Sourcing Ethical and Sustainable Suppliers for Early Learning Resources

Curate a list of approved suppliers

On our Sustainable Suppliers page, we start by sharing ‘suppliers we love’ including our cleaning supplier SimplyClean, office supplier Buy Eco Green, our paper products supplier Who Gives a Crap, creative arts supplier Eco Art and Craft, wipes supplier Ecoriginals, and dry food supplier Honest to Goodness. We aim to source items, prioristing in this order:

• 1) Australian made (Fair Trade)
• 2) Fair Trade, and lastly 
• 3) Made from natural materials

We review the following points of consideration below, noting the level of sustainability in the items’ production, its finished material, durability and affordability. Consider asking the following questions: 

• Is it Australian made?
• Is it made by a Fair Trade supplier?
  • Opt for resources made in countries that offer fair wages and suppliers that are environmentally conscious.
• Is it made of natural materials?
• What is its waste stream once broken or damaged? Is it recyclable, able to be repurposed, or destined for the landfill?
  • Opt for natural materials, or recyclable plastic. If it is destined for the landfill is there an alternative?
• Will the item last 1 year? (excluding perishables or items we are trialling)
• Will it sustain the rigor of preschool use?
  • If it’s expected to be damaged or broken easily – please review. Opt for resources that will sustain the rigor of preschool use, decide against items that are only suitable for household use.
• If the price is high, what is the comparative price to a non-eco alternative?
  • If the eco-item is more than 2-3x the price, consider alternatives, or advocate for the eco item. If the item is not comparable, use your best judgement when it comes to price.

Assess the Social and Environmental Responsibility

To assess the level of social and environmental responsibility, we have found it helpful to review the following 4 areas for each supplier: 

• Fair Trade: Is there any information on their website regarding being Fair Trade certified? Companies that are Australian owned and manufacture their goods in Australia would be considered Fair Trade as they must comply with Australian law which protects employees of Australian businesses
• End of life: What will happen to the resource after it reaches the end of its life? Reach out to the supplier to see if there’s a way to recycle the item or any notes about its waste stream destination.  
• Modern Slavery Statement: “Large entities with over AU$100 million annual consolidated revenue must prepare annual Modern Slavery Statements. Statements must explain what the reporting entity is doing to assess and address modern slavery risks in its global operations and supply chains.” (Modern Slavery Register)
• Audit or Certification: Manufacturers may be required to have an ethical trade or social compliance audit to provide their goods to certain larger suppliers. Inquiring customers are welcome to request these audits and companies are free to share their audits if they wish. If they deny your request to review the audit, ask them ‘why not?’

Ethical Trade / Social Compliance Audits

SMETA/SEDEX, SA8000, and Amfori (previously BSCI) are the top 3 most internationally recognised auditors and certification organistions in regards to business ethics.

Never heard of these auditing bodies before? We hadn’t either! In our search for sustainably and ethically produced resources, we were in contact with suppliers that provided us with their ethical trade audit that had been conducted at their manufacturing site.

Today, thankfully, many large companies (for example, Woolworths, Officeworks, and Amazon) request and undergo audits and regular monitoring of their supply chains to avoid being complicit in crimes like human trafficking, forced labour, unfair working conditions and child labour. For more information on avoiding goods commonly produced with child labour, the United States Bureau of International Affairs details a long list of goods produced by child labour with descriptions.

Read more below on how each of these groups audits companies for their compliance with business ethics, social responsibility and environmental consideration.

SMETA/SEDEX

• Sedex Members Ethical Trade Audit (SMETA): This audit procedure and membership organisation was created by the Supplier Ethical Data Exchange (SEDEX) in the United Kingdom in 2004. This audit is the only type that evaluates a business’s environmental responsibility. 
  • Number of members (buyers and suppliers): over 90,000 
  • Expiration: Does not expire, as it is not a certification
  • Method: Companies can undergo an either 2-Pillar or 4-Pillar audit (see Pillars below). Involves an announced or unannounced site visit to the factory. It evaluates the business in terms of the following:
    • 1) Labour Standards
    • 2) Health and Safety 
    • 3) The Environment 
    • 4) Business Ethics

Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000)

• Social Accountability 8000 (SA8000): This audit was developed by Social Accountability International (SAI), an international non-government organisation, founded in the USA in 1997,  that champions the rights of workers. The SA8000 was the first type of certification in this area of ethical trade audits. 
  • Number of organisations under its certification: 4000
  • Expiration: 3 years 
  • Method: Grants a certificate after an organisation passes the audit, includes onsite monitoring 2x a year. Elements of evaluation are below: 
    • Child Labor
    • Forced or Compulsory Labor
    • Health and Safety
    • Freedom of Association & Right to Collective Bargaining
    • Discrimination
    • Disciplinary Practices
    • Working Hours
    • Remuneration
    • Management System

Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI)/Amfori

• Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI)/Amfori: Founded in 2003 by the Foreign Trade Association (now called Amfori and headquartered in Belgium) with a focus on ethical supply chains in global trade. 
  • Number of organisations involved: 2,400 
  • Expiration: 2 years 
  • Method: Grades the organisation against the following 13 performance indicators, then provides an overall grade, involves site tours and follow-up visits.
    • 1. Social Management System and Cascade Effect
    • 2. Workers Involvement and Protection
    • 3. The Rights of Freedom of Association and Collective Bargaining
    • 4. No Discrimination, Violence or Harassment
    • 5. Fair Remuneration
    • 6. Decent Working Hours
    • 7. Occupational Health and Safety
    • 8. No Child Labour
    • 9. Special Protection for Young Workers
    • 10. No Precarious Employment
    • 11. No Bonded, Forced Labour or Human Trafficking
    • 12. Protection of the Environment
    • 13. Ethical Business Behaviour

Journey towards wholly sustainable resourcing

We have found some bright spots in the sustainable early learning resources arena and have noted them on our Sustainable Suppliers page. As a team, we will keep updating our list of suppliers and hope to see it grow as companies become more conscious about social and environmental responsibility.

It is a journey and currently we have found ourselves challenged by the following:

• Limited suppliers in Australia 
• False presentation: Suppliers that convey an appearance of a sustainably responsible ethos through the use of natural materials and language on their website – that unfortunately fall short upon our request more information or discover elements of the product that make its disposal toxic
• Going out of business: Small Australian made suppliers going out of business for various reasons. In a recent update of our suppliers page we had to delete nearly 50% of the Australian made suppliers on our list, due to their closure.

Overall we are tentatively pleased with the growing international interest in creating supply chains that are socially and environmentally considerate. We aim to support businesses that are ethically, socially and environmentally responsible in our Preschool purchasing and hope that you check out our suppliers page and support them too!

Please let us know if you have found any sustainable early learning suppliers that excite you!