All Articles About Consumer Products

Report: Moving the Needle: Protecting the Rights of Garment Factory Workers

Advancing workers' rights at a factory level requires more than implementing a supplier code of conduct. In this report--commissioned by the Levi Strauss Foundation--BSR presents stories, lessons learned, and best practices from innovative NGOs working inside garment factories to promote workers' rights and responsibilities. Read more →

Posted: October 28, 2009 | Topics: Consumer Products, Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, Human Rights, Supply Chain | Download (PDF)

BSR Insight Article: Indigenous People and Business: Meeting Expectations

Chris Nolan, Associate Director, Advisory Services

With 370 million indigenous people worldwide, international standards defining the basic rights of these people—including the ILO 169, the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and the International Finance Corporation's Performance Standard 7—are increasingly relevant for industries such as extractives, consumer products, pharmaceuticals, and agriculture. Read more →

Posted: October 13, 2009 | Topics: Civil & Political Rights, Community Engagement & Development, Consumer Products, Economic Development, Economic, Social & Cultural Rights, Food, Beverage & Agriculture, Health Care, Mining

BSR Insight Article: Not Just for Heavy Emitters: Why Climate Change Matters to Every Company

Marshall Chase, Associate Director, Advisory Services

Recently, BSR has fielded inquiries from a range of member companies asking how climate change is relevant to their business. The timing of these questions is obvious: With prospective climate change legislation and policy discussions in the United States and elsewhere, intensive international negotiations culminating later this year, and ongoing stakeholder interest, companies are scrambling to develop or boost their climate change strategies, assess their internal and supply chain emissions, and examine the potential risks and opportunities throughout their operations, value chain, and industry. Read more →

Posted: October 6, 2009 | Topics: Climate Change, Consumer Products, Energy, Environment, Financial Services, Food, Beverage & Agriculture, Information & Communications Technology, Media & Entertainment, Mining, Transportation

BSR Insight Article: Report Identifies Goods Produced with Child or Forced Labor

Faris Natour, Director, Human Rights

The U.S. Department of Labor's International Labor Affairs Bureau (ILAB) identified 122 goods from 58 countries that are produced in violation of international labor standards regarding forced and child labor. Read more →

Posted: September 29, 2009 | Topics: Consumer Products, Food, Beverage & Agriculture, Human Rights, Mining

BSR Insight Article: The Green Screen for Safer Chemicals

Clean Production Action's "Green Screen for Safer Chemicals" is the first open-source tool to help companies and governments identify substances that are less hazardous for humans and the environment. Companies can use the tool—which focuses on hazard reduction, rather than controlling exposure—to assess the inherent hazards of the chemicals they use in their products and find safer substitutes, while governments can use the tool to support legislation on phasing out chemicals of high concern. Read more →

Posted: September 22, 2009 | Topics: Consumer Products, Environment, Supply Chain, Toxicity & Product Design