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Government regulation

Revealing product supply chains

Nature Sustainability volume 6, pages 11–12 (2023)Cite this article

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A survey study shows that people want their governments to require increased transparency from companies about their supply chains. But it remains unclear how consumers would respond if such policies raised product prices.

The electric-car example raises an old conundrum in a new context. In the globalized economy, manufacturers of everything from cars to clothing obtain the raw materials for their products from all over the world. In the countries where these products are purchased, consumers are not always aware of the damages inflicted on the environment and human health in the process of fabricating the finished products that they buy. This lack of transparency perpetuates dismal labour conditions, inadequate worker compensation and environmental pollution in low-income countries on the other end of the global supply chain. Lacking information about these conditions, would-be conscientious consumers in high-income countries do not hold corporations accountable. Instead, manufacturers are incentivized to perpetuate unsustainable practices throughout their supply chains to keep consumer prices down.

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  1. McCourt School of Public Policy, Georgetown University, Washington, DC, USA

    Parrish Bergquist

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  1. Parrish Bergquist
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Correspondence to Parrish Bergquist.

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The author declares no competing interests.

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Bergquist, P. Revealing product supply chains. Nat Sustain 6, 11–12 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41893-022-01006-3

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