A renewed focus on recyclability and plastic waste has created an opportunity for manufacturers to showcase reformulations in packaging and to differentiate brands through ethical labelling. Recycling labels are no longer enough to demonstrate environmental commitments in packaging. This briefing will look at how companies are moving beyond recycling labels to market environmental commitments around packaging.
This report comes in PPT.
The announcement by Mondelez in late 2015 detailing its planned expansion of Cocoa Life sparked an uncertainty in the market about the ramifications this could have on the Fairtrade and other traditional standards going forward. A domino effect could undermine Fairtrade greatly.
Boasting a commitment to 100% sustainable sourcing in the form of goals is fast becoming essential for global players that find the spotlight on supply chains ever intensifying. What many of the goals being made lack is specificity, which is ultimately worrying for the Fairtrades, Rainforest Alliances and UTZs of theworld.
For major schemes to survive, they must adapt. While some industry voices might be critical and question the tangible impact that these initiatives have on farmers on the ground, for consumers they remain the gold standard in terms of being the most recognisable stamp of an ethical supply chain in operation today.
In 2017, there was further reason for Fairtrade to worry, as UK retailer J Sainsbury looked to follow a new route to sustainable ethical sourcing. This plan was eventually abandoned after significant backlash from various groups.
Alternative routes may have a long way to go in terms of reaching the same levels of consumer recognition enjoyed by the big three certifiers, but through innovative approaches they appear to be gaining ground.
In January 2014, Fairtrade introduced the sourcing programme. Running in parallel with the existing Fairtrade mark, the Fairtrade sourcing programme offered a more malleable method of sustainably-sourced ingredients, allowing manufacturers to source specific ingredients as Fairtrade-certified and still benefit from a less prominent claim.
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