At Sharenergy we are proud to have supported over 30 successful community energy projects across the UK Theyre innovative 100 community-owned and financially stable Weve got plenty more on the way
Come and join us
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Pioneers in low energy building for over 20 years
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12 Gardner Street Brighton East Sussex BN1 1UP TelFax 01273 691913
email informationvegetarian-shoescouk
ORDER DIRECT ON-LINEwwwvegetarian-shoescouk
35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Stuck for that unique Christmas present
Why not book a short course at CAT and stay with us for the weekend in our award-winning WISE building
Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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Apply now to start September 2016httpgsecatorguk
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
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Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
Ethical Investment Specialists
CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
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icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
bull Overseas ordersPhoneuson01612262929orgotoourwebsite-wwwethicalconsumerorgSubscriptionsaspx
Your message
1st gift subscription pound2995
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Order by midnight
on Wednesday 16th December for delivery by
Christmas
42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
25
ClothesJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
ProductGUIDE
Georgina Rawes Website editorial assistant
I rummaged around a vintage kilo sale until I discovered this blue denim dress Everything on offer
was second hand and the weight of your bag of goodies determined the overall price I spotted my blue and pink plaid scarf at a local jumble sale for a pricey 20p
Ruth Strange Writer amp Researcher
The jumper was a birthday present from my Mum we went charity shopping in Chesterfield about 10 years ago The jeans I got at a clothes swap at Yaffle Cafe in Derby The shoes I got from a car boot sale I only had a fiver on me and luckily
thatrsquos how much they wanted Finally the bag I mended it using some offcuts
from a pair of jeans that were too long
Long-lived and long-loved clothes as worn by some of the Ethical Consumer team
Amy Shakeshaft Marketing volunteer
This colourful jumper was a birthday present from my Aunty and Uncle after I fell in love with it in the original Ron Jon Surf Shop in Florida That was when I was 14 going on 15 making it a 10-year-long loving relationship Being a good quality sports garment when it was first bought and with looking after it well (cold washes are useful) my hoodie has lived a full and useful life giving me warmth comfort and a personality statement since 2005
My rucksack comes EVERYWHERE with me and bundles up my life necessities It was a find in my local charity shop ndash good as new ndash and hasnrsquot been left in a wardrobe since
Your turn Tweet us
pictures of your long-loved clothes FightFastFashion EC_magazine
Rob Harrison Founder
My mum made this dressing gown for me when I was 14 Itrsquos now over 40 years old and I still wear it every day
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
bull
bull
bull
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
bull
bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
bull
bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
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asec
hnay
a | D
ream
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eco
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37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
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Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
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Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
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CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
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lippo
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ream
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eco
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2nd gift subscription pound2995
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issue158
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
26
ProductGUIDE
This guide looks at the biggest brands of waterproof and insulated jackets sold in the main retailers of outdoor gear places like Cotswold and Blacks
Most of the brands in this guide were started by outdoor enthusiasts themselves You would think they would do everything they could to protect the environment that their customers will be out to explore It is disappointing then to see that all the companies covered lost some marks for pollution and toxics
Only Jack Wolfskin scored an outright Best for its Toxics Policy due to aiming to ban all dangerous chemicals from its entire production chain by 2020 They also along with Patagonia and Mountain Equipment only use cotton that is organic Paramo and Howies also got a best ranking for being smaller companies offering more environmentally conscious alternatives
Rank a Brand in the Netherlands
Waterproof jackets
Environment Animals People Politics +ve
BRAND COMPANY GROUP
Paramo [S] 13 h h h 05 Paramo Ltd
Patagonia [S] 11 H h h H h 05 Patagonia Works
Howies 105 h h H H h Kachikoshi Ltd
Mountain Equipment 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Sprayway 9 H H H h h h h Bollin Group Ltd
Dare2b 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Rab [S] 85 H H H h H H h 05 EOTH Ltd
Regatta 85 H H H h H h h The Black family
Jack Wolfskin 8 h h h H h h h H H Blackstone Jack Wolfskin
Craghoppers 8 H H H h H H h The Black family
Mountain Warehouse 8 H H H h H H h Mountain Warehouse Intl
Berghaus 75 H H H H H h h h Pentland Group plc
Peter Storm 75 H H H h H H h h Pentland Group JD Sports
Columbia 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
Mountain Hardwear 65 H H H H H H h H Columbia Sportswear Co Inc
The North Face 6 H H H H H h h H H VF Corporation Inc
Helly Hansen 25 H h h H h h h H H H H h h h h h h Ontario Teachers Pension
Ethi
scor
e (o
ut o
f 20)
Envi
ronm
enta
l Rep
ortin
g
Nuc
lear
Pow
er
Clim
ate
Cha
nge
Pollu
tion
amp T
oxic
s
Hab
itats
amp R
esou
rces
Ani
mal
Tes
ting
Fact
ory
Farm
ing
Ani
mal
Rig
hts
Hum
an R
ight
s
Wor
kers
rsquo Rig
hts
Supp
ly C
hain
Man
agem
ent
Irre
spon
sibl
e M
arke
ting
Arm
s amp
Mili
tary
Sup
ply
Gen
etic
Eng
inee
ring
Boy
cott
Cal
l
Polit
ical
Act
ivity
Ant
i-So
cial
Fin
ance
Com
pany
Eth
os
Prod
uct S
usta
inab
ility
USING THE TABLES
Positive ratings (+ve)
bull Company Ethos
e = full mark
E = half mark
bull Product Sustainability Maximum of five positive marks
See all the research behind these ratings together on wwwethicalconsumerorg Free to subscribers
[S] offers a repair or recycling (into new fibre) service
USING THE TABLESEthiscore the higher the score the better the company across the criticism categories
H = bottom rating
h = middle rating empty = top rating (no criticisms)
Are any of the big names near the peak of ethics Most have a way to go says Ruth Strange
have just released new rankings for the sustainability of Sports and Outdoor brands covering issues including child labour fair wages environmentally preferred materials toxic chemicals and the reduction of carbon emissions1
Here are the rankings of the brands we have also covered
Jack Wolfskin and Patagonia ndash lsquoReasonable Could do Betterrsquo Berghaus Helly Hansen North Face and Regatta ndash lsquoFirst Milestones Should be BetterrsquoColumbia ndash lsquoDonrsquot buyrsquo
In the last guide to outdoor gear in 2010 we commented that workersrsquo rights policies in the outdoor market were lagging behind other clothing sectors largely due to lack of scrutiny There has been some improvement in supply chain policies this time partly helped by Jack Wolfskin Mountain Equipment
bull
bull
bull
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
bull
bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
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bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
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bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
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Planning for your secure future without repression pollution or exploitation
Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
Ethical Investment Specialists
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For further information visitwwwethicalconsumerorglegacyenquiriesethicalconsumerorg0161 226 2929 thical
consum r
The Somerset Willow Company somersetwillowcouk
Undergroundactivist
Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
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el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
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Address
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issue158
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
27
ProductGUIDE
and Sprayway signing up to the Fair Wear Foundation initiative But only Jack Wolfskin Paramo and Patagonia get our best rating for supply chain management Most of the companies still score worst for supply chain management and workersrsquo rights However in 2014 the Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) and the European Outdoor Group (EOG) industry body did produce a report called Living Wage Engineering2 which recognised the potential for outdoor gear companies to become leaders and pioneers on living wages
Our Best Buy is Paramo followed by Patagonia Both of these get our best rating for supply chain
which includes a living wage clause
An alternative to buying new gear is recycleoutdoorgearcom
ethic
alco
nsumerorg
BES T BUY
Accord signatory ndash page 16
Living wage ndash page 18
Best cotton policy
ndash page 19
Best toxics policy
Best down policy
Fur free ndash page 19
Forest friendly
ndash page 19
Rank a Brand sustainability
Craghoppers
Helly Hansen
Howies
Jack Wolfskin
Paramo
Patagonia
Mountain Equipment
Mountain Hardwear
Brands not in this table had no positive policies in the areas we looked at
Company profilesParamo was founded and is still owned by Nick Brown who is also the founder and owner of Nikwax the first company in the world to produce a range of water-based waterproofing products to replace solvent-based aerosols when ozone depletion became a concern in the 1980s Each year Paramorsquos Recycling Scheme receives around 1000 garments which it refurbishes and resells as second-hand or it is able to recycle them into new high quality fibre because they do not contain a membrane or laminate 80 of Paramorsquos production takes place in a factory in Colombia run to give new opportunities to vulnerable women The company also has a volunteering policy incentivising its UK staff to use up to 5 days holiday per year for volunteering projects of their choice by paying them an additional pound50 per day
Patagonia is a B-Corp or lsquoBenefit Corporationrsquo This means employees communities and the environment rank alongside shareholders in decision making processes In 2015 Patagonia increased its number of Fair Trade products from 33 to 192 made in India Sri Lanka and Los Angeles California The company is now looking to enrol other factories in the Fair Trade program in Thailand Vietnam Colombia and Mexico After discovering human trafficking in their own supply chain in Taiwan in 2012 they developed a lsquoMigrant Worker Standardrsquo which they now apply to their whole supply chain
Helly Hansen was started by a Norwegian sea captain and his wife in 1877 It is now owned by the Ontario Teacherrsquos Pension Plan a huge company that invests in an array of widely criticised
References 1 httprankabrandorgsustainable-outdoor-clothing 2 wwwfairwearorgulcmsfck-uploadeddocumentsfwfpublications_reportsLivingWageEngineering20141pdf
corporations including ExxonMobil BAE Systems and Nestleacute The OTPP also owns Camelot who run the UK National Lottery as well as the company that secured a 20 year contract in 2014 to run the Irish National Lottery
Jack Wolfskin would have ranked higher if it was not owned by the Blackstone Group Blackstone cost them marks due to their investments in Sealife and Seaworld centres which have boycott calls against them as well as being members of several major lobby groups and paying its directors excessive salaries
