MacDonalds tries to go green

McDonalds, an institution more commonly known for its poor environmental policies and damage to the planet is trying to ‘green-up’ its image by using waste from its restaurants to generate power. Whether this is enough to outweigh the environmental damage McDonalds inflicts on the world is another question. The idea is for a small pilot scheme using 11 of its restaurants in Yorkshire, which if successful will be rolled out to all the other McDonald sites. Waste from the restaurants in Sheffield, Rotherham and Barnsley will be shipped to Veola Environmental Services who will treat the waste at its Energy Recovery facility in Sheffield.

Steve Easterbrook, President and CEO of MacDonalds UK said: “As a progressive company, we are constantly trying to find ways to run our business in a more sustainable way. However, like many companies, we find that we are currently constrained by the lack of infrastructure needed to support initiatives like this across the UK… If the trial is successful we are keen to explore how we can extend it to other parts of the country as part of our ongoing efforts to improve our impact on the environment and local communities." Nice sentiment, but does it fit in with McDonald’s corporate strategy on environmental policies? You decide.

[Via The Telegraph]

The real cost of distressed denim

Distressed denim may be all the rage in the fashion world at the moment, but the style comes at an environmental and human cost. In Tehuacán in Mexico it is the local people that pay price for our fashion. Once famous for its mineral springs and spas, Tehuacán, the ‘City of Health’, is now home to around 700 clothes manufacturers, many with little or no environmental controls or standards. Workers are routinely exploited, their employee rights ignored. The worst environmental culprits are the dozens of factories that make the faded or distressed denim that is so fashionable right now. The chemicals used in the process are discharged into the rivers and streams around the factories, turning the water blue and damaging the crops that depend on the water systems.

The main chemical used is potassium permanganate, a strong bleaching agent that was once used to induce abortions. Mariano Baragán, a local farmer said: "As well as being blue, it burns the seedlings and sterilises the earth." The government agencies that should be monitoring the factories are allowing this to happen, probably because the local economy depends on the factories, and their foreign corporate customers. It is these corporations that should be enforcing stricter controls on their client factories to protect both the workers and the environment. We as customers ultimately have the power to change this with our buying power. We chould only buy products from ethical and fairtrade companies.

[Via The Guardian]

Tesco accused of exploiting workers in South Africa

Famous actress Emma Thompson has accused Tesco of subjecting some of their workers in South Africa to appalling pay and conditions. Ms Thompson, who is an ambassador for the charity ActionAid said “I have visited these farms and I was shocked by what I saw” after her tour of farms in the Western Cape area of South Africa. Thompson claimed that 80 women worked from 7am to 6pm for the equivalent of just 38p.

Tesco’s media director, Jonathan Church denied her claims, and said “We have looked at the farm conditions and pay, gone over the allegations made and not found any evidence to suggest there is a problem”. I’m sure the media director sat in his plush offices in the UK really knows more about the situation on South African farms than Emma Thompson who has actually been there and seen the situation for herself.

It is about time corporations took responsibility for their suppliers’ actions and set up a validation process that involves independent assessment of working conditions around the world. Being ethical needs to be more than a marketing strategy, it needs to be a moral code that corporations follow.

[Via The Telegraph]

Co-op is the greenest retailer on the high street

The Co-operative Group has been found by an independent study to be the most climate-friendly chain on the high street. Their banking arm, Smile has been named the ‘best current account provider’ at the Which? Awards, with 82% of Smile customers “very satisfied with their treatment”, in stark contrast to the way most people feel about their bank. The environmental research company, Trucost carried out the study for the BBC’s Money Programme. The study found that for every million £ of turnover, the Co-operative produced £324 worth of carbon and waste, whereas Somerfield came out as the worst performer, producing £1,194 worth of carbon and waste for every million £ of turnover.

Although lesser known than its high street rivals, the Co-op has around 3,000 high street outlets and a workforce of 68,000. The Co-op has its own travel business, and is the UK’s largest independent travel agency. It was the first travel agency chain to offer carbon offsets with its flights. All in all, the Co-op is an innovative market leader in ethical business and retailing.

Score o9ne for the good guys. Being ethical can be made to work in the business world, so maybe there is a working model here for other high street brands to follow.

[Via The Independent]

Beverley Price fairtrade jewellery

One of South Africa's most prominent contemporary jewellers has created a new collection for Adila, a British company. Adila means ‘just and fair’ which really sums up their ethos. They work closely with fairtrade suppliers around the world and are a member of the British Association of Fair Trade Shops (BAFTS) so you can be sure everything you buy is genuinely fairly traded. The modern and stylish jewellery is hand made by underprivileged women in a community-based project in Johannesburg. The Beverley Price collection is made from miniatures taken from a South African magazine, ‘Drum’ which are set in sterling silver. This bracelet is just one of a collection that includes earrings, necklaces and bracelets. Prices start at £11 for the earrings and £26 for the bracelets.