New Burma 'Dirty List'
Launch of No Sweat trainers
Risky Chemicals league table
M&S cafés switch to Fairtrade coffee
Tesco accused of inaction over pig cruelty charges
Ideas for a non-consumerist Christmas
and more
New Burma 'Dirty List'
In August, the Burma Campaign UK published a new edition of the ‘Dirty List’ of companies directly or indirectly funding the regime in Burma. Almost 100 companies are now on the new list, with 37 new companies added this year.
Major companies named and shamed include Total Oil, DHL, Orient Express, Schlumberger, Lonely Planet, Daewoo, Austrian Airlines, Rolls Royce, Lloyds of London and Hutchison Whampoa, whose subsidiaries include Superdrug and 3 Mobile.
The 37 new companies added to the list are mainly the result of new information, rather than any significant surge of investment or trade with Burma in the past year. However, the number of British companies still involved in Burma highlights the failure of British government policy. The government has called on companies not to invest or trade with Burma and in June 2003 Prime Minister Tony Blair renewed that call. But since Labour came to power, imports from Burma have more than tripled, rising from £17.3million in 1998 to £62.2m in 2003.
Around 20 of the companies on last year’s ‘Dirty List’ have since pulled out or ended their involvement in Burma, including British American Tobacco, PwC, Carnival/P&O, WPP and Ernst & Young. Many of these companies now feature on the updated ‘Clean List’ of companies who have pulled out or have policies not to trade with Burma.
A special edition of the ‘Dirty List’ has been produced with the contact details of each company so that it is easy to write to them and ask them to end their involvement in Burma.
Priority companies to write to include:
DHL - They have a subsidiary in Burma that is a joint venture with the military regime. In 1998 the regime expelled all other parcel companies in order to maximise revenues from its joint venture with DHL.
Noble Caledonia - a British holiday cruise company offering cruises all over the world. Their brochure includes cruises on the Irrawaddy River in Burma.
Aon Corporation - It has a close relationship with the regime as it operates a reinsurance business based on contracts awarded by Myanmar Insurance, a company owned and controlled by the dictatorship.
Lloyd’s of London - Members of Lloyd’s provide insurance and reinsurance services to companies operating in Burma. They also insure Burmese companies which are not allowed to purchase insurance directly from overseas companies, so Lloyd’s works through regime-owned companies to provide this insurance.
You can view the new ‘Dirty List’ at: www.burmacampaign.org.uk/dirty_list/dirty_list.php. Contact the campaign for more info about the tourism and Lonely Planet boycotts on 020 7324 4710
Ethical Trainers Kick Off In UK
From September, ethically-minded shoppers can take another step towards global justice with the UK launch of No Sweat trainers, the pioneering sweatshop-free shoe.
The ground-breaking trainers are made in Indonesia in a union-owned factory. Workers are paid a decent living-wage as well as enjoying a range of other benefits.
James Lloyd from the Fair Deal Trading Partnership which is distributing the shoe in the UK said: “The shoe industry is notorious for the cynical exploitation of developing world workers. No Sweat trainers, on the other hand, guarantee that workers are treated fairly and with respect. They are no longer fashion’s victims.”
In a revolutionary move that aims to improve workers’ conditions within the global shoe industry, each box of No Sweat trainers contains a fact sheet detailing what wages and benefits the No Sweat workers receive. These include:
• Wages that are 20% higher than the minimum wage
• Full medical cover
• Meal and travel allowances
James Lloyd from the Fair Deal Trading Partnership said: “As well as providing British shoppers with an ethical alternative, we’re also sending out a challenge to Nike, Reebok and other manufacturers to follow in our footsteps and publicly disclose exactly how they treat their workers.”
No Sweat Shoes are made to a classic design with a tough canvass upper and are 100% vegan. They are currently available in classic black, pink and Mojo Red and retail from £25.00 and are available from www.fairdealtrading.com or tel: 0870 766 5196
The Fair Deal Trading Partnership is a fair trade company and is currently the sole UK distributer of the world’s only Fairtrade footballs.
