What exactly is considered child labour? The ILO defines it as:

• mentally, physically, socially or morally dangerous and harmful to children
• interferes with their schooling by

1. depriving them of the opportunity to attend school
2. obliging them to leave school prematurely
3. requiring them to attempt to combine school attendance with excessively long and heavy work

In its most extreme forms, child labour involves children being enslaved, separated from their families, exposed to serious hazards and illnesses and/or left to fend for themselves on the streets of large cities – often at a very early age.

This World Day Against Child Labour there is a call for:

• Policies to address child labour, in particular girl child labour
• Urgent action to tackle the worst forms of child labour
• The need for education and skills training of girls – a key issue in tackling child labour

You can help to tackle the worst forms of child labour by purchasing ethically and buying fair trade products. Under Fair Trade principles forced labour and exploitative child labor are not allowed and working conditions are healthy and safe. Take a stand and celebrate World Day Against Child Labour by supporting our Fair Trade entreprenuers when making a purchase.

Celebrated each year on 5 June, “WED is one of the principal vehicles through which the United Nations stimulates worldwide awareness of the environment and enhances political attention and action. The day’s agenda is to:

1. Give a human face to environmental issues;
2. Empower people to become active agents of sustainable and equitable development;
3. Promote an understanding that communities are pivotal to changing attitudes towards environmental issues;
4. Advocate partnership which will ensure all nations and peoples enjoy a safer and more prosperous future.”

(Source: http://www.unep.org/wed/2009/english/)

This year the theme is “Your Planet Needs You-UNite to Combat Climate Change”. It reinforces the critical importance of nations to unite and jointly agree on a new deal at the climate change convention in Copenhagen later this year.

What will you be doing to celebrate? To check out the events taking place around the globe, visit
http://www.unep.org/wed/2009/english/content/Global.asp

Global Launch of “HOME” by Yann Arthus-Bertrand - 5 June 2009

WED 2009 will also mark the launch of the documentary, “HOME”, by Yann Arthus-Bertrand – the man behind the photos of the Earth from Above Exhibition. “HOME” features 54 countries and takes you on a unique journey to show you the beauty of the planet as well as the treasures that we are destroying. The movie will be released in over 50 countries: movie theatres, TV, DVD and Internet. To register for “HOME” events, visit http://maps.google.co.uk/maps/mpl?moduleurl=http://www.home-mapplet.com/home/

See the trailer below – Amazing Footage!

Australian Ethical Art Prize Awards – 6 June 2009

In conjunction with World Environment Day, the Australian Ethical Art Prize is running for the 3rd year. Supported by the TAP Gallery and Australian Ethical Investment, the entries are being displayed at TAP Gallery from 1 – 14 June 2009.

When producing their work, artists are asked to think about the Australian Ethical Charter. Australian Ethical Investment CEO, Anne O’Donnell said, “the Australian Ethical Art Prize provides a unique opportunity to not only increase awareness of ethical investment but also allows people to think creatively about ethical issues”.

The winner will be announced at the Awards night at TAP Gallery (Level 1/278 Palmer Street, Darlinghurst, Sydney NSW 2010, Tel 02 361 0440) on Saturday, 6 June from 6:00pm – 8:00pm. They will receive a $1000 investment with Australian Ethical Investment and the People’s Choice Winner $500.

1. Can you tell us a little about what being a Fair Trade Council means?
It means that residents will be able to more readily support fair trade as there are an increasing number of cafes and restaurants in the area who are offering fair trade products; mainly coffee, tea and chocolate. Residents can pick up a copy of Manly Council’s ‘Where to get Fair Trade in Manly’ Map from Council Chambers or otherwise on our ‘Fair Trade In Manly’ webpage: http://www.manly.nsw.gov.au/Fair-Trade-In-Manly.html. It lists local businesses that stock Fair Trade Certified products.

In practice for Council it means that we use Fairtrade tea and coffee within our own staff kitchens and at Council functions and have made a commitment to continue to raise awareness on fair trade within the community.

Another added bonus is that Manly Council holds a Fair Trade Market twice a year.

2. Why did Manly Council decide to become a Fair Trade Council?
Manly Council believes that supporting Fair Trade is socially responsible and decided to go Fair Trade because we had confidence that the Manly Community would embrace such a positive initiative; which they have! We wouldn’t have been able to reach accreditation if it weren’t for the participation and support of the community.