North Face is the target of a campaign against its owner VF Corp which has not signed the Bangladesh Accord See page 17
Positive policies
Fair Wear FoundationThe Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is an independent non-profit organisation that works with companies and factories
to improve labour conditions for garment workers FWF members have to agree to work towards implementation of the FWF Code of Labour Practices and to having all their factories independently monitored The FWF code comprises eight labour standards based on ILO Conventions and the UNrsquos Declaration on Human Rights
FWF conducts annual brand performance checks for each member company and publishes them online
The FWF label signifies that a company is making efforts to improve working conditions and has at least 90 of its factories under monitoring
More information wwwfairwearorg
13
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
bull
bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
bull
bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
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Planning for your secure future without repression pollution or exploitation
Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
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Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
Ethical Investment Specialists
CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
copy M
icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
bull Overseas ordersPhoneuson01612262929orgotoourwebsite-wwwethicalconsumerorgSubscriptionsaspx
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1st gift subscription pound2995
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on Wednesday 16th December for delivery by
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
28
ProductGUIDE
In September 2015 Greenpeace launched the Detox Outdoor campaign to get outdoor brands to eliminate the use of toxic PFCs to waterproof their products This is part of Greenpeacersquos wider Detox campaign which they began in 2011
What are PFCsPFCs are per- and polyfluorinated chemicals which are used for their ability to repel water dirt and oil PFC use can also be identified by various other names including PFOA PFOS PTFE and PFAS
If an outdoor jacket is waterproof and doesnrsquot say itrsquos PFC-free it may well contain them The widely known and used materials Gore-Tex and Teflon use a PTFE membrane You will see many companies using the term DWR (durable water repellent) which in many cases will contain PFCs
PFCs are man-made compounds of carbon and fluorine and are so stable that they can hardly be removed from the environment if at all According to Greenpeace they accumulate in blood and have even been found in the blood of Arctic polar bears and newborn human babies2 A Swedish government report from Spring 2015 states that PFOS PFOA and some related substances are classified as lsquoreproductively toxic carcinogenic and harmful to the thyroidrsquo1
What are brands doingNot all companies are transparent about what technologies they are using As the volume of the compounds used is relatively low (only 2-3 of the weight of the fabric) companies are not obliged to report their use by law But the threshold for the requirement on manufacturers to declare use will be dropping from 100 tonnes per year to 1 tonne per year in June 2018
Most of the brands in this guide have switched from using lsquolong-chainrsquo PFOAs to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs But while they may now be able to say they are PFOA-free they still use PFCs
The switch to lsquoshort-chainrsquo PFCs is worrying Less is known about them but they need to be used in higher volume to achieve the same results and are more volatile so they spread more easily Greenpeace says they can also transform into the more toxic long-chain PFCs over time Over 200 scientists signed the 2015 lsquoMadrid statementrsquo calling for the elimination of ALL PFCs and the development of more alternatives
Alternatives to PFCsWhen Greenpeace expeditions went to remote and mountainous locations around the world in May and June 2015 to see how widely PFCs had spread they used PFC-free equipment some from Paramo who feature in this guide They hiked through wind rain and snow and their gear performed well
Alternatives include wax or paraffin coatings polyurethane (PU) or silicone Ventile cotton and new formulations such as lsquoecorepelrsquo
ActionAt the time of writing over 60000 people had signed Greenpeacersquos Detox Outdoor Manifesto Thousands of those have also contacted brands to ask lsquoDo you use PFCsrsquo and have voted for which products Greenpeace should test for PFCs
Detox the great outdoorsImages of pristine nature are often used for advertising outdoor clothing But nature does not remain untouched by the chemicals in weather-resistant fabrics Ruth Strange investigates
Whorsquos using PFCsThe only brand in this guide taking a strong position against PFCs is Paramo but some companies are doing more than others
Paramo Test each batch of material for fluoride to stay PFC-free
Mountain Equipment Use a polyurethane (PU) coating Not clear if totally PFC-free
Jack Wolfskin Committed to eliminate hazardous chemicals by 2020
Helly Hansen Some PFC-free
Berghaus Some PFC-free options in 2016
None of the other brands had any PFC-free options
In January 2016 the test results will be published
The campaign is calling on all clothing companies to eliminate all hazardous chemicals by 2020
Sign the manifesto httpdetox-outdoororgDo you have ideas for a Global Week of Action httpdetox-outdoororgenideas
PFCs are also used in tents shoes swimwear carpets and upholstery as well as non-textile products such as carpet shampoo car and floor wax smartphone screen coatings cosmetics and dental materials
bull
bull
References 1 wwwkemiseDocumentsPublikationerTrycksakerRapporterReport-7-15-Occurrence-and-use-of-highly-fluorinated-substances-and-alternativespdf 2 wwwgreenpeaceorgromaniaGlobalromaniadetoxChemistry20for20any20weatherpdf 3 httpsmediumcomDetoxOutdoorpfc-quest-results-694e5f62902d
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
bull
bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
copy M
icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
bull Overseas ordersPhoneuson01612262929orgotoourwebsite-wwwethicalconsumerorgSubscriptionsaspx
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1st gift subscription pound2995
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
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Y
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CY
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Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
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29
ProductGUIDE
Ruth Strange finds out more from Four Paws
Down is a prized commodity for the outdoor equipment industry Every year hundreds of tonnes of it are processed from millions of ducks and geese
But you may be shocked to hear that these geese and ducks can have their feathers plucked while alive repeatedly for years and that the more you lsquolive-pluckrsquo a bird the more sought-after is their down for its higher lsquofill-powerrsquo Down and feathers may also come from birds that have been cruelly force-fed for the controversial pateacute foie gras
Many outdoor gear manufacturers state that the feathers they use come only from birds that were reared and killed for meat and that were only plucked after slaughter However there is often very little traceability within the supply lines of these companies
Since 2008 Four Paws has worked with some leading outdoor brands and many of these companies have now started to make the supply chain of the down that they source both traceable and transparent
Outdoor companies now leading the wayAlthough 90 of down used globally is in the bedding industry momentum for change eventually came from outdoor companies with Patagonia The North
Face and Mountain Equipment each developing their own standards ndash the Traceable Down Standard (TDS) the Responsible Down Standard (RDS) and the Down Codex
TDS and RDS have now been taken up by other companies too and Four Pawsrsquo International Farm Animal Campaigner Nina Jamal says recent discussions across the industry have sent ldquoan encouraging signal that there is agreement these cruelties should not be toleratedrdquo
How reliable are these standardsBefore these standards were developed no auditing was done at farm level so this is a great step forward The difference between the standards is the depth of audits around parent farms Parent farms are where birds are raised to produce eggs This is where the highest risk for live-plucking occurs as animals live there up to four years
The RDS is not endorsed by Four Paws because audits of parent farms are only an optional module Even if companies do not include this module in their certification they get the same logo
The TDS is the stricter standard and guarantees that down is not from live-plucked or force-fed animals Parent farm audits are compulsory for all larger farms
What to buyUltimately Four Paws would advise people to avoid buying down but for people
Down policies
Which filling keeps you warmer down or syntheticTherersquos no doubting that downrsquos winning warmth to weight ratio beats synthetics which is bad news for the goose The good news though is that the latest synthetic fillings are comparable to medium-quality down and crucially theyrsquore also generally cheaper too
But perhaps the main reason why you should buy synthetic rather than down is because of the British climate
ldquoSynthetic fills are often a more suitable option than down because theyrsquore more resistant to the wet and are easier to care forrdquo says Jon Doran reviews editor at wwwoutdoorsmagiccom
Down may keep you toasty in the dry cold of the Arctic or the Alps but itrsquos rubbish in the rain
This means that in Britainrsquos damp and muggy winter down is likely to end up in a sodden mess whilst synthetic will you keep you warm whatever the weather ndash which of course is also better news for the goose
Craghoppers Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Paramo Donrsquot use down Use synthetic filling
Patagonia TDS Developed TDS Use only 100 traceable down
Mountain Equipment Down Codex Does include parent farms
Jack Wolfskin RDS From winter 2015
The North Face RDS Entire collection by Autumn 2017
Rab RDS Entire collection by end 2016
Berghaus RDS From 2016
Columbia Own policy Realise could provide greater assurance
who do (or buy other products from same companies) you can look at how they compare on their down policies Of the brands in this guide Patagonia and Mountain Equipment are the top scorers according to Four Paws
On the main score table all companies using down would lose half a mark under Animal Rights Unless they have adopted a standard that includes auditing higher-risk parent farms they lose a full mark
The cruelty behind down-filled jackets
Dare2b Regatta Helly Hansen Howies Mountain Warehouse Sprayway No Policy References 1 httpdownfour-pawsorg
WaterproofsJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
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bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
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bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
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Planning for your secure future without repression pollution or exploitation
Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
Ethical Investment Specialists
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Dead EasyLeaving a campaigning legacy to Ethical Consumer can be done by making a simple ammendment to your will
For further information visitwwwethicalconsumerorglegacyenquiriesethicalconsumerorg0161 226 2929 thical
consum r
The Somerset Willow Company somersetwillowcouk
Undergroundactivist
Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
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el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
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Address
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issue158
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
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M
Y
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CY
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K
