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Yesterday’s BBC3 documentary Blood, Sweat and Takeaways plonked six young Brits onto the production line of a tuna processing factory in Indonesia, with predictable consequences.  The Brits can’t cope with the living conditions, the heat, the factory environment, the tasks they are allocated – they vomit, they faint, they cry, they throw each other through [...]

Following the success of last year’s Blood Sweat and T-shirts, the reality TV programme which dropped young fashionistas in Indian garment factories, to experience the working conditions behind their clothes, BBC3 have just announced that they will be transferring the concept to the food supply chain. Starting on Tuesday 19th May 2009, Blood Sweat and [...]

With the Dubai Centre for Responsible Business‘s ‘Responsible Business Dialogue’ on Monday, the UAE Ministry of Labour’s ‘Labour and Human Rights Conference‘ on Tuesday and the ‘GCC Leadership Summit on Labour Management‘ on Wednesday, it has been a busy week for Impactt MENA! As you will have seen from our blogs of the past few [...]

As you will have seen from the Impactt newsfeed and blog, there has been significant coverage recently on the conditions for migrant construction workers in Dubai and the UAE. What it often not realised however, is that there is also a thriving manufacturing industry in operation here which is well placed to serve global markets. [...]

7 Days, (Dubai’s equivalent of the UK’s free morning paper the Metro), reported yesterday that workers employed by Gunal Construction Trading and Industry in Dubai refused to work over the weekend because of the substandard conditions in which they are living. The article reports that raw sewage was overflowing from septic tanks in workers’ accommodation [...]

New Look has been working with Impactt on a series of projects developing innovative solutions for sustainably improving working conditions in the supply chain. The projects demonstrate that improving working conditions can result in more productive and profitable factories, as well as happier and better-rewarded workers. We are currently working with New Look, one of [...]

Following the publication of Impactt’s 10th Anniversary Report, “Progress Not Perfection“ last year, we are delighted to publish our first annual report “Getting Smarter: Ethical Trading in the Downturn“. High energy prices, food inflation, financial turmoil, recession and consumers tightening their belts – 2008 proved to be a challenging year.  The situation poses obvious but [...]

From the 6th April the Gangmasters Licensing Authority will be working to a revised set of licensing standards, which seek to improve the Authority’s ability to hold licence holders to account. The new standards are the first revision of the GLA’s standards since its inception in 2004 and come following a period of review last [...]

The first labour rights Bill to go through the US legislative process, since the historic election of Barack Obama, has been introduced in the House of Representatives and Senate. Impactt has been following its progress and the reaction of various news agencies and blogs alike. Barack Obama has given the Bill vocal support. But what [...]

Impactt were fascinated to read about a three-day factory simulation conducted by 22 fashion design and marketing students at Northumbria University last week.  In a move reminiscent of last year’s TV phenomenon Blood Sweat and T-shirts, the students experienced factory working conditions by setting up sewing lines and using time cards to clock on at [...]