3. Can you take us through the process involved to become a Fair Trade Council? What were the requirements?
The FTAANZ is the accrediting body that have awarded Manly Council our Fair Trade Community Award status. For a Council to achieve accreditation there are 6 goals that must first be met:

1. To pass a Local Council Resolution.
   This resolution was passed in October 2005.
2. To form a Community Steering Group
   Formed in June 2008 and consists of 7 active members who do a fantastic job in providing ideas (like the Fair Trade Fashion Show), forging partnerships with local networks on fair trade as well as assisting in educating the community.
3. To ensure Availability of fair trade products in local shops (at minimum 1 retail outlet per 5,000 population).
   We far exceeded this goal as we currently have 17 local shops offering fair trade products!
4. To ensure the use of Fairtrade certified products in local enterprises.
   Manly Ocean World, Manly Life Saving Club, Belaroma, Manly West Public School, Balgowlah Uniting Church and Seaforth Baptist Church are the local enterprises who readily jumped on board to support fair trade and assist Council with our accreditation. However to maintain our accreditation we need to continue to increase this number.
5. To endeavour to attract media coverage and popular support for the campaign.
   Something we are continually doing, for example last year our ‘Reverse Trick-Or-Treat’ Fair Trade Halloween initiative which promoted Council’s support for Fair Trade Chocolate with Year 4 students from Balgowlah Heights Public School handing out free OXFAM Fair Trade Chocolate samples to people in the Corso.
6. Progress Goals are to be developed to ensure ongoing growth of the program.
   The Steering Group set these goals which are:
   • To increase the use of Fairtrade certified products in local enterprises.
   • To increase public awareness through education on fair trade.
   • For Council to increasingly promote Manly’s Fair Trade status through its events and public communications.

4. Have any other Councils joined Manly in becoming Fair Trade?
The only other accredited Council so far is Yarra City Council in Victoria, although to my knowledge Waverley and Leichhardt Councils are currently working towards accreditation. Manly Council does hope the it has set a precedent especially for Council’s in NSW and that they will follow suit.

5. What do you see have been the benefits of the Program to date?
The benefits of the Fair Trade program to date has been that Manly Council use Fairtrade tea and coffee now as well as the positive feedback we get from the community and the generosity of spirit it has brought out in local residents who have offered to volunteer their time to help the program continue to grow.

6. Would you provide us with some details on the Manly Fair Trade Markets that are held by the Council twice per year?
The Fair Trade Market is typically held during Fairtrade Fortnight in May and then again in December. The next market is being held on Saturday, 9 May from 9am to 4pm at Manly Council Forecourt (Belgrave St). The December market featured 35 fair trade stallholders selling a wide variety of fair trade products ranging from jewellery, clothing, textiles, giftware, accessories, coffee, chocolate and much much more! There were kid’s activities and face painting, local musicians and a ‘Fair Trade Fashion Show’ with Manly Lifesavers among our models.

7. It is great that you are are organising the upcoming Manly Fair Trade Market on the 9 May. Can you tell us a little more about your role as Climate Change & Special Projects Officer?
The Fair Trade Market and program is actually coordinated by the Community Volunteer & Fair Trade Coordinator for Manly Council – a role which I recently left a couple of months ago to take on the new role of Climate Change & Special Projects Officer, however, as a replacement for my old position has yet to be found I am still covering that role as well!

8. Have you noticed positive changes in the community in light of becoming a Fair Trade Council and running the bi-yearly Fair Trade Markets?
Community has been overwhelmingly supportive as we already a range of local schools, business, faith groups, Life Saving Club, cafes and restaurants participating. Positive changes in the community include as I mentioned above local residents offering to volunteer their time to help expand the Fair Trade program in Manly, the Fair Trade markets always do really well and we have local musicians and hire companies offering their services for free to support this great cause. It’s brought out a generous community spirit which is lovely to see!

Images by Manly Council.

