The rising power of brands has implications for public health, globalization and the environment. It may even be changing the political equation. Mighty companies have so much riding on their corporate image that they quiver in the face of customer opinion. And if they are mass-market companies, customer opinion is the same as public opinion, so corporate bosses become as sensitive to political and social shifts as elected officials. …consider public opinion about globalization. No regulation, or at least none that is enforced effectively, prevents furniture companies from despoiling Third World forests. But U.S. stores with brands worth protecting insist on certification from the Forest Stewardship Council. The fight about including labor and environmental standards in trade agreements rages inconclusively in Congress. But corporations do not suffer from that sort of gridlock, so they’re ahead of the curve. At a time when Washington seems incapable of tackling serious policy challenges, brands are creating a sort of shadow government.

News notes are courtesy of Southern Forests Network News Notes
www.southernsustainableforests.org