Fair Stone
Fair Stone is an international social and environmental standard for natural stone imports that has existed since 2007 .
Numerous Fair Stone partners have started to successfully implement the standard in their supply chains. At the end of 2012, the first suppliers in China were audited by independent bodies. Fair Stone works primarily in China, Vietnam and Turkey.
The seal is product-oriented and only certifies certain materials and products from import partners, not entire factories. This is done in order to be able to guarantee traceability, which would not be possible with the certification of entire factories, which often also process imported stones from unknown sources.
The relevance of natural stone seals
The globalization and especially international trade have contributed in the last two decades in the natural stone industry a tremendous dynamic. New technical possibilities, low prices and the variety of natural stones have contributed to the fact that more and more natural stones are imported from emerging and developing countries . The working conditions in the local quarries, factories and workshops, however, usually do not correspond to international labor standards and conditions. In China, the majority of workers in the quarries, but also in processing companies, are at risk from dust, noise and poor working conditions. In other countries, such as India, there is also child labor , which is often based on the bondage of their families.
Creation of Fair Stone
Fair Stone was developed by WiN = WiN GmbH - Agency for Global Responsibility in two years in close cooperation with managers of a supply chain for natural stones from China to Europe, experts from the International Social Security Association (ISSA), the former German quarry trade association (StBG) , and international labor law and social experts and is now available as a standard specially developed for natural stones for the import industry. Fair Stone strives for global distribution with the aim of improving the working conditions of people in the natural stone industry, especially in Asia and in the future also in Latin America and Africa. The (further) development of the Fair Stone Standard is promoted and accompanied by a voluntary steering group, which also makes decisions according to the standard by consensus. Members are the former Federal Labor Minister Walter Riester, Klaus Mai (architect) and Rainer Krug (managing director of the German Natural Stone Association). In addition, an advisory board gives essential suggestions and represents Fair Stone in public.
How the Fair Stone standard works and the seal
The way the Fair Stone Standard works is similar to other standards such as the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) , Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) , SA8000 or the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) . Companies that want to orient their supply chains to the Fair Stone standard take responsibility for implementation and are referred to as Fair Stone partners . As part of a cooperation agreement, they register their supply chains from developing and emerging countries with Fair Stone. They sign a supplier agreement and undertake to actively participate in the implementation of the standard. The now registered supply chains of the Fair Stone suppliers are visited by local Fair Stone representatives on site, training courses on the topics of occupational safety, personal protective equipment , handling hazardous substances, etc. are held and documented in step-by-step reporting. Fair Stone representatives accompany this process with their support, for example by providing training materials and notices as well as through announced and unannounced inspection visits.
In order to register a supply chain, the following prerequisites must be met:
- No Child labor
- No forced labor
- Voluntary commitment to help improve working conditions
The participating supply chains undertake to do this by signing the supplier agreement. The Fair Stone seal may only be used if the following measures have taken place in addition to the preconditions and have been assessed by a Fair Stone representative:
- Fair Stone Workshop
- Personal protective equipment for workers is used
- A clear flow of material can be seen
- Safety signs and fire extinguishers were sensibly installed
- Tracing Fair Stone software is used
Independent, external auditors, etc. a. from TÜV Rheinland carry out an audit in the companies after three years at the latest and issue the Fair Stone certificates. Successfully audited Fair Stone Suppliers are then listed as Certified Fair Stone Suppliers . If the supplier does not meet the requirements of the standard, he can be audited again after a further year at the latest before he loses the right to call himself a Fair Stone supplier.
Contents of the Fair Stone Standard
The Fair Stone Standard is divided into five parts: (1) quarries, (2) natural stone factories, (3) supply chains (importers / exporters), (4) associated partners (e.g. stone cutters and traders) and (5) management system . The criteria were developed by the ISSA experts and other specialists on the basis of international standards and several visits to the Chinese production facilities. In the standard itself, the various dangers to which the workers are exposed are explicitly addressed and indicators are written down which the participating factories or quarries can use to check compliance, e.g. B .:
- Working hours and remuneration
- Avoidance of noise, vibration and harmful posture
- Handling of hazardous substances and machines
- Environmental requirements such as wastewater treatment and renaturation
Labor law criteria
These criteria include a. the aforementioned Fair Stone requirements such as the prohibition of exploitative child labor and forced labor (debt bondage). The basis for the labor law Fair Stone criteria are u. a. the conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO) :
- C182 Convention against exploitative child labor
- C138 Convention on Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
- C105 and C29 against forced labor and its abolition
- C155 Safety and Health at Work Convention
- C148 Convention for the Protection of Workers from Air Pollution, Noise and Vibration
- C170 Convention on the Handling of Chemicals.
Sector- specific problems such as protection against silicosis (dust lung) and special problems in the respective country, e.g. B. the lack of employment contracts or health insurance were identified in a stakeholder dialogue and solutions presented. Compliance with national laws is another essential part of the Fair Stone criteria.
environmental Protection
The observance of environmental and resource protection is necessary to ensure sustainability , i. H. to secure the chances of future generations. In particular, the issues of waste and wastewater disposal and the consumption of resources such as water and energy are dealt with in the standard. For the quarries there are also specific requirements for renaturation and the protection of biodiversity .
Management system
The Fair Stone management system deals with compliance with the standard, implementation and documentation as well as the traceability of natural stones. Integrated components are, for example:
- Scheduled and unannounced inspections by Fair Stone representatives
- Step by step reporting on implemented measures and improvements
- Tracing Fair Stone - the traceability software
Seal use
Every delivery registered in the tracing software Tracing Fair Stone of a product registered with Fair Stone from a Fair Stone supplier to a Fair Stone partner may be printed with the Fair Stone seal. The QR code to be attached with the seal is delivery-specific and provides information about the origin, the importer and the place of arrival. It is important that the Fair Stone seal may only be used if:
- The supplier is a Fair Stone Supplier authorized to use the seal (i.e. basic health and safety guidelines are complied with beyond the prerequisites and this has been checked by Fair Stone) AND
- The material (e.g. which special granite) is registered with Fair Stone AND
- The delivery is registered in the Tracing Fair Stone System AND
- Delivered to a Fair Stone partner.
Tracing fair stone
The specially developed Tracing Fair Stone software enables Fair Stone as well as interested customers and the Fair Stone partner himself to trace deliveries from the order through the shipment to the warehouse. Only registered deliveries may bear the Fair Stone seal. Using the order number or the QR code , which has been introduced in 2012, everyone is able to query the delivery data online and find out the place of manufacture.
abuse
In the cooperation agreement for Fair Stone suppliers and partners, they must undertake in writing not to misuse the seal. Violations of the agreements are sanctioned with the withdrawal of the seal or, in severe cases, with claims for damages.
Web links
- Fair Stone's website
- WiN = WiN GmbH - agency for global responsibility
- Tracing software for checking Fair Stone orders
- Database entry Fair Stone at label-online.de
Individual evidence
- ^ Label Online - Fair Stone . Website. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
- ↑ Natural stone - Fair Stone in China ( Memento of the original from June 2, 2016 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . Article dated September 20, 2012. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
- ↑ Südwind Institute for Economics and Ecumenism - Stumbling block ( Memento of the original from December 13, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and not yet checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF; 778 kB) Publication from 2008. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
- ^ ISSA website . December 31, 2007. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
- ↑ Fairtrade Germany website ( Memento of the original from November 22, 2015 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. . February 23, 2011. Retrieved January 18, 2013.
- ↑ Tracing Fair Stone Homepage . Retrieved January 21, 2013.
