Ethical trade

The term ethical trade first gained currency in the mid 1990s, where it was used as a term for socially responsible sourcing. Ethical trade addresses the ethical aspects of organisations including worker welfare, agricultural practice, natural resource conservation, and sustainability of the environment. Since then, numerous multinational organisations have adopted ethical trade policies by outsourcing to auditing companies to monitor the conditions of workers in their supply chains. to support business

Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) is a UK based organisation that reaches out to 9.8 million workers per year. Since their inception in 1998, they have supported ethical trade in global supply chains by introducing legal protection for 600,000 migrant workers in the UK, aided movements for the increase of real wages in parts of Bangladesh, and contributed to more than 133,000 improvements to the welfare of workers worldwide. ETI are committed to implementing ethical trade by enforcing corporates to implement the ETI base code in their supply chains. The ETI base code reflects the commitment to ethical trade by stipulating the need for freely chosen employment, freedom of association, safe working conditions, and reasonable working hours. in an attempt to address the issue of human rights in businesses. The principles were proposed by Professor John Ruggie from Harvard University after six years of research. and implement ethical trade by ensuring that governments and companies have a collective responsibility to protect human rights in business enterprises. Established in 1919, the ILO have made significant contributions in addressing issues such as excessive working hours, unemployment, minimum age, and work for women. The tripartite structure of the ILO is unique in that it ensures employees and workers have an equal voice alongside governments in terms of addressing ILO's policies and programs. They aim to adopt international labour standards in member states regarding the ethical aspects of business practices, including the abolition of forced labour, workplace discrimination, and the protection of migrant workers.

On 17 September 2014, over 500 textile workers rallied for an increase in minimum wages in the industrial suburb of Phnom Penh, Cambodia. The frequent protests regarding the poor working conditions and decline in real wages have become a critical issue for the Cambodian Prime Minister, as the prolonged strikes could result in reduced orders from retail firms such as Gap Inc, Nike and H & M that outsource to Cambodian factories. The general secretary of the Trade Union Congress, Frances O'Grady, stated that "European based corporations have a responsibility to ensure that workers' rights are respected in their supply chains." Hence outlining the need for ethical trade practices.

The death of a temporary foreign worker, Ivan Guerrero, on a farm in Quebec once again raised questions about the working conditions of migrants. Gurrerro expressed the hardships he faced through a video he recorded in 2013 with Somos Hermanos, a group dedicated to improving the conditions of migrant workers. In the video Guerrero makes reference to excessive working hours, unpaid overtime, and lack of freedom. According to Karen Bradley, the minister for modern slavery and organised crime, "there are more people in slavery today than at any other time in human history." British and foreign workers employed by companies such as Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Gap Inc. and Sainsbury's were treated harshly by their employees, remained on low incomes, and had no union representation. Neil Kearney, General Secretary of the International, Textile, Garment and Leather Workers’ Federation, stated that progress had been made "particularly with regard to the issues of health and safety and child labour." Improvements have also been made particularly in regards to fire safety, medical services, and infrastructure.