The Guardian recently published a piece revealing that t-shirts sold to raise money for Comic Relief’s “gender justice” campaign were made at a factory in Bangladesh where women earn only 35p per hour and suffer verbal abuse.
This is unacceptable. It’s also, unfortunately, not uncommon.
The situation with Comic Relief highlights the larger issue of ethical manufacturing in the charity sector; it’s a topic worth a deep conversation and action. While many charities have ethical policies in place, adhering to them isn’t always easy or fool-proof. It takes planning, research and unwavering commitment to uphold ethical practices. Yet, doing so is imperative for two reasons. First, charities shoulder a responsibility to do their part to halt inhumane manufacturing practices, as a global and social good. Second is reputation.
A strong commitment to ethical manufacturing will help ensure that your charity avoids the type of reputational damage that could ultimately determine the success or failure of your organisation. In this post, we highlight some lessons for charities in how best to protect your reputation by adhering to ethical practices.
1. Get to Know your Suppliers
The first step to ensure ethical manufacturing is to understand where your products are being made and by whom. This starts by asking the right questions of suppliers and understanding what policies they have in place. How often do they audit their factories? Are they willing to share their audit practices?
Often, these aren’t the first questions that come to mind when selecting a supplier. If you get the right price and the right product, why does it matter how and where your items are made? Yet, this is perhaps one of the most important questions you can ask as it affects the livelihoods of those your charity works so hard to protect. It can also put your charity’s reputation on the line.
One of the best ways to confirm a supplier’s commitment to ethical practices is to look for social accountability audits, such as Sedex SMETA or BSCI audits. These well-recognised social audits provide a strict and comprehensive audit framework that covers all aspects of responsible business practice – from labour and safety to business ethics and environmental responsibility. Factories that pass these audits face strict scrutiny regarding responsible business practices, so you can feel comfortable that your merchandise is being manufactured without violating anyone’s human rights in the process. At Rocket Charities, for example, all of our factories have to pass strict social audits, including Sedex SMETA, BSCI and our own internal auditing procedures, which we are happy to share with clients.
2. Conduct Frequent Inspections
Another common mistake in ethical manufacturing is to assume that the initial ethical standards will be upheld throughout the entire process. In the case of Comic Relief and Spice Girls, both checked the ethical sourcing credentials of their supplier, Represent. However, Represent subsequently changed the manufacturer without their knowledge.
In today’s climate, it takes a team effort to tackle the ethical issues in manufacturing. Supply chains are opaque by design, and charities need to remain diligent throughout the manufacturing process. One way to stay on top of ethical practices is to conduct During Production Inspections, or DUPROs. A DUPRO inspection is conducted on-site by a third-party inspector at regular intervals throughout the production process: typically 20 percent, 40 percent and 80 percent of production, as well as pre-shipment. These frequent inspections allow you to catch any ethical-related issues early on in the process and ensure that the work is being carried out on the same premises throughout the entirety of production.
You can also request frequent updates and audits from your supplier. For example, at Rocket Charities, we’re completely transparent with our supply chains and are happy to share our auditing procedures with our clients whenever requested.
3. Remember that it’s a Continual Process
Ethical sourcing and manufacturing is a continual and ever-evolving battle. It’s not just an exercise in box-ticking. Charities need to stay informed and educated about the latest ethical practices and policies and ensure their suppliers are adhering to them.
Significant change requires greater transparency, clear sourcing guidelines and stronger commitment from today’s charities and manufacturers.
It will take all of us, too. Many charities task their fundraising teams with increasingly aggressive campaign fundraising targets. Which will matter more to the fundraising managers: reaching their targets or prioritising ethical policies? In an ideal world, they shouldn’t have to choose. The only way to change is by creating a unified front and gaining greater transparency into the supply chain. Making money is important, but we need to be asking: at what cost?
Remember, not only do you care about this, but your donors do as well. Your products and your mission will resonate that much more when you can tell your supporters that you only work with manufacturers that respect worker and wage rights.
For more information about ethical manufacturing, or to learn about our ethical code of practice, get in touch with our team. We’d love to share our tips and advice for ensuring ethical trading, and we’re happy to share our certification and auditing documents as requested.