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Together wersquoll make your savings do more
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For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
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30
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
From GMOs to SMOsChanging the nature of production
When Ecover ndash the worldrsquos largest eco cleaning product company ndash announced last year its decision to trial a new biotech ingredient in its detergents the company triggered a new and challenging debate for ethical consumers Cathy Stevens explains more
Ecoverrsquos new ingredient is an algal oil derived from an advanced technique of genetic engineering
known as synthetic biology Synthetic biology or lsquosynbiorsquo for short has been described as the step from reading the genetic code to writing it Instead of transferring genes between species synthetic biology is able to reconfigure an organismrsquos DNA to coax it to perform a specific task Unlike conventional GM the algal oil that Ecover wants to use will be lsquovirtuallyrsquo the same as the oil ingredient it derives from ndash palm oil The big difference however is that this palm oil lsquosubstitutersquo is made by synthetically modified organisms (SMOs) or lsquoengineered algaersquo
Ecoverrsquos release of a 6000-bottle batch in the UK in 2014 sparked uproar among global environmental organisations and consumer groups A campaign was launched to urge Ecover to join the 117 organisations calling for a moratorium on the commercial use and environmental release of SMOs1
Synthetic sustainabilityIn response to the campaign Ecover halted the use of the new ingredient to allow time for consultation with NGOs
stakeholders and industry2 Ecover maintains that this new technique of genetic engineering holds the answer to the problems associated with the unsustainable cultivation of palm oil Widely used in cleaning products (as well as food and cosmetics) palm oil as Ethical Consumer reported in issue 156 is associated with tropical deforestation biodiversity-loss lsquoland-grabsrsquo and poor labour-conditions3
Although Ecover already sources its palm (kernel) oil from RSPO certified plantations it believes that the more sustainable option is to synthetically produce it in industrial scale vats or bio-refineries where engineered algae excrete the desired oil ingredient These algae however need sugar to grow and currently the main source for this is Brazilian sugarcane
Campaigners conversely point out that the problems associated with palm oil are largely the same socio-ecological problems associated with monocultures of sugarcane4 and that switching from one tropical lsquomono-croprsquo to another is shuffling the problem around rather than looking to alternatives They point to coconut oil which is favoured by Bio-D5 Ecoverrsquos UK green-industry rival as it is a crop largely
harvested by small farmers requires little water herbicides or pesticides and is often cultivated side by side with other crops ensuring farm-biodiversity
Introducing molecular agricultureThe Ecover controversy signifies the beginning of a much broader debate as rapid advances in synbio technology enable companies to use engineered micro-organisms (mainly bacteria yeast and algae) to act as lsquoliving chemical factoriesrsquo6 in order to produce a range of agricultural products (such as vanilla patchouli saffron stevia and others)
Novel ingredients aimed specifically at lsquoalternativersquo or ethical consumers such as lsquovegan eggsrsquo or cow-free milk are also being developed The industry claims that synbio ingredients are more sustainable are chemically identical to their natural rivals and are safe to be consumed However dominant NGOs including Friends of the Earth US (FoE) point out that the products of synthetic biology lack specific regulations and have not been assessed adequately for impacts on human or ecological health and wellbeing
31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
bull
bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
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asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
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Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
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CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
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lippo
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ream
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eco
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2nd gift subscription pound2995
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Address
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issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
bull Overseas ordersPhoneuson01612262929orgotoourwebsite-wwwethicalconsumerorgSubscriptionsaspx
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Order by midnight
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
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31
Feature ndash Synthetic biologyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
What is legally lsquonaturalrsquoMost current synthetic biology activities are covered by existing EU and US regulations on GMOs
Under EU regulations risk assessment for GMOs focuses on the process of genetic modification used to make a product and whether or not the GMOs are released to the environment However the UK government wants to move EU regulation towards the US lsquotrait-basedrsquo model where regulation covers the novelty of the product itself rather than the process of production or its release For example these regulations would mean that whether your vanilla is grown in a laboratory or on a vanilla vine in Madagascar they would be classified the same because the process of production is not taken into account ndash just the end product
According to the recent UK Parliamentary Office for Science amp Technology (POST) report7 on synthetic biology
ldquoSome novel genome editing techniques used in both synthetic biology and genetic modification are not necessarily covered by the current GMO regulations because the final product is indistinguishable from one where mutations have occurred naturallyrdquo
This highlights the potential for some companies wishing to use synbio to avoid labelling their products as GM lsquoderived from synthetic biologyrsquo or lsquomade using SMOsrsquo and instead may allow products to be labelled as natural In other words unlike conventional GM the SMO is used only during the production process and so supposedly is not present in the final consumer product Switching an EU for a US regulatory model could allow for a new legal definition of lsquonatural productionrsquo
New commodity chainsEconomists consumer and environmental groups have highlighted that blurring the boundary between natural and synthetic brings with it broader global implications Synbiorsquos new lsquonaturalrsquo it is feared may have a knock-on effect on the livelihoods of millions of farmers particularly in the Global South who currently produce the original agricultural crop8 As the World Economic Forum highlighted in their latest Global Risks report ldquothe invention of cheap synthetic alternatives to high-value agricultural exports hellip could
suddenly destabilize vulnerable economies by removing a source of income on which farmers relyrdquo9
The fate of Madagascan vanilla farmers has become highly publicised through the Friends of the Earth (US) lsquoCampaign for Natural Vanillarsquo in which it urges ice-cream companies to commit to SMO-free ingredients Several including Haumlagen-Dazs and Ben amp Jerryrsquos have publicly agreed
Understanding the futureDespite the large majority of Americans and Europeans being completely unaware of synthetic biology10 the pace of commercialisation in the field ndash spurred on by huge public and private investments ndash is advancing at an unprecedented speed outpacing regulatory legal and ethical deliberations11
Consumers grappling to comprehend what synbio techniques in food and goods manufacturing mean confront a wide range of conflicting messages On the one hand synbio is described simply as the modernisation of lsquoage oldrsquo yeast brewing or algal fermentation techniques with reassurances that humans have always modified the environment and that this
For more information seeUK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf
UK Synthetic Biology Roadmap wwwrcukacukRCUK-prodassetsdocumentspublicationsSyntheticBiologyRoadmappdf
EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu
BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh
Civil society and NGO watchdog wwwsynbiowatchorg
US lsquoPresidential Commission for the Study of Bioethical Issuesrsquo httpbioethicsgovsitesdefaultfilesPCSBI-Synthetic-Biology-Report-121610_0pdf
European Commission httpeceuropaeuhealthscientific_committeesconsultationspublic_consultationsscenihr_consultation_26_enhtm
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
bull
References 1 Open letter to EcoverMethod wwwetcgrouporgsiteswwwetcgrouporgfilesOpen20Letter20to20Ecover20June202-202014pdf 2 Forum for the Future httpswwwforumforthefutureorgprojectenabling-conversation-novel-biotechoverview 3 Ethical Consumer Special Report on Palm Oil 2015 4 ETC Group (2010) The New Biomassters Synthetic Biology and the Next Assault on Biodiversity and Livelihoods Communiqueacute no 104 5 Personal communication with MD 12102015 6 lsquomicrobial chemical factories in Nature (2005) available at wwwnaturecombioentstartup072005fullbioent870html 7 lsquoRegulating Synthetic Biologyrsquo 2015 UK Parliamentary Office for Science and Technology httpresearchbriefingsfilesparliamentukdocumentsPOST-PN-0497POST-PN-0497pdf 8 Wellhausen R amp Mukunda G (2009) Aspects of the political economy of development and synthetic biology Systems and Synthetic Biology Vol 3 No 3 pp 115ndash123 9 World Economic Forum (2015) Global Risks Engineering the Future How Can the Risks and Rewards of Emerging Technologies Be Balanced 10 Eurobarometer on the Life sciences Nature biotechnology httpprivatewwwessexacuk~nallumGaskelletal2011pdf 11 EMBO (2009) Managing the unimaginable Regulatory responses to the challenges posed by synthetic biology European Molecular Biology Organisation Vol 10 No 1 12 EU synenergene Responsible research and innovation in synthetic biology wwwsynenergeneeu 13 BBC Horizon documentary lsquoPlaying Godrsquo wwwbbccoukprogrammesb01b45zh 14 Personal communication 10112015
time it will be done lsquoresponsiblyrsquo12 On the other hand synthetic biology is
described as an economic lsquogame-changerrsquo allowing us to programme living things like computer code promising that synbio will be the most disruptive discovery of the 21st century and will lead us into a new biotech era13
Ethical SMO agricultureEcover for now remains cautious about how consumers will respond to synthetic biology ingredients in its detergents When asked whether consumers should think of SMO production as natural Ecover responded ldquowe do not believe we should refer to the algal oil as being naturalrdquo and that the company was still to reach a decision on its use or labelling14
Put simply there is no definitive answer to how ethical this new field of production is Ethics depends on where you sit regarding genetic engineering and its new capabilities your definition of natural and the trust you have in scientists and business to do the rsquoright thingrsquo One thingrsquos for certain unless the public start contributing to the debate the industry springing up around next generation GM will have firmly established a lsquolifersquo of its own
32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
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bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Stuck for that unique Christmas present
Why not book a short course at CAT and stay with us for the weekend in our award-winning WISE building
Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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Apply now to start September 2016httpgsecatorguk
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
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Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
Ethical Investment Specialists
CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
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icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
