Oxfam goes 'behind the brands'

Oxfam International wants consumers to know more about how the world's biggest food brands approach ethics and social responsibility. The 'Behind the Brands' campaign is aimed at actually changing the way these big brands do business, using the public spotlight and consumer pressure to stimulate change.

Here's what Oxfam's chief executive says: 'Consumers have the right to know how their food has been produced and the impact this has on the world's poorest people who are growing the ingredients. The hundreds of brands lining supermarket shelves are predominantly owned by just 10 huge companies, which have combined revenues of more than $1bn a day while one-in-eight people go to bed hungry every night'.

Oxfam has developed scoreboards and applies seven criteria (including transparency, land use and climate issues) to rank these 10 big food marketers:

• Associated British Foods (owner of Ovaltine and other brands)
• Coca-Cola
• Danone
• Kellogg
• General Mills
• Mars
• Mondelez (formerly Kraft)
• Nestle
• Pepsi
• Unilever

Nestle was among the first to respond to Oxfam's rankings regarding its chocolate products. Among other actions, it is studying how to have a strong, positive impact on women in its supply chain. Oxfam welcomed this response and urged prompt planning and implementation.

Needless to say, social media like Facebook (where Oxfam GB has 128,000+ likes) will play a role in the success of 'Behind the Brands'.