State of Sustainability Initiatives - Standards and the Blue Economy

Are we making progress towards eliminating child labour? A root cause analysis in the cocoa sector in Côte d’Ivoire

This white paper examines the status of child labour in the cocoa sector in Côte d’Ivoire, addressing its root causes, intervention strategies, and the ch…

Unlocking targeted approaches to improve household resilience of cocoa farmers

Growing hemp for the future: A global fiber guide

Since its recent legalization in countries around the world, the global textile industry is increasingly turning to hemp, celebrating the plant’s ability to enhance soil health, support biodiversity, s…

CottonConnect Impact Report 2023

CottonConnect’s second Impact Report provides an update on their REEL Cotton, REEL Regenerative, Women in Cotton, Organic, and Responsible Gins programmes and reports on how they are delivering…

The role of multi-stakeholder sustainability initiatives in reaching the goals of the EU Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive

This paper analyses how multi-stakeholder initiatives (MSIs) and landscape-level programs can help to mitigate the risks of the…

Facilitating women’s economic empowerment through trade with voluntary sustainability standards

Gender equality is a right and ensuring the rights of women and girls across all the SDGs will lay the foundations for a just and equitable society that works for all. Creating enabling…

Global evidence on context and agency interventions to empower women and girls

As gender equity becomes more central to social and economic development, practitioners are increasingly focused on women and girls’ empowerment as a sustainable way to enhance well-being and close gender g…

Earn a living? What the Côte d’Ivoire–Ghana cocoa living income differential might deliver on its promise

This paper examines the potential effectiveness of the Living Income Differential (LID) policy, which involves charging higher prices for beans, introduced jointly by Côte …

Corporate Human Rights Benchmark Report 2022

This report presents insights from the fifth edition of the World Benchmarking Alliance's Corporate Human Rights Benchmark. This report presents the 2022 findings from the CHRB assessment of the food…

Global Market Report: Cocoa prices and sustainability

This global market report on cocoa is part of the IISD: Sustainable Commodities Marketplace Series. It explores recent market trends in the cocoa sector, what these trends mean for producers in…

Voluntary Sustainability Standards Sustainability Agenda and Developing Countries: Opportunities and Challenges

To achieve sustainable and inclusive growth, it is vital that sustainable business practices are adopted throughout entire global value chains (GVCs). Companies are…

Exploring Fairtrade's impact: a review of research on Fairtrade from 2015-20

This report presents the research findings from a review of studies that examines the impact of Fairtrade International on beneficiaries. The literature review was carried out to inform Fairtrade…