Where do the ingredients for your chocolate, smartphone and clothes come from?
June 29, 2022.
Researchers have written a commentary in Nature about the need for research into global supply chain due diligence policy
A bar of chocolate in the U.S. might have been made in Belgium, with cocoa from the Ivory Coast, almonds from Morocco, vanilla from Madagascar and sugar from Brazil. Were forests cut down for it? Were forced or child laborers involved in the harvest? Were toxins used or rivers polluted? We see similar stories for other products we use daily, such as smartphones, clothes, and cosmetics. These questions cannot be answered easily. That's why companies and corporations should conduct due diligence in their supply chains and pay more attention in the future to the impact of their products on the environment and human rights. Dr. Jorge Sellare, group leader and senior scientist at the Center for Development Research (ZEF) and member of the Transdisciplinary Research Unit "Sustainable Futures" at the University of Bonn, has written a commentary on this topic together with other authors in the journal "Nature". The Department of Communications of the University asked him about it.
Full Press Release by University of Bonn:
Publication: Sellare, J., Börner, J., Brugger, F., Garrett, R., Günther, I., Meemken, E.-M., Pelli, E. M., Steinhübel, L., & Wuepper, D. (2022). Six research priorities to support corporate due-diligence policies. Nature, 606, 861–863. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-022-01718-8