While many of us are now aware of “Blood Diamonds”, thanks to the movie starring Leonardo DiCaprio, what most of Australia and, indeed the world, do not realise is that  “Blood Chocolate” also exists as a tragic and violent reality for a significant number of very poor people in West Africa?  Easter is fast approaching and you will want to buy lots of choccies for friends and family. However, before you do, let me enlighten you on the sad realities behind modern day chocolate manufacturing and what you as One person can do to make a whole world of difference to another human being living on the other side of the world.

The West African nation of Cote d’Ivoire (formerly Ivory Coast) is the leading supplier of cocoa, the main ingredient for chocolate – accounting for more than 40% of global production. However, while the taste of chocolate may be sweet, there is a bitter background to the cocoa trade. To reduce cocoa production costs, children are forced to work on the cocoa farms. They are exploited – working long hours, are beaten, cruelly treated, exposed to dangerous pesticides, malnourished and are not able to attend school. In fact, “the US Department of State estimates that more than 109,000 children working in Cote d’Ivoire’s cocoa work under ‘the worst forms of child labor,’ and that some 10,000 are victims of human trafficking or enslavement (http://www.laborrights.org/labor-rights/labor-rights-in-the-classroom). The cocoa industry is lucrative for this region but where are the profits going? The Ivory Coast ranks 166 of 177 in the UNDP Human Development Index in 2007 with a life expectancy of just 47.4 years and almost 50% of the population live on $2 or less a day. London-based NGO, Global Witness, document how profits from the cocoa production are contributing to funding armed conflict.

Check out the interview with Carol Off, author of “Bitter Chocolate: Investigating The Dark Side of the World’s Most Seductive Sweet” at http://www.abc.net.au/rn/latenightlive/stories/2008/2291016.htm

So, what is being done about this tragic situation? Is the $70 Billion chocolate industry taking any action?

The Harkin-Engel Protocol was signed in September 2001 by international members of the chocolate industry with one of the objectives to develop and implement voluntary standards to certify cocoa produced without the “worst forms of child labor” by July 2005. Following an extension of the Protocol by 3 years, the standards have yet to be implemented. Check out the video on progress, “Bubbles of Nothing” below.

In Australia, World Vision called on the Australian chocolate industry to commit to a plan of action to stop child labour and trafficking in cocoa production by 1 December 2008.  In response, the Confectionery Manufacturers of Australasia, on behalf of Australia and New Zealand chocolate manufacturers, issued an open letter stating that they are committed to “eradicating harmful child labour and exploitation in cocoa farming communities”, but the letter fell well short of the challenges and recommendations World Vision put to them – see http://www.donttradelives.com.au/dtl/Issues/NothingNew/Default.aspx While it is good to see that Cadbury Dairy Milk Chocolate will be Fairtrade certified by mid 2009, this is only in Britain and Ireland.

So what can We Do?

1) Buy Fair Trade Chocolate. Fairtrade guarantees farmers a minimum price so that they can support their families, it prohibits abusive child labour and forced labour and promotes environmental sustainability. Check out the list of Fairtrade Certified Chocolate and stockists in Australia. You can buy Fairtrade chocolate all year round.

And for Easter, you can also buy Fairtrade Easter Eggs by Chocolatier Australia from David Jones, selected Woolworths and Safeway stores, a range of specialty stores, in their stores and online. Oxfam are selling Easter Hampers in store or online. For those of you in Melbourne, Heritage Fine Chocolates, and The Trading Circle also have fair trade Easter eggs available in store.

Be sure to seek out the Fairtrade label on your chocolate as this means that the product meets international Fairtrade standards which are set by the international certification body, Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International (FLO).

2) Call upon chocolate manufacturers to buy only Fairtrade cocoa
3) Ask your supermarket, department stores and other local retailers to stock Fairtrade chocolate

As Fair Trade chocolate only represents less than 1% of the world’s chocolate market (http://www.treehugger.com/), let’s work together to change this. No more Blood Chocolate – give the gift of Fair Trade chocolate this Easter.

World Fair Trade Day

World Fair Trade Day is a global celebration of Fair Trade with a wide range of events organised across 70 countries. The theme for 2009 is BIG BANG!! – “a new beginning, brought to life in a global day of drumming to beat poverty, beat climate change, beat financial crisis”. It is “bringing together musicians and media, supporters and performers, audiences and producers, politicians and voters, brands and economists, to open up markets and minds to sustainable living” (Source: World Fair Trade Day 09). Running for a global day of 48 hours, the celebrations will begin in the Cook Islands with drumming events continuing around the world, from African villages and Icelandic towns to American farms and Asian cities. The event will conclude at sunset in Samoa. And everyone, is welcome to join in. Check out Annie Lennox launch World Fair Trade Day 09 – BIG BANG!!

