The false promise of certification

How certific

ation is

hindering s

ustainabilit

y

in the textil

es, palm oil

and fisherie

s industries

The

purp

ose

of th

is re

port

is to

shed

ligh

t on

indu

stry

spe

cific

is

sues

rel

ated

to e

nvir

onm

enta

l im

pact

s of

cer

tific

atio

n sc

hem

es a

nd v

olun

tary

initi

ativ

es in

fish

erie

s, pa

lm o

il an

d te

xtile

s sec

tors

. The

info

rmat

ion

in th

is d

ocum

ent h

as b

een

obta

ined

from

sou

rces

bel

ieve

d re

liabl

e an

d in

goo

d fa

ith

but a

ny p

oten

tial i

nter

pret

atio

n of

this

repo

rt a

s m

akin

g an

al

lega

tion

agai

nst a

spe

cific

com

pany

or c

ompa

nies

nam

ed

wou

ld b

e m

isle

adin

g an

d in

corr

ect.

The

auth

ors

acce

pt n

o lia

bilit

y w

hats

oeve

r for

any

dire

ct o

r con

sequ

entia

l los

s aris

ing

from

the

use

of th

is d

ocum

ent o

r its

con

tent

s.

3

Th

e fa

lse

pro

mis

e of

cer

tifi

cati

on

2

List

of f

igur

es, t

able

s and

box

es

5

Exec

utiv

e su

mm

ary

and

key

findi

ngs

1. Ex

ecut

ive

sum

mar

y 7

2.

Key

findi

ngs

8

2.

1. Fi

sher

ies

8

2.

2.

Palm

oil

9

2.

3.

Text

iles

11

3. T

he w

ay fo

rwar

d fo

r cer

tific

atio

n 12

Chap

ter 1

. A

bout

stan

dard

s 15

1.1.

Intr

oduc

tion

15

1.2.

Wha

t are

sust

aina

bilit

y st

anda

rds?

17

1.3.

The

hist

ory

of v

olun

tary

stan

dard

s and

cert

ifica

tion

19

Chap

ter 2

. Ca

se st

udy:

Pal

m o

il 27

2.1.

Pa

lm o

il: th

e w

orld

ís fa

vour

ite v

eget

able

oil

27

2.2.

Th

e pr

oble

m w

ith p

alm

oil p

rodu

ctio

n 27

2.3.

Th

e ris

e of

pal

m o

il pro

duct

ion

stan

dard

s and

cert

ifica

tion

agre

emen

ts

28

2.4.

Th

e la

rges

t pal

m o

il cer

tific

atio

n sc

hem

e: R

ound

tabl

e on

Sus

tain

able

Pal

m O

il (RS

PO)

30

2.4.

1.

Intr

oduc

tion

30

2.4.

2.

Cove

rage

30

2.4.

3.

Criti

cism

30

2.5.

O

ther

sche

mes

33

2.5.

1.

Rain

fore

st A

llianc

e (R

A) /

Sust

aina

ble

Agric

ultu

re N

etw

ork (

SAN)

33

2.5.

2.

Inte

rnat

iona

l Sus

tain

abilit

y an

d Ca

rbon

Cer

tific

atio

n (IS

CC)

34

2.5.

3.

Roun

dtab

le o

n Su

stai

nabl

e Bi

omat

eria

ls (R

SB)

35

2.6.

Tr

acea

bilit

y: R

ough

ly ri

ght o

r pre

cisel

y w

rong

? 37

2.7.

Fr

iend

or f

oe? C

onclu

ding

not

es o

n th

e ef

fect

iven

ess

40

of

curr

ent p

alm

oil c

ertif

icat

ion

sche

mes

ww

w.ch

angi

ngm

arke

ts.o

rg

This

repo

rt w

as p

ublis

hed

in M

ay 2

018

by th

e Ch

angi

ng M

arke

ts F

ound

atio

n. 

Cont

ribut

ors t

o th

is re

port

(in

alph

abet

ical

or

der)

: Alin

a Br

ad, A

lice

Del

emar

e,

Nat

asha

Hur

ley, V

aler

ie L

enik

us, R

ache

l M

ulre

nan, N

oem

i Nem

es, U

rska

Tru

nk a

nd

Nus

a U

rban

cic

Des

igne

d by

Pie

tro

Brun

i h

ello

o.or

gPr

inte

d on

recy

cled

pap

er

Cont

ents

54

Th

e fa

lse

pro

mis

e of

cer

tifi

cati

on

Chap

ter 3

. Ca

se st

udy:

Fis

herie

s 45

3.1.

Th

e pr

oble

m

45

3.2.

Ce

rtifi

catio

n sc

hem

es

48

3.2.

1.

Mar

ine

Stew

ards

hip

Coun

cil (M

SC)

49

3.2.

2.

Frie

nd o

f the

Sea

(FO

S)

49

3.2.

3.

Mai

n cr

iticis

ms o

f FO

S an

d M

SC ce

rtifi

catio

n pr

oced

ures

50

3.3.

Ha

ve se

afoo

d ce

rtifi

catio

n sc

hem

es m

ade

a diff

eren

ce?

51

3.4.

Lo

sing

faith

56

3.5.

Th

e w

ay fo

rwar

d fo

r fish

erie

s cer

tific

atio

n 57

Chap

ter 4

. Ca

se st

udy:

Text

iles

63

4.1

The

prob

lem

63

4.2.

En

viro

nmen

tal a

nd so

cial im

pact

s in

the

text

iles s

uppl

y ch

ain

64

4.3.

Su

stai

nabi

lity

sche

mes

for t

extil

es

65

4.4.

Pa

nin

dust

ry sc

hem

es

65

4.4.

1.

The

Hig

g In

dex

65

4.4.

2.

MAD

E-BY

and

MO

DE Tr

acke

r 67

4.4.

3.

OEK

O-T

EX

68

4.4.

4.

Zero

Disc

harg

e of

Haz

ardo

us C

hem

ical

s (ZD

HC)

71

4.5.

En

viro

nmen

tal im

pact

s in

cott

on an

d vi

scos

e pr

oduc

tion

73

4.5.

1.

Cott

on

73

4.5.

2.

Visc

ose

74

4.6.

Co

tton

: Is a

wea

k sch

eme

unde

rmin

ing

a str

onge

r one

? 75

4.6.

1.

Bett

er C

otto

n In

itiat

ive

(BCI

) 77

4.6.

2.

Glob

al O

rgan

ic Te

xtile

Sta

ndar

d (G

OTS

) 78

4.6.

3.

BCI v

s. GO

TS

78

4.7.

Vi

scos

e: A

hel

pful

but

par

tial s

chem

e 78

4.8.

W

hat c

an th

e te

xtile

sect

or le

arn

from

the

failin

gs an

d su

cces

ses o

f vol

unta

ry

in

itiat

ives

and

cert

ifica

tion

sche

mes

? 81

Chap

ter 5

. Co

nclu

sion

s and

reco

mm

enda

tions

85

5.1.

Cr

iticis

m o

f sus

tain

abilit

y ce

rtifi

catio

n 85

5.2.

Th

e w

ay fo

rwar

d: A

bolis

h th

e le

ast a

mbi

tious

sche

mes

, ref

orm

the

rest

87

5.2.

1.

Aim

ing

for c

ontin

uous

impr

ovem

ents

, inclu

ding

gre

ater

trac

eabi

lity

5.3.

Co

nclu

sion

90

Refe

renc

es

93

Figu

res

Fi

gure

1: S

uppl

y ch

ain

trac

eabi

lity

38

Figu

re 2

: Glo

bal f

ishs

tock

tren

ds o

ver 4

0 ye

ars

46

Tabl

es

Tabl

e 1:

At a

glan

ce: M

ajor

priv

ate

sect

or in

tern

atio

nal p

alm

oil c

ertif

icat

ion

sche

mes

36

Ta

ble

2: A

t a g

lanc

e: F

OS

and

MSC

sche

mes

48

Boxe

s

Box 1

.1: Ty

pes o

f sta

ndar

ds

16

Bo

x 1.2

: The

role

of s

tand

ards

17

Bo

x 1.3

: Dem

and

for c

ertif

ied

prod

ucts

on

the

rise

18

Bo

x 1.4

: Gov

ernm

ents

low

erin

g am

bitio

n of

cert

ifica

tion

sche

mes

21

Bo

x 2.1:

EU

biof

uels

polic

y as

a dr

iver

of c

ertif

icat

ion

29

Bo

x 2.2

: RSP

O ac

cuse

d of

cove

ring

up ab

uses

of w

orke

rsí r

ight

s 32-3

3

Bo

x 2.3

: 100

% su

stai

nabl

e pr

oduc

ts?