bull Overseas ordersPhoneuson01612262929orgotoourwebsite-wwwethicalconsumerorgSubscriptionsaspx
Your message
1st gift subscription pound2995
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Order by midnight
on Wednesday 16th December for delivery by
Christmas
42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
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32
Lush Prize 2015JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Lush Prize awards pound450000 to those replacing animal testsThe Lush Prize ndash a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Lush Cosmetics ndash has developed a reputation for identifying outstanding projects around the world which are contributing to animal-free laboratory science
Scientists and campaigners received a terrific boost with a record total of pound450000 given away at this yearrsquos awards The winners were selected by an international panel of experts from 51 short-listed science teams organisations and individual researchers Scientists and campaigners from nine countries shared the prize money which was awarded in London on November 20th
Science and campaigning
Aside from the Black Box prize (see opposite) the project rewards work in areas of science training public awareness lobbying and young researchers
Winners this year included
Young researchers (progressing a career in non-animal science) from Brazil Germany Italy and the USA
A campaigner in Ukraine whose introduction of alternatives to animal testing in universities has saved tens of thousands of animals
A Green Party MP from New Zealand who led the campaign for a legal ban on the animal testing of cosmetics
An organisation in the USA which used freedom of information requests to help people name and lsquoadoptrsquo animals in testing laboratories
bull
bull
bull
bull
Top right ndash Comedian Sara Pascoe hosted the awards ceremony A display of robotics laboratory equipment
Below clockwise ndash Questions at the conferenceCampaigner Dmitry Leporsky UkraineCell culture team from OncoTheis SwitzerlandYoung researcher Bianca Marigliani Brazil
33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
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Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
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Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
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CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
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lippo
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ream
stim
eco
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2nd gift subscription pound2995
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Address
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issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
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Order by midnight
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
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Follow your heartUse your head
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For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
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33
Lush Prize 2015ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Black Box Prize Worldrsquos first human toxicity pathway mappedIn 2015 the Lush Prize judges decided to make a special breakthrough award of pound250000 to scientists involved in mapping the worldrsquos first lsquohuman toxicity pathwayrsquo
Using 21st century technologies like genetics and computing scientists have now fully explained at a molecular level how a toxic chemical can enter the human body and lead to a recurring allergic skin reaction
Judges believe that mapping this pathway represents a breakthrough moment marking the first step into a future where a superior molecular science replaces the old imprecise technology of testing on live mammals in laboratories
Although the lsquoskin sensitisation pathwayrsquo has developed through the work of many people over more than two decades the judges decided to split the award as follows
pound100000 to be shared between four individuals who have made key contributions to building the map in the past David Basketter Frank Gerberick Andreas NatschRoger Emter and Terry Schultz
A pound150000 energising award to the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for its Adverse Outcome Pathway (AOP) programme
The winners were presented with their prizes by animal-welfare campaigner and guitarist Brian May
Rob Harrison a Lush Prize director and Ethical Consumer founder says ldquoAlthough winners include people working inside some very big and complex organisations including the OECD and Procter and Gamble we are committed to rewarding excellence wherever we find it and are convinced that a pathway-based approach to understanding toxic effects marks a key step on the way to a future of completely animal-free toxicity testingrdquo
bull
bull
Above top ndash Black Box Prize winner Frank GerberickAbove left ndash Bob Diderich from the OECD with Terry Schultz and David Basketter Above right ndash Black Box Prize winner Roger Emter
Left main photo ndash New Zealand Green Party MP Mojo Mathers
Below ndash Brian May and Anita Dobson emerge from an inflatable skin cell pathway
More information from wwwlushprizeorg
The Government seems to think renewable energy is just a drain on taxpayers
Thousands of people across the UK disagree We think we urgently need to move to a zero-carbon energy system owned by and run for normal people Weve put our time and money into local green energy
At Sharenergy we are proud to have supported over 30 successful community energy projects across the UK Theyre innovative 100 community-owned and financially stable Weve got plenty more on the way
Come and join us
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includes menrsquos and ladies shoes and boots leisure shoes walking boots safety boots jackets belts etc
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email informationvegetarian-shoescouk
ORDER DIRECT ON-LINEwwwvegetarian-shoescouk
35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Stuck for that unique Christmas present
Why not book a short course at CAT and stay with us for the weekend in our award-winning WISE building
Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
Least fuel efficient
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Planning for your secure future without repression pollution or exploitation
Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
Ethical Investment Specialists
CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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For further information visitwwwethicalconsumerorglegacyenquiriesethicalconsumerorg0161 226 2929 thical
consum r
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Undergroundactivist
Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
copy M
icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
bull Overseas ordersPhoneuson01612262929orgotoourwebsite-wwwethicalconsumerorgSubscriptionsaspx
Your message
1st gift subscription pound2995
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Order by midnight
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
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Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Stuck for that unique Christmas present
Why not book a short course at CAT and stay with us for the weekend in our award-winning WISE building
Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
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ethical investments
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Planning for your secure future without repression pollution or exploitation
Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
Ethical Investment Specialists
CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
Dead EasyLeaving a campaigning legacy to Ethical Consumer can be done by making a simple ammendment to your will
For further information visitwwwethicalconsumerorglegacyenquiriesethicalconsumerorg0161 226 2929 thical
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Undergroundactivist
Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
copy M
icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
bull Overseas ordersPhoneuson01612262929orgotoourwebsite-wwwethicalconsumerorgSubscriptionsaspx
Your message
1st gift subscription pound2995
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Postcode
Order by midnight
on Wednesday 16th December for delivery by
Christmas
42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
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35
Tax justiceethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Energy companies leading the way on Fair TaxWinder Power Group a leading UK manufacturer of power generation equipment was awarded the Fair Tax Mark in September
The Fair Tax Mark a joint project from Ethical Consumer and Tax Research UK is awarded to companies who can demonstrate they are paying a fair amount of tax
Speaking about the recent accreditation Laurence MacKenzie Group Chief Executive of Winder Power said ldquoWe at Winder Power firmly believe that we have a responsibility to contribute to the society in which we operate We believe that paying our taxes in this way is one of the clearest indications we can give of our role and commitment as responsible participants in societyrdquo
Welcoming the move by Winder Power Meesha Nehru Programme Director of the Fair Tax Mark commented ldquoWersquore delighted to have worked with Winder Power on the award of its Fair Tax Mark Winder Power is a business that not only pays its fair share of tax year on year but also that has been willing to go the extra mile to make itself fully transparent and accountable to the UK public through independent accreditationrdquo
The company is a supplier to SSE one of the UKrsquos largest energy companies who this week was awarded the Fair Tax Mark for the second successive year
Richard Livings of the Fair Tax Mark said ldquoThe FTSE 100 firm continues to set a great example for large business both in terms of its responsible approach to tax practice and its leadership in speaking out on the need for improved tax transparency in the UKrdquo
He added ldquoIn its 2015 accounts its published tax policy and additional reporting SSE goes well above and beyond the current legal and accounting requirements for tax disclosurerdquo
Chief Executive of SSE Alistair Phillips-Davies says ldquoWersquore delighted to have received accreditation again from the Fair Tax Mark because it palpably demonstrates that wersquore paying our fair share here in the UK
ldquoWe know therersquos deep anger from the public towards companies that donrsquot take a responsible approach to paying taxes Frankly one year on Irsquom surprised and disappointed that more FTSE 100 companies have not looked to join us in gaining this mark and going further on tax transparencyrdquo
Crickhowell first Fair Tax townIn November the media was buzzing with news that a Welsh town had supposedly lsquogone offshorersquo to protest against tax avoidance by multinationals such as Starbucks and Google Followed by a BBC crew local traders from Crickhowell in the Brecon Beacons decided to shine a light on the dubious practices normally only available to large businesses by attempting to copy them and set up an offshore structure of their own
Itrsquos a classic lsquoDavid vs Goliathrsquo story that caused quite a stir but what happens next Will encouraging towns to go offshore lead to real change The Fair Tax Mark team were not convinced
They issued the following statement on their website
ldquoWhen big businesses and wealthy individuals avoid tax they undermine the very social contract upon which our society is based As citizens wersquore rightly outraged and think rsquoif I have to pay why donrsquot theyrsquo
ldquoHowever if that sentiment then turns into rsquowell if theyrsquore not Irsquom not going to eitherlsquo which is what the Crickhowell businesses seem to be saying it could turn into a very dangerous game indeed
ldquoFair Tax is about more than just ensuring everybody gets to play by the same rules ndash although thatrsquos clearly important Itrsquos about ensuring that everybody contributes their fair share to society so we can all benefit Tax not only pays for schools hospitals and vital services but like it or not itrsquos also the glue that holds us together as a nation of law abiding people
