We promote these objectives within our supply chain by working with suppliers to discuss these issues and requiring that suppliers accept responsibility for their labor practices.
Middleton requires third-party audits of suppliers providing packaging and product materials who operate in certain high-risk regions. We also require third-party audits of international factories that produce custom consumer incentive items.
In addition, we use third-party firms to conduct audits of the overseas processing facilities of our tobacco suppliers.
These audits align with the
Social Accountability 8000 standard. Although they focus on child and forced labor, they often address other workplace practices, such as worker compensation, workplace safety, worker registration, management of employee records and environmental practices.
As a purchaser of offshore tobacco, we work with international agencies and others toward practical solutions that address the specific labor circumstances of the agricultural sector.
Middleton is a member of the international, Geneva-based
ECLT Foundation. The ECLT Foundation brings together businesses, growers and labor representatives with the purpose of ending the inappropriate use of child labor in tobacco growing and providing children with an upbringing that gives them the best chance to succeed in all aspects of life.
The ECLT Foundation focuses on:
- developing independent research to produce an objective picture of the level of inappropriate child labor in tobacco growing;
- supporting and funding local and community-based projects; and
- establishing and sharing best practices and lessons learned.
