Ethics in the wine industry, once more

Last year I wrote a blog post about The ethics of presenting the wine industry. Recently, another example has arisen that reflects a similar issue, which I will write about here.

Ethics in the wine industry is an ongoing topic — it usually involves questioning the (lack of?) ethics of some (many?) people in the industry. I have not written much about wine-industry ethics in this blog. This is not from a lack of interest in the topic, but for lack of anything much to say that might be a bit different from any other wine blogger.

However, in the previous post, I wrote about my experience seeing some of the vineyards in South Africa, notably the fact that those around Cape Town are right next to an enormous shanty town called Khayelitsha. I wrote:

The massive shanty town (as an Australian would call it) south-east of Cape Town was a great shock to my bus-load of middle-class Swedish tourists. The contrast with the Kruger National Park (lions, elephants, giraffes, buffalo, etc), and the lower-middle-class servers in the tourist industry, was stark. Everyone on the bus noticed, and everyone expressed concern.

One cannot miss the contrast, when you are there. However, you don’t see it in any of the wine-industry photos.

Recently, an article appeared in the Swedish media: Hot och slavlöner bakom viner sålda i Sverige. This translates as: Threats and slave wages behind wines sold in Sweden. It is based on a report from Swedwatch, a group that investigates the products sold commercially in Sweden, and the social circumstances under which those products are produced.

In this case, the object of their scrutiny is the Swedish national retail-alcohol chain, Systembolaget, insisting that they step up their sustainability efforts in the supply chain. The report concerns serious workers’ rights abuses on South African farms, linked to wines eventually sold at Systembolaget (and elsewhere, in other countries). They consequently “urge Systembolaget to better use its leverage as a large public retailer to drive meaningful change, including by implementing stricter and results-based human rights and environmental due diligence tailored for high-risk locations.”

The important point I wish to make here is much more general than this. Swedwatch target a single retail chain, but it is clear that the same claims can be made about all retailers of South African wine, everywhere. So, there are international implications for the Swedwatch investigation, which everyone in the wine industry should take onboard.

Swedwatch provide a full English-language summary of their report. However, their Key Research Findings are:

• Those interviewed reported working an average of nine hours per day, five days a week, earning R4,576 (around €223) a month — insufficient to adequately support their families.
• Various housing problems including leaking roofs (which may contain asbestos), broken electrical plugs, and limited access to drinking water and leaking toilets and taps that cause flooding.
• Discrimination against union members, for example by employers only granting permission to a leave or giving other benefits to non-union members.
• Exposure to hazardous pesticides without proper safety measures. Chemical compounds identified by the workers include Paraquat, which is banned in the EU and classified as harmful to the environment and health.

Swedwatch conclude that:

The testimonies show that the measures Systembolaget has taken so far to fulfill its obligations according to international guidelines have been insufficient. The organization also criticizes the lack of transparency in the supply chain. Systembolaget has read the report, and they claim to be aware of the problems depicted, and state that they are continuously working on the issues.

As noted above, Swedwatch target a single retail chain, but it is clear that the same claims can be made about all retailers of South African wine, worldwide, and they can all thus be asked to answer. This is, after all, an essential component of ethics in the wine industry. So, it would be interesting to know whether retailers in other countries are also willing to take onboard the issues highlighted.