Risky Chemicals League Table
Friends of the Earth has conducted research on retailers to find out who is taking most action this year to reduce their use of risky chemicals. Ikea, Body Shop, Marks & Spencer, B&Q and Co-op topped the 2004 league table.
| Rank | Company | % Score |
| 1 | Ikea | 90 |
| 2 | Body Shop | 82 |
| 3 | Marks & Spencer | 77 |
| 4 | B&Q | 76 |
| 5 | Co-op | 75 |
| 6 | Early Learning Centre | 65 |
| 7 | Debenhams | 61 |
| 8 | Boots | 57 |
| 9 | Focus Group | 52 |
| 10 | Woolworths | 51 |
| 11 | Safeway | 48 |
| 12 | Somerfield & Kwik Save | 46 |
| 13 | Waitrose | 38 |
| 14 | Argos | 37 |
| 15 | John Lewis | 26 |
| 16 | Mothercare | 26 |
ASDA, BHS, Iceland and Tesco only gave very limited info whilst Hamleys,
Morrisons, Superdrug, Toymaster and Toys ‘R’ Us did not reply.
Homebase and Sainsbury also failed to reply, even though they have committed
themselves to reporting on this subject by signing Friends of the Earth’s
retailers’ pledge on safer chemicals.
Detailed questionnaires were sent to 28 major high street retailers;
including supermarkets, department stores, DIY retailers, cosmetics
companies and toy retailers. The survey concentrated on eight different
groups of chemicals that are of particular concern because they accumulate
in our bodies or may affect hormonal systems – brominated flame
retardants, bisphenol A, phthalates, alkyltin, alkylphenols, artificial
musks, triclosan, PFOS and PFOA. Products where these chemicals may
be found include plastic bottles, baby bottles, food cans, electronic
equipment, home textiles, clothing, PVC floor tiles, paints, cosmetics
and toiletries.
FoE is asking supporters to email the retailers who haven’t yet
signed the Safer Chemicals Retailers Pledge, by going their website
According to the pledge, a responsible retailer would:
• Using official lists, identify which man-made chemicals are suspected
of building up in peoples bodies (bioaccumulation), or interfering with
the hormone, immune or nervous systems.
• Produce a strategy to identify which of its own brand and branded
products, including fruit and vegetables, contain these chemicals.
• Produce a timeline to phase out these chemicals from its own-brand
products, with the aim of eliminating them in 5 years, starting with
those chemicals which pose the greatest threat.
• Put pressure on manufacturers of branded products to do the same.
• Report publicly on progress on an annual basis.
The full report ‘Shop till you drop?’, which includes the
questions sent to each retailer, is on the website at www.foe.co.uk.
A four-page 'Shoppers’ Update 2004' details which shops are selling
products with risky chemicals and which are not. It also shows individual
league tables for the different retailers and is at www.foe.co.uk/resource/briefings/shoppers_update_2004.pdf.
M&S instore cafés go fairtrade
In September, Marks & Spencer switched all the coffee used in its
198 Café Revives to coffee certified by the independent Fairtrade
Mark. The Fairtrade Foundation is delighted with this move which signals
a step-change for Fairtrade with the first-ever chain of coffee-shops
only serving Fairtrade coffee.
The Fairtrade Foundation believes that this switch by Marks & Spencer
is extremely timely. An independent survey in 2004 showed that 2 in
5 people now recognise the Fairtrade Mark as the independent guarantee
of a better deal for producers in developing countries, and public demand
for Fairtrade products continues to soar. In launching the Café
Revive Fairtrade coffee, David Gregory, Head of Food Technology, Marks
& Spencer said: “In the same way that we changed to using only
free range eggs in all our products, we are switching to Fairtrade coffee
in response to demand from our customers.”
According to M & S, Café Revive represents an 11% market
share of the branded coffee bar market and is the 3rd largest coffee
shop in the UK, following Starbucks and Costa. They serve 20 million
cups of coffee a year. The Foundation estimates that the introduction
of Fairtrade coffee into Café Revive will grow the overall volume
of Fairtrade roast and ground coffee sold in the UK by approximately
14%.
