§ Dr. TongeTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what progress has been made with the Ethical Trading Initiative; and how many companies have joined the initiative. [99248]
§ Clare ShortConsiderable progress has been made by the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) over the last year. With the help of Department for International Development (DFID) funding, a Secretariat has been established and is fully staffed. Board and members meet regularly and a Base Code of ethical trading practice has been debated and agreed. Progress is being made on four pilot projects—in the garment industry in China; horticulture in Zimbabwe; wine production in South Africa; and the banana industry in Costa Rica. With the appointment of a new information officer, information and media services are being established. A Conference was held in December 1998 and another is planned for early in 2000.
In addition to its trade union and non-governmental organisation membership, ETI now has 16 company members and is dealing with a growing number of inquiries from interested organisations. The list of existing company members is as follows.
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- Anchor Seafoods Ltd.
- ASDA
- CWS (the Co-op)
- J. Sainsbury Ltd.
- Lambert Howarth Global
- Levi Strauss
- Littlewoods
- Marks and Spencer
- Monsoon
- Premier Brands
- Pentland Group
- Safeway
- Somerfields Stores Ltd.
- Tesco
- The Body Shop
- The Tea Sourcing Company.