Forging Sustainable Supply Chains: It's No Easy Task

Without question, creating sustainable global supply chains is a daunting challenge. But the biggest roadblock might be at the retail shelf. For all the progress that's been made, there remains a ''huge discrepancy'' between the supposed willingness of consumers to support sustainable products, and their actual buying habits. Until that gap is closed, items carrying the fair trade label will remain a ''niche market,'' according to Andréanne Grimard, director of economic development with Solidaridad North America. In this episode, she traces the work of Solidaridad in promoting a remarkable range of products, including coffee, tea, cotton, palm oil, soy, gold, cocoa, textiles, fruits and vegetables. She relates how Solidaridad formed its own importing companies for fair-trade bananas and bluejeans, when it couldn't find private interests to undertake the task – creating profitable ventures in the process. And she offers a candid assessment of the current state of public awareness of the sustainability issue. The verdict: there's a lot of work to be done.