CSR News Stories
Indonesia: Asia Pulp & Paper to stop cutting natural forest timber
Asia Pulp & Paper, one of the most controversial companies worldwide for its forestry practices, has said that it is to stop using timber from Indonesia's natural forests, instead using only trees from plantations.
Indonesia: Nike supplier to pay $1m unpaid overtime to workers
PT Nikomas has reached a settlement to pay workers $1m in unpaid overtime to around 4,500 workers. The company, which makes shoes for Nike at its factory in Banten province, had failed to pay for nearly 600,000 hours of overtime in two years.
UK: Olympics ethical sourcing code attacked for choosing Dow
A decision to use Dow Chemical Company to provide fabric wrap for the Olympic games has sparked protests from groups that continue to hold that the company, having bought Union Carbide in 2001, is responsible for the major chemical accident in Bhopal in 1984.
US: Sports brands respond to Greenpeace toxics campaign
Adidas, Nike and Puma have committed themselves to 'Zero Toxic Pollution' by 2020 following a 'detox' campaign by Greenpeace. The companies have been in discussions to create a cross industry standard after the campaign group highlighted chemicals used in textile manufacturing.
US: Sweatshop protests damage Hershey's sweet reputation
Student protests have highlighted the plight of 400 students who paid up to $6,000 to join the State department's cultural exchange scheme, which led to them working long hard shifts at a factory providing Hershey for which they were paid a pittance. The incident has put Hershey on the defensive, and raised issues around corporate supply chain practices.
Brazil: Zara held responsible for subcontractor's sweatshop
Fashion chain Zara in being investigated by Brazil's ministry of labour following the removal of 15 workers from a factory claimed to be operating as a sweatshop. The factory was subcontracted by AHA, which is responsible for 90 percent of Zara's production in the country.
Indonesia: Major palm oil producer promises to protect rainforest
Golden Agri-Resources Ltd (GAR) has said that it will end deforestation in sensitive areas of Indonesia's forest, and will protect forests and peatlands that have a high level of biodiversity. The move is a major turn-around for the biggest company dealing in palm oil in the country, and second largest in the world.
US: Hershey accused of child labour in cocoa sourcing
A report from a coalition of NGOs has said that Hershey trails some of its competitors on human rights, with forced and child labour present in some of the cocoa plantations it sources from.
UK: Gap, Next and Marks & Spencer respond to Indian worker abuses
Major retailers Gap, Next and Marks & Spencer have responded to evidence of working rights abuses at factories in India. Workers have been forced to carry out excessive overtime with pay that is below the legal minimum wage, according to the Observer newspaper.
Kazakhstan: Philip Morris suppliers used child and forced labour
A new report by Human Rights Watch has said that tobacco bought by Philip Morris International from Kazakhstan included farms that used workers that had been coerced into labour, along with child labour.
Nestle announces NGO partnership to verify palm oil
Nestle has said that it will work with the Forest Trust to review its palm oil supply chain to ensure it is not associated with illegal rainforest and peatland clearance. The move follows a vigorous campaign against the company by NGO Greenpeace.
China: Row over World Cup sweatshop accusations
Shanghai Fashion Plastic Products has protested after it had its contract withdrawn for work being carried out in relation to the 2010 football World Cup, to be held in South Africa. The company has denied accusations that it exploited workers making the mascot for the games.
Bangladesh: 21 people killed in factory fire
21 workers died and 50 were hurt when a factory owned by Garib & Garib caught fire. The site at Gazipur saw workers trapped by the blaze, which took eleven fire engines several hours to bring under control.
UK: Sustainable palm oil ads banned for the second time
A magazine advert that promoted the sustainability of Malaysian palm oil has been banned by the UK's advertising watchdog for untruthful claims.
US: Kimberly-Clark makes major commitment for sustainable sourcing
Kimberly-Clark, the major tissue products company and long-time target for environmental campaign group Greenpeace, has announced that it is to eliminate non-certified wood fibre from its supply chain by 2010.
Congo: Minerals firms 'fuelling conflict'
A number of European and Asian companies, including Britain's Amalgamated Metals Corporation (AMC) and Afrimex, have been buying minerals from the Democratic Republic of Congo without checking they are not buying from armed groups and funding the conflict, according to campaign group Global Witness.
UK: Alliance Boots leaves Ethical Trading Initiative
Pharmacy and consumer goods retailer Alliance Boots has left the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), prompting criticism from campaign groups and unions which are reminiscent of former exits from the voluntary scheme.
Brazil: Products of Amazon destruction still widely consumed: Greenpeace
A new report has said that beef, leather and other cattle products are being widely distributed from illegal deforestation of the Amazon. According to Greenpeace, the products are finding their way into the supply chains of a number of top brands, such as Adidas, Timberland, Honda, Gucci and Nike.
South Africa: Fruit pickers still short changed by Tesco - campaign group
Tesco has been accused of breaking a promise to improve the pay and conditions of South African fruit pickers by radical UK NGO War on Want. The Guardian newspaper carried out interviews with workers on farms which supply the retailer who said that they were paid South Africa's minimum wage, rather than what the campaigners describe as a 'living wage' - one that would enable them to meet basic needs.
Hong Kong: Most garment firms show poor transparency on supplier standards
Although Hong Kong's companies have made some progress, the majority are still failing to give account of labour standards in their supply chain, according to a new report released by Oxfam Hong Kong.
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Special Feature
Social responsibility and finance - on the precipice
In a recent article, the BBC's economics editor Robert Peston highlighted the fact that in 2012 the chances are that the economy - punch drunk as it is from the various flavours of debt crisis it has been pummelled with over the course of the year - will be hit by the collapse of a major bank and / or government.
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