Dutch supermarkets fall behind on human rights policies

Albert Heijn and Jumbo could be doing better when it comes to human rights practices in their business. 🌿

Oxfam Novib creates a yearly supermarket ranking based on their human rights policies for workers, small-scale farmers, and women in the supply chains. 🧑‍🌾

German brands Aldi and Lidl in the Netherlands made good strides towards better human rights policies this year. On the other hand, PLUS needs to “get to work,” says RTL Nieuws.

Making improvements

According to Oxfam Novib, the two German supermarkets in the country made solid improvements to their policies. “It really makes a difference in corporate social responsibility,” says Charlotte Vollaard, a human rights and business expert. 🕊

“Since the first ranking in 2018, supermarkets are scoring better than before. The difference is very big, especially because the Dutch supermarkets scored so poorly.”

But still, Oxfam Novib says all supermarkets can do much more to combat the exploitation of workers, farmers, and women in their practices.

Supermarket ranking results

Supermarket Lidl scored the highest on improvement, ranking 59% in Oxfam’s assessment. Aldi followed with a 49% increase. 👍🏼

READ MORE | The ultimate guide to the cheapest supermarkets in the Netherlands

The Dutch supermarkets only did so much (or so little?) — Albert Heijn scored 28%, and Jumbo scored 35% in overall improvements. PLUS did the worst, only ranking at 14%. 😕

No more exploitation

Ultimately, what matters most to the organisation is that “those who produce our food can earn a livable wage and are not exploited.”

Despite all the improvements, no supermarkets in the Netherlands have reached that goal yet. Vollaard says supermarkets are moving in the right direction with their human rights approach, but there is still a lot to be done.

What do you think of this supermarket ranking? Tell us in the comments!

Feature Image:Depositphotos
Katrien Nivera 🇵🇭
Katrien Nivera 🇵🇭
Third culture kid Katrien has been working as a writer and editor at DutchReview for over two years, originally moving to the Netherlands as a tween. Equipped with a Bachelor’s in communication and media and a Master’s in political communication, she’s here to stay for her passion for writing, whether it’s current Dutch affairs, the energy market, or universities. Just like the Dutch, Katrien lives by her agenda and enjoys the occasional frietje met mayo — she just wishes she could grow tall, too.

1 COMMENT

  1. The responsibility of supermarkets is to offer their customers products at the lowest price and still ensure a good profit to pay THEIR workers and shareholders! What Nivera advocates is socialism and when carried to extremes, communism. We live in The Netherlands, not a “worker’s paradise” like Cuba.

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