34

Bo

x 2.4

: A ra

ce to

the

bott

om: I

ndon

esia

n an

d M

alay

sian

Sust

aina

ble

Palm

Oil

37

Bo

x 2.5

: Lax

trac

eabi

lity

rule

s beh

ind

maj

or ill

egal

pla

ntat

ion

scan

dals

39

Bo

x 3.1:

Exa

mpl

es o

f bad

fish

ing

prac

tices

46

Bo

x 3.2

: Def

initi

on o

f ille

gal f

ishin

g 47

Bo

x 3.3

: Glo

bal c

ertif

icat

ion

sche

mes

for w

ildc

aptu

re fi

sher

ies

48

Bo

x 3.4

: A b

lue

tick a

war

ded

for d

estr

uctio

n?

52-5

3

Bo

x 3.5

: UK

supe

rmar

kets

caug

ht w

ith u

nsus

tain

able

tuna

54

Bo

x 3.6

: Fish

now

, scie

nce

late

r: O

ne o

f the

mos

t con

trov

ersia

l cer

tific

atio

ns in

MSC

hist

ory

55

Bo

x 3.7:

Key

pro

blem

s with

the

MSC

and

FOS

sche

mes

56

Bo

x 3.8

: Crit

ical

requ

irem

ents

to im

prov

e M

SC

58

Bo

x 3.9

: MSC

offe

rs an

alib

i to

reta

ilers

60

-61

Bo

x 4.1:

EU

Ecol

abel

for v

iscos

e: A

goo

d sc

hem

e in

nee

d of

an u

pdat

e 72-7

3

Bo

x 4.2

: Adi

tya B

irla G

roup

(ABG

): Gr

een

claim

s lac

k sub

stan

ce

80

Bo

x 5.1:

Par

tial s

chem

es: H

andl

e w

ith ca

re

89

Bo

x 5.2

: Wha

t can

be

done

bey

ond

cert

ifica

tion

to g

ear t

owar

ds su

stai

nabi

lity?

92

List

of fi

gure

s, ta

bles

and

box

es

7

Th

e fa

lse

pro

mis

e of

cer

tifi

cati

on

6

!"#$%&'(

)*+&#,(--./0

Face

d w

ith th

e gr

avity

of t

oday

ís en

viro

nmen

tal a

nd so

cial

pro

blem

s, co

nsum

ers a

re in

crea

sing

ly se

ek

ing

out s

usta

inab

le p

rodu

cts t

hat m

inim

ise

nega

tive

impa

cts o

n pe

ople

and

the

plan

et. I

n 20

15, a

surv

ey

of 3

0,00

0 co

nsum

ers i

n 60

coun

trie

s fou

nd th

at 6

6% o

f con

sum

ers a

re w

illin

g to

pay

mor

e fo

r pro

duct

s or

serv

ices

from

com

pani

es c

omm

itted

to p

ositi

ve so

cial

and

env

ironm

enta

l im

pact

(Nie

lsen

, 201

5). I

n th

e U

K al

one,

the

mar

ket f

or e

thic

al p

rodu

cts g

rew

to m

ore

than

£81

.3 b

illio

n in

201

7, w

ith d

eman

d fo

r su

stai

nabl

e fis

h gr

owin

g by

nea

rly 3

7% in

201

6 (E

thic

al C

onsu

mer

, 201

7). S

tudi

es a

lso

show

that

man

y sh

oppe

rs re

ly o

n la

bels

and

cer

tific

atio

ns a

s a

quic

k an

d ea

sy w

ay to

iden

tify

mor

e re

spon

sibl

y m

ade

prod

ucts

with

out h

avin

g to

bec

ome

supp

ly c

hain

exp

erts

(e.g

. Nie

lsen

, 201

4).

As

sust

aina

bilit

y go

es m

ains

trea

m, m

ore

and

mor

e co

mpa

nies

are

kee

n to

sho

w o

ff th

eir c

rede

ntia

ls

by a

dopt

ing

diffe

rent

type

s of

cer

tific

atio

n, la

bels

and

eth

ical

com

mitm

ents

. The

num

ber o

f diff

eren

t sc

hem

es a

nd v

olun

tary

initi

ativ

es h

as g

row

n ex

pone

ntia

lly in

rece

nt y

ears

. The

Eco

labe

l Ind

ex, t

he la

rg

est g

loba

l dire

ctor

y of

eco

labe

ls, c

urre

ntly

list

s ov

er 4

60 la

bels

in 2

5 di

ffere

nt s

ecto

rs (E

cola

bel I

ndex

, 20

18).

Mos

t of t

hese

hav

e em

erge

d in

the

past

two

deca

des.

But a

re th

ey a

ny g

ood?

Thi

s re

port

sho

ws

that

, rat

her t

han

bein

g an

acc

eler

ator

for p

ositi

ve c

hang

e, th

is ëf

lood

í of c

ertif

icat

ion

crea

tes

conf

usio

n fo

r con

sum

ers a

nd th

e in

dust

ry a

nd is

stan

ding

in th

e w

ay o

f gen

uine

ly su

stai

nabl

e co

nsum

ptio

n.

We

inve

stig

ated

vol

unta

ry in

itiat

ives

in th

ree

sect

ors

whe

re g

row

ing

cons

umpt

ion

and

unsu

stai

nabl

e so

urci

ng h

ave

caus

ed s

erio

us e

nviro

nmen

tal p

robl

ems:

palm

oil,

fish

erie

s an

d te

xtile

s. Pa

lm o

il is

one

of

the

lead

ing

driv

ers

of d

efor

esta

tion,

gre

enho

use

gas

(GH

G) e

mis

sion

s, fo

rest

fire

s an

d lo

ss o

f hab

itat

for c

hari

smat

ic a

nd e

ndan

gere

d sp

ecie

s su

ch a

s or

angu

tans

, ele

phan

ts a

nd rh

inos

. Ind

ustr

ial f

ishi

ng

has d

evas

tate

d th

e pl

anet

ís oc

eans

; nea

rly 9

0% o

f glo

bal f

ish

stoc

ks a

re e

ither

fully

fish

ed o

r ove

rfis

hed

(FAO

, 201

6a).

It is

als

o a

huge

ly w

aste

ful i

ndus

try.

Nea

rly 10

mill

ion

tonn

es o

f goo

d fis

h ar

e th

row

n ba

ck

into

the

oce

an e

very

yea

r, w

hile

dam

agin

g fis

hing

met

hods

hav

e w

reak

ed h

avoc

on

ecos

yste

ms:

gill

nets

com

mon

ly k

ill d

olph

ins,

porp

oise

s an

d w

hale

s, lo

nglin

e fis

hing

is a

par

ticul

ar p

robl

em fo

r bird

s an

d di

scar

ded

fishi

ng g

ear c

ontin

ues

to k

ill s

ea li

fe fo

r man

y de

cade

s in

wha

t is

calle

d ëg

host

fish

ingí.

La

st b

ut n

ot le

ast,

the

text

ile in

dust

ry u

ses

one

quar

ter o

f the

wor

ldís

chem

ical

s an

d ha

s be

en b

lam

ed

for 2

0% o

f glo

bal w

ater

pol

lutio

n, m

akin

g it

the

seco

nd b

igge

st p

ollu

ter o

f fre

shw

ater

on

the

plan

et. V

io

latio

ns o

f hum

an a

nd w

orke

rsí r

ight

s are

als

o ri

fe in

all

thre

e se

ctor

s.

In th

e ab

senc

e of

effe

ctiv

e na

tiona

l and

inte

rnat

iona

l leg

isla

tion

to ta

ckle

thes

e pr

oble

ms,

and

with

in

crea

sing

ly g

loba

lised

sup

ply

chai

ns, v

olun

tary

sch

emes

are

see

n as

a c

onve

nien

t way

to fi

ll th

e ga

p. In

Exec

utiv

e su

mm

ary

an

d ke

y fin

ding

s

The

mar

ket f

or su

stai

nabl

e

and

ethi

cal p

rodu

cts i

s

grow

ing.

