| Seeds of Change - E-News |
Spring 2008 |
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In this issue:
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As You Sow is one of the most effective activist groups in the business.
Randy Hayes
Founder, Rainforest Action Network
and As You Sow board member
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Project Kaleidoscope Reduces Compliance Problems
A unique collaborative effort between As You Sow, various shareholders, and McDonald’s Corp. and The Walt Disney Co. significantly improved working conditions in 10 Chinese supply chain factories. The factories, which produce goods for McDonald's restaurants and Disney licensees, reduced instances of failure to pay wages consistent with the law, excessive working hours and insufficient rest days, according to the public report issued in early May.
Conventional social compliance audits provide only a “snapshot” of facility conditions at a single point in time and auditors might not return for many months to see if problems have been corrected. The project aimed to develop compliance systems for facilities that would find and fix problems faster than traditional commercial audits.
“Our aim was to test an alternative approach that would result in sustained code compliance designed to better respond to the often swiftly changing factors that affect compliance at the facility level,” said Conrad MacKerron, director of AYS’ CSR Program, and member of a working group that helped steer the project. For example, last minute design changes, disruptions in raw materials supply or electric supply fluctuations can all lead to unplanned, excessive overtime. “We are pleased to have worked with these two major brands and leading social investment groups on a substantive project to improve global supply chain compliance.”
The pilot project was generally successful. Systemic issues were found in far fewer of the factories at the end of the project than in earlier audits and the systems-based approach became a regular part of business operations in the participating factories, the report said. Also, factory management saw value in actively managing the compliance process, and workers reported that factory working conditions had generally improved.
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 The full report and list of participants is available here.
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Major Retailers Start PVC Phase Out
Following a commitment made to AYS by Target Stores last fall, three more giant retail chains will begin to reduce their use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) in their products. As You Sow’s Associate Director, Michael Passoff, and other shareholders have been in dialogue with several companies including Best Buy, Sears and Bed Bath & Beyond.
Best Buy, the largest U.S. electronics retailer, set time tables for the phase out of PVC packaging for Best Buy brands beginning in 2008. The company also agreed to identify other products and packaging where PVC will be reduced or eliminated. Sears is offering its own brand name non-PVC products such as shower curtains, and non-PVC packaging materials. Bed Bath & Beyond also agreed to eliminate PVC from selected private label products and is launching new green products such as non-stick/non-toxic cooking ware.
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Confronting Slave Labor in the Cotton Fields
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As You Sow is leading a new collaborative shareholder effort to address forced and child labor in Central Asia. The initial focus is on Uzbekistan, a repressive state that was formerly part of the Soviet Union and is currently the world’s third-largest exporter of cotton.
An estimated 3 million workers are forced to grow and harvest cotton, with some paid as little as $7 a month. Children as young as seven years old are forced by the government to work for up to three months a year in the cotton fields. The campaign begins with identifying the cotton growers who supply major manufacturers. Associate Director Patricia Jurewicz coordinated a letter to more than 100 private and publicly traded companies along with Calvert, Domini and other social, religious and labor investors asking them to trace the origin of cotton used in their products and to press the Uzbek government to bar child labor. We will continue to report on the progress of this campaign. |
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GOOF OFF Commits to Reformulate
As part of its potent Environmental Enforcement Program, As You Sow has just obtained a major commitment from Valspar Corporation, an international paint manufacturer. Valspar has committed to remove the presence of ethylbenzene, a known carcinogen, from its well-known cleaning product GOOF OFF. Bright yellow cans of GOOF OFF, known as “the ultimate remover”, are present in homes and workshops of millions of Americans, for use to remove gum, lipstick, oil, pen, scuff marks and more, from a variety of surfaces. After lab testing revealed potentially toxic levels of ethylbenzene, posing cancer risks through inhalation, As You Sow filed an action against Valspar under California’s innovative “right-to-know” statute—Proposition 65.
After lengthy settlement negotiations, and a day of mediation under the auspices of retired Judge James Warren, As You Sow counsel Brian Gaffney, and its ED Larry Fahn agreed to a comprehensive settlement. The settlement agreement provides for the company to immediately add warning language to all sizes of the GOOF OFF product, and to pay penalties, attorneys fees and costs. In addition, Valspar agreed to completely reformulate the entire line of GOOF OFF products (or stop selling in California) by removing the ethylbenzene, by November 1, 2008.
This settlement, awaiting formal court approval, continues a long line of toxics enforcement actions brought by As You Sow. Our toxics cases have resulted in product reformulations in a wide variety of consumer products—including nail care products, automotive supplies, spray paints, portable classrooms, herbal supplements and plumbing valves—to eliminate a wide array of chemicals that are know to cause cancer or birth defects.
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Move to Eliminate Bisphenol A
Last fall AYS’s Michael Passoff and Nishita Bakshi, along with several shareholder groups, sent letters to 14 companies raising health concerns about Bisphenol A (BPA) – a common ingredient used in plastic bottles and canned foods. As a result Toys R Us, and Nalgene announced they will stop using BPA in their plastic products. Meanwhile, AYS and other shareholders will continue to push more companies to eliminate BPA from their products.
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CFL Light Bulbs Not So Green
Switching from incandescent to compact fluorescent lights (CFL) is touted as an easy way to begin fighting global warming. The lights save loads of energy but also contain small amounts of mercury. As You Sow has begun to investigate the conditions under which these bulbs are made to ensure that workers are not contaminated. We have begun negotiations with Wal-Mart, which sold more than 100 million CFLs last year, and GE, one of the largest CFL manufacturers. We are pressing for safe working conditions in bulb factories, reduced mercury in fluorescent lights and the development of a national take-back disposal program.
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Vote Your Values: Proxy Preview 2008
The Chicago Tribune recently called AYS’s fourth annual Proxy Season Preview “ a bible for socially progressive foundations, religious groups, pension funds and other tax-exempt organizations.” The Proxy Season Preview helps foundations and other empowered investors learn about important upcoming proxy votes and ensure that they vote in an informed manner on these social and environmental shareholder resolutions that are relevant to their mission or values.
This publication from As You Sow, Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, and the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation is available at no charge. Click on the image to the left to download. |
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As You Sow in the News
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Check out the latest feature on As You Sow entitled “Reaping Green Rewards” in the monthly Bay Area magazine BayCrossings.com. |
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