Is it a foolproof process? Not at all. And is right and wrong necessarily laid out in black and white? I certainly don’t think so. But is it an excuse to just go back to buying the cheapest option and giving up? I don’t think so. We all decide what level of effort we want to put into this decision making process. Hopefully those of us that are really passionate about it will push the accreditation process to be more authentic. Or alternatively find other ways to share information on good companies.

I understand your feelings Kati. I just got back from Guatemala where there is a long messy history of sleazy foreign companies manipulating the system to get the cheapest product on the (their) market. Many of these practices have not changed. I also learned about some great companies (primarily coffee) doing good work. This trip was a reminder that its worth doing some digging to try to get enough information as possible. And it was an extra push to look for products that are being ethically produced.

And although I’d say ‘choosing’ an ethical sourcing route (as we conventionally understand it) isn’t exactly CSR it does bring into sharp contrast the whole CSR mentality. Business ethics are only worth doing if a) it makes you sound like an NGO b) it gives you a moral platform c) it enables you to ‘educate’ the consumer with largely faulty information – which gives them enough encouragement to swap one consumer product to another but dissuades them from asking searching questions about the whole stinking supply chain.

The there is the question about the way benefits are shared, the ‘poverty porn’ aspect of ethical product marketing (associated with the way that the extra consumer spending is distributed) and what to do if there is an increase in raw material prices so that the ‘ethical’ product attracts a consumer premium but no premium to the farmer.

Thoughts?