ldquoIf ordinary people start joining the avoiders we end up undermining the tax system and the society on which it is based rather than forcing the real culprits ndash government and big business ndash to change their ways
ldquoThe Crickhowell businesses say they want to pay corporation tax and rightly so as this is the only tax that allows the community to share in the profits they helped create
ldquoTherefore while we are happy that a new group has joined the debate on tax justice a truly Fair Tax story has a different ending ndash one that ditches the sleaze and embraces a longer term solution that we can all be a part of
ldquoWe have been working in public and behind the scenes for many years now to create truly Fair Tax towns ones that donrsquot embrace the tactics of the race to the bottom and instead seek to involve businesses and others leading by example to embody the changes that they want to see
ldquoWe invite all those involved in this programme (from the production company to the Crickhowell shops) to consider getting Fair Tax Mark accredited and participate in our campaign
ldquoOf course they will have to wind up the offshore structure and instead join a growing movement of businesses including the likes of SSE Lush and the Phone Coop which believe paying tax is at the heart of a fair society
ldquoImagine if the whole of Crickhowell chose to only buy from Fair Tax businesses That not only directly impacts the avoiders but sends a powerful message to government too ndash without undermining the tax system or taking unnecessary risks It may not quite be a happy-ever-after ending but it would be the first step to a more positive futurerdquo
For more information about the Fair Tax Mark see wwwfairtaxmarknet
36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
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Undergroundactivist
Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
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icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
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36
Feature ndash COP21JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Corporate lobbying cosy meetings and mixed messages
Georgina Stevens explores the two faces of corporate lobbying in the run-up to the climate summit in Paris
In December representatives from 195 nations gathered in Paris for the 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to
discuss a new global agreement on climate change Billed by many as the lsquofinal chancersquo for climate change mitigation the aim was to produce a legally-binding international agreement that limits global warming to 15-2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels
A coming of age160 countries submitted their Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs)1 ahead of the talks detailing proposed national reduction targets and how they hope to achieve them These account for some 90 of the worldrsquos carbon emissions And whilst these plans do not go far enough (they only limit warming to 27 degrees Celsius) they provide a solid base from which negotiations can begin particularly when compared to previous meetings such as Copenhagen where no prior plans were submitted
There are also some strong commitments on the table notably from China (emissions in decline by 2030) and the G7 (zero emissions by 2100) And some timely changes in the elected representatives of Australia (one of the worldrsquos largest coal exporters) and Canada (home to the worldrsquos 3rd largest oil reserve) are hoped to have significant positive impacts on negotiations
Others however have been found to be actively lobbying against climate legislation in the same breath For example Dow Chemicals was a signatory to the letter but is also said to have advocated for less unilateral action in the lead up to COP21 and opposes many key targets and reforms5 Similarly Enel Energy has been found to have lobbied against key climate legislation and scored badly on InfluenceMaprsquos (IM) ranking of corporate influence on climate policy
In a review of the oil and gas majors6 IM has found many more examples of this Shellrsquos and Totalrsquos external statements on climate were found to be the most at odds with their lobbying activities with both calling for ambitious action at COP21 whilst at the same time campaigning against multiple targets and regulation
Total has been campaigning against the EUrsquos 2030 emissions reduction targets and lobbying the Commission to reduce the scope of the European Unionrsquos Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) Shell is on the board of CEFIC a powerful European chemicals trade body that recently lobbied aggressively against much needed reform of the ETS and against energy efficiency and renewable energy targets and regulation
In a report released in October 2015 IM found that nearly all (95) of the leading 100 non-state owned non-financial companies in the 2014 Forbes Global 2000 were members of trade
The private sector has also been conspicuous in the run up to the talks with an impressive array of initiatives coalitions and announcements Some ambitious commitments were made such as the RE100 initiative2 which saw 39 companies (including IKEA Apple and Google) committing to sourcing 100 renewable energy by set dates Obamarsquos American Business Act on Climate Pledge3 saw 81 companies (including Unilever Facebook and Walmart) commit to targets on reducing emissions waste and water use increasing low-carbon investments deploying more clean energy and engaging their supply chain These and other initiatives have provided much needed positive energy ahead of the talks
However other pronouncements have been completely at odds with the lobbying activities of the companies involved either directly opposing key climate legislation or indirectly opposing climate legislation through membership of certain trade associations
Mixed messagesIn April 2015 a coalition of 43 Global CEOs wrote an open letter to world leaders urging for concrete action on climate change at COP21 Some of these companies were also working hard to show they were taking action themselves For example BT Group IKEA MampS Phillips 66 and Unilever were all signatories of RE100
copy P
asec
hnay
a | D
ream
stim
eco
m
37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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Stuck for that unique Christmas present
Why not book a short course at CAT and stay with us for the weekend in our award-winning WISE building
Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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EC15
39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
copy M
icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
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Together wersquoll make your savings do more
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Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
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37
Feature ndash COP21ethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
associations that lobby against climate legislation on their behalf4 It also found that 45 of companies were engaging in activities that obstructed climate policy directly IM also ranked the companies using multiple data sources such as CDP data disclosures to Government and publicly available reports and promotional material
BP tops list of climate action opponentsIn October 2014 a coalition of ten oil and gas companies called for an effective climate agreement at COP218 BP was a signatory to this call but behind the scenes its efforts to fight both energy efficiency measures and strict legislation on CO2 emissions made it the lowest scoring European company on IMrsquos scoreboard It also had an impressive lobby spend in 2014 which was declared at between euro2750000 and euro29999997
IMrsquos review of the automotive sector found Honda PSA Peugeot Citroen Nissan and Renault were most supportive of key EU and US climate related emissions regulations Volkswagen (perhaps unsurprisingly) Daimler BMW FCA and Ford were the least supportive and also the least prepared for compliance with expected 2020 CO2 emissions and efficiency regulations
Big Oil will see you nowResearch and campaigning charity Corporate Europe Observatory has reviewed meetings held at the EU Commission in the run-up to COP21 It has found that 80 of the meetings held by Miguel Arias Canete EU
Commissioner for Climate and Energy and Maros Sefcovic Vice-President for the Energy Union were with the private sector (companies trade associations and reps)
Of those meetings most were with the energy sector principally fossil fuel companies including BP Statoil and Shell in mainly one-on-one meetings
NGOs and trade unions made up 15 of the meetings and were often seen as part of larger meetings
Corporate Europe Observatoryrsquos report also detailed Canetersquos connection with the fossil fuel industry a former shareholder and president of two oil companies one of which his brother-in-law remains president of a fact which resulted in over half a million people signing a petition against his appointment as Commissioner for Climate and Energy
Greater transparency and ambition neededUndoubtedly greater transparency around corporate lobbying activities is essential particularly at such a pivotal moment in time and this is starting to happen In September 2015 25 global institutional investors representing over US$38 trillion in assets under management wrote to nine publicly listed FTSE 100 giants ndash BHP Billiton BP EDF Glencore Johnson Matthey Procter and Gamble Rio Tinto
References 1 httpunfcccintfocusindc_portalitems8766php 2 httpthere100org 3 httpswwwwhitehousegovthe-press-office20151019fact-sheet-white-house-announces-commitments-american-business-act 4 httpinfluencemaporgfilterList-of-Companies-and-Influencers 5 httpinfluencemaporgcompanyDow-Chemical 6 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000099InfluenceMap_Oil_Sector_October_2015pdf 7 httpeceuropaeutransparencyregisterpublichomePagedo 8 wwwoilandgasclimateinitiativecomnewsoil-and-gas-ceos-jointly-declare-action-on-climate-change 9 httpinfluencemaporgsitedata000100IM_Report_Automotive_Oct_2015pdf 10 httpcorporateeuropeorgsitesdefaultfilesattachmentscanetesefcovic_smallpdf 11 httpswwwcdpnetCDP20Questionaire20DocumentsCDP-climate-change-information-request-2015pdf 12 httpswwwunglobalcompactorgdocsissues_docEnvironmentclimateGuide_Responsible_Corporate_Engagement_Climate_Policypdf 13 httpswwwcdpneten-USPagesRTPresponsible-corporate-engagement-climate-policyaspx 14 wwwcampaignccorgclimatemarchlondon
Taken from the 2014 list of the Forbes Global 2000
5 most active supporters 5 least supportive
Unilever Exxon Mobil
GlaxoSmithKline 21st Century Fox
Deutsche Telekom Reliance Industries
Cisco Systems Phillips 66
Google Koch Industries
Global climate policy and legislation
Georgina Stevens is a freelance journalist broadcaster and founder of sustainability incubator and advisory One Pumpkin wwwonepumpkincouk
georginastevens
Statoil and Total ndash explicitly calling for improvements in practice and transparency in this area
CDP has been asking questions about corporate lobbying in its annual corporate questionnaire11 which has provided information to the investment community for two years now It also helped produced a guide on responsible
corporate engagement12 which has 85 signatories to date including Nestleacute Vodafone and Kingfisher13
Companies themselves are coming to realise the risks surrounding some of their trade association memberships For example Unilever left BusinessEurope last year over the lobby grouprsquos stance on environmental policies and sustainability issues Most notable about this particular decision Unilever was reported by the Policy Studies Institute at Westminster University to have become more confident in backing ambitious climate action after leaving the group
So clearly what is needed is for a few more companies to question their trade association memberships tackle them head-on over obstructive policies and leave if necessary Of course this will not happen overnight but increasing scrutiny from the investment community and from the media around key events such as COP21 will certainly help
On November 29th the day before the most important climate summit of the decade people all over the world took to the streets
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call 01229 821028
register your interest at wwwenergy4allcouk
