Home breadcru News breadcru Textile Fairs/Exhibition breadcru No Sweat, Footprint Clothing & PCS - unions' purchasing policy survey

No Sweat, Footprint Clothing & PCS - unions' purchasing policy survey

17 Jan '06
3 min read

Nicolas Lalaguna of Footprint Clothing said it was worrying that union, when asked what they look for in suppliers, stated that quality, price and business behaviour all came before ethical and environmental responsibility.

"If we really want to see a growth in truly fair and sustainable trade, the social and environmental impact of suppliers has to be factored in to customers' purchasing policies. This survey raises very serious questions for all of us," he said.

On the positive side, the survey report shows some encouraging steps being taken within the wider movement and highlights clear examples of best practice. Unions rated pressure from their members as the main influence on their purchasing decisions - and with ethical purchasing and opposition to sweatshops increasingly high on union conference agendas, there is hope for real change.

PCS assistant general secretary, Chris Baugh said: "Buying ethically is becoming an increasingly important issue for consumers - including 6.5 million trade union members across the UK.

PCS believes it's a contradiction to campaign against sweatshops and worker exploitation yet not to look at our own purchasing practices. That is why we recently launched a fair & ethical trade purchasing policy. Unions are huge purchasers of goods and services and have the potential to be extremely influential through the purchasing decisions wetake.

The report's key recommendations include a forum to explore how unions can fit ethical purchasing into wider work on sustainable development issues, and the need to set up a verification body to monitor firms' codes of conduct and ethical claims.

PCS has nearly 325,000 members who work in government departments, agencies, public bodies and in a number of private companies, notably in information technology.

The Public and Commercial Services

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