To check out the events being held in Australia, or to register your event, visit http://www.worldfairtradeday09.org

Fair Trade Fortnight 2009

Fair Trade Fortnight will soon be here. Fair Trade Fortnight was held in the UK recently and concluded with more than 380,000 people attempting to munch their way into the record books by eating one Fairtrade banana during a 24 hour period. UK is the second largest Fair Trade Market in the world with sales of products carrying the Fairtrade Mark reaching an estimated retail value in excess of £700m in 2008 – a 43% increase over 2007 – with bananas being the largest selling Fairtrade product accounting for 26% of total estimated sales value in 2008 (Source: Fair Trade Foundation, UK, 11 March 2009).

Retail sales of Fairtrade Certified products in Australia are also increasing, reaching more than AU$28 million in 2008 in Australia & New Zealand – up from 55% in 2007 (Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand, 22 December 2008). This is great news, however, there is room for further growth. Support Fair Trade and join in the events during Fair Trade Fortnight 2009. Put these dates in your diary – further details to follow soon:

• Adelaide: 3 May, Fair Trade Market; 8 May, Taste Fair Trade at the Adelaide Oxfam Store; 9 May Fair Trade Quiz Night
• Sydney: 7 May, Fair Trade Fiesta, Paddington Town Hall; 9 May, Manly Fair Trade Market; 17 May, Fair Trade Fair, Parramatta Baptist Church, Kleins Rd, Northmead
• Perth: 9 May, Fair Trade Fiesta
• Melbourne: 15 May, Fair Trade Fiesta
• Brisbane: 16 May, Fair Trade Market

And you can also participate in a number of other events including:

Fairtrade Coffee Break: Host a Fairtrade coffee break with friends or in your workplace. Register your coffee break with the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand and you will receive a start-up pack to set you on your way. Contact info@fairtrade.com.au

Checkout Fairtrade: Get together your family and friends and count the number of Fairtrade Certified products in your local supermarket. Submit your findings to the Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand online or by mail and the supermarket with the most Fairtrade products will win and receive an award. You too will be entered into the draw for a prize. Contact info@fairtrade.com.au

Design a T-shirt for Good not Evil: Design a T-shirt around the theme “Fair Trade + Ecology = Sustainability” and be in the running to win an Etiko gift voucher valued at $300. There is a prize for each category – under 18 and over 18. And the top 3 winners in each state, from both categories, will have their designs showcased at the Fair Trade Fiestas in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Entries close on 10 April at 5:00pm. Download and entry form at http://www.etiko.com.au/urban/competitions.html

Since launching Soul Economy, I have had the pleasure and privilege of meeting many amazing and inspiring women. Social and eco entrepreneurs who wake up each day and work on the making the world a better place, changing the world one step at a time. Wonderful women who have travelled to developing countries and upon returning to Australia, are now working with these communities by supporting fair trade – to help these poor communities overcome poverty and become sustainable. Fabulous designers who are  using organic fabrics and eco-friendly production processes to help us to reduce our carbon footprint. This now means, that here in Australia, we are lucky enough to be able to purchase a wide range of ethical products from food to women’s fashion and accessories, shoes, bags, home décor, children’s toys and games, sleepwear, children’s and men’s clothing, sports gear, gifts and wrapping, jewellery and corporate promotional products.

While there has been a strong focus on environmental issues and the need to live more sustainably, the fair trade movement in Australia is not as well recognised. “Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices (which must never fall lower than the market price), Fair trade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives.” (Source: Fairtrade Foundation, UK). Fairtrade premiums paid to these farmers and workers are invested in the social, economic and environmental development of their communities.

