{"id":9127,"date":"2022-07-14T09:38:47","date_gmt":"2022-07-14T09:38:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=9127"},"modified":"2022-07-14T09:38:49","modified_gmt":"2022-07-14T09:38:49","slug":"upholding-human-rights","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/07\/14\/upholding-human-rights\/","title":{"rendered":"Upholding Human Rights"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Reading graduate, Heather Cadden, tells CONNECTED how our future can\u2019t just focus on achieving net zero carbon \u2013 a truly sustainable world also needs to empower people in the supply chain.<\/span><\/p>\n

Heather studied human geography<\/a> at Reading, a decision which sparked a passion for fighting for people\u2019s human rights.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cI was incredibly inspired by one of my modules \u2013 taught by Dr Sally Lloyd-Evans \u2013 where we had to do a presentation on child labour in a high street retailer. It made me realise my passion for this area, but I didn\u2019t know if jobs in this space even existed.<\/p>\n

\"\"\u201cAfter university, I briefly tried teaching geography but realised I was lacking life experience and spent some time working in retail figuring out what I wanted to do. During this time, I came across an entry-level ethical role at Asda, and Dr Lloyd-Evans helped to prepare me for the interview. I spent two years at Asda learning the ropes of ethical trading, and once I felt I\u2019d learnt the basics I moved to SEDEX \u2013 an ethical trade membership organisation who work with businesses to improve working conditions in global supply chains \u2013 before joining Marks & Spencer as an ethical trade officer.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heather now works as a Responsible Sourcing Manager focusing on human rights at M&S Food<\/a>, which sits within their Environmental, Social and Governance Strategy<\/a> \u2013 and was established 15 years ago with the aim of embedding sustainability into M&S\u2019 business model. She tells CONNECTED how her team work to protect human rights in the supply chain.<\/p>\n

Protecting workers<\/strong><\/h4>\n

She explained:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe focus on protecting workers. Their lives shouldn\u2019t be negatively impacted by working with M&S, it should be positively impacted by it. We help to uncover problems and rectify them. We don\u2019t do this on our own \u2013 it\u2019s important that we collaborate with other businesses including our competitors, suppliers and industry experts on the ground to improve working conditions.”<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Heather shares some of the projects that she has been working on with M&S recently. \u201cWe were lacking direct feedback from the people we were trying to protect and support, so for the last two years I\u2019ve worked on launching a voice tool in our supply chain,\u201d she explained.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis tool enables workers in the UK \u2013 and will eventually include those in global food factories \u2013 to feedback to M&S on their specific areas of risk. I have also travelled to visit suppliers across the UK and Europe, interviewing their workers about their experiences and supporting them with implementing changes.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cAnother project I worked on was with Kenyan flower farmers with the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. With flowers not being considered an essential item, these farmers were hit hard during the pandemic, so we worked with them to look at how they could improve their livelihoods and resilience.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cWe have also supported people across farms and factories to realise their true potential through our Emerging Leaders training programme.\u201d<\/p>\n

Factoring people into a sustainable world<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Heather explains why it is important to protect and amplify the voices of people in the supply chain in our efforts to achieve a sustainable future.<\/p>\n

She said: \u201cEven if we could achieve an environmentally sustainable planet, if that world is still run by big corporations with no thought for protecting workers, then we can\u2019t have a sustainable future.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWithout empowering people who make the products we use \u2013 such as cocoa farmers in Africa \u2013 we will end up with the same problem further down the line. You can tick a box to greenwash supply chains, but if you don\u2019t build this ethos into culture and people\u2019s livelihoods for them to pass down to generations, then it won\u2019t be sustainable in the sense that it won\u2019t last.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

We need to empower everyone and not just let corporations engage in a box-ticking exercise.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heather also stresses the morals behind embedding human rights in the supply chain. \u201cWhy fight for the future of our planet if we don\u2019t fight for the correct treatment of people on the planet?<\/p>\n

\n

“We shouldn\u2019t have products at the expense of other people\u2019s livelihoods \u2013 it\u2019s imperative that we treat people well.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Encouraging others<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Heather\u2019s passion for her work continually draws her back to Reading, to encourage others to join her in the fight.<\/p>\n

She said:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI absolutely love what I do \u2013 it feels like I\u2019m going to work for a good reason. It can be a very difficult job and I often hear things I\u2019d rather not know about. Ignorance can be bliss, but I want to do the right thing and it\u2019s important to seek out problems so we can do something about it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cEvery year I go back to Reading to give a lecture on one of Dr Lloyd-Evans\u2019 modules, and I mentor students from the University who are interested in the industry. I do this in my free time, in an informal way. I support my mentees with that big jump from leaving education and going to work, and help them understand the realities of life within the ethical trading and human rights industry.\u201d<\/p>\n

Heather is also keen to encourage others to do their bit and think about the ethical implications when they are shopping.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI don\u2019t buy everything perfectly, but it\u2019s important to look at a company\u2019s ethical commitments such as their Modern Slavery Statements. Avoid being drawn in by ethical greenwashing and read into what that company is actually doing, and ask questions about where their products come from.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Business as usual<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Despite loving her work, Heather does hope that one day jobs like hers shouldn\u2019t need to exist, as the ultimate aim is to change behaviours.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I graduated these jobs didn\u2019t exist as much, but the ethical industry has boomed with it now being pretty common to have these roles in the food and clothing industry,\u201d she explained. \u201cThe dream is that these types of roles are only around for a short period of time because people start doing the right thing.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cI\u2019d love for this to become business as usual \u2013 whether you are a buyer, a designer or anywhere in the process, you uphold human rights without questioning it. I\u2019m not sure it will happen in my career lifetime, but we will know the work is done when they no longer need us.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Find out more about studying human geography<\/a> at Reading, or discover more about M&S’ Environmental, Social and Governance Strategy<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reading graduate, Heather Cadden, tells CONNECTED how our future can\u2019t just focus on achieving net zero carbon \u2013 a truly sustainable world also needs to empower people in the supply chain. Heather studied human geography at Reading, a decision which sparked a passion for fighting for people\u2019s human rights. She said: \u201cI was incredibly inspired […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":9133,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[54,19,23,26,105,146,34,137,44,61],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nUpholding Human Rights - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Heather Cadden explains how our future can\u2019t just focus on achieving net zero \u2013 a sustainable world also needs to empower people in the supply chain.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/07\/14\/upholding-human-rights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Upholding Human Rights - Connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Heather Cadden explains how our future can\u2019t just focus on achieving net zero \u2013 a sustainable world also needs to empower people in the supply chain.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/07\/14\/upholding-human-rights\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Connected\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2022-07-14T09:38:47+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2022-07-14T09:38:49+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2022\/07\/shutterstock_image.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"550\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Sophia McIvor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Sophia McIvor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/07\/14\/upholding-human-rights\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2022\/07\/14\/upholding-human-rights\/\",\"name\":\"Upholding Human Rights - 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