Fairtrade International seeking industry feedback on new textile labour standard
Fairtrade International – a coalition of 28 organisations working to make trade fairer throughout the world – is welcoming comments from the garment and textile supply chains on the new Fairtrade Textile Standard, now under development. Fairtrade International says it has run mock audits with textile producers in India and South Africa during the last year, to test out a Fairtrade standard for the whole textile supply chain. The textile industry has been under fire for egregious violations of human and labour rights worldwide, brought to light by the catastrophic Rana Plaza factory collapse in Bangladesh, which killed over 1,100 garment workers in 2013. While global players including H&M, Primark and Inditex have taken steps to improve the quality of life of the workers in their factories, inhospitable conditions persist and industry-wide change has yet to take hold. (Sustainable Brands)
Policy
UK Parliament backs plain cigarette packaging
UK MPs have voted in favour of introducing standardised packaging for cigarettes. If the House of Lords also approves the move, from 2016 every packet will look the same, except for the make and brand name, with graphic photos accompanying health warnings. Dr Penny Woods, chief executive of British Lung Foundation, said she was “delighted” with the result. Meanwhile, the campaign group, Action on Smoking and Health, called it the “most important public health reform of this Parliament”. However, the Tobacco Manufacturer’s Association has argued there is a “complete lack of evidence that the policy will work”. Simon Clark, of the smokers lobby group Forest, said: “Consumers are fed up being patronised by politicians of all parties. Smokers know there are health risks associated with tobacco. Plain packaging won’t make any difference.” (BBC News)
Campaigns
Fukushima Water: the fictitious energy drink goes on sale
A group of Berlin art directors have launched a digital campaign promoting a fake energy drink sourced from the Japanese nuclear site to highlight its ongoing water contamination problem. Four years on from the Fukushima nuclear disaster, contaminated water – being used to cool the plant – is still leaking into the Pacific Ocean. “The water needs to be stored because it’s highly contaminated,” said Stefan Wittemann, one of the three campaigners “but [tanks] are leaking and water is running into the ocean. The exact numbers are very hard to get because the Tokyo Electric Power Company (Tepco) will not tell you anything and Greenpeace will tell you a super-high number. ” The ambition of the fictitious water advert is to pressure those involved into making more information publicly available, says Kenzi. “The best way to force change is through social media. Expose the company and force them to share with the public what is going on.” (The Guardian)
Renewable Energy
SunEdison to offer free solar installations to homeowners
In 2003 solar energy company, SunEdison pioneered power purchase agreements (PPAs) as a way for companies to buy solar energy without the cost of investing in installing the panels. Almost 12 years later, the company has brought the same model to households. The SunEdison “Energy Saver Plan” will offer free rooftop solar system installations in the UK, selling the electricity at a reduced rate to the homeowner, who can save up to 15 per cent on their energy bills. Mark Babcock, vice president of SunEdison’s residential and small commercial business in Europe, says the idea is to “open up solar to a much broader demographic” than the typical buyer, who tends to be over 55 with substantial savings. A similar model has already proved successful in Australia and the US, and the company is also offering the same deal to large corporations, pushing it towards the self-set goal of fitting 10GW of solar across those three countries by the end of the decade. (Business Green)
Responsible Investment
Mayor of London told to divest £4.8 billion pension fund from fossil fuels
Boris Johnson, the Mayor of London, has been told by the London Assembly to pull City Hall’s £4.8 billon pension fund out of coal, oil and gas investments, after assembly members voted on Wednesday on a motion in support of the fossil fuel divestment movement. The fund holds roughly £48 million worth of shares in some of the companies most exposed to stranded fossil fuel reserves – Rio Tinto, Shell, BP and BHP among others. A spokesperson for Johnson said: “The Mayor will consider all of the Assembly’s motions at today’s plenary. The Mayor takes climate change mitigation extremely seriously and is helping drive forward the transition to a low carbon economy.” A spokeswoman for campaigners Divest London said the motion would force the mayor to reveal his position on fossil fuels and reinforce his intention to meet his commitment to reduce London’s carbon emissions by 60% by 2025. (The Guardian)
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