I am excited and pleased to see that fair trade is growing in Australia. In 2008, retail sales of Fairtrade Certified products in Australia & New Zealand was more than AU$28 million compared to AU$18 million in 2007 (Source: Fairtrade Association of Australia and New Zealand, 22 December 2008) – and growth is estimated to exceed 50% again in 2009. Even though Australia’s take-up of Fairtrade lags well behind other countries (Courier Mail, 31 March 2008), Australia along with Spain are predicted to have the strongest growth in fair trade over the next 5 years (Datamonitor, 12 March 2008). In fact, Datamonitor forecasts a 15.7% growth in fair trade purchases over the next five years from 2007-2012 in the 11 countries (including Australia). And while the global financial crisis is having an impact, it is encouraging to read reports that consumers are still choosing to purchase ethically.

It is great to see the results these wonderful women entrepreneurs in fair trade businesses are achieving.

On this special day, I wish to leave you with some quotes that I find really inspiring from two amazing women of our time.

“I want to work for a company that contributes to and is part of the community. I want something not just to invest in. I want something to believe in.”
Anita Roddick

“If you think you’re too small to have an impact, try going to bed with a mosquito.”
Anita Roddick

“Unless you choose to do great things with it, it makes no difference how much you are rewarded, or how much power you have. “
Oprah Winfrey

“I don’t think you ever stop giving. I really don’t. I think it’s an on-going process. And it’s not just about being able to write a check. It’s being able to touch somebody’s life.”
Oprah Winfrey

Image provided by http://bigfatgreeksummer.blogspot.com/

Starbucks announced recently that it is going to “double its purchases to 40 million pounds in 2009, making it  the largest purchaser of Fair Trade Certified coffee in the world”.  And, earlier this year McDonald’s introduced Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee into its McCafe stores.

This started me thinking about about what all of these certifications and programs actually mean for the producer of the coffee?

I will begin with Fair Trade. “Fairtrade is about better prices, decent working conditions, local sustainability, and fair terms of trade for farmers and workers in the developing world. By requiring companies to pay sustainable prices (which must never fall lower than the market price), Fair trade addresses the injustices of conventional trade, which traditionally discriminates against the poorest, weakest producers. It enables them to improve their position and have more control over their lives.” (Source: http://www.fairtrade.org.uk/)

Fair Trade certification pays farmers a minimum, guaranteed price to cover sustainable production and a premium for investment in social, environmental and economic developmental projects. While the certification is not necessarily organic, it does require environmental stewardship. In fact, many of the coffees are now organic and Fair Trade Certified. Fair Trade provides crop pre-financing which is often critical in countries where lending programs are not available or lending authorities are corrupt.

Fair Trade focuses on small-scale farmers and workers.  This is important as around 70% of the world’s coffee farmers are small-scale growers (Source: http://www.fairtrade.org.uk) and the aim of Fair trade is to enable these farmers to achieve economic independence and better standards of living. Also, products such as coffee which are made from a single type of commodity require 100% of ingredients to be sourced from  Fair Trade certified producers (Source: Fair Trade Association of Australia and New Zealand).

Starbucks C.A.F.E. Practices is  “… a set of independently verified socially responsible coffee buying guidelines, was developed to help ensure that high-quality coffee is grown and processed in a socially and environmentally responsible manner, an approach that extends throughout our coffee supply chain. It was also designed to be inclusive of all types of suppliers regardless of their size – from small family farms and cooperatives to large estates – including farms that also mill and process their coffee.”

I contacted Starbucks to better understand the differences between C.A.F.E. Practices and Fair Trade and what the doubling of Fair Trade coffee purchases actually mean in terms of what will be available in Australian stores.

To answer some of my questions, I was directed to an abridged version of their 2007 CSR report, but from this I was unable to ascertain the minimum price paid (in USD per pound) to farmers under C.A.F.E. Practices and Why C.A.F.E. Practices was introduced over simply buying Fair Trade Certified Coffee? The report did outline that “C.A.F.E. Practices encompasses sustainability measures that are defined by a comprehensive set of criteria” and the new scorecard for C.A.F.E. Practices “Version 2.0 includes more than 200 specific indicators, making supplier implementation more straight forward”. Also, that “65% of our coffee purchases were from C.A.F.E.. Practices suppliers in 2007” and they invested $1.5 million in fiscal 2007 in coffee-growing communities.

Unfortunately, their email to me highlighted that “for proprietary/business reasons” they were unable to tell me what % of coffee available in Australian stores is produced under the C.A.F.E. Practices program and what % is Fair Trade certified.

