Ethical Consumer

You are in: Home Campaigns & Boycotts Brands sourcing from Uyghur forced labour in China The Chinese government is accused of committing a genocide against the Uyghur people and subjecting them to forced labour. Which brands and products have been linked to the abuses? In this article we explore the Chinese government’s ongoing persecution of the Uyghur population, the brands and products accused of being linked to forced Uyghur labour, and the campaign groups taking action.

Do boycott campaigns help or harm efforts to improve working conditions? Boycott campaigns can be used to improve conditions for workers. But many campaigners believe boycotting can also do more harm than good – for example, by imperilling workers’ jobs or undermining attempts at company negotiations.

Worker-driven Social Responsibility (WSR) programmes are possibly the most impactful way to transform exploitative supply chains and build dignified working conditions. In this article we look at how WSR initiatives started, what makes them different, and how we can support them. Worker-driven Social Responsibility (WSR) programmes improve conditions for workers in the supply chains of major brands. The Fair Food Programme is considered to be the first WSR programme.

What is it and who runs it? The French government (its Ministry of Agriculture and Food Sovereignty) owns and manages Agriculture Biologique, which certifies that products are made in accordance with EU organic regulations. Stated aims and activities: The logo is used to promote organic farming to citizens. Strengths: This logo has no strengths in relation to ensuring workers’ rights. Weaknesses: The Agriculture Biologique label does not include workers rights in its requirements.

BAE Systems, Deloitte and Rolls-Royce Holdings are among the companies whose US-subsidiaries have channelled donations to US politicians. In this article we look at which UK brands are involved, how the donations work, and what action you can take. UK corporations are helping bankroll US politicians accused of “undermining democracy”, according to a new report by Donations and Democracy.

You are in: Home Campaigns & Boycotts UK supermarkets breaching UNGP human rights commitments in Spanish supply chains The UK food industry relies heavily on imported fresh food from Southern Spain. But UK supermarkets are failing to address the appalling living conditions of agricultural workers in Southern Spain. As a result, they could be breaching UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.

One of the earliest examples of a successful campaign was the boycott in Britain of sugar produced by slaves. In 1791, after Parliament refused to abolish slavery, activists printed thousands of pamphlets encouraging the boycott. Sales of sugar dropped by between a third and a half. By contrast sales of Indian sugar, which were not linked to slavery, rose tenfold in two years.

For the past five years, Ethical Consumer has been campaigning for UK supermarkets to use their leverage in the region to improve the unacceptable living and working conditions for agricultural workers in southern Spain. A white paper (Produce of Exploitation) published by Ethical Consumer in 2023, found that all nine major UK supermarkets – Aldi, Asda, Co-op, Lidl, Marks & Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Tesco and Waitrose – sourced large quantities of produce from farms in the region.

This document aims to give a high level overview of the site, how it is built and how it integrates with other systems in order to get developers up to speed and tackle support requests. The Ethical Consumer website aims to provide its visitors with reviews of products and services by companies across a wide range of sectors and industries. They make money via a number of different subscriptions which can be purchased via the site.

Here you can find links to all of Ethical Consumer's main research on Palestine and Israel. This includes articles listing the main Israel boycott targets, ethical alternative brands your can support instead, an introduction to the Palestinian Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement, the importance of boycotting strategically, and brand-specific stories, for example about Barclays and Puma. Palestinian civil society asks people around the world to support their human rights.