ABSTRACT
During the past two decades, environmental movements have been part of eff orts to change production practices to reduce environmental degradation and improve ecological sustainability. Going beyond protests and boycotts, many environmental organizations have formed networks among themselves as well as with major corporations in North America and Europe in an eff ort to make supply chains environmentally and socially sustainable. With globalization of production and trade, the targeted supply chains in an array of industries (apparel, footwear, fl owers, fresh produce, coff ee, tea, and cocoa) have signifi cant connections with developing countries. Th e supply chain oft en has a signifi cant presence of small producers from developing economies in primary production activities. In the face of many scandals and well-documented problems related to environmental degradation, poor working conditions, and unfair prices, multinational corporations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) have fostered the adoption of codes of conduct or standards aimed at improving these dimensions. Th ese initiatives have led to the rise of what some refer to as “private regulation” (Vogel, 2008).
