Princes' supply chain gains ethical accreditation

By the end of the 2018 tomato season, all the tomatoes Princes processed came from a source farm in Puglia that holds either Global GAP (Good Agricultural Practice) GRASP or SA8000 accreditation.

GRASP is a voluntary, ready-to-use system that was developed to assess social practices on farms, including workers’ health, safety and welfare, contracts, wages and freedom of representation.

Migrant worker employment scheme​

Princes’ ethical accreditation work extends to its migrant worker employment scheme, offering out-of-work migrants positions in its Foggia facility. The scheme, ‘Lavoro Senza Frontiere’ or ‘Work Without Borders’, was established in partnership with the charity group Caritas.

Princes’ corporate relations director David McDiarmid said: “We have worked hard with our direct suppliers and their growers to reach this 100% ethical accreditation goal and improve the lives of workers in our supply chain.​

‘Redefine its ethical standards’​

“We hold regular conferences to encourage the tomato supply chain to redefine its ethical standards, and continue to use our voice to urge all European supply chain stakeholders to deepen their understanding of the causes of labour issues in Italian agriculture, as well as collaborating on solutions.”​

News of Princes’ commitment to an ethical supply chain followed plans to sacrifice its Chichester factory, affecting 200 jobs​​. The manufacturer said the move was part of a wider drive to modernise production.

A spokesman for the company said: “We can confirm we have commenced a consultation with employees at our Chichester site. We regret that, under our proposal, we are forecasting the closure of the Chichester site by the end of 2020. This is not a course of action that has been taken lightly.​​”