There were three themes that emerged from the discussion:

• The complexity of ethical decision making when the demands of overseas markets conflict with the demands of domestic markets.
• Pro-poor business and how retailers’ attempts to manage supply chain ethics through setting demanding labour and environmental standards can inadvertently drive small-scale producers out of global supply chains.
• The challenges of learning from, and effectively governing, global supply chains.

Of particular interest were the papers given by Michael Blowfield and Bill Vorley. Martin Cooke’s presentation on a new agenda for the ETI was both fascinating and important.

Michael Blowfield’s paper discussed the circumstances under which businesses can play a positive role in development. He suggested that businesses are increasingly seen as agents of development, but the consequences of businesses playing this role were unknown. Bill Vorley reported on the Regoverning Markets project analysing growing concentration in the processing and retail sectors of national and regional agri-food systems and its impacts for rural livelihoods in developing countries. He argued that small-scale agriculture, which supports the livelihoods of the majority of rural poor, is poorly prepared for these changes.

Martin Cooke outlined a new agenda for the ETI and a fresh strategy for 2009-2011. The six new priorities for the ETI will be:

1. Better governance of the workforce (through promoting collective bargaining, as well as promoting better HR policies in the workplace).
2. Working towards a living wage
3. Integrating Purchasing Practices
4. Tackling discrimination in the workplace
5. Focussing improvements on the most vulnerable workers
6. Improving audit practice.

The conference was a great opportunity to step back from the day to day activity of advising businesses on their ethical trade strategies, to investigate the broader trends which influence our work. Impactt looks forward to seeing further outputs from this conference.

The day began with speeches and presentations from the key speakers; of particular interest was a presentation from Michael McDonough – an architect and designer of the ‘e-house‘ – named as the most ecologically aware structure in the world. McDonough argued that durability, rather than sustainability, should be the focus of designers, manufacturers and consumers. He argued that in order to assess durability and minimise the impact of consumption, the entirety of a product should be radically re-assessed to include consideration of the resources needed, the production techniques, the way it is used and the way it ends its life. This is an important point, but should perhaps be extended to include the social effects of production and consumption, rather than the just the environmental effects. For example, the concept of sustainability could incorporate paying a living wage to workers  in the same way that it involves eliminating polluting industrial processes from production; in the long-term they both have significant impact on the sustainability of supply.

Also of interest was a presentation by Anthony Kleanthous from the WWF who emphasised that the concept of sustainability needs to be a driver of business value;  by making sustainability essential to the brand, essential to consumers and by making sure that outputs can be accurately measured and evaluated. Unless companies see sustainability as a driver of business value, they will not be willing to embrace it fully.

The afternoon largely consisted of several break-out sessions discussing specific elements of the sustainability agenda and the fashion industry. The Better Lives group discussed the impact of fashion on those who buy it, those who make it, and on society as a whole. In particular, the themes of honesty, integrity, personal values and a commitment to the community kept re-emerging and the group concluded that integrating these characteristics into the supply chain is important if the fashion industry is to be made more sustainable.

The conference closed with a panel discussion during which some of the panellists were optimistic about the opportunities that sustainability presented, while some were less so; claiming that a business model based on a lower level of consumption was difficult to envisage. Overall, there was a general consensus as to the need for a more sustainable pattern of consumption and use of resources, especially with regard to the fashion industry.

There were some voices of dissent, however, and in particular there was a challenge to the importance of sustainability from Colin McDowell who noted that the sustainability discussion is very Western-centric, and that great swathes of the world aspire to having access to clean water, clothing and food, rather than a new designer handbag. Something to ponder for those interested in sustainability.

In the afternoon, there were a series of practical, issue-based workshops covering topics such as communication strategies, migrant labour, industrial relations, purchasing practices and living wages. The workshops provided an opportunity for delegates to share best practice and discuss common challenges within each of these areas.

The final session of the day involved a panel discussion on the future of ethical trade. The panel consisted of Phil Wrigley (Executive Chairman of New Look), Frances O’Grady (Deputy General Secretary, TUC), Jane Nyambura (Regional Manager, Africa Now), Gareth Thomas MP (Minister of State for Trade and Development), Steve Homer (Bios Partners) and was chaired by James Harding, editor of The Times.

One of the themes explored by the panel was that ethical trade is not the ‘luxury’ of an economic boom, but indeed is an integral part of business strategy. Therefore, like everything else, ethical trade will be affected by the current financial crisis in some ways, but should certainly not lose its place on the economic agenda.

Some important questions were raised by the audience relating to whether the government was doing enough, whether countries investing in human rights improvements would be economically rewarded by the international community and how brands could be more transparent about the complex issues in their supply chains. Whilst questions like these evoked stimulating debate, the answers in some cases left something to be desired. It also made one wonder whether some workers should have indeed been sitting on the panel as well.

On the whole, the conference was the perfect opportunity to assess where we are and to reflect on the fact that a lot more has to be done, if we want to make a significant difference to the lives of millions of workers worldwide.

Impactt would like to sincerely congratulate the ETI on its journey so far and on hosting an excellent conference last week. However, the true success of the conference will of course be determined by how the attendees implement the learnings gained to drive more worker-centric change in their supply chains.