The supply chain inquisitor
“Rights are at the core of what a business must do,” [Rachel Wilshaw, ethical trade manager at Oxfam] says. “It should be embedded in business, not seen as an add-on.”...[Oxfam] wants to assist the private sector in enabling people to realise their rights and work their way out of poverty, as well as challenge commercial practices that threaten people’s human rights. A study of labour rights in Unilever’s Vietnam operations led by Ms Wilshaw was published this year...Marcela Manubens, Unilever’s vice- president for social impact, says: “Oxfam is ahead of the curve in understanding that campaigning alone is not responsible. You cannot just throw a bomb and walk away.” She adds that the study “shocked us a bit, it held up a mirror to us from a different angle...We thought we were doing great but Oxfam showed us that there were real issues here we must look at.”...[Also refers to Cafédirect, Primark (part of Associated British Foods), Mango]