(cred

itPe

ter B

ond/

Unsp

lash

)

98

Th

e fa

lse

pro

mis

e of

cer

tifi

cati

on

this

repo

rt, w

e an

alys

e th

e co

ntex

t in

whi

ch s

uch

volu

ntar

y in

itiat

ives

em

erge

, wha

t the

ir ro

le is

and

ho

w th

ey se

t out

to a

ddre

ss so

me

of th

e ch

alle

nges

iden

tifie

d. W

e in

vest

igat

e an

arr

ay o

f vol

unta

ry in

itia

tives

tha

t pr

ovid

e a

com

pany

, pro

duct

or

serv

ice

with

a s

usta

inab

ility

end

orse

men

t, ra

ngin

g fr

om

prod

uct l

abel

s to

indu

stry

wid

e in

itiat

ives

aim

ing

to im

prov

e th

e en

viro

nmen

tal p

erfo

rman

ce o

f a se

cto

r as

a w

hole

. We

revi

ew k

ey s

chem

es in

eac

h of

the

thr

ee s

ecto

rs, e

valu

atin

g ho

w t

hey

wor

k, t

heir

achi

evem

ents

and

thei

r fai

lure

s. O

ur fo

cus i

s mos

tly e

nviro

nmen

tal i

ssue

s, al

thou

gh in

som

e ca

ses w

e al

so lo

ok at

repo

rts o

n hu

man

righ

ts v

iola

tions

.

This

repo

rt c

omes

at a

tim

e w

hen

man

y of

thes

e sc

hem

es a

re u

nder

pre

ssur

e to

refo

rm fr

om N

GO

s and

sc

ient

ists

ñ an

d, in

som

e ca

ses,

even

pro

gres

sive

com

pani

es. B

ut d

espi

te th

e fa

ct th

at th

e tid

e is

turn

ing,

th

ere

is s

till a

mas

sive

pus

h fo

r cer

tific

atio

n ñ a

nd n

ot a

lway

s fo

r the

righ

t rea

sons

. Thi

s re

port

dem

on

stra

tes

that

man

y of

thes

e sc

hem

es a

re b

eing

use

d as

a c

over

, whi

ch m

akes

it m

ore

diff

icul

t for

NG

Os

and

acad

emic

s to

que

stio

n th

e su

stai

nabi

lity

of s

ome

prod

ucts

and

com

pani

es. F

or e

xam

ple,

McD

on

aldí

s has

use

d th

e M

arin

e St

ewar

dshi

p Co

unci

l (M

SC) l

abel

to d

efle

ct c

ritic

ism

ove

r the

sust

aina

bilit

y of

th

e N

ew Z

eala

nd H

oki F

ishe

ry, w

hich

has

bee

n cr

itici

sed

for i

ts h

igh

disc

ard

leve

ls a

nd tr

awlin

g m

eth

ods (

McG

rath

, 201

6). G

over

nmen

ts a

re a

lso

incr

easi

ngly

usi

ng sc

hem

es a

s evi

denc

e of

sust

aina

bilit

y, a

s de

mon

stra

ted

by th

e us

e of

cer

tifie

d pa

lm o

il to

com

ply

with

bio

fuel

s ta

rget

s, de

spite

dou

bts

abou

t its

su

cces

s in

stop

ping

def

ores

tatio

n. T

he fo

llow

ing

sect

ion

pres

ents

the

key

findi

ngs o

f thi

s rep

ort.

1"#2

&0#3*45*46,

!"#

"$%&'

()

*&)

'

In 2

015,

14%

of g

loba

l sea

food

pro

duct

ion

was

cer

tifie

d ñ u

p fr

om o

nly

0.5%

nea

rly a

dec

ade

earli

er. C

er

tifie

dsu

stai

nabl

e w

ild c

atch

acc

ount

s fo

r 20%

of g

loba

l wild

cat

ch s

uppl

y an

d ha

s be

en g

row

ing

ten

times

fast

er th

an c

onve

ntio

nal s

eafo

od p

rodu

ctio

n (P

otts

et a

l., 2

016)

. Thi

s rep

ort f

ocus

es o

n tw

o of

the

bigg

est s

chem

es: F

riend

of t

he S

ea (F

OS)

and

the

MSC

, whi

ch c

ertif

ied

over

9 m

illio

n m

etric

tonn

es o

f fis

h in

201

5. O

ther

sche

mes

are

rela

tivel

y in

sign

ifica

nt in

com

pari

son.

Bot

h th

e M

SC a

nd F

OS

cert

ifica

tio

n sc

hem

es c

over

the

proh

ibiti

on o

f des

truc

tive

fishi

ng te

chni

ques

, man

agem

ent o

f by

catc

h, e

nvi

ronm

enta

l ris

k, im

pact

ass

essm

ent a

nd th

e m

anag

emen

t of s

tock

regu

latio

n, a

mon

g ot

her i

ssue

s.

MSC

and

FO

S w

ere

both

foun

d to

be

cert

ifyin

g nu

mer

ous f

ishe

ries a

s sus

tain

able

ñ ev

en w

hen

they

ove

rfis

hed,

had

ver

y hi

gh le

vels

of b

yca

tch

and,

in so

me

case

s, w

ere

even

at o

dds w

ith n

atio

nal l

egis

latio

n.

The

MSC

has

als

o be

en fo

und

to ce

rtify

a n

umbe

r of f

ishe

ries i

n a

ëcom

part

men

talis

edí a

ppro

ach,

whi

ch

mea

ns a

ves

sel a

nd c

rew

can

use

thei

r net

s to

catc

h tu

na ës

usta

inab

lyí (

rece

ivin

g M

SC ce

rtifi

catio

n), a

nd

then

ñ on

the

sam

e da

y an

d us

ing

the

sam

e eq

uipm

ent ñ

hau

l in

tuna

alo

ng w

ith p

rote

cted

spe

cies

: a

prac

tice

that

is u

nsus

tain

able

and

ther

efor

e no

nce

rtifi

ed. A

lthou

gh so

me

cert

ifica

tion

expe

rts (

Froe

se

and

Proe

lss,

2012

) say

cer

tifie

d se

afoo

d is

still

a b

ette

r cho

ice

(bec

ause

thos

e fis

herie

s are

mor

e lik

ely

to

refle

ct h

ealth

y, m

oder

atel

y ex

ploi

ted

stoc

ks a

nd to

ens

ure

labe

lled

fish

has

not b

een

caug

ht il

lega

lly),

criti

cs c

harg

e th

at th

e M

SC s

yste

m h

as c

ompr

omis

ed it

s st

anda

rds

to k

eep

up w

ith b

oom

ing

dem

and

from

Wal

Mar

t1 an

d ot

her r

etai

lers

. Boo

min

g de

man

d fo

r sus

tain

able

sea

food

, and

the

desi

re to

mee

t it,

are

act

ivel

y th

reat

enin

g th

e M

SCís

cred

ibili

ty, a

s th

ere

are

not e

noug

h tr

uly

sust

aina

ble

fishe

ries

to

supp

ly d

eman

d.2

1 W

alM

art c

omm

itted

to u

sing o

nly M

SCc

ertif

ied

sour

ces b

y 201

1, bu

t stil

l had

nít f

ulfil

led

this

com

mitm

ent b

y 201

5, d

ue to

lack

of s

uffic

ient

cert

ified

supp

ly

(Pot

ts e

t al.,

201

6).

2 Th

e MSC

actu

ally

has

a sp

ecifi

c tar

get:

to m

ake 2

0% o

f all w

ild ca

ught

fish

MSC

cer

tifie

d by

202

0, an

d 30

% b

y 203

0 (u

p fro

m th

e cur

rent

12%

).

