Buy Responsibly

The Clean Clothes Campaign

The Clean Clothes Campaign is an alliance of organizations in 12 European countries which is dedicated to improving working conditions and supporting the empowerment of workers in the global garment and sportswear industries. http://www.cleanclothes.org/home

Council of Europe

For more information on initiatives in European countries, good practice sheets on Responsible consumption Initiatives have been developed by the Social Cohesion Development Strategy, a Council of Europe (CoE) initiative. http://www.coe.int

The Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility

The Ecumenical Council for Corporate Responsibility (ECCR) is church-based investor coalition and membership organization working for economic justice, environmental stewardship, and corporate and investor responsibility. It acts as a forum where issues of corporate and investor responsibility are researched and studied, information and ideas are exchanged, and strategies are planned and implemented.

The website provides different company and thematic reports and papers help keep up to date on how leading transnational companies measure up to environmental, social and governance standards.
http://www.eccr.org.uk/module-htmlpages-display-pid-20.html

The Ethical Trading Initiative

The Ethical Trading Initiative is an alliance of companies, trade unions and voluntary organizations who work in partnership to improve the working lives of people across the globe who make or grow consumer goods - everything from tea to T-shirts, and from flowers to footballs. http://www.ethicaltrade.org/

The Fair Trade Center

Fair Trade Center is a Swedish non-governmental organization (NGO) that has been promoting fair trade with developing countries since 1996 to increase consumer and company awareness of social and environmental responsibility. http://www.fairtradecenter.se/

Available reports from the Trade Center include:

Santa's Workshop: China's Toy Factory - report and documentary in English
Report on mobile phones (2008)
Report on canned Tuna (2007)
An exclusive trip: an evaluation of the effects of tourism in Thailand and Brazil

The Fair Wear Foundation

Fair Wear Foundation works to promote good labour conditions in sewn textile production worldwide. European clothing and textile companies can take responsibility for their supply chains by setting up a monitoring system and implementing the FWF Code of Labour Practices. FWF verifies that they work efficiently and achieve adequate results. http://en.fairwear.nl

The campaign "Fair Flowers for Human Rights"

Started by Non-governmental organizations from Austria, Belgium, Germany, and Czech Republic and supported by the Zimbabwean Non-Governmental Organization Kunzwana and the Uganda Workers' Education Association, the campaign aims at raising awareness on human rights violations and environmental pollution by the global flower industry. To that end, it targets consumers, flower traders and local authorities for changing their consumption and purchasing patterns towards ensuring that flowers are produced in socially and environmentally sound conditions with information materials, exhibitions, workshops and lobby activities.
http://www.flowers-for-human-dignity.org/

MakeITfair

MakeITfair is a European project focusing on the electronics industry, especially on consumer electronics like mobile phones, laptops and MP3 players. The project is designed to let young people across Europe know about the relationship between the market for electronic gadgets and labor abuses and environmental problems. http://makeitfair.org

Social Accountability International

Social Accountability International (SAI)’s mission is to promote human rights for workers around the world.
http://www.sa-intl.org

The association is best known for SA8000©, a comprehensive and flexible system for managing ethical workplace conditions throughout global supply chains.

SAI works with companies, consumer groups, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), workers and trade unions, local governments — as well as a network of agencies accredited for SA8000© auditing, to help ensure that workers worldwide are treated according to basic human rights principles.

SAI produces three major documents to support its work: the SA8000© Standard, the Guidance Document, and the Application Package. All documents can be downloaded at the website: www.sa-intl.org/SA8000/documents.html

The Solidarity Center

The Solidarity Center promotes worker rights, the rule of law, and democratic development on the simple premise that dignified work is possible for everyone, everywhere. The Solidarity Center believes that sustainable economic development is only achievable in conjunction with respect for worker rights and all human rights. Moreover, the center believes that the most effective way to eliminate forced labor, debt bondage, and other forms of exploitation in supply chains is by empowering workers and strengthening their unions as well as the global labor movement.
http://www.solidaritycenter.org

Available reports from Solidarity Center include: The True Cost of Shrimp (2008)

SOMO – Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations

SOMO focuses on the corporate policies and practices of multinational enterprises, and on sustainable economic and social development.
http://somo.nl

ProcureITfair

ProcureITfair is a coalition of NGOs from various European countries that intend to raise awareness of the working conditions and environmental pollution in the production of computers.

The Procure IT Fair campaign has developed an IT Company Monitor. This online tool provides public buyers with an instrument to inform themselves about the latest developments related to human rights and working conditions throughout the supply chains of the large computer brands.

http://procureitfair.org

Vérité

Verité is a global advocate for workers. With its understanding of the perspectives of workers, it tries to find good business practice solutions to human rights violations in the workplace.
http://www.verite.org