A full-time trade unionist in the garments industry since 1972, Neil Kearney was winning awards for his work on eliminating child labour back in 1998, when many companies were still in the dark about the issue. Kearney has a manner so dry his humour is hard to detect, but it lies under the surface and is brought to light quickly. It would probably be impossible to do what he does – campaign for better labour standards and worker representation in the world’s poorest nations – without some sense of perspective.

Claims of child labour in Gap’s supply chains offer a sobering lesson for supporters of company-led “ethical sourcing”, says Kearney. He asks: “If after a dozen years of frantic activity … the lead player has not rid its supply chain of children, what does this say about CSR’s ability to drive change?”

He acknowledges the progress of some companies in this area, noting that a dozen years ago only a handful of firms had ethical codes, while now there are thousands. New corporate players are beginning to grapple with trying to see their ethical supply codes adhered to, he says, but some giant retailers are “tempting the market with lighter, watered down” ethics codes for the supply chain.

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