FOS

does

not

hav

e m

uch

supp

ort f

rom

NG

Os a

nd th

e sc

ient

ific c

omm

unity

due

to it

s lac

k of

tran

spar

en

cy a

nd st

akeh

olde

r inv

olve

men

t; he

nce,

it sh

ould

pro

babl

y be

abo

lishe

d. M

SC, w

hich

look

s bet

ter o

n pa

pe

r, ha

s com

e un

der a

lot o

f crit

icis

m fr

om N

GO

s and

scie

ntis

ts a

nd is

als

o lo

sing

cre

dibi

lity

in th

e ey

es

of m

any

reta

ilers

. In

a la

std

itch

atte

mpt

to re

form

the

sche

me,

man

y do

zens

of N

GO

s sen

t a le

tter

to th

e M

SC B

oard

in Ja

nuar

y 20

18, r

eque

stin

g th

at it

del

iver

on

com

mitm

ents

to fi

nally

mak

e ur

gent

lyn

eed

ed re

form

s to

bot

h th

e st

anda

rd a

nd th

e ce

rtifi

catio

n pr

oces

s its

elf.

The

aim

is to

ree

stab

lish

MSC

as

a go

ld st

anda

rd in

seaf

ood

cert

ifica

tion.

Unl

ess t

his h

appe

ns w

ithin

a sh

ort t

imef

ram

e (th

e de

adlin

e gi

ven

in th

e le

tter

is th

e en

d of

201

8), N

GO

s m

ay b

e fo

rced

to re

com

men

d th

at th

e pu

blic

, par

tner

org

ani

satio

ns, p

rodu

cers

and

reta

ilers

mov

e aw

ay fr

om s

eafo

od la

bels

alto

geth

er (Z

iegl

er, 2

017)

. Unt

il (a

nd if

) th

is s

chem

e is

refo

rmed

, con

sum

ers

and

rest

aura

nts

need

to fi

nd o

ther

tool

s to

ena

ble

them

to s

ourc

e ge

nuin

ely

sust

aina

ble

fish

that

cont

ribut

es to

the

long

term

sust

aina

bilit

y an

d he

alth

of t

he o

cean

s and

liv

elih

oods

conn

ecte

d to

it.

!"!

"$+,

-.$/

&-

Palm

oil

is n

ow so

com

mon

that

is e

stim

ated

to b

e pr

esen

t in

half

of a

ll su

perm

arke

t pro

duct

s (A

mne

sty

Inte

rnat

iona

l, 20

16a)

. In

addi

tion,

a t

hird

of a

ll bi

odie

sel b

urne

d in

car

s an

d tr

ucks

in t

he E

U is

now

es

timat

ed to

be

palm

oil

(Tra

nspo

rt &

Env

ironm

ent,

2017

). Si

nce

palm

oil

culti

vatio

n is

cen

tred

aro

und

trop

ical

are

as, i

t is

in d

irect

com

petit

ion

with

tro

pica

l rai

nfor

ests

for

land

, and

is o

ne o

f the

lead

ing

driv

ers

of d

efor

esta

tion.

Bes

ides

mas

sive

bio

dive

rsity

loss

, def

ores

tatio

n is

als

o re

spon

sibl

e fo

r la

rge

amou

nts o

f GH

G e

mis

sion

s. In

done

sia

alon

e, w

hich

is th

e la

rges

t pal

m o

ilpr

oduc

ing

coun

try,

is ra

nked

se

cond

in th

e w

orld

for t

ropi

cal d

efor

esta

tion;

land

use

cha

nge

and

peat

land

dra

inin

g ar

e re

spon

sibl

e fo

r 79%

of I

ndon

esia

n GH

G e

mis

sion

s (W

RI,

n.d.

). W

hile

Indo

nesi

a an

d M

alay

sia

curr

ently

repr

esen

t 85

% o

f glo

bal p

alm

oil

prod

uctio

n, th

e pl

anta

tions

are

qui

ckly

mov

ing

into

new

are

as a

nd c

ount

ries,

such

as i

n A

fric

a an

d La

tin A

mer

ica,

lead

ing

to si

mila

r pro

blem

s the

re.

Bott

om tr

awle

r in

the

Bare

nts S

ea

(cred

itNi

ck C

obbi

ng/

Gree

npea

ce)

1110

Th

e fa

lse

pro

mis

e of

cer

tifi

cati

on

Foun

ded

in 2

004,

the

Rou

ndta

ble

on S

usta

inab

le P

alm

Oil

(RSP

O) h

as b

ecom

e th

e m

ost

prom

inen

t vo

lunt

ary

palm

oil

cert

ifica

tion

sche

me

wor

ldw

ide,

now

cert

ifyin

g 2.

6 m

illio

n he

ctar

es ñ

or a

roun

d 19

%

of g

loba

l pal

m o

il pr

oduc

tion

(RSP

O, 2

017)

. Sin

ce th

en, o

ther

cert

ifica

tion

initi

ativ

es in

the p

alm

oil

sect

or

have

em

erge

d, le

adin

g to

con

tinuo

us g

row

th in

the

amou

nt o

f cer

tifie

d pa

lm o

il on

the

mar

ket.

Thes

e in

clud

e In

tern

atio

nal S

usta

inab

ility

and

Car

bon

Cert

ifica

tion

(ISCC

) and

the

Roun

dtab

le o

n Su

stai

nabl

e Bi

omat

eria

ls (R

SB),

whi

ch m

ostly

focu

s on

pal

m o

il us

ed in

bio

fuel

s, an

d th

e R

ainf

ores

t Alli

ance

(RA)

, w

hich

mos

tly fo

cuse

s on

sust

aina

ble

agric

ultu

re. T

he M

alay

sian

and

Indo

nesi

an g

over

nmen

ts h

ave

also

se

t up

thei

r ow

n sc

hem

es: M

alay

sian

Sus

tain

able

Pal

m O

il (M

SPO)

and

Indo

nesi

an S

usta

inab

le P

alm

Oil

(ISPO

). IS

PO c

ertif

icat

ion,

whi

ch is

now

a re

quire

men

t for

Indo

nesi

an p

lant

atio

ns, h

as ra

pidl

y in

crea

sed

in re

cent

yea

rs to

cove

r 16.

7% o

f all

plan

tatio

ns, o

r 1.9

mill

ion

ha (I

ndon

esia

Inve

stm

ents

, 201

7). H

owev

er,

as th

is re

port

show

s, IS

PO re

pres

ents

a ra

ce to

the

bott

om, a

s it m

erel

y re

quire

s com

plia

nce

with

alre

ady

wea

k In

done

sian

legi

slat

ion.

This

repo

rt sh

ows t

hat n

one

of th

e sc

hem

es h

as b

een

effe

ctiv

e at

slow

ing

dow

n de

fore

stat

ion,

pea

tland

dr

aini

ng o

r the

loss

of b

iodi

vers

ity. W

hile

RSP

O is

oft

en re

ferr

ed to

as

the

best

sch

eme

in th

e se

ctor

, it

has s

ever

al sh

ortc

omin

gs; m

ost n

otab

ly, i

t allo

ws t

he c

onve

rsio

n of

sec

onda

ry fo

rest

s and

the

drai

ning

of

pea

tland

s, it

has

not

prev

ente

d hu

man

rig

hts

viol

atio

ns a

nd it

doe

s no

t re

quire

GH

G e

mis

sion

s re

duct

ions

. A

ll of

the

sch

emes

inv

estig

ated

als

o ha

ve c

onsi

sten

cy i

ssue

s: th

ey o

ffer

num

erou

s di

ffere

nt s

tand

ards

with

in e

ach

sche

me.

The

se ëm

odul

esí h

ave

diffe

rent

leve

ls o

f am

bitio

n (ta

ilore

d to

the

mar

ket o

f des

tinat

ion)

and

diff

eren

t tra

ceab

ility

requ

irem

ents

(ran

ging

from

full

segr

egat

ion

of

cert

ified

pro

duct

s to

just

selli

ng g

reen

cer

tific

ates

via

trad

ing

plat

form

s). R

SB a

nd IS

CC h

ave

deve

lope

d se

vera

l mod

ules

, dep

endi

ng o

n w

hich

bio

fuel

mar

ket

the

com

pany

wan

ts t

o se

ll to

. In

resp

onse

to

criti

cism

, RSP

O h

as d

evel

oped

a v

olun

tary

add

on

mod

ule

calle

d RS

PO N

EXT,

whi

ch ra

ises

the

bar o

n su

stai

nabi

lity

by p

rohi

bitin

g pe

atla

nd a

nd s

econ

dary

fore

st c

onve

rsio

n. T

he fi

rst 2

,000

tonn

es o

f thi

s ce

rtifi

ed p

alm

oil

reac

hed

the m

arke

t in

Febr

uary

201

8, b

ut w

ere s

old

on th

e tra

ding

pla

tfor

m P

alm

Trac

e,

whi

ch o

ffers

no

trac

eabi

lity

back

to th

e so

urce

(RSP

O, 2

018)

. Thi

s lac

k of

trac

eabi

lity

is a

maj

or p

robl

em

(and

is c

ritic

ised

in th

is re

port

) bec

ause

it re

duce

s the

ince

ntiv

e fo

r com

pani

es to

take

resp

onsi

bilit

y fo

r th

eir o

wn

oper

atio

ns fu

rthe

r dow

n th

e su

pply

cha

in.