Stuck for that unique Christmas present
Why not book a short course at CAT and stay with us for the weekend in our award-winning WISE building
Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
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MSc Sustainability and Adaptation PlanningCities and communities transition strategy politics and economics
MSc Renewable Energy and the Built Environment
Apply now to start September 2016httpgsecatorguk
10 o Short C
ourses
for subscr
ibers
please quote
EC15
39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
copy M
icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
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1st gift subscription pound2995
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
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ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
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Our projects are long term investments in shares to deliver environmental and social impacts as well as a financial returnAs with any investment there are risks Your capital is at risk and may not be readily realisable Returns are projectedvariable depend on the performance of the project and are not guaranteed Consider all risks before investing and read theShare Offers
wwwenergy4allcouk
call 01229 821028
register your interest at wwwenergy4allcouk
Stuck for that unique Christmas present
Why not book a short course at CAT and stay with us for the weekend in our award-winning WISE building
Subscribers to Ethical Consumer get 10 o courses between 1st December and 1st February
Learn how to tread lighter on our earth on a CAT short course Join like-minded people to understand more about sustainability in cities and communities explore the di erent renewable energy systems that can be used in the home and workplace or come to beautiful Wales to study birds mosses wild owers and fungi All our short courses can be bought as a gift package Call 01654 704952 for more details or visit our website
httpcoursescatorguk
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MSc Sustainability and Adaptation in the Built EnvironmentEnergy in buildings natural materials applied projects
MSc Sustainability and Adaptation PlanningCities and communities transition strategy politics and economics
MSc Renewable Energy and the Built Environment
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10 o Short C
ourses
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ibers
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EC15
39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
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Planning for your secure future without repression pollution or exploitation
Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
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Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
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CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
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consum r
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Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
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icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
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issue158
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42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
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39
Climate of changeethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Shellrsquos sponsorship of the Science Museum comes to an endA Freedom of Information request from BP or not BP in mid-November confirmed that Londonrsquos Science Museum ldquohellipdoes not have plans to renew its existing sponsorship deal or initiate a new deal or funding agreement with Royal Dutch Shellrdquo
The partnership came under scrutiny earlier this year when lsquoBP or not BPrsquo uncovered emails showing that Shellrsquos staff had attempted to influence the museumrsquos ldquoAtmosphererdquo climate science exhibition1
Anti-oil-sponsorship campaigners have welcomed the news but will continue to hold protests inside the museum against its continuing partnership with BP ndash the sponsor of the Science Museumrsquos lsquoCosmonauts Birth of the Space Agelsquo exhibition BP also co-hosts rsquoThe Ultimate STEM Challengelsquo with the Science Museum a competition where schoolchildren are invited to undertake BP-themed challenges such as finding the design for the ldquomost efficient [oil] tankerrdquo2
Chris Garrard from lsquoBP or not BPrsquo commented ldquoShell should never have been allowed to sponsor an exhibition on climate science Itrsquos no secret that Shell relentlessly lobbies against measures to tackle climate change ndash but the Science Museum went ahead with this ill-advised deal nonetheless This is a step in the right direction but the museum needs to stop legitimising the fossil fuel industry completely by ditching its deal with BP toordquo
Ongoing protests against oil sponsorship of cultural institutions have also been answered with some industry-wide progress The Museums Association approved a new set of ethical guidelines at its Annual Conference on the 6th November that require museums and galleries to scrutinise potential sponsors ensuring that they share an institutionrsquos rsquoethical valueslsquo and do not ldquoexert influence over the contents of exhibitionrdquo3
Divestment successesUppsalarsquos city council voted to ban investments in coal oil and gas on the 3rd November making it the largest Swedish city yet to have committed to divest from fossil fuels
ldquoWe are working hard to reduce Uppsalarsquos emissions by investing in cycling infrastructure renewable energy and sustainable buildings Divestment is an important next step Now we challenge other municipalities to also modernise their climate effortsrdquo commented Maria Gard Fjell Uppsalarsquos deputy mayor4
In October 2015 Kirklees Council West Yorkshire became the third council in the UK to have voted in favour of divestment and York Hackney Bradford and Reading councils have also committed to review their fossil fuel investments You can find out about your local councilrsquos fossil fuel investments by visiting gofossilfreeorgukpensions
The University of Surrey divested pound33000 from BHP Billiton achieving a lsquofossil freersquo status and becoming the 8th University to join the UK divestment movement
Climate progress in the hands of the corporatesWhilst the majority of respondents to the 2015 Climate Survey thought there would be a global agreement at the COP21 Summit less than a third of respondents believed that the agreement would have binding powers For progress to be made post-COP21 national governments and the private sector would have to up their game
lsquoSustainability expertsrsquo from a variety of sectors ndash including businesses government representatives NGOs academic institutions and servicesthe media ndash were asked about their expectations for COP21 and the perceived role of different actors in driving climate progress post-COP
Scientific institutions NGOs and the UN were recognised for having driven most progress around climate policy and practice over the past five years Although national governments and the private sector were considered to have contributed the least they were considered to be key to implementing the outcomes of the COP21
When asked which corporates were driving climate solutions consumer and technology companies topped the charts 20 of respondents named Unilever as a climate leader and Tesla Google General Electric IKEA and Walmart were also identified as drivers of positive climate innovations Investments in renewable energy and the development of energy efficient and lsquogreenrsquo technologies were identified as key indicators of lsquoclimate leadersrsquo by respondents
The 2015 Climate Survey was conducted by research consultancy GlobeScan and think tank SustainAbility in partnership with the Climate Group To read the full report visit wwwglobescancom
C02 emissions vary amongst transatlantic airlinesTwenty transatlantic airlines have been ranked on their fuel efficiency and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
The International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) ranking found huge variation 51 more CO2 was emitted by the most fuel-inefficient of the twenty British Airways compared to Norwegian Air Shuttle (NAS) the most fuel-efficient non-stop transatlantic route
Download the full report from wwwtheicctorg
References 1 wwwtheguardiancombusiness2015may31shell-sought-influence-direction-science-museum-climate-programme 2 httpbpesbpcomstem-challengechallenge-1 3 wwwbbccouknewsentertainment-arts-34735603 4 httpgofossilfreeorgukuppsala-divests
Most fuel efficient
Least fuel efficient
ethical savings
ethical pensions
ethical investments
ethical wealth management
ethical insurance
Planning for your secure future without repression pollution or exploitation
Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
Ethical Investment Specialists
CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
Dead EasyLeaving a campaigning legacy to Ethical Consumer can be done by making a simple ammendment to your will
For further information visitwwwethicalconsumerorglegacyenquiriesethicalconsumerorg0161 226 2929 thical
consum r
The Somerset Willow Company somersetwillowcouk
Undergroundactivist
Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
copy M
icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
bull Overseas ordersPhoneuson01612262929orgotoourwebsite-wwwethicalconsumerorgSubscriptionsaspx
Your message
1st gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
Order by midnight
on Wednesday 16th December for delivery by
Christmas
42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
ethical savings
ethical pensions
ethical investments
ethical wealth management
ethical insurance
Planning for your secure future without repression pollution or exploitation
Your first consultation will be at our cost zero obligation alternatively simply request a free brochure Please contact debbieinvesting-ethicallycouk or call 01603 309020
wwwinvesting-ethicallycouk Investing Ethically Ltd is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority
Independent ethical financial advisers for socially responsible people
Ethical Investment Specialists
CampaignsLeaving a legacy gift in your will to Ethical Consumer co-operative will boost our campaigns programme This will enable us to challenge unethcial corporate practices long into the future
Dead EasyLeaving a campaigning legacy to Ethical Consumer can be done by making a simple ammendment to your will
For further information visitwwwethicalconsumerorglegacyenquiriesethicalconsumerorg0161 226 2929 thical
consum r
The Somerset Willow Company somersetwillowcouk
Undergroundactivist
Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
copy M
icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
bull Overseas ordersPhoneuson01612262929orgotoourwebsite-wwwethicalconsumerorgSubscriptionsaspx
Your message
1st gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
Order by midnight
on Wednesday 16th December for delivery by
Christmas
42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
Christmas gift subscriptionswwwethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
41
This festive season give a gift subscription and an olive tree to PalestineA subscription to Ethical Consumer is a present that lasts all year Yoursquoll be giving six magazines (print andor digital) and full access to ethicalconsumerorg That means access to the ethical ratings of hundreds of brands whose scores are updated daily and are customisable Plus therersquos our Best Buys recommendations
When you subscribe wersquoll send your gift recipientbull a copy of the magazine delivered by post to arrive by Christmas Daybull a Christmas card with your name and message bull log in details so they can access our subscriber-only website PLUSbull a certificate of sponsorship of an organic olive sapling in Palestine where olive trees and their harvest provide the livelihood for entire communities
For subsequent gift subscriptions please send names addresses and emails on a separate sheet Your name
Simply 1 fill in the gift name(s) and address(es) below and their email address(es) if known so we can send them a log in and password to access the subscriber-only website 2 fill in your name below too so we can say who the gift is from and add any message for the card