They added that  “in addition to becoming the largest buyer of Fairtrade certified(tm) coffee in the world, we are taking our work with Fair Trade to the next level looking for ways we can work together, such as aligning the verification process for C.A.F.E Practices, our ethical sourcing guidelines for Starbucks(tm) Shared Planet(tm) and Fair Trade certification which we think will support small-scale farmers participate in both systems.”

I was informed by Jagan Lamb, Marketing & Category Manager, Starbucks Coffee Company (Aust) that from 6 January Fair trade Coffee will be brewed and available each day in all Starbucks stores in Australia, not just as a special request. In fact, UK Starbucks and Ireland Starbucks announced on 26 November 2008, “100% of the expresso coffee sold…. in Starbucks stores … will become both Starbucks Shared Plant and Fair Trade Certified by the end of 2009.”  Jagan also informed me that this “this will also be coming to Australia, however the timing for launch of this is still in the works…… launch this program as production increases to be able to support the full global demand for each country.”

In regards to the Rainforest Alliance, the “…coffee is grown on farms where forests are protected, rivers, soils and wildlife conserved; workers are treated with respect, paid decent wages, properly equipped and given access to education and medical care. The Rainforest Alliance seal ensures that experienced inspectors have verified that the farms meet demanding social and environmental standards, and are on a path toward true sustainability.” (Source: http://www.rainforest-alliance.org/)

Essentially, Rainforest Alliance does not set a mandatory minimum price that farmers will be paid. It requires estates and farmers to meet a number of environmental criteria but includes only minimal for worker’s rights, essentially amounting to compliance with national minimum-wage laws  in the producing country.  (Source: http://www.tradeaid.org.nz/) Also, Rainforest Alliance producers are privately-owned coffee estates and large-scale farms. In fact, the The majority of Rainforest Alliance certified producers are plantations (approx. 80%) with the remaining being small farmer groups (Source: http://unite.org.nz/). The Rainforest Alliance label can be used on coffee bags even if only 30% of beans are Rainforest Alliance certified (Source: Ethical Corporation, “Bean Wars”, January 2005).

When deciding which coffee to choose and where to vote with your dollar, think about this information and make your decisions accordingly. When you select Fair Trade you are ensuring farmers are being paid a fair wage and you are helping them to implement much needed investment in economic, social and environmental products of their own choice.

I am pleased to see that larger corporations such as Starbucks are choosing to purchase more ethically, although there is more to do. If the market expands for Fair Trade products then there is more opportunity for farmers. This is needed to help the many small farmers to become sustainable.

At the same time, it is important to monitor the activities of these larger organisations and to push for greater transparency in their operations. It is good to see some level of transparency in the site where you can trace your beans from the farmer to the roaster – see http://www.coffeepath.org/

Unfortunately, there are still some coffee suppliers such as Illy who argue that ethical certification makes consumers pay more for a coffee that is not of quality. They suggest that the time and effort in sourcing quality beans and paying a higher price for quality beans will flow into sustainable and ethical practices. Of course, however, there is no guarantee that this will actually occur. But then there are great examples such as Wild Beans Cafes at BP who have introduced 100% Fairtrade Coffee beans. This will result in the volume of ethically sourced coffee imported into Australia will jump more than 15% over the next year. I trust we will continue to see more of these good news stories!

One, if not THE key issue is how we can achieve a balance between appropriate regulation and voluntary reporting so the government can fulfil its role in enforcing a level playing field. This could be achieved by introducing incentives such as relieving reporting companies from obligations to report separately to individual government departments, however, is not being dealt with here in depth.

At this moment, only very few countries request publicly listed companies to issue sustainability reports by law, one of these countries is France. Australia has conducted a parliamentary inquiry into this issues which resulted in a series of recommendations including that sustainability reporting should remain voluntary in Australia.

We therefore are faced with a proliferation and fragmentation of national level guidelines, which poses particular problems for multi-national companies in collecting consistent data. Adopting a publicly recognised, global set of performance indicators, and, despite its critics, it seems very much like the Global Reporting Initiative is emerging as the dominant global reference framework, is therefore highly desirable and can only be achieved through international cooperation and collective action.

