Keeping Chemical Supply Chains Clean

Read Time: 4-minutes

You may have seen that the BBC found children have picked ingredients used by suppliers to two major beauty companies (Lancôme and Aerin Beauty).

Read the full story here: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-middle-east-68172560.

Today, we’ll look at how you can improve your supply chain practices to prevent child labour and ensure ethical sourcing, something very important to me and my business.

Ethical supply chains are crucial if we want to maintain corporate integrity, and customer trust, not to mention complying with international law!

Unfortunately, many companies are at risk of the same thing happening to them due to inadequate oversight, insufficient auditing systems, and the pressure to reduce costs. Which inevitable trickles down the chain to the most vulnerable workers.

But how can we learn from this?

Key takeaways today:

1. Transparent Supply Chains

2. Auditing Systems

3. Fair Wages

4. Rules and Policies

5. Supply Chain Engagement

"Ethics is knowing the difference between what you have a right to do and what is right to do." – Potter Stewart

The Importance of Transparent Supply Chains

If you are not aware of every step of your supply chain, then you are at risk of the same thing happening with your raw materials and ingredients. You must know exactly where your materials are coming from and ensure that all suppliers follow ethical guidelines.

The only way to achieve this is to have a fully transparent supply chain.

Do I think the perfumery companies involved would champion child labour? Absolutely not. But they failed in this aspect, allowing child labour to persist in jasmine fields. If we want to prevent such issues, we need to map out the entire supply chain, identify all people and processes involved, and start to ask the tough questions. Something I introduced a few weeks ago: https://www.alchemtrading.com/distribution-hub/the-green-maze.

Strong and Independent Audits

Hopefully it goes without saying, regular audits are essential to verify that suppliers adhere to ethical standards and labour laws. This BBC reported this as a significant flaw.

Employ independent auditors who can conduct thorough and unbiased inspections.

Theses auditors must have the authority to check all parts of the supply chain and report findings transparently.

Fair Wages

Now, another angle to think about is that low pay has forced families to involve their children in jasmine picking.

Fair wages, therefore, are fundamental in preventing exploitation. Ensuring this throughout the supply chain should prevent this then.

Companies should set budgets that allow for adequate pay at all levels, from factory, to field, to boardroom.

But keep in mind, if we are too aggressive and push pricing down too much – we are in danger of contributing to this cycle…

Strong Corporate Governance

Having strict and enforceable policies against unethical practices is vital. To put it bluntly, we need stringent policies against child labour and unethical practices.

L'Oréal and Estée Lauder claim zero tolerance for child labour, yet the reality shows a disconnect between policy and practice.

So, what can you do differently?

Well, make sure you have strong policies in place but also ensure these are implemented effectively. Including regular training for employees and strict penalties for violations.

Engaging with Your Supply Chain

This is the most effective way of ensuring your supply chain lives up to your companies’ values and beliefs. But it’s impossible without a fully transparent supply chain.

If you’ve followed me for a while you’ll know two of my key beliefs. Transparency is non-negotiable, throughout the supply chain. And I am always looking to build long-term sustainable partnerships with both customers and suppliers.

That means building partnerships built on trust, active engagement with all stakeholders, all in an effort to understand the supply chain as deeply as possible.

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So, there you have it. A few things we can learn from the BBC revelation about child labour.

If you want to keep your supply chain clean and ethical, commit to 100% transparency, and actively engage with it.

You may feel like you don’t know where to start or how to implement these practices and that’s okay, I’m more than happy to help you do that.

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Thanks for reading, and see you next week.

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Whenever you’re ready, there are 3 ways I can help you:

1. Take the CLEAN Scorecard - test your supply chain. In less than 3-minutes you’ll receive a free personalised report detailing areas where you are strong or weak, and ways you can improve.

2. Follow my YouTube series introducing the CLEAN Framework - learn how to build reliable, ethical, and sustainable supply chains.

3. Book a 15-minute introductory call to see if we would be right to work together.