Similar management systems are well established for product safety and environmental issues. Here, we focus on the social dimensions of ethical trade and its codes of conduct yet the separation of social and environmental standards is increasingly artificial in global sourcing agreements. A plethora of codes are on offer. The most numerous are in-house codes such as Nike's or Gap's. 233 company codes were counted in 1999 and the figure is rising.
Suppliers have to comply with and pay for a multitude of similar but different codes.
Harmonising codes or establishing equivalence is on the agenda but has not yet halted the problem of 'code overload'. At a broader level, industry-specific codes have also been developed. Industry standards are not new, as ISO and EMAS environmental management systems show. This is an independent social standard that can be used as an auditable code throughout the private sector, as Kohl Kaufman explains. Ethical trade is partly a response to consumer and campaigning group pressure in a globalised economy.