I recently wrote about sweatshops and suggested that there was a conflict between the "social responsibility" policies of large retailers and the pressure they put on their suppliers to cut prices.

It seems I am not the only one who thinks this may be a problem, as this report in The Guardian points out.

Using their power at the top of global supply chains, companies with ruthless buying practices are squeezing their suppliers to deliver faster and more cheaply, according to Oxfam. The effect is to drive down wages and compromise the welfare of the workers.

I mentioned Tesco and Wal-Mart, and the Oxfam report criticizes them, but of course they say that "they enforce rigorous codes of ethical trading". Of course!