Also new questions demand answers

Current developments in production countries and new knowledge from research are constantly creating new challenges in the supply chain for the entire coffee and consumer goods industries. We prioritise our efforts based on the urgency of the issues at hand. Here, you can read about the main issues to which we are currently devoting specific attention.

Living wages

We believe that those who help to produce our products should be able to feed themselves and their dependent family members with the wages they receive. Part of their earnings should also be left over for them to spend or save as they please. While it is true that most production countries have legally established minimum wages, these are often set very low, meaning that they only rarely cover employees’ costs of living.

The introduction of “basic needs wages” often conflicts with the pricing pressure which results from international competition between retail companies. For competitive reason, the goverments of the production countries often are not interested in a price increase of labour costs in their key industries. Living wages can therefore only be introduced nationwide in close cooperation of all stakeholders. This is based on a transnational legal harmonisation of wages. If "basic needs wages" were determinded by law in all production countries, the competition between production countries and international trading companies would not blame the employees.

In order to push for such a development in cooperation with other international retail companies and corporate stakeholders, we are active in numerous forums, networks and organisations, including the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI), Social Accountability International (SAI) and in the Round Table Codes of Conduct. We also support the aims of the Asia Floor Wage (AFW) campaign. This international initiative of renowned non-governmental organisations and trade unions aims to enforce living wages and humane working conditions throughout Asia.                                                                                             

You can read our statement on the AFW here. 

You will find more information on the topic of living wages here.

Sandblasting

Washed-out, faded jeans with the vintage look have been in style for years. To achieve this “used look”, specific processing techniques such as sandblasting come into play. However, the process of shooting fine sand dust at articles of clothing poses significant health risks for jeans production workers. Breathing in sand dust can lead to silicosis, a lung disease which can be fatal for affected workers. This is unacceptable.

Tchibo has taken numerous measures in this context since 2009, when the first reports of sandblasting-related health dangers surfaced. We formed a cross-departmental “jeans” working group and raised our suppliers’ awareness of the health risks that come from working with sandblasters. All Tchibo jeans articles have fallen under a general sandblasting ban since October 2010. The last Tchibo jeans articles made using sandblasting procedures were ordered in the summer of 2009 and produced under special protective measures. They were sold in April 2010.

You can find Tchibo’s position paper on the topic of sandblasting here.

Child labour

Despite intensive international efforts, child labour is still a problem, particularly in agriculture in developing countries. Coffee cultivation can be the main area of concern here for Tchibo. Children usually live together with their parents on farms. Some help them with harvests. Harvest time usually either completely or partially coincides with school holidays. Lawmakers and international development organisations and standards tolerate this harvesting work as a “mild form of child labour”, based on the children’s age and taking the affected country’s level of development into consideration. To qualify as a mild form of child labour, work cannot interfere with children’s schooling.

Unfortunately, children continue to work when school is in session and to complete hard and/or dangerous work, which is always prohibited. Carrying full sacks of coffee is undoubtedly hard physical work; if this takes place on a hillside, it is also dangerous. It is difficult to uncover and monitor such instances of impermissible work.

Therefore, we support socially and environmentally responsible coffee production around the world, banding together with partners such as the Rainforest Alliance, Fairtrade and the organisations that issue the “Bio-Siegel” (“organic seal”) certification. In the social sector, we support, as a minimum, all of the International Labour Organization’s (ILO) core labour standards, including fair compensation and the prohibition of child labour, in addition to further labour protection measures. Experts recognise and acknowledge our efforts.

Abolishing all forms of child labour will only be possible if parents are able and willing to send their children to school and if age-appropriate childcare is available when school is not in session. Therefore, we are collaborating on a pilot project in Guatemala with a regional non-governmental organisation. Through this project, we aim to raise awareness among parents and to allow their children to use childcare services which we will create in cooperation with our local partner. We will also support the construction and maintenance of schools. The harvest yields lost through the withdrawal of child labour will also be compensated as part of the project.

You can read more about child labour in the context of the production of Tchibo’s consumer goods and about audits here.

Animal welfare

We consider it our obligation to upcoming generations to handle the environment responsibly. In addition to protecting the climate and conserving natural resources, we also pay especially close attention to protecting wildlife. Our consumer goods only use down, feathers and leathers that are a by-product of food production,

and for several years we have been using high-quality imitation fur in place of real fur.

Tchibo also supports FOUR PAWS’ appeal to the EU. The international animal welfare organisation is entreating the EU commission to place a strict ban on the removal of down and feathers from live animals. Tchibo and other leading commercial enterprises are signatories to the open letter.

You can find more information about FOUR PAWS here.