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They often cost a little more, but in return, a plantation worker works for a fair wage and in conditions of safety. It's the story with which sustainability labels put their products on the market. But it turns out so clear in reality.
Quality labels can not guarantee that producers will respect the conditions they have set. This is stated in a report published today by Stichting Onderzoek Multinational Ondernemingen (SOMO). Is it wise to buy products with such a quality mark? And why are products with the quality mark more expensive? Four questions and answers on the utility of sustainability characteristics.
1) What do you say when a product carries a sustainability mark?
What a quality mark says exactly differs from one brand at a time. In the field of working conditions, they generally focus on similar points. The Rainforest Alliance quality mark and the Fairtrade quality mark, for example, state that workers earn the minimum wage, that there are safe working conditions and that they can become union members.
But in practice, these conditions are often not respected. "Especially in the field of decent working conditions, they are falling apart," says Sanne van der Wal, researcher at SOMO. Indeed, research shows that producers with a quality label do not necessarily offer better terms than a producer without a quality label. "They often do a little better, but not always and the differences are minimal," says Van der Wal.
Researchers have found various problems for producers with a quality label. For example, overtime is often not paid, workers have to work with dangerous pesticides and are not allowed to join a union.
2) Why does not the quality label guarantee good working conditions?
The problem is essentially the money Van der Wal tells. "A decent wage and overtime pay are good terms, but it's expensive." At the moment, the money is not there yet because the products are not paying enough. The price of coffee, for example, is too low to pay a living wage, says Van der Wal.
The Fairtrade quality mark is recognized in this answer. "That's why we want a bigger market share: the more Fairtrade products are sold, the more money available will guarantee good working conditions."
Do quality labels now make promises that they can not keep up? Fairtrade does not think so. "What we promise is that all producers are checked at least once a year to see if they meet our conditions, and it may well be that defects occur during this year. "
3) Is extra money used? I pay a product with a quality label for farmers?
Not quite. Quality brands also need money to pay for the system of inspections and inspections.
Some quality brands go a step further than others. In the case of products bearing the Fairtrade quality mark, for example, farmers receive a guarantee of a minimum price for their products. This serves as a safety net when prices fall on the world market, as is the case now for coffee. So, there is also extra money going there.
Why are branded products more expensive in one supermarket than in another? These differences exist because supermarkets are allowed to determine the final selling price of quality branded products. A supermarket is willing to give more margin to labeled products and therefore to ask a price lower than that of other supermarkets
. among farmers and workers
4) Is it better to buy products bearing the mark of quality
Yes, says Van der Wal. "At the moment, nothing is better, our signal is absolutely not: consumers stop because it is useless." The more product buyers are, the more labels can influence, according to Van der Wal. He hopes, for example, that trademarks will start lobbying to force large companies, through legislation, to buy quality branded products. "In the long run, it's the way to tackle structural problems."
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