Building a brand and sustainable measures
Greening your business and your supply chain not only does wonders for the environment, but it also helps with your brand’s image, which can spike sales.
An interesting blog in The Guardian suggested that companies such as Levi Strauss are able to build impeccable brand images thanks to its green and sustainable measures.
However, joining the green and sustainable initiative goes well beyond not doing harm, as the piece makes the case that companies must “actively do good” to secure a positive image.
Levi Strauss has contract factories that will be supporting programs in line with the UN Millennium Development Goals, a global action plan designed to basically make the world a better place.
The goals include eradicating extreme poverty, eliminating child mortality, fighting disease and ensuring environment sustainability.
Levi last week announced that they were calling for new improvements in factory conditions, saying that “worker’s lives – not just their workplaces – need improving.”
The company has put in place independent verifiers to check out its factories, which the results so far are showing modest gains in improvement.
SEE OTHER TOP STORIES IN THE WDM CONTENT NETWORK
Going Green: The sustainable supply chain
Sustainable procurement starts with eProcurement
Check out May’s issue of Supply Chain Digital!
Levi had been accused in the past of encouraging (or ignoring) abusive employment practices in its supply chain, which included accusations of low wages and poor factory conditions. Being featured in the negative limelight certainly has changed Levi Strauss as a company, or at the very least, the denim giant figured out that bad press hurts sales.
Heed the word, as the article states that not doing so can have an adverse effect on your business (Think WalMart Watch and Exxpose Exxon).
