Fair Trade

The European Commission is currently implementing a fitness check as part of its broader goal for better regulation – “designing policies and laws so that they achieve their objectives in the most efficient and effective way possible.” Better regulation ensures that EU policies are relevant, policy-making is informed by evidence, and that stakeholders are a part of the process.

East West Seed Indonesia (EWINDO), the country’s first integrated seed breeding and distribution company, has joined the Business Call to Action (BCtA) with a commitment to integrate 17,775 seeds growers into its value chain and transfer technical knowledge to 125,000 smallholder vegetable farmers by 2020.

The Gangmasters Licensing Authority (GLA) estimates that in 2016, more than 45 million slaves are working in 167 countries. This estimate exceeds the International Labor Organization's estimate of 21 million people. The point is, modern day slavery is clearly an issue that is not going away.

Poverty and the unsustainable use of land often go hand in hand for forest dependent communities across the developing world, leading to severe forest degradation and eventually forest clearance. In such areas, the development of stable livelihoods is arguably one of the most important aspects in the transition of a population from one depending on small scale shifting agriculture, to a cash economy that can co-exist within areas set aside for conservation purposes.

On Thursday, the US State Department removed Thailand from the human trafficking blacklist. Though Thailand has been a spotlight country when dealing with forced labor, the State Department made their decision based on the criteria outlined in the Human Trafficking Persons Report.