Our contribution to the Initiative for Responsible Carnauba (IRC)

Piauí and Ceará in the Northeastern region of Brazil are part of the country’s most impoverished regions, with a lot of Carnauba production taking place. The land suffers from degradation and a poor management of local species and habitats. A study commissioned by the IRC found that workers sometimes work excessive hours and some actors confirmed the existence of labour exploitation, which is however not limited to the Carnauba sector in the region.

Compared to former times, workers have already witnessed improvement. Yet, some workers still do not receive minimum wage, have limited training and there sometimes is a lack of first aid equipment in the field. Nonetheless, the health and safety have improved with the distribution of personal protective equipment and some training for machine operators.

With 95% of Carnauba powder and wax being produced in Piauí and Ceará as well as 100.000-200.000 workers involved, Norevo has at heart to help improving Brazil’s current situation in order to secure a responsible Carnauba production.

To do so, Norevo participates in the IRC, which supports improvements in the Carnauba supply chains in Brazil. The IRC works with Carnauba processing companies to improve workers’ living and working conditions and preserve biodiversity in Carnauba production areas. Together with Norevo, Brazilian and international companies, government and civil society institutions are taking part in the IRC. By being a member of the IRC, the local wax processing companies make certain commitments, e.g. not to be on the government’s list of slave labour companies, having full traceability, and commit to annual third-party verifications. And the results can already be seen: the IRC has achieved progress in form of dialogues with local governments, collaboration amongst the IRC members as well as improvement in the supply chain practices (e.g. training or traceability).

Read more about the IRC here.