3 post this form with payment to the address below or call us on 0161 226 2929 and wersquoll do it all over the phone with your creditdebit card details Or sign up online at wwwethicalconsumerorgsubscriptions
copy M
icha
el F
lippo
| D
ream
stim
eco
m
2nd gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
issue158
bullUK orders sendto ECRAPublishingLtdFREEPOSTNWW978AManchesterM159EP
bull Overseas ordersPhoneuson01612262929orgotoourwebsite-wwwethicalconsumerorgSubscriptionsaspx
Your message
1st gift subscription pound2995
Name
Address
Postcode
Order by midnight
on Wednesday 16th December for delivery by
Christmas
42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
42
MoneyJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Donrsquot bank on the bombA new report out in November slammed UK state-owned bank RBS for its heavy investment in nuclear weapons
The report Donrsquot Bank on the Bomb published by Dutch peace organisation PAX outlines how the institution has $6973 million invested in the nuclear weapons industry
The company has investments in 21 out of the 26 nuclear weapons-producing companies in the report ndash more than any other UK bank
The report also identifies 382 banks insurance companies and pension funds which have made US $493 billion available to nuclear weapons producers since January 2012
The top 10 investors alone provided more than US $209 billion to the 26 nuclear weapon producers All of the top 10 are based in the USA
The top three investors ndash Capital Group State Street and Blackrock ndash have invested more than US $95 billion (combined) in the producers named in this report
In Europe the most heavily invested are BNP Paribas (France) RBS (United Kingdom) and Creacutedit Agricole (France)
In the Asia-Pacific region the biggest investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Financial (Japan) Life Insurance Corporation of India and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial (Japan)
How the other UK banks faired
HSBC $4469m
Barclays $5881m
Lloyds Banking Group $1921m
However it is not all bad news
The research shows that 53 financial institutions prohibit or limit investments in nuclear weapon producers This is a 150 increase compared to last yearrsquos report
The authors say that this overall increase illustrates the growing stigmatisation of nuclear weapons because of the renewed focus on their humanitarian consequences
bull
bull
bull
The RBS saleResearch released by Move Your Money in October showed that the British public is strongly opposed to the Governmentrsquos firesale of the taxpayersrsquo stake in bailed-out bank RBS
Of those with an opinion the sale of RBS shares was opposed by 3 out of 4 people The research also showed that 82 of people agreed that the bank should serve the public interest and that 67 of the public agreed that government policy on RBS should be reviewed
The poll also demonstrated widespread support for the breakup of RBS with 58 agreeing that the bank should be restructured to serve local and regional economies
Campaign Manager for Move Your Money Fionn Travers-Smith said
ldquoThe British public is overwhelmingly opposed to the
reckless firesale of RBS back to the people who caused the financial crisis Public opinion cannot be clearer on this issue ndash we own RBS so it should work for us
ldquoThis isnrsquot just about the pound14 billion loss at a time of austerity scandalous though that is We could be using NatWest amp RBS to rebuild our economy support rural communities and to work for the people that saved the bank when it was on its kneesrdquo
An open letter signed by academics NGOs and politicians from across the political spectrum was also published which called on the government to end the RBS sale and to launch a full review
Wilbert van der Zeijden co-author of the report said
ldquoNo bank pension fund or insurance company should have financial relations with companies involved in weapons of mass destruction In the case of a nuclear detonation the humanitarian consequences will last for decades and effective aid will not be possible The only way to prevent this from happening is to outlaw and eliminate nuclear weapons Stigmatizing these inhumane and indiscriminate weapons and excluding them from investments will helprdquo
Hall of fame
There are 13 financial institutions listed in the reportrsquos Hall of Fame who do not invest in any nuclear weapon producers
These institutions have policies preventing any type of investment in any company with association to nuclear weapons
The Co-op Bank was the only UK bank to make it into the Hall of Fame
This comes on the back of the company re-establishing and strengthening its ethical policy after pressure from Ethical Consumerrsquos Save Our Bank campaign (see opposite)
The researchers are now calling on all financial institutions to stop any investments into weapons of mass destruction and on governments to ban nuclear weapons once and for all
Download the report at wwwdontbankonthebombcomwp-contentuploads2015112015_Report_webpdf
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
43
Moneyethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Ethical amp Green Funds
Sour
ce m
oney
fact
sco
uk
Fund nameEthiscore
as at 10314
4685 year
growth to 26112015
7IM Sustainable Balance 45 343
Aberdeen Ethical World OEIC 65 119
Aberdeen Multi Manager Ethical 65 334
Aberdeen Responsible UK Equity 65 238
Alliance Trust Sust Future Absolute Growth 65 424
Alliance Trust Sust Future Corporate Bond 65 333
Alliance Trust Sust Future European Growth 65 403
Alliance Trust Sust Future Global Growth 65 568
Alliance Trust Sust Future Managed 65 486
Alliance Trust Sust Future UK Growth 65 653
AXA Ethical Distribution 4 429
EdenTree Amity European 7 342
EdenTree Amity International 7 160
EdenTree Amity Sterling Bond 7 292
EdenTree Amity UK 7 653
FampC Responsible Growth 115 554
FampC Responsible Income 115 648
Family Charities Ethical Trust 7 252
Henderson Global Care Growth 55 550
Henderson Global Care UK Income 55 832
Henderson Institutional GC Managed 55 542
Jupiter Ecology 12 372
Jupiter Responsible Income 12 506
Kames Ethical Corporate Bond 5 318
Kames Ethical Equity 5 767
Legal amp General Ethical Trust 45 678
Old Mutual Ethical Fund 7 414
Premier Ethical Fund 75 923
Rathbone Ethical Bond Fund 5 358
Royal London Sust Diversified Trust A Inc 12 514
Royal London Sust Leaders Trust A Inc 12 876
Royal London Sustainable World Trust A Inc 12 762
Scottish Widows Environmental 35 292
Scottish Widows Ethical 35 184
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical CB 105 306
Standard Life Investments UK Ethical 105 279
SVM All Europe SRI 7 468
Save our BankCo-op Bank closes accounts of 21 Palestine support organisations
In November the Palestine Solidarity Campaign (PSC) announced that it had launched a legal case against the Co-op Bank for closing its account along with those of 20 local organisations The PSC also asked people to close their Co-op Bank accounts in protest
In a detailed statement the bank had cited lsquodue diligencersquo on money transfers to high risk locations However this left many questions unanswered If the PSC did not have sufficient controls in place what should groups wanting to support Palestinians do to ensure they meet the Co-op Bankrsquos standards
Save Our Bank wrote the bank an open letter calling on it to remember its proud tradition of supporting human right campaigners and to cease any closure of accounts of organisations working to support Palestine It disagreed that closing accounts at this stage was the right tactic
More information on the Save Our Bank website httpssaveourbankcoop
Co-op Bank supports lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal
One thing that activists around the world have been calling on banks to do is to stop financing the coal industry since coal is the most carbon-intensive fossil fuel and the biggest contributor to climate change In November the Co-op Bank became the largest of the 20 banks around the world to sign BankTrackrsquos lsquoParis Pledgersquo to quit coal finance
The Co-op Bank has long had a policy position against financing the extraction and production of coal oil and gas Now in the run-up to the climate summit they have gone a step further and ruled out finance for coal-fired power stations
Successful crowdfunding for the customer union
As we have mentioned in previous issues of Ethical Consumer the Save Our Bank campaignrsquos long term goal was to set up a separate organisation to function as a customer union for people trying to keep the Co-op Bank ethical
Save Our Bank began a crowdfunding campaign at the beginning of November to raise pound15000 to help establish the organisation Overwhelmed by support the campaign met its target just 8 days into a 42 day campaign and decided to keep raising funds to meet its income targets for year one and to sign up more new members
Although the campaign will have finished by the time you read this there will be a chance to sign up as a new member in 2016 and join the worldrsquos first democratic member organisation formed to be a co-operative union of customers within a single company
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
44
LettersJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
pound425EC
157 NovDec 2015
ww
wethicalconsum
erorg
A nation of animal loversWe investigate the ethics in your pet food
Product guides toCat amp Dog Food Coffee
Perfume amp Aftershave
PlusAmazonrsquos tax turnaround
ethical charity sponsorship
The ethics of pet ownershipThanks for your in-depth look at animal food and in particular your discussion on vegan cat food Itrsquos a shame though that the column was essentially undermined by the cartoon which drew the debate to a close with a cat stating quite
emphatically it didnrsquot like vegan food
The missing issue though was the ethics of having a pet at all ndash the reduction you discuss in your editorial If we care about animals having a pet and feeding it the equivalent of 10 dead fish or one dead chicken a week is morally flawed Even a rescue animal would be better euthanised to save the hundreds of murdered and caged animals it consumes across its lifespan Better still let it go feral Stray animals are in shelters not for their benefit but for the benefit of humans who prefer not to have them in the wild
We consume pets like we consume other consumables We might rsquolovelsquo and care for our pet but ultimately it exists (bred or rsquosavedlsquo) for us to derive pleasure love and comfort from We rsquolovelsquo what it does forto us This is the same as others might love care and derive pleasure from their four wheel drive and what it does emotionally for them If we exhort drivers to consider the fuel their cars consume on the drivers behalf then we must consider the pet food that is consumed by our pets on the ownersrsquo behalf We canrsquot squirm our way out of it and blame the pet thatrsquos like blaming the car not the buyer Buying or ldquosavingrdquo a pet and feeding it meat has no moral justification whatever the emotions ndash save the caged chickens first
Dr Olivier Ratle (by email)
The meaty issue of vegan petsI read with interest your extensive article on the pet food trade (EC157 NovDec 2015) especially the part about veganvegetarian food for pet cats Up until then I had not realised that many vegans and vegetarians wish to ensure that their pet cats follow their own ethical stance I say ldquofollowrdquo because obviously those cats then have no personal individual choice in the matter of their sustenance especially those with no access to the outside And if they do have access can such cats be monitored all the time to ensure they do not catch prey and consume it And would any Pet Insurance company pay out for a cat with problems if fed a veganvegetarian diet
PETA must be applauded for recommending pet food manufacturers who do no testing on animals but personally (as a non-carnivore) I believe that a non-meat diet for cats is cruel irresponsible and dangerous to the catrsquos health in the extreme despite any added chemical supplements And it would appear that many correspondents to PETArsquos website agree certainly with more eloquence than I can ever hope to write here
Again in your article there does not appear to be any dietary input advice from a Vet except to ldquoconsult onerdquo Surely this would have brought some balance to the argument