Another issue is the need for independent verification and assurance of reports to provide comfort to stakeholders, management and the board in mitigating the risks posed by sustainability issues. Only a fraction of reports are independently assured, however, just like reporting itself, the trend is positive and gives rise to optimism.

Lastly, I would like to stress the need for business to identify material issues and link financial with non-financial aspects of corporate reporting which is an area most reporters are still grappling with. Those of us who actually read sustainability reports have been entertained with feel good stories and anecdotes about good corporate citizenship, with some enlightened exceptions.

Sustainability reporting is only one small part of the sustainability agenda be it an important one and certainly not a goal in itself. The purpose of sustainability reporting is to summarise and report issues that matter. This is a very quick moving field with evolving best practice and I would like to leave you with a few questions:

• Is the stand alone sustainability reporting sustainable or will the annual report and sustainability report merge into one meaningful document giving us a complete picture of a business performance in social, environmental, economic and governance terms?
• Are current business models equipped to deal with the new requirements?
• What is the risk to business of the impact of climate change and other material issues?

My next article on sustainability reporting will deal with the available standards, codes and guidelines including the Global reporting initiative and review a few sustainability reports.

The benefits of sustainability reporting as a management tool – not just an accountability tool – for businesses can be significant and benefits include:

• Improved financial performance — there is a growing body of evidence which links financial and social performance of companies (According a CPA Australia report there is a correlation between sustainability reporting and low probability of corporate distress).
• Improved stakeholder relationships – the continuing engagement with various interest groups builds trust and improves communication.
• Improved risk management — this is a very important benefit brought about by a better understanding of non-financial material risks. Understanding risks and dealing with those risks appropriately saves companies time, money and avoids loss of reputation.
• Improved investor relationships — due to the growing demand for ethical investment funds, particularly but not limited to, by superannuation funds.
• Identification of new markets and/or business opportunities — this is a particular welcomed side effect of improved relationships with interest groups.

The value for regulators (governments) includes that business contributes effectively to sustainable development goals and that it is much easier to benchmark and monitor business activities within and across industries.

The primary value for the general public of sustainability reporting is the transparency of all business transaction it provides. It provides the consumer and other interest groups with all the relevant information to make informed choices.

Barriers have consistently been identified as:

• Resources and costs involved in this type of reporting are often perceived as inhibitive. The investment required for the 1st time reporter can be high, once systems have been set up; the reporting process becomes increasingly cost effective. This affects SME’s more than large corporations and how-to-tools have been developed aiming to deal with this issue.
• The absence of a readily available, well tested, universally and nationally agreed to framework which allows benchmarking of information or in other words prevents the current fragmentation and proliferation of frameworks.
• Lack of commitment from the top floor is often brought up by sustainability professionals as inhibiting factor and lastly but not least:
• Short-term thinking of financial analysts and here I would like to quote Mr Francis Grey from Sustainable Asset Management Research (SAM) who gave a colourful account of the lack of interest and engagement of mainstream financial markets to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Corporations and Financial Services:

”The financial markets are not just not tuned in; they are not turned on, and they are not even plugged in. The radio is not even in the house. It is somewhere else, down at the shop. They have not gone down and bought it yet. They do not know where the shop is and they do not know it exists. If they went past it, they would think it was a baby-wear shop. So they are seriously not involved.”

Soul Economy spoke to Melissa from the FairWear recently to find out a little more about FairWear. This great organisation was established to ensure that clothing workers are not exploited and that they are at least receiving the conditions and rates of pay set out in the Industry Award. So make sure you look out for the No Sweat Shop label, buy FairWear and support ethical shopping and sustainable fashion.

1. Tell us a little about FairWear Campaign. How long have you been in operation? Why was it established?
The FairWear Campaign was established in 1996, it is made up of a coalition of Community groups, Church groups and Unions. It was established to address the gross exploitation of workers who make clothes in their homes in Australia. All groups involved in FairWear had experience with clothing outworkers prior to the campaigns inception, which was prompted by the 1996 senate inquiry into outwork in the Clothing Industry which revealed a serious problem in Australia.

The campaign works with and on the behalf of clothing outworkers through education, training and lobbying and has expanded focus to include clothing workers overseas.

