The Practice of Third-Party Certification: Enhancing Environmental Sustainability and Social Justice in the Global South?

Abstract

Third-party certification (TPC) has emerged over the past decade as a key mechanism to govern the agri-food system. Increasingly both nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and food retailers assert that if standards for food safety and quality are to be credible in the public eye, then they must be accompanied by independent audits conducted by third parties (Bain, 2010; Busch and Bain, 2004; Freidberg, 2004). In particular, a variety of activist NGOs are using TPC in an effort to ensure that food and agricultural production is conducted in a manner that is environmentally sustainable and/or socially just (Barrientos, 2000; Bonanno and Constance, 1995; Klooster, 2005; Renard, 2003). NGOs use TPC to deliver information about the specific quality of products (e.g., fair trade, organic, good labour practices, and animal welfare) to concerned consumers. In this way, NGOs are attempting to link concerned consumers with producers whose method of farming is sustainable and ethical (Barrientos, 2000; Gereffi et al., 2001; Raynolds et al., 2007). At the same time, NGOs are pressuring major food retailers to implement TPC as a means to demonstrate that their globally sourced products are produced in a socially and environmentally responsible manner (Freidberg, 2004; O’Rourke, 2006). Concern about the potential loss of reputation and the need to minimize liability has motivated many of these retailers to develop their own standards that are independently certified to communicate a product’s quality.