I'm sure most landscapers and designers will be aware of the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI)?
ETI says "We work in partnership to improve the lives of poor and vulnerable workers across the globe who make or grow consumer goods - everything from tea to T-shirts, from flowers to footballs".
A number of interested parties attended a meeting in London last week to discuss supply chain issues such as child labour and working conditions in stone quarries in India.
Have a read of Tony McCormack's (Paving Expert) write-up of the event. Tony asks some pertinent questions and I guess one of the main ones is, do clients really care where their stone is sourced and how it gets to their garden?
Ethical Trading 2013: http://www.pavingexpert.com/news332.htm
Tony urges a more open debate within the indyustry and I would welcome that too. Go and read Tony's write-up and get involved in the discussion either on the Paving Expert site (see forum discussion here.
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The evidence suggests that whether or not the stone has been ethically sourced doesn't play a key part in the clients decision of whether or not to buy stone, particuarly with retail clients. This subject is something that the stonegroup members have discussed in great detail at the ETI meetings.
Its a little bit different for trade and commercial clients though. We are finding that landscapers and garden designers are starting to ask about the ethics of stone. Architects are also another demographic with an increasing interest in ethical sourcing.
Going back to retail customers, there is a lack of public awareness of what ethical trading is about . There was a feature on ITV news at ten a few years back that covered child labour in India but apart from that there has been nothing in the main stream media to further highlight this or any of the other issues facing the rajasthan sandstone industry.
In answer to Phils question, I do think that clients care about how there stone is produced but until there is a concerted effort to raise awareness it will be a huge challenge to get ethical sourcing to the forefronts of peoples mind when they are buying natural stone. Not impossible though and there are lots of examples of success stories in other sectors. We only need to look at the improvements in the garment industries which have come as a direct result of a bright media spotlight on that industry. Granted, clothing is much more of a main stream product than natural stone but it goes to show that the challenges are there to be overcome. In addition to the stone suppliers the best people to educate retail clients on stone ethics are landscapers and garden designers as they will have a strong relationship with the end client.
This event that has just taken place is the beginning of a long term works programme in the Rajasthan. The programme of works is expected to last for 3 years so there will be regular updates on the progress of the project.
It would be really good to know from landscapers and garden designers just how many of their end clients show an interest in where the stone for their patio is sourced from
Steve
Yes, this is an important issue; so, relatively, is the customers need to be able to make there own ends meet and feed their own family. Price will always play a large part in a decision of which stone to chose for a domestic job.
The fact that there are so many less expensive alternatives which don't exactly jump out and say "I was produced by an underage child in poor working conditions in India" means the customer feel any different.
My experiencfe shows, that customers assume its all the same mateiral and will therefore choose the cheaper material irregardless - I can remember several cases where for the sake of £50 -£150 on a job, the cheaper Raj-green at £12 a meter was insted on, rather than the ethical material - on jobs of often £2-4k+ in size and where money really was not an issue for the customer - I think it is simply something in the british mentallity, that two identical products - take the cheaper one, irregardless of the human cost.
When thinking about this, I am kind of glad I no longer deal with paving! So
I have only had one customer mention it before I do. However I am a little uncomfortable with 'The Western World' telling others how they should run their lives, India has 1.2 billion mouths to feed and course children SHOULDN'T be working in a quarry, or workers working in conditions that would make us wince, but it is their way of life and their way or earning a living. They don't have the cosy welfare safety net that we have and there are probably many thousand who are highly delighted that 'we' rather like their natural stone..........and it's price! 15 years ago I was paying £35.00 per sq.m. for new random rectangular Yorkstone (and it was 'random'!) - thanks to imported stone, we now pay around half that for exact sized slabs (altho thinner) which cuts laying time in half, at least!
I am not saying I don't care, as I do, but life in some parts of the world are harsh and maybe shouldn't be judged through our 'civilised' eyes.
I agree with the points raised so far. We sell branded paving online and all the major manufacturers we offer belong to the ETI, however it certainly is not a customer prerequisite when buying stone - it's all about price and aesthetics. Most retail customers (not the trade ones), know very little about the stone or where it comes from. Some refer simply to Indian sandstone, but how it gets to them and the stages involved are of no concern to them. The Primark disaster was a prime example of how the Western world turns a blind eye to the ethics behind the availability of the goods. Everyone was horrified at the news images, but it's unlikely that Primark saw any major dip in sales as people always like buying good value goods.
I think it's the suppliers of the goods that have the duty of care to ensure the working practices overseas remain at a decent level rather than exploiting the labour force. The problem they have is that there are always less scrupulous companies offering a similar product from a less ethical source at a cheaper price. The customer buying the material for their garden does not realise that a) the product may be inferior and b) it has exploited overseas workers. It's a hard enough battle convincing them of point a), let alone addressing the ethical issues of point b).
If it's any consolation, as a retailer, I feel happier knowing that we only sell ethically sourced materials, even if it doesn't make an iota of difference to our customers.
ive had one customer who voiced concern about 5 years ago and was against the idea of using it. Sure enough after seeing some down at the local suppliers she chose it! Apart from that the subject has never even been raised by a client
Ask it another way.
Do gardeners care if the cotton logoed-up polo shirts they wear come from Bangladeshi sweatshops where the fire doors are chained shut? Is that cotton you are wearing coming from areas where the water use is depleting natural supplies? Or do you buy them dependant on the best internet deal available?
Thought so. Welcome to the real world, that's how buyers of our services and materials are thinking as well.
Right or wrong, cost is everything. Even when you are dealing with the middle-class environmentalists who recycle their Boden catalogues in the vain hope it's somehow saving the planet.....
Is Indian sandstone morally acceptable?
http://www.indianet.nl/a0703.html
Programme to tackle labour rights issues in Rajasthan sandstone sector
http://www.landscapejuicenetwork.com/profiles/blogs/programme-to-ta...
Ethical paving
http://www.bbc.co.uk/gardening/today_in_your_garden/ethical_paving....
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