Aldi Australia

In July 2011 Aldi Foods provided a court enforceable undertaking to the ACCC in relation to the labelling of 'Just Organic' honey manufactured by Spring Gully Foods and sold exclusively through Aldi supermarkets. Both companies were ordered to change the labels, inform consumers by corrective notices, and establish and implement a compliance program.
Source: ACCC (2011)

In 2020 this company announced that following a 40% reduction of overall operational emissions from a 2012 baseline, it is now committing to 100 per cent renewable electricity to power its Australian operations by the end of 2021.
Source: news article (2020)

This company sells Rainforest Alliance certified products. However this only represents a fraction of this company's total private label products sales. Rainforest Alliance certification has been dubbed 'Fairtrade light' by critics, as it offers producers no minimum price for their crop, and guarantees a minimum of just 30% of the product is certified.
Source: Rainforest Alliance (2020)

This company sells UTZ certified chocolate, promoting fair and sustainable cocoa production. This ensures the cocoa is sourced and produced sustainably on farms with safe working conditions. However unlike Fairtrade certification, UTZ does not offer a minimum or guaranteed price, and the environmental standards of UTZ Certified are far weaker than those of either Fairtrade or Rainforest Alliance.
Source: UTZ (2020)

Some, but not necessarily all, of this company's products contain segregated certified sustainable palm oil (CSPO). For more details, follow the link to see Borneo Orangutan Survival Australia's list of products which manufacturers have told them are palm oil free or contain segregated certified sustainable palm oil.
Source: BOS Australia (2020)

This company has agreed to phase out the use of microbeads in their own-brand products by 2017. These particles are not retained by wastewater treatment so end up in the ocean. While microbeads aren't thought to be a health hazard to consumers, they are a threat to the marine environment.
Source: CHOICE (2016)

This company makes voluntary contributions to DrinkWise Australia, a not-for-profit organisation established in 2005 by the alcohol industry, whose stated goal is to help bring about a healthier and safer drinking culture in Australia.
Source: DrinkWise (2020)

To improve the nutritional content of ALDI Australia's exclusive brand lines and branded food items, artificial food colours have been removed. The artificial colours were replaced with natural substances or nothing and the reformatted products are of the same quality and taste. Six artificial colours identified in a University of Southampton study and an additional 8 used in Australian manufacturing were removed.
Source: ALDI Australia (2013)

This company sells Fairtrade Certified chocolate, coffee and tea. However this only represents a fraction of their total chocolate, tea and coffee sales.
Source: Fairtrade ANZ (2019)

This company is listed on the RSPCA Australia website as 'cage-free and proud', signifying a commitment to source 100% cage-free eggs by 2025. Essentially cage-free means barn laid, which is better than cage eggs, but still much worse than free-range or organic eggs when it comes to animal welfare.
Source: RSPCA Australia (2020)

Most brands in store are ALDI's generic brands, under their own private label and 80% of these are sourced from local manufacturers. This is unlike the trend with generic house brands for the two major supermarkets that are increasingly sourcing their house brand products from overseas.
Source: company website (2020)

This company has signed up to the Food and Grocery Code of Conduct, which governs certain conduct by grocery retailers and wholesalers in their dealings with suppliers. It has rules relating to grocery supply agreements, payments, termination of agreements, dispute resolution and a range of other matters.
Source: ACCC (2015)

California, the UK and Australia have all enacted legislation requiring companies operating within their borders to disclose their efforts to eradicate modern slavery from their operations and supply chains. Follow the link to see this company's disclosure statement.
Source: company website (2020)

In April 2016 Choice tested oregano samples from 12 brands and found that only 5 were 100% oregano. The other seven, including Stonemill (Aldi), contained between 50% and 90% ingredients other than oregano, such as olive leaves. Choice referred the matter to the ACCC. As a result this company has agreed to only use 100% oregano. (http://bit.ly/2fzEvUe)
Source: Choice (2016)

B grade in Baptist World Aid Australia's '2021 Ethical Fashion Report', which grades companies, from A to F, on the strength of their systems to mitigate against the risks of forced labour, child labour and worker exploitation in their supply chains, as well as protect the environment from the harmful impacts of the fashion industry. Assessment criteria fall into five main categories: policy & governance, tracing & risk, auditing and supplier relationships, worker empowerment and environmental sustainability.
Source: Baptist World Aid Australia (2021)

