What we do

Our Strategy 2001-2004

In 2000, we published a strategy document, From good intentions to good practice: ETI’s strategy in support of ethical trade 2001-04, in which we set ourselves broad aims for the period 2001-2004. This strategy document has formed the basis for all our recent work. Below, we summarise the key objectives from this strategy, and provide a flavour of the activities we have undertaken to meet these objectives.

Note: We are currently developing a new organisational strategy for the period 2005-2008. While our core mission will remain the same, we will be setting new priorities for the next three years. We will finalise and publish our new strategy in early 2005.

During 2001-2004, we aimed to:

• Identify And Promote Good Practice in the implementation of codes of labour practice. The key activities we have carried out which contribute to this objective are:
  • Running experimental projects, where we have worked collectively with partners to tackle areas of code implementation which members find particularly challenging – for example exploring approaches to implementing the ETI Base Code with homeworkers.
  • Commissioning research, for example to identify working conditions faced by smallholders and their workers and the experience of companies and NGOs in improving these conditions.
  • See Activities for further information on our current and former projects.
     
• Share Our Learning within the membership and beyond. We have shared our experience, solutions and issues through seminars, conferences, the ETI workbook and other publications.
  • See Events for details of forthcoming seminars, and reports from previous events
  • See ETI Library for further information on ETI publications.
     
• Expand The Corporate Membership of ETI to provide significant leverage in target sectors of the UK retail market. We have actively approached priority companies to encourage them to join ETI.
  • How to join (Companies)
  • our criteria and strategy for targeting new corporate members (in ETI Strategy 2001-2004)
     
• Strengthen Members’ Commitment to ETI’s principles of membership, in particular the commitment of corporate members to implementing the ETI Base Code. We have encouraged year-on-year improvement in ethical sourcing performance by our member companies. We have monitored and reviewed their performance through a rigorous annual reporting process. See our Annual Report 2003-2004, pages 17-21 for further information about the annual reporting process and the performance of our corporate membership.
   
• Measure Our Impact – find out about the actual impact of implementing our Base Code on the lives of workers and their families, and identify ways to improve that impact. In August 2003, we started work on a 2-year study, the ETI Impact Assessment, which is intended to address this objective. We aim to share the findings from this study in late 2005.
   
• Build Capacity of relevant organisations to implement codes effectively. In particular, we have supported organisations in supplier countries to develop the skills and resources to monitor and improve labour conditions.
  Further information on our capacity building initiatives
   
• Build Strategic Alliances with other organisations working on ethical trade and the promotion of international labour standards. In particular, we have been developing closer working relationships with those organisations who have a similar remit to our own, that is, other multi-stakeholder initiatives promoting voluntary labour codes.
  More about our Multistakeholder Initiatives Project

 

Read a more detailed online summary of our Strategy Document 2001-2004

Read our Strategy Document 2005-2008

 

 

What we don’t do…

1. We do not issue “ethical trade” certificates or labels to any company. Our 2001-2 Annual Report explains why we do not certify or label companies (opens in new window).
    
2. We do not allow any company, including ETI member companies, to use the ETI logo on any of their own materials, unless in circumstances where they are officially representing ETI.
    
3. At present, we do not accredit individuals or organisations as “ethical trade” auditors or trainers.
    
4. At present, we do not provide information on the ethical performance of individual companies. We are happy however to provide information on general patterns of performance across the corporate membership.