Many charities such as Animal Aid CIWF PETA etc do sterling work to improve the lives of animals ldquofrom farm to forkrdquo which is often full of abuse and horror Of course the struggle for excellence will probably never end but the more contributors to these charities the more they can lobby protest and change minds of governments for the ethical treatment of all animals I believe those of us with a conscience about every animal should cast their votes for the politicians who state they put animal welfare very high on their agendas ndash politiciansrsquo salaries are publicly funded after all
Margaret Keynes (by email)
Rainforest Alliance respondsSimon Birchrsquos recent Inside View column criticising Rainforest Alliance certification was misleading and missed the larger point about global progress in sustainable agriculture
But first things first hersquos quite right that there is no excusing substandard conditions discovered by the BBC on Rainforest Alliance certified tea estates in Assam India This is as Mr Birch said ldquoNot goodrdquo
What he didnrsquot say is that we and the Sustainable Agriculture Network (SAN) which manages certification standards for the farms took immediate corrective action We investigated the tea estates de-certified one group of farms and instituted unannounced audits for others The SAN which was already working on a 2016 update of its standards decided to accelerate improvements in standards for drinking water sanitation housing and other worker safety and living conditions which come into force December 1 2015 Farms not in compliance have 60 days to present a plan showing theyrsquoll correct the conditions Certification will be cancelled for farms that donrsquot comply with the improvements and deadlines in their plans
Assam is part of a recent global expansion in certified sustainable agriculture The first tea farms in South India complied with SAN standards in 2008 By 2014 production of Rainforest Alliance Certified tea in India went from zero to 15 of Indiarsquos output That mirrors fast growth in certified agriculture globally over the last five years Today 12 million farmers in 42 countries grow 101 different crops on Rainforest Alliance Certified farms
With such expansion come benefits for workers and the environment as well as instances of non-compliance that need to be uncovered and acted on effectively As certification scales up it may sometimes happen that investigative reporters find instances of non-compliance faster than our on-ground inspectors do (this is true as well for other
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
45
Lettersethicalconsumerorg JANUARYFEBRUARY 2016
Can you help in the quest for the ethical weddingIrsquom in the process of capturing couplesrsquo experience of having an lsquoethical wedding lsquo This might include elements such as growing your own flowers or a train-based honeymoon through to fair trade rings or a vintage dress If so Irsquod love to hear from you You donrsquot have to be an ethical expert just someone who gave it a go and lived to tell the tale
Irsquom researching this subject with the ultimate aim of producing the book you wish you had when planning your own wedding Irsquod like to inspire brides- and grooms-to-be with stories and top tips from those whorsquove gone before them
Relive the joy of your big day and share your wedding stories and experiences here wwwsurveymonkeycomrKFRV2Y3
Abigail Herron (by email)
Ed We will happily pass on any letters to Abigail should you wish to write to Ethical Consumer direct
We welcome readersrsquo letters Letters may be edited for reasons of space or clarity If you do not want letters to be published please mark them lsquoNot for publicationrsquo Our address is on the contents page or email us at lettersethicalconsumerorg
certification schemes) Wersquore committed to finding them being transparent about them and correcting them quickly
Meanwhile evidence (publicly available on our website) shows that expansion of certified agriculture is an overwhelmingly good thing causing farmers worldwide to adopt sustainable practices that protect workers and the environment making for more productive farms higher incomes better living conditions less deforestation and many other benefits Research also finds that it is a persistent challenge for some crops to comply with certain criteria including worker housing and wastewater management which pose challenges for farmers in many countries But compliance improves the longer a farm is certified and walking away from the challenges will help no one
Thatrsquos the larger point of certified agriculture driving continuous improvement over time so that all farms everywhere become more sustainable The way to get there isnrsquot to get cynical about certification when non-compliance is discovered Itrsquos to be vigilant and transparent in confronting and correcting it while working to make global agriculture sustainable
Dominique Gangneux Vice President of Markets
Transformation Rainforest Alliance
Anti-consumerismMainstreaming Ethical Consumption sounded like a great conference from your Editorial I shall have to come next time I would thoroughly welcome a regular column on reducing consumption the elephant in the room and indeed an insert into each product guide on the value to stopping and alternatives to consuming the products under review ndash is it worthwhile cutting down on chocolate or better to axe a beer or a bath
Kate Soperrsquos keynote address sounded inspiring and the fundamental part to communicating an attractive vision rather than the usual one of denial It would be great to have a full feature summarising her work and the area Some personal stories on how lsquoregularrsquo as well as lsquoradicalrsquo people have reduced their consumption and upped their quality of life would also be welcome Particularly how theyrsquove negotiated the skills needed values and resources available Indeed I can imagine a whole issue looking at reduction across the various realms of life travel home food leisure consumer goods hellip Irsquod be happy to volunteer my own journey of reducing my income over the years to constrain me to buy less and the increasing joys of life thatrsquos brought
Mark Westcombe (by email)
46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
hn H
ende
rson
ww
wfl
ickr
comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
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46
Inside ViewJANUARYFEBRUARY 2016 ethicalconsumerorg
Of course I blame corporate America Imported from across the pond by Amazon Black
Friday is the day in late November when high street retailers slash prices to boost pre-Christmas spending and you know what British shoppers love it
By the time you read this wersquoll have spent a record-busting pound1billion during Black Friday in one gigantic and chaotic celebration of consumer culture
But whilst thousands shopped until they dropped ndash or were pushed to the ground in the scrum to grab a bargain ndash itrsquos the planet that picks up the tab
ldquoBlack Friday was designed to create a shopping frenzy for slightly reduced items that could end up in the landfills by Marchrdquo thunders Green Party deputy leader Amelia Womack
ldquoWe believe itrsquos wrong when people are defined as lsquoconsumersrsquo and when adverts encourage us to put ourselves in debt to buy goods that we donrsquot really need often with unseen environmental consequencesrdquo
These environmental consequences are spelled out clearly by Richard Dyer from Friends Of the Earth
ldquoOur current consumption patterns are simply unsustainable We are pillaging the earthrsquos finite resources while failing to cut climate wrecking emissions At the same time many people donrsquot have enough resources for a decent liferdquo
So much for the bad newsThe good news though is that there are voices shouting out that enough is enough
ldquoOur message is clear shop less and live morerdquo says Michael Smith who organises the annual Buy Nothing Day which this year ran on Black Friday
ldquoThe challenge is to try simple living for a day spend time with family and friends rather than spend money on
them Anyone can take part provided they spend a day without spendingrdquo
Smith adds that hersquos not anti-shopping or against having good-quality stuff around the house
ldquoWe just need to understand the impact that our shopping is having on the environment and accept social responsibility towards the developing worldrdquo says Smith
ldquoCurrently the UK and other wealthy industrialised nations make up just 20 percent of the worldrsquos population but we consume 80 per cent of the worldrsquos natural resourcesrdquo
And Michael Smith isnrsquot the only one with concerns Ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday MPs called on retailers to boycott the event because of the mayhem caused by the crowds with ASDA becoming the first major retailer to wash its hands of the whole event because of the near-riots in its shopping aisles last year
Therersquos even a dissenting voice across the pond in America
REI is one of the biggest outdoor gear companies in the US but this year the company which is a run as a co-op closed its doors on Black Friday and gave its workers the day off
ldquoWersquore a different kind of company and while the rest of the world is fighting it out in the aisles wersquoll be spending our day a little differentlyrdquo says REI president Jerry Stritzke writing on the companyrsquos website ahead of this yearrsquos Black Friday
REI is just one voice though and itrsquos being drowned out in the cacophony of our buy buy culture
So just how are we going to wean ourselves off our fatally flawed shopping habit
Well to begin with our biggest companies must start to accept responsibility for the environmental consequences of stoking excessive consumer culture
Next wersquove got to use our limited global resources far more efficiently
ldquoGovernments must ensure that companies adopt more efficient lsquocircular economyrsquo principles where products are built to last designed to use less resources and are repairable and recyclablerdquo says Richard Dyer
Companies such as Mud Jeans from the Netherlands for example are already operating a circular economy by adopting a radical new business model This involves shoppers leasing jeans from the company and sending them back for recycling rather than binning them when theyrsquore no longer wanted
The hardest nut to crack though will be disentangling the complex relationship that shoppers now have with their shopping habit which campaigners acknowledge is tied up with deep-rooted issues of identity and self-worth
ldquoWe need action to address the many root causes of excessive consumption through tackling inequality getting a grip on advertising and encouraging different measures of personal successrdquo believes Richard Dyer ldquoThis should be more about who you are than what you ownrdquo
SimonBirchSays
Shopping till we all drop
copy Jo
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comBlack Fridayrsquos
shopping frenzy is a cut-price ticket to environmental meltdown says Simon Birch
Black Friday is the embodiment of planet-wrecking consumerism
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Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
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Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
For the full range and more information visit us at wwwbionacoukAvailable from Ocado and Independent Health Food Stores
Our Organic Raw Virgin Coconut Oilis carefully pressed from the flesh of fresh coconuts and is unrefined unbleachedand non-deodorised
S
C
M
Y
CM
MY
CY
CMY
K
BIONA_Raw_Coconut_Oils_HP_ECpdf 61015 160027
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039
Picture of Jim Jones and the Righteous Mind
Together wersquoll make your savings do more
triodoscouk
Follow your heartUse your head
The Premises Triodos BankBusiness customer
For a placelike this to have the support of someone like Triodos Bank makes a massive difference
ldquo ldquoTriodos Bank NV (incorporated under the laws of the Netherlands with limited liability registered in England and Wales BR3012) Authorised by the Dutch Central Bank and subject to limited regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority Details about the extent of our regulation by the Financial Conduct Authority and Prudential Regulation Authority are available from us on request Registered office Triodos Bank Deanery Road Bristol BS1 5AS VAT reg no 793493383
TRI 4184_GREENBELT HP AD 715_2indd 2 23072015 1039