The

repo

rt a

lso

revi

ewed

the

sche

mes

set u

p by

the

Mal

aysi

an a

nd In

done

sian

gov

ernm

ents

, whi

ch a

re

now

tryi

ng to

mer

ge th

eir t

wo

sche

mes

into

one

wea

k st

anda

rd a

nd so

lidify

it v

ia tr

ade

agre

emen

ts a

nd

coop

erat

ion

with

oth

er p

alm

oil

prod

ucin

g co

untr

ies.

This

is a

bla

tant

effo

rt to

ëgre

enw

ashí

the

sect

or

and

allo

w fu

rthe

r exp

ansi

on in

to n

ew a

reas

, and

is d

riven

by

cont

inui

ng g

row

th in

dem

and

for b

iofu

els

and

proc

esse

d fo

od p

rodu

cts.

In li

ght o

f thi

s, w

e ca

ll fo

r act

ion

to re

duce

dem

and

for p

alm

oil,

suc

h as

di

tchi

ng b

iofu

els

targ

ets,

as w

ell a

s ch

anne

lling

new

pla

ntat

ions

into

non

fore

sted

are

as b

y pu

ttin

g in

pl

ace

a st

rong

mor

ator

ium

on

palm

oil

expa

nsio

n to

fore

sts a

nd p

eatla

nds.

Mos

t sch

emes

in th

is se

ctor

sh

ould

be

abol

ishe

d in

ligh

t of t

heir

failu

res o

n m

ultip

le fr

onts

.

2.3.

Tex

tile

s

The

text

ile s

ecto

r has

see

n a

prol

ifera

tion

of v

olun

tary

sch

emes

and

gre

en la

bels

ñ o

ver 1

00 a

re li

sted

in

the

Ecol

abel

Inde

x, a

nd s

ever

al o

ther

initi

ativ

es, s

uch

as th

e H

igg

Inde

x, a

re a

naly

sed

in th

is re

port

. R

aw m

ater

ial s

ourc

ing,

man

ufac

turi

ng a

nd p

roce

ssin

g of

text

iles

are

larg

ely

loca

ted

in c

ount

ries

with

ve

ry lo

w w

ages

and

wea

k en

viro

nmen

tal r

egul

atio

ns, w

hich

has

his

toric

ally

led

to p

robl

ems,

rang

ing

from

env

ironm

enta

l pol

lutio

n w

ith to

xic

chem

ical

s to

the

expl

oita

tion

of w

orke

rs. T

his

repo

rt fo

cuse

s on

sch

emes

that

set

out

to a

ddre

ss th

e en

viro

nmen

tal p

erfo

rman

ce o

f the

text

ile in

dust

ry a

s a

who

le,

and

at k

ey s

chem

es c

over

ing

two

fibre

type

s: co

tton

and

vis

cose

. We

foun

d th

at, d

espi

te th

e pr

olife

rat

ion

of d

iffer

ent i

nitia

tives

, the

re is

no

over

arch

ing

sche

me

that

sat

isfa

ctor

y ad

dres

ses

sust

aina

bilit

y pe

rfor

man

ce a

cros

s th

e w

hole

sup

ply

chai

n. T

he E

U E

cola

bel c

over

s di

ffere

nt ty

pes

of te

xtile

s us

ing

a lif

ecy

cle

appr

oach

ñ bu

t in

the

case

of v

isco

se, i

t doe

s not

cov

er a

ll pa

ram

eter

s, no

tabl

y w

ater

pol

lutio

n in

dica

tors

dur

ing

the

man

ufac

turi

ng o

f vis

cose

fibr

es.

Palm

oil p

rodu

cts

by P

roct

er &

Gam

ble

(cred

it Fr

ed D

ott/

Gree

npea

ce)

Palm

oil p

rodu

ctio

n

is a

lead

ing

caus

e of

defo

rest

atio

n

(cred

itUl

et If

ansa

sti/

Gree

npea

ce)

1312

Th

e fa

lse

pro

mis

e of

cer

tifi

cati

on

The

Hig

g In

dex,

whi

ch is

wid

ely

used

by

fash

ion

bran

ds a

nd c

ount

s sev

eral

NG

Os a

mon

g its

mem

bers

, is

oft

en re

ferr

ed to

as a

key

tool

for i

mpr

ovin

g th

e en

viro

nmen

tal p

erfo

rman

ce o

f the

sect

or a

s a w

hole

. H

owev

er, t

his r

epor

t sho

ws t

hat i

t has

man

y sh

ortc

omin

gs; n

amel

y, a

relia

nce

on se

lfas

sess

men

t and

a

lack

of t

rans

pare

ncy,

whi

ch w

ould

be

a rea

l inc

entiv

e fo

r fas

hion

bra

nds t

o co

ntin

uous

ly im

prov

e. W

hile

th

e H

igg

Inde

x ha

s pr

omis

ed fu

ll tr

ansp

aren

cy b

y 20

20, i

t rem

ains

to b

e se

en h

ow th

orou

gh th

is w

ill

be. A

sim

ilar t

ool,

MA

DE-

BYís

Mod

eTra

cker

, als

o sc

ores

bra

nds

on th

eir e

nviro

nmen

tal a

nd s

ocia

l per

fo

rman

ce ñ

and

suffe

rs fr

om in

com

plet

enes

s, al

low

ing

bran

ds to

pic

k an

d ch

oose

the

area

s on

whi

ch

they

are

ass

esse

d. T

his r

epor

t als

o ev

alua

tes d

iffer

ent t

ypes

of O

EKO-T

EX S

tand

ards

ñ no

t onl

y th

e O

EKO

-TEX

Sta

ndar

d 10

0 m

odul

e, w

hich

dea

ls w

ith c

hem

ical

s in

the

final

pro

duct

, but

als

o th

e M

AD

E IN

GR

EEN

and

Sus

tain

able

Tex

tile

Prod

uctio

n (S

TeP)

mod

ules

, whi

ch d

eal w

ith c

hem

ical

s in

the

prod

uc

tion

proc

ess.

The

repo

rt ta

kes

a cl

oser

look

at s

chem

es fo

r cot

ton

and

visc

ose,

bas

ed o

n th

e po

tent

ial f

or th

ese

two

fibre

s to

be p

rodu

ced

in a

n en

viro

nmen

tally

frie

ndlie

r way

. On

cott

on, i

t was

foun

d th

at a

wea

k sc

hem

e ñ t

he B

ette

r Cot

ton

Initi

ativ

e (B

CI),

whi

ch a

llow

s for

the

use

of to

xic c

hem

ical

s and

gen

etic

ally

mod

ified

(G

M) s

eeds

ñ ha

s gr

own

very

rapi

dly

at th

e ex

pens

e of

org

anic

cot

ton.

A re

cent

inve

stig

atio

n br

oadc

ast

on F

renc

h te

levi

sion

(Luc

et, 2

017)

, sho

wed

how

BCI

has

ove

rtak

en o

rgan

ic c

otto

nís

mar

ket s

hare

and

th

at m

any

farm

ers

have

sw

itche

d fr

om o

rgan

ic to

GM

cot

ton

as a

resu

lt of

the

ir pa

rtic

ipat

ion

in B

CI.

