The world of work is a core contributor to the grand challenges facing the world today. On the one hand, the climate crisis is a critical area of concern that is impacted significantly by those who live and work in the informal economy, often due to exploitative and consumptive phenomena that limit choices for individuals and communities. On the other hand, this crisis tends to have a disproportionately larger adverse impact on those how live and work in the informal economy, due to limited access to resources, poverty, and means for protection.
Grounding the talk in lessons learned from artisans and indigenous knowledge schemas, this presentation will discuss a vision for a sustainable supply chain that supports living wages, worker wellbeing, and the environment. We envision an evidence-informed version of such a supply line derived from a case vignette of artisanal workers that puts the worker and the planet at the forefront. Such a supply line with key inflection or touch points that rest on the principles of living wages can be a win-win-win for people, planet, shared prosperity, including, importantly, the margins of the labour market.