Conference Presentation, Panel
Transforming Global Supply Chains to Be Humane and Ethical
- Made in a Free World anticipates the "Slavery Footprint" tool will maintain daily usage by thousands to heighten consumer awareness regarding slave labor embedded in products.
- The Global Fund to End Slavery plans to raise billions of dollars through public-private partnerships to narrow the disparity between an estimated $0.5 trillion in criminal profits from slavery and current $124 million in anti-trafficking spending.
- Jean Batter-Schneider projects that if businesses enforce supply chain prosecution, their trillions in purchasing power will create a "fair fight" against human trafficking and eliminate current market imbalances.
- Replacing slave labor with skilled workforces is expected to be scalable, delivering higher quality goods, greater productivity, and lower costs while maintaining profitability without price increases.
- It is considered feasible to trace supply chains 12 or 13 tiers deep through proper risk assessment on a sample basis, contradicting the myth that increased wages necessitate higher prices.
- Lands' End aims to evolve into an ethical global lifestyle brand where consumer challenges drive progress, supported by cooperation with organizations like the Supplying Alliance and BlueSign technology to reduce water and chemical pollution.
- A "race to the top" is expected to continue where stakeholders celebrate corporate progress rather than demanding perfection, with the California Transparency in Supply Chains law serving as a key enforcement tool for media and government.
- Made in a Free World expects improved risk mapping and optics to empower businesses to trace raw material origins beyond the factory floor, shifting focus from perfection to celebrating "good work" within corporate structures.
- Government, consumer, and media entities are projected to fill gaps in storytelling and risk analysis, as businesses alone cannot resolve all complex supply chain issues.
- Mondelez views its $400 million investment in the Cocoa Life program as critical for business continuity, aiming to create thriving cocoa communities with school attendance for children and increased farmer income.
- Systemic solutions for cocoa farming will be pursued through pre-competitive collaboration with competitors such as Mars, Nestle, and Hershey's to share best practices, lobby governments, and address root causes beyond certification.
- Mondelez intends to track specific KPIs for the Cocoa Life program and begin publishing this data on its website to demonstrate transparent, honest progress.
- Technology partnerships and tools like LabelLink are predicted to create a marketplace dynamic where ethical suppliers are naturally favored, making ethical behavior the "new normal" with actual costs for conflict minerals tracking potentially under $180 million versus the feared $16 billion.
- Mobile phone "direct pay" systems are planned to eliminate the need for traditional banking in Southeast Asia, altering the economic equation for forced laborers, while NASA and geospatial mapping will quantify child labor and brick kilns in specific locations.
- Industry leaders expect that consumers will eventually shift trust from certifications due to opacity toward NGOs and civil society, while certification and authentication processes will expand significantly to better inform and reward consumer choices.
- Big data and predictive analytics are predicted to become standard for supply chain decision-making, allowing consumers to make choices based on risk analysis similar to restaurant selection.