Even

som

e w

elli

nten

tione

d an

d su

cces

sful

sch

emes

(suc

h as

the

Can

opyS

tyle

initi

ativ

e, w

hich

ad

dres

ses

raw

mat

eria

l sou

rcin

g in

vis

cose

pro

duct

ion)

can

pro

vide

a m

isle

adin

g pi

ctur

e, b

ecau

se t

hey

only

cove

r one

par

t of t

he su

pply

cha

in. A

s the

Can

opy

initi

ativ

e on

ly co

vers

the

sour

cing

of w

ood

pulp

, bu

t not

the

use

of c

hem

ical

s in

the

man

ufac

turi

ng o

f vis

cose

, it c

an g

ive

com

pani

es th

at a

re c

ontin

uing

to

pol

lute

the

envi

ronm

ent a

n un

just

ified

ëgre

en g

low

í ñ w

hich

is th

en o

ften

use

d as

a se

lling

poi

nt w

ith

cust

omer

s.

7"#8

9&#:.0

#3;/:

./5#3;/#'&/)*3*'.)*;4

The

mai

n co

nclu

sion

of t

his

repo

rt is

that

cer

tific

atio

n ha

s lo

st it

s w

ay a

nd th

at it

s co

ntrib

utio

n to

cre

at

ing

a m

ore

sust

aina

ble

wor

ld is

min

ute.

We

argu

e th

at it

can

eve

n ca

use

activ

e da

mag

e; it

low

ers

the

bar t

o ce

rtify

hig

her p

rodu

ct v

olum

es a

nd in

man

y ca

ses

fails

to e

nfor

ce g

reat

er tr

ansp

aren

cy, t

here

by

prov

idin

g co

ver f

or u

nsus

tain

able

com

pani

es a

nd p

ract

ices

. If t

here

is to

be

a ro

le fo

r cer

tific

atio

n in

the

tran

sitio

n to

a s

usta

inab

le e

cono

my,

it m

ust u

nder

go s

ome

serio

us re

form

s. Fi

rst o

f all,

the

maj

ority

of

sche

mes

in th

e th

ree

sect

ors

exam

ined

her

e sh

ould

be

abol

ishe

d, b

ecau

se th

ey a

re le

adin

g to

con

fu

sion

and

ëlab

el s

hopp

ingí

, whi

ch w

ater

s do

wn

the

ambi

tion

of c

ertif

icat

ion

in g

ener

al. S

econ

d, c

ertif

ica

tion

sche

mes

sho

uld

aim

for t

he h

ighe

st p

ossi

ble

leve

l of a

mbi

tion

ñ no

t dev

elop

diff

eren

t mod

ules

w

ith d

iffer

ing

requ

irem

ents

, bas

ed o

n th

eir t

arge

t mar

kets

and

to sa

tisfy

diff

eren

t com

pani

esí p

riorit

ies.

Why

has

RSP

O d

evel

oped

a vo

lunt

ary

add

on m

odul

e (R

SPO

NEX

T) to

driv

e m

ore

sust

aina

ble

prac

tices

, w

hich

will

affe

ct o

nly

a sm

all s

hare

of s

uppl

y, ra

ther

than

pro

hibi

ting

all e

xpan

sion

of p

alm

oil

to fo

rest

ed

are

as a

nd p

eatla

nds?

Thi

s pie

cem

eal a

ppro

ach

has t

o ch

ange

.

The

gene

ral p

robl

em w

ith ce

rtifi

catio

n is

that

all

thes

e sc

hem

es co

me

in th

e co

ntex

t of g

row

ing

dem

and

for

com

mod

ities

, as

wel

l as

insu

ffic

ient

nat

iona

l and

inte

rnat

iona

l reg

ulat

ion

to p

rote

ct t

he e

nviro

nm

ent a

nd s

afeg

uard

hum

an ri

ghts

. The

se s

chem

es a

lso

exis

t with

in th

e fr

amew

ork

of g

loba

lised

pro

du

ctio

n an

d co

nsum

ptio

n, w

here

com

plex

and

opa

que

supp

ly c

hain

s of

ten

obsc

ure

rele

vant

info

rma

tion

and

redu

ce th

e le

vel o

f ext

erna

l scr

utin

y. C

ertif

icat

ion

exis

ts to

add

ress

this

pro

blem

, in

part

ñ bu

t th

erei

n lie

s the

pro

blem

: for

all

thre

e se

ctor

s fea

ture

d in

this

repo

rt, m

ost o

f the

sche

mes

onl

y ce

rtify

a

very

smal

l par

t of o

vera

ll pr

oduc

tion

volu

mes

, or o

nly

one

aspe

ct o

f the

ëpro

blem

í (e.

g. o

nly

one

part

of

the

supp

ly c

hain

, onl

y ch

emic

als u

sed

at a

spec

ific p

art o

f the

pro

duct

ion

proc

ess,

etc.

). Sc

hem

es sh

ould

be

com

e m

ore

com

preh

ensi

ve a

nd a

im to

cov

er th

e w

hole

life

cyc

le o

f the

pro

duct

ñ as

is, f

or e

xam

ple,

th

e in

tent

ion

of th

e EU

Eco

labe

l.

Sche

mes

mus

t als

o be

sel

ectiv

e ab

out t

heir

mem

bers

hip,

with

hig

h en

try

requ

irem

ents

and

a c

ontin

uou

s driv

e fo

r im

prov

emen

t. Cu

rren

tly, s

chem

es a

re a

ll to

o of

ten

focu

sed

on g

ettin

g al

l ind

ustr

y pl

ayer

s on

boa

rd, o

r try

ing

to lo

wer

thei

r bar

to m

eet t

he g

row

ing

dem

and

for c

ertif

ied

prod

ucts

, whi

ch le

ads t

o a

race

to th

e bo

ttom

. Thi

s re

port

cal

ls fo

r sig

nific

ant r

efor

ms,

whi

ch s

houl

d be

bas

ed o

n th

e fo

llow

ing

four

pri

ncip

les:

Hidd

en d

ischa

rge

pipe

com

ing

from

a te

xtile

fact

ory i

n Th

aila

nd

(cred

itJo

hn N

ovis/

Gree

npea

ce)

Parm

arkh

edi w

omen

, Ind

ia,

colle

ctin

g w

ater

supp

lied

by

Gras

im si

nce

Nove

mbe

r 201

7 (th

e

villa

ge fe

ll ill i

n O

ctob

er 2

017)

.

1514

Th

e fa

lse

pro

mis

e of

cer

tifi

cati

on

1.

Tran

spar

ency

, whi

ch in

clud

es a

vaila

bilit

y of

crit

eria

and

rep

ortin

g on

the

per

form

ance

of

diffe

rent

mem

bers

of t

he sc

hem

e, a

nd e

ncou

rage

s sup

ply

chai

n tr

ansp

aren

cy.

2.

Inde

pend

ence

, whi

ch in

clud

es re

mov

ing

conf

licts

of i

nter

est,

such

as

deco

uplin

g m

embe

rsh

ip re

venu

e fr

om c

ertif

icat

ion

and

com

plia

nce

outc

omes

, and

ens

urin

g in

depe

nden

t bod

ies

set t

he st

anda

rds.

3.

Hol

isti

c app

roac

h w

ith

high

trac

eabi

lity,

aim

ing

to co

ver t

he w

hole

life

cyc

le o

f a p

rodu

ct,

and

not a

llow

ing

com

pani

es to

pic

k an

d ch

oose

crit

eria

or t

o be

cert

ified

with

cond

ition

s.

4.

Aim

ing

for c

onti

nuou

s im

prov

emen

ts, w

hich

incl

udes

sett

ing

the

bar h

igh

enou

gh to

onl

y ce

rtify

com

pani

es th

at d

emon

stra

bly

go a

bove

and

bey

ond

aver

age

perf

orm

ance

and

are

com

m

itted

to c

ontin

uous

impr

ovem

ent.

Sche

mes

shou

ld a

lso

be sc

ienc

eba

sed,

refle

ct re

gula

tory

im

prov

emen

ts a

nd p

reve

nt b

acks

lidin

g.