Aldi received an overall score of 'D' in Consumer Focus's 2009 Green to the Core report, which rates the UK's top nine supermarkets on how well they inform consumers about sustainability issues and help them make more sustainable choices. The report uses four environmental indicators: climate change, sustainable farming, sustainable fishing, and waste and recycling. Aldi "scored highly in some areas - 100 per cent closed door freezers and a high proportion of sustainable content in packaging. However, let down by lack of information for consumers in many areas and could do better in the amount of UK in-season produce."
Source: Consumer Focus (2009)

This 2011 report by Pesticide Action Network UK compares the top nine UK supermarkets' policies on pesticides. Aldi came equal last in the report, after failing to make any progress despite being the lowest performer in 2009. [Listed under Information due to age of report]
Source: Pesticide Action Network UK (2011)

This 2009 report by SUDWIND (part of the German Clean Clothes Campaign) uncovers massive rights violations in Chinese factories that supply special bargains to Aldi. 'The mostly female employees worked up to 91 hours per week and yet were hardly able to make a living from their meager wages. The work load is enormous, and mistakes are being punished by fines. Fundamental labour and women's rights such as the right to maternity leave and to freedom of association are being suppressed.'
Source: Clean Clothes Campaign (2009)

Named in the Clean Clothes Campaign 'Cashing In' report on five top global retailers: Carrefour, Walmart, Tesco, Aldi, and Lidl, highlighting poor working conditions where these discounters produce their clothes and taking the companies to task for failing to take sufficient action to address these problems.
Source: Clean Clothes Campaign (2009)

As a discount chain store, they have been criticised for running smaller retailers out of business. Bavarian dairy farmers picketed Aldi stores, which they blame for a ruinous 15% plunge in milk prices since 2001. [listed as Information due to age of article]
Source: news (2004)

Greenpeace launched its "Detox My Fashion" campaign in 2011 to expose the direct links between global clothing brands, their suppliers and toxic water pollution around the world. As a result, many companies, including this one, committed to Greenpeace's Detox Program.
Source: Greenpeace (2018)

As listed on the We Mean Business website, this company has committed to the following climate action initiatives: adopt a science-based emissions reduction target.
Source: We Mean Business (2021)

This retailer has committed to being a fur free retailer, as recognised by the International Fur Free Retailer Program.
Source: Fur Free Retailer (2019)

The Apparel and Footwear Supply Chain Transparency Pledge (Transparency Pledge) helps demonstrate apparel and footwear companies' commitment towards greater transparency in their manufacturing supply chain. Transparency of a company's manufacturing supply chain better enables a company to collaborate with civil society in identifying, assessing, and avoiding actual or potential adverse human rights impacts. This is a critical step that strengthens a company's human rights due diligence. This company has published some supplier factory information, but falls short of the Pledge standard.
Source: Transparency Pledge (2019)

This company is a signatory to the US Plastics Pact, a collaborative effort organized by The Recycling Partnership and the World Wildlife Fund, launched as part of the Ellen MacArthur Foundation's global Plastics Pact network to unify diverse public-private stakeholders across the plastics value chain to rethink the way we design, use, and reuse plastics, to create a path forward to realize a circular economy for plastic in the United States. In line with the Ellen McArthur Foundation's vision of a circular economy for plastics, which unites more than 850+ organizations, the US Plastics Pact brings together companies, government entities, NGOs, researchers, and other stakeholders to work collectively toward scalable solutions tailored to the unique needs and challenges within the U.S. landscape, through vital knowledge sharing and coordinated action.
Source: US Plastics Pact (2020)

This company is a member of the Better Cotton Initiative, a voluntary initiative which encourages the adoption of better management practices in cotton cultivation to achieve measurable reductions in key environmental impacts, while improving social and economic benefits for cotton farmers, small and large, worldwide.
Source: Better Cotton Initiative (2022)

This company is a member of the Leather Working Group, a multi-stakeholder group who's objective is to develop and maintain a protocol that assesses the compliance and environmental performance of tanners and promotes sustainable and appropriate environmental business practices within the leather industry.
Source: Leather Working Group (2022)

The Material Change Index (MCI) is a voluntary benchmark that tracks the apparel and textiles sector's progress toward more sustainable materials