Marks & Spencer has signed up to a new WWF Seafood Charter aimed at preventing the over-fishing of European waters.

The new charter will see the high street giant commit to sustainable fisheries management and sustainable farmed fish production for the sourcing of all of its fish and shell fish.

The move, which forms part of the company’s Plan A commitment to sustainability, will see M&S working directly with the WWF to tackle issues such as over-fishing.

A recent report from the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) slammed a number of high profile supermarkets, claiming that they were doing too little to address the problem of the UK’s dwindling fish stocks.

M&S were among four of the major retailers praised in the report – along with Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, Waitrose and the Co-op – and the WWF now hopes that others follow its lead.

“We are delighted to be working with one of the UK’s best known retailers to protect our fish stocks and safeguard the health of our oceans,” said Sally Bailey, head of fisheries and seafood policy at WWF-UK.

M&S head of technology, Paul Willgoss, said that the company viewed the commitment as a fundamental part of its overall sustainable sourcing strategy.

“We’ve had a sustainable fishing policy for over a decade, but now we’re going even further by being the UK’s first company to sign WWF’s Seafood Charter,” he said.

“As part of Plan A, our £200m ‘eco-plan’, we are working with WWF to ensure that by 2012, all of our wild fish are Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certified or where MSC-certified sources are not available, our fish comes from fisheries that have sustainable practices in place that respect the natural environment.”

Richards Edwards

The High Street’s biggest names still need to place a focus on ethical sourcing – despite coming under pressure to cut costs as the economic downturn continues.

A number of high profile investigations have brought ethical sourcing sharply into focus, while discount retailers recently came under fire from Stuart Rose, executive chairman of Mark’s & Spencer.

“How can you sell a t-shirt for £2 and pay the rents and pay the rates and pay the buyer and pay the poor boy or girl who is making a living wage? You can’t. I don’t care what anyone says about margin structure, about the efficiency of the business, or about a low-cost business. You can’t do it,” Rose told the Daily Telegraph.

Julia Hawkins from the Ethical Trade Initiative (ETI), however, argues that retailers need to continue to place ethical considerations at the forefront of their sourcing strategies, despite procurement being placed under huge pressure to cut costs.

“The pressure is on for companies to squeeze their suppliers on cost but I would say that there are an increasing number of companies who realise that the value of the product goes beyond cost,” Hawkins tells Procurement Leaders.

“Obviously price is an issue but it would be too simplistic to say that all cheap companies are bad because there may be retailers selling more expensive clothes who are not sourcing as ethically as they should be.

“What we’re seeing is that companies are now taking responsibility for workers in their supply chain – ten years ago that wasn’t happening.”

Discount retailer Primark, which recorded an 18% rise in profits in the fourth quarter of 2008, has been the subject of a number investigations into its labour practices on the Indian subcontinent in the past 12 months and recently came under fire when it was revealed that workers at its Manchester-based knitwear factory TNS, were being paid less than the minimum wage.

The company has though, announced a series of appointments aimed at repairing its battered reputation.

Katherine Kirk, former head of accessories at Gap, has been appointment as the company’s ethical trading director – a first for the firm – while Primark is also thought to be considering a number of other ethical trading posts in its major sourcing markets of India, China and Bangladesh.