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.