Tesco accused of inaction over cruelty charges
On Saturday, August 21, supporters of national campaigning organisation
Viva!, distributed leaflets and protested outside over 90 Tesco stores
across the UK demanding action to end the suffering of pigs on farms
supplying Tesco.
Viva! carried out an undercover investigation at an intensive farm belonging
to one of the company’s main suppliers, Bowes of Norfolk, 12 months
ago which exposed horrific conditions and led to a meeting with Tesco
to discuss the situation. A recent follow-up investigation has, however,
revealed continuing animal suffering and campaigners now aim to shame
the store into changing its policy on the factory farming of pigs.
Go to the Viva! website for more
info and to send Tesco a virtual postcard. You can also phone Tesco
Customer Services on: 0845 7225533 or write to:
Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco, Tesco House, Delamare Rd, Cheshunt, Waltham
Cross, Herts EN8 9SL
Buy nothing Christmas
A mini-movement of Canadian Mennonites urges spiritual people
to return to their roots instead of celebrating commercialism this Christmas.
Buy Nothing Christmas is an initiative started by the ex-editor of Adbusters
magazine, the Canadian magazine which initiated the buy nothing movement.
It believes that Christians should give loved ones something more meaningful
than commodities, such as:
1. Frame your wedding vows for your spouse.
2. Make pillows or stuffed animals.
3. Give away a valued possession.
4. Give babysitting coupons to new parents.
5. Make charitable donations in someone else’s name.
6. Give homemade food.
7. Videotape interviews with elderly parents for relatives.
8. Make tree ornaments from old CDs.
9. Give home-grown plants, especially herbs.
10. Write and illustrate a book for young people.
11. Create coupons for a massage, spring cleaning, manicure.
12. Knit a stocking, hat or socks.
13. Give eco-friendly gifts, energy-saving bulbs, fair-trade coffee.
14. Collect quotes that make you think of someone.
15. Do something challenging together (e.g. long walk, bike ride or
art course).
Check out Buy Nothing Christmas at www.buynothingchristmas.org
BackScratchers
BackScratchers is an enterprise exchange
set up to enable people with high ambitions and low resources to exchange
goods, service and ideas to bring about social change through sustainable
enterprise development. It is run by an independent co-op and has just
launched an interactive website.
The tools on the site allow you to build a profile of your own project
or a cause you would like to support and add requests and offers of
help. The objects for which the company is established are:
• To enable environmentally, economically and socially sound enterprises
to flourish through the provision of time, space, resources and moral
support, to those who would otherwise not explore this opportunity.
• To support and encourage the growth of the cooperative movement
and to promote cooperative principles, enterprises and activities. To
encourage equality and democratic control over the workplace.
See the ‘Free Membership’ link at www.backscratchers.org
for details of an introductory offer to individuals and organisations
with green and social ambitions. Tel: 01424 716150
Campaign to make food companies accountable
While 800 million people suffer in silence, a handful of global food
companies have grown fat and powerful, making super profits often at
the expense of the poorest, according to Actionaid.
This October, international development agency ActionAid launches a
new campaign calling for UK and international laws to make companies
behave responsibly wherever they work. Large corporations can help drive
development in poor countries, but ActionAid has found evidence that
farmers and poor communities are losing out to many of the corporate
giants they deal with. Take action and find out more at: www.actionaid.org.uk
Sound Bites in Derby
Sound Bites is a project to set up a wholefood shop and information
point in Derby, to increase access to ethically sourced food and create
a networking point to inform and inspire.
Drawing inspiration from Unicorn Grocery in Manchester and the Original
Farmer’s Market shop in Bakewell, Sound Bites is keen to create
more of a link between customers and producers by dealing directly with
small local suppliers. They will also be raising awareness of the impact
of consumer choices, reminding shoppers that consumer power can be used
to provide positive support as well as to boycott certain products.
Until they have premises, Sound Bites are building anticipation with
a monthly stall at Derby Farmer’s Market. Supporters can join the
mailing list or make a financial contribution and become a ‘Little
Nibbler’, which will give them a 10% discount on their first purchase.
Sound Bites are currently applying for funding and also offering loanstock
to people who want to make an ethical investment.
For more information please contact 01332 341934/723728, or see www.soundbitesderby.org.uk