Whi

le v

olun

tary

initi

ativ

es a

nd c

ertif

icat

ion

can

play

a ro

le in

driv

ing

mor

e su

stai

nabl

e pr

actic

es, t

his

repo

rt a

lso

conc

lude

s th

at th

ey c

anno

t ñ an

d sh

ould

not

ñ re

plac

e go

vern

men

tal a

nd in

tern

atio

nal r

eg

ulat

ions

. The

repo

rt p

ropo

ses s

ever

al m

easu

res t

hat g

over

nmen

ts, c

ompa

nies

and

con

sum

ers c

an ta

ke,

in th

e ab

senc

e of

effe

ctiv

e ce

rtifi

catio

n sc

hem

es, a

nd w

hat c

an b

e do

ne to

put

all

thre

e se

ctor

s on

a mor

e su

stai

nabl

e tr

ack.

Thi

s in

clud

es: p

riorit

isin

g sm

alls

cale

sus

tain

able

fish

erie

s; es

tabl

ishi

ng m

arin

e re

se

rves

and

sci

ence

bas

ed fi

shin

g qu

otas

, and

enf

orci

ng th

em in

the

fishe

ries

sect

or; a

mor

ator

ium

on

defo

rest

atio

n an

d pe

atla

nd d

rain

ing

in th

e pa

lm o

il se

ctor

; and

est

ablis

hing

zer

opo

llutio

n po

licie

s and

gr

eate

r sup

ply

chai

n tr

ansp

aren

cy in

the

text

ile se

ctor

.

Thes

e m

easu

res a

re u

ltim

atel

y al

so b

enef

icia

l for

com

pani

es o

pera

ting

in th

ese

sect

ors,

as th

ey g

uara

nte

e th

e lo

ngte

rm v

iabi

lity

of th

eir b

usin

ess

oper

atio

ns. I

t is

evid

ent t

hat w

ithou

t hea

lthy

ocea

ns th

ere

can

be n

o fis

h fo

r hu

man

con

sum

ptio

n, a

nd t

hat

with

out

heal

thy

fore

sts

we

risk

dan

gero

us c

limat

e ch

ange

, whi

ch w

ill a

ffect

all

agric

ultu

ral p

rodu

ctio

n ev

eryw

here

. For

the

fash

ion

indu

stry

, the

lack

of

acce

ss to

cle

an a

nd su

ffic

ient

wat

er su

pplie

s rep

rese

nts a

maj

or b

usin

ess r

isk,

whi

ch is

alre

ady

affe

ctin

g th

eir o

pera

tions

. Ind

ustr

y m

ust r

ealis

e th

at th

e sc

ale

of th

e ch

alle

nge

requ

ires

actio

ns th

at g

o be

yond

th

e w

eak

requ

irem

ents

of v

olun

tary

initi

ativ

es, a

nd li

ve u

p to

its

own

com

mitm

ents

and

mar

ket d

em

ands

for g

reat

er su

stai

nabi

lity.

Chap

ter 1

. Ab

out s

tand

ards

!"!"#<4)/;5(')*;4

Out

side

of g

over

nmen

t reg

ulat

ion,

ther

e is

a w

hole

uni

vers

e of

priv

ate,

vol

unta

ry s

chem

es a

nd in

itia

tives

to h

elp

cons

umer

s m

ake

envi

ronm

enta

lly fr

iend

ly p

urch

asin

g de

cisi

ons.

Thes

e ar

e de

sign

ed to

de

liver

impr

ovem

ents

in co

mpa

nies

í env

ironm

enta

l and

soci

al p

ract

ices

; at t

heir

best

, the

y re

pres

ent a

n ea

sy w

ay fo

r con

sum

ers

to id

entif

y re

spon

sibl

y m

anuf

actu

red

prod

ucts

and

mor

e su

stai

nabl

e se

rvic

es

with

out h

avin

g to

bec

ome

expe

rts

on e

ach

and

ever

y pr

oble

mat

ic is

sue

in a

giv

en s

uppl

y ch

ain.

Thi

s re

port

inve

stig

ates

an

arra

y of

vol

unta

ry in

itiat

ives

that

pro

vide

a c

ompa

ny, p

rodu

ct o

r ser

vice

with

a

sust

aina

bilit

y en

dors

emen

t, ra

ngin

g fr

om p

rodu

ct la

bels

to in

dust

ryw

ide

initi

ativ

es. I

t fin

ds th

at v

ol

unta

ry s

usta

inab

ility

cer

tific

atio

n ha

s la

rgel

y be

en d

erai

led

from

its

orig

inal

pro

mis

e an

d th

at, i

n th

e va

st m

ajor

ity o

f cas

es, c

onsu

mer

s are

not

get

ting

wha

t the

y pa

y fo

r with

thei

r wel

lint

entio

ned

purc

has

ing

deci

sion

s.

How

did

we

com

e to

this

pla

ce?

The

shor

t ans

wer

is th

at c

urre

nt le

vels

of g

loba

l pro

duct

ion

and

con

sum

ptio

n ar

e at

odd

s w

ith a

ttem

pts

to p

rote

ct t

he e

nviro

nmen

t. N

eolib

eral

ideo

logy

, whi

ch fa

vour

s co

mpe

titio

n an

d fr

ee tr

ade,

und

erm

ines

the

perc

eive

d ut

ility

of g

over

nmen

t reg

ulat

ion

in c

ondu

ctin

g so

cial

ly a

nd e

nviro

nmen

tally

resp

onsi

ble

busi

ness

. In

the

abse

nce

of b

indi

ng le

gal m

easu

res,

volu

ntar

y m

echa

nism

s dr

iven

by

part

ners

hips

bet

wee

n la

rge

corp

orat

ions

and

non

gov

ernm

enta

l org

anis

atio

ns

(NG

Os)

coul

d be

seen

as a

goo

d re

spon

se to

the

prob

lem

of e

nviro

nmen

tal d

estr

uctio

n.

Aga

inst

this

bac

kdro

p, th

is re

port

focu

ses o

n th

ree

sect

ors n

otor

ious

for c

ausi

ng e

xten

sive

har

m to

the

envi

ronm

ent:

palm

oil,

fish

erie

s an

d te

xtile

s. In

all

of t

hese

sec

tors

, we

find

that

man

y of

the

vol

un

tary

sche

mes

use

d as

pro

of o

f sus

tain

abili

ty a

re fa

iling

to e

nsur

e th

at c

ompa

nies

rais

e th

eir p

rodu

ctio

n st

anda

rds

or im

prov

e th

eir p

ract

ices

, res

ultin

g in

har

m to

fore

sts,

ocea

ns, a

ir an

d w

ater

sou

rces

. Whi

le

hum

an a

nd w

orke

rsí r

ight

s vio

latio

ns a

re e

ndem

ic in

all

thre

e se

ctor

s (an

d of

ten

go h

and

in h

and

with

en

viro

nmen

tal i

mpa

cts)

, we

mai

nly

focu

s on

the

envi

ronm

enta

l asp

ects

of t

hese

sche

mes

.

Base

d on

qua

litat

ive

rese

arch

, int

ervi

ews w

ith N

GO

exp

erts

and

an

exte

nsiv

e re

view

of t

he ac

adem

ic li

ter

atur

e, w

e as

sess

how

wel

l the

iden

tifie

d sc

hem

es m

easu

re u

p an

d to

wha

t ext

ent t

hey

are

driv

ing

gen

uine

impr

ovem

ents

with

in th

eir g

iven

sect

or. W

e id

entif

y flt

aws a

nd sh

ortc

omin

gs, h

ighl

ight

ing

issu

es

spec

ific t

o pa

rtic

ular

sche

mes

and

oth

er p

robl

ems t

ypic

al ac

ross

a b

road

er ra

nge

of in

itiat

ives

. Whi

le w

e fo

cus

on th

ree

sect

ors

in p

artic

ular

, we

have

als

o en

coun

tere

d th

e hi

ghlig

hted

pro

blem

s el

sew

here

in

our c

ampa

igni

ng w

ork.

On

that

bas

is, w

e vi

ew th

e la

ck o

f cre

dibl

e an

d ro

bust

sust

aina

bilit

y ce

rtifi

catio

n an

d ve

rific

atio

n fr

amew

orks

as a

syst

emic

pro

blem

, whi

ch is

act

ivel

y im

pedi

ng th

e tr

ansi

tion

to a

gen

uin

ely

sust

aina

ble

econ

omy.