2. What are the aims and objectives of the FairWear Campaign?
The FairWear Campaign aims to end the exploitation of clothing workers, both those that work in private homes (outworkers) and those working in factories in Australia and overseas, to allow these workers to experience and live a full and sustainable life and to receive the right that we all have to fair working conditions and a life free of exploitation.

3. How do consumers know if they are buying FairWear clothing?
We would classify “FairWear” clothing as clothing that has been made in Australia by manufacturers accredited to part 2 of the Homeworkers Code of Practice. This means that all links in the chain of production are transparent and monitored to ensure that all people making the clothes are at least receiving the rates of pay and conditions set out in the Industry Award. A list of these accredited companies is available at www.nosweatshoplabel.com.au

4. Where can consumers purchase FairWear garments?
A list of the companies accredited to the Homeworkers Code of Practice can be found at www.nosweatshoplabel.com.au

5. What are the consequences if people choose not to purchase clothing accredited to the Homeworkers Code of Practice?
If people choose not to purchase clothing made under the conditions set out in the Homeworkers Code of Practice there is no guarantee that that clothing has been made under legal and fair rates of pay and conditions. The FairWear Campaign in Sydney is in close contact with clothing outworkers through Asian Women at Work and these women are commonly receiving $3-8 per hour to make clothes, they do not receive sick or holiday pay or superannuation despite their legal entitlements.

The opinion and choice of the consumer, especially a group of consumers is very important and valuable to companies. If the demand for clothing made under fair conditions is there, companies tend to respond accordingly.

6. Do you have any good news stories to report on ways in which the FairWear Campaign has helped workers in the garment industry?
Lobbying carried out by FairWear and other involved organisations in 2006 around the introduction of WorkChoices and the Independent Contractors Legislation ensured that clothing outworkers remained an allowable matter in the Textile Clothing and Footwear Industry Award by being excluded from the category of independent contractors. The result of this success is the maintenance and existence of minimum rates of pay and conditions for clothing outworkers.

The campaign has also been getting clothing outworkers involved in speaking out at various speaking appointments with the campaign worker, through these experiences the feedback from other women in the network and the women speaking is that they feel more confident from speaking and hearing other women speak.

7. How do you go about promoting FairWear?
We generate educational materials on the issue in Australia and overseas for clothing workers, carry out public talks and hold an awareness building and fundraising dinner.

8. What can consumers do to help support the Campaign?
Consumers can choose to buy clothes from companies accredited to the Homeworkers Code of Practice. If they notice their favourite companies are manufacturing in Australia but are not accredited, they can write to them (always better to do in a group) and ask them to become accredited to the Homeworkers Code of Practice.

They can also sign up to our email list by emailing fairwear@awatw.org.au and respond to action alerts to support specific campaign activities and activities of the outworker advocates, a group of clothing outworkers who lobby and campaign for themselves and with FairWear.

Supporting the Outworker Advocates:
The outworker advocates’ activities actually promote accreditation of companies who are employing outworkers now and are paying well below the minimum rate of pay and are not providing any of the benefits laid out in the award. Their activities are really set at the heart of the issue and are a way of stimulating direct change.

9. Where can consumers and the community go to find out more about FairWear?
To our website www.fairwear.org.au and subscribing to our bi-monthly newsletters and action alerts. To sign up to this list they can email fairwear@awatw.org.au.

Now we here at Soul Economy like to get to know our soulful entrepreneurs a little better, so on a more personal note we have 5 quick questions:

1. What is your favourite piece of clothing?
A dress made from organic cotton and bamboo designed and made locally and dyed with natural vegetable dyes.

2. Where is your favourite travel destination?
I love Barcelona and the Royal National.

3. What do you do to relax?
Run at the beach, Hike, Dance salsa, Laugh, Travel and explore new places, Read.

4. Do you have a favourite book and why?
For personal reading, Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafon is a favourite. I am bias because it is set in Barcelona, the story is intriguing and the style of writing draws you in and gets you truly involved in the characters and their journey.

5. Do you have someone you look up to or admire?
I admire the people who work in the community sector and dedicate so much of themselves for the benefit of the community and our society. I also admire the women I work with, I always think of the experiences many of them had just coming to Australia going through refugee camps, losing family members and at times their own identity, let alone what they face in Australia, but they maintain a positive disposition, concern for others and at times are the ones making me laugh and keeping my spirits up. That is something that I admire.