Ethical Trade Projects

Rajasthan Sandstone Working Group (RSWG) - In collaboration with the Ethical Trading Initiative, other Commercial bodies, NGOs and Trade Unions, we are actively working on a long-standing project in the Kota region of Rajasthan in India. The main aims of the project are to improve the lives, livelihoods and health of workers in sandstone quarries, stocking units and factories in the region. Concentrating initially on H&S and HR issues, we are now starting to advance the programme to look at the prevalence of Silicosis amongst quarry workers and ways to improve dialogue with the workers in the supply chain.

Iberian complete compliance - A series of audits and follow up audits within our complete supply chain in Portugal and Spain. This is an ongoing project which will mean continuous reassessment over the coming months and years. This project has already led to several improvements in working conditions for the workers in our Iberian supply chain.

Indian school charity sponsorship: Together with our key Indian supplier we are the largest contributors to a charity run by K. N. Maheshwari, which funds a school set up for poor Indian Children living in slums in Jaipur. Children aged from 5 to 16 who would otherwise be just wandering the streets or collecting rubbish are educated in an interactive, fun and safe environment. Teaching eventually to graduation level the volunteer teachers there do a fantastic job and personally collect and then take home the children each day. Without charities such as this one; The Shri Radhey Sewa Trust: these children would face a very bleak future.

Dust mask distribution – Shandong province, North China: We are undertaking a regular distribution of dust masks to the 4 main factory / production centres that we use in this region. Inhaling dust when cutting and working stone over sustained periods can lead to serious lung conditions such as silicosis. We intend to move forward soon with training initiatives to help educate the workers on the importance of wearing these masks whenever stone dust is present.