With

cert

ifica

tion

and

labe

lling

sche

mes

faili

ng to

dis

tingu

ish

trul

y su

stai

nab

le p

ract

ices

from

gre

enw

ashi

ng, i

t cou

ld b

e ar

gued

that

they

are

act

ually

cre

atin

g a

mar

ket f

ailu

re: b

y re

war

ding

goo

d an

d ba

d co

rpor

ate

prac

tices

alik

e an

d m

isle

adin

g co

nsum

ers w

ho a

re u

nabl

e to

tell

the

diffe

renc

e, th

ere

is n

o ëv

irtu

ous c

ircle

í whe

reby

resp

onsi

ble

com

pani

es a

re a

ble

to b

enef

it co

mm

erci

ally

fr

om th

eir e

ffort

s.3 T

his b

eing

the

case

, it i

s im

port

ant t

o un

ders

tand

how

we

got h

ere

ñ and

wha

t nee

ds

to c

hang

e.

3 Th

is m

arke

t fai

lure

is fu

rthe

r rei

nfor

ced

by th

e fac

t tha

t man

y cer

tific

atio

n sc

hem

es ar

e pai

d fo

r by t

he p

artic

ipan

ts th

emse

lves

. Thi

s cre

ates

ineq

ualit

ies,

as it

allo

ws o

nly p

artic

ipan

ts w

ith th

e fin

anci

al m

eans

and

tech

nica

l cap

acity

to b

enef

it fro

m b

eing

a ce

rtifi

ed b

rand

, ret

aile

r or p

rodu

cer (

Mor

i Jun

ior e

t al

., 20

16: 5

95f)

.

1716

Th

e fa

lse

pro

mis

e of

cer

tifi

cati

on

BOX

1.1: T

ypes

of s

tand

ards

The

Inte

rnat

iona

l Org

aniz

atio

n fo

r Sta

ndar

diza

tion

(ISO

) ide

ntifi

es th

ree

cate

gorie

s of e

nviro

nmen

tal la

bellin

g*

(UNO

PS, 2

009)

:

Type

1: E

cola

bels

(ISO

1402

4:19

99)

Thes

e are

inde

pend

ent,

relia

ble l

abel

s tha

t con

sider

the c

riter

ia ac

ross

the l

ifec

ycle

impa

cts o

f pro

duct

s or s

ervi

ces.

Usua

lly, t

he cr

iteria

are d

evel

oped

by a

larg

e num

ber o

f sta

keho

lder

s and

are i

nten

ded

to b

e am

bitio

us, g

uara

ntee

ing

that

the l

abel

led

prod

ucts

hav

e a re

duce

d en

viro

nmen

tal im

pact

thro

ugho

ut th

eir l

ife cy

cle. E

xam

ples

inclu

de th

e Eu

rope

an U

nion

(EU)

Eco

labe

l, Ger

man

yís B

lue

Ange

l and

the

Nord

ic co

untr

iesí

Nord

ic Sw

an.

With

in Ty

pe 1

is a s

ubgr

oup

of sc

hem

es th

at ce

rtify

a sin

gle p

rodu

ct o

r crit

eria

, the

refo

re n

ot co

verin

g th

e im

pact

s ac

ross

the w

hole

life c

ycle

. Exa

mpl

es in

clude

the F

ores

t Ste

war

dshi

p Co

uncil

(FSC

) and

Mar

ine S

tew

ards

hip

Coun

cil

(MSC

). Th

ese d

o no

t qua

lify a

s Typ

e 1 ec

olab

els,

alth

ough

such

ecol

abel

s som

etim

es u

se th

ese l

abel

s to

cove

r par

t of

the s

uppl

y cha

in. F

or ex

ampl

e, th

e Eur

opea

n Co

mm

issio

n (2

017)

stat

es th

at co

mpa

nies

that

hav

e obt

aine

d FS

C ce

rtifi

catio

n ca

n us

e thi

s to

prov

e the

y mee

t cer

tain

crite

ria o

f the

EU

Ecol

abel

pap

erb

ased

pro

duct

s cer

tifica

tion.

Type

2: S

elf

decl

ared

env

ironm

enta

l cla

ims (

ISO

1402

1:199

9)

Thes

e ar

e no

t aw

arde

d by

an in

depe

nden

t aut

horit

y; ra

ther

, the

y are

self

decla

red

claim

s of e

nviro

nmen

tal s

tew

ar

dshi

p by

indu

stry

. Com

pani

es d

evel

op th

eir o

wn

labe

l or e

nviro

nmen

tal c

laim

, kno

win

g th

at c

onsu

mer

s are

in

crea

singl

y aw

are

of e

nviro

nmen

tal is

sues

and

mor

e lik

ely

to fe

el p

ositi

ve a

bout

a co

mpa

ny th

at a

ppea

rs to

be

mor

e sus

tain

able

than

its c

ompe

titor

s. Th

ese v

olun

tary

self

decla

ratio

ns ar

e cal

led

ëenvi

ronm

enta

lí or ëg

reen

í cla

ims.

They

mig

ht p

rovi

de u

sefu

l info

rmat

ion,

but

unf

ortu

nate

ly ar

e not

alw

ays t

rue,

and

are n

ot su

bjec

t to

inde

pend

ent

mon

itorin

g. F

or e

xam

ple,

indu

stry

led

carp

et ce

rtifi

catio

n sc

hem

e GU

T ha

s est

ablis

hed

a la

bel f

or ch

emic

als i

n ca

rpet

s, bu

t ind

epen

dent

anal

ysis

show

ed th

at it

rest

ricts

onl

y 13

of th

e 59

iden

tified

haz

ardo

us ch

emica

ls (H

EAL

and

EPH

A, 2

018,

p.3

).

Type

3: E

nviro

nmen

tal i

mpa

ct la

bels

(ISO

1402

5: 2

006)

Thes

e la

bels

show

qua

lified

pro

duct

info

rmat

ion

that

is in

depe

nden

tly v

erifi

ed a

nd d

esig

ned

to e

nabl

e a

com

pa

rison

bet

wee

n diffe

rent

pro

duct

s. T

ype

3 la

bels

do n

ot a

sses

s a p

rodu

ctís

envi

ronm

enta

l per

form

ance

; the

y on

ly sh

ow th

e ob

ject

ive

data

, leav

ing

eval

uatio

n to

the

buye

r or c

onsu

mer

. The

re is

sign

ifica

nt o

rgan

isatio

nal a

nd

adm

inist

rativ

e eff

ort i

nvol

ved

in T

ype

3 la

bels

beca

use

they

requ

ire e

xhau

stiv

e lif

ecy

cle d

ata

shee

ts, w

hich

are

ca

lled

envi

ronm

enta

l pro

duct

dec

lara

tions

.

This

repo

rt a

lso lo

oks a

t vol

unta

ry in

itiat

ives

that

fall o

utsid

e th

ese

thre

e ca

tego

ries b

ut a

re n

ever

thel

ess u

sed

by co

mpa

nies

as p

roof

of s

usta

inab

ility,

or as

a m

easu

re o

f per

form

ance

that

hel

ps to

diff

eren

tiate

them

selv

es o

r th

eir s

uppl

iers

.

* It i

s wor

th n

otin

g th

at ot

her t

ypes

of b

indi

ng la

bels

also

hav

e env

ironm

enta

l rel

evan

ce, s

uch

as th

e EU

Ener

gy La

bel,

whi

ch is

man

dato

ry fo

r all p

rodu

cts s

old

on th

e EU

mar

ket.

#!"1"#=

9.)#./&#,(,).*4.>*?*)0#,).45./5,@

Sust

aina

bilit

y st

anda

rds

and

cert

ifica

tion

sche

mes

hav

e pr

olife

rate

d ov

er th

e pa

st tw

o de

cade

s, as

the

priv

ate

sect

or a

nd e

nviro

nmen

tal a

dvoc

ates

hav

e so

ught

to im

prov

e co

mpa

nies

í soc

ial a

nd e

nviro

nm

enta

l per

form

ance

aga

inst

a b

ackd

rop

of g

over

nmen

t der

egul

atio

n.

In a

clim

ate

of h

eigh

tene

d co

nsum

er c

once

rn a

bout

the

envi

ronm

ent,

anim

al w

elfa

re a

nd re

spec

t for

hu

man

righ

ts, t

he st

ated

goa

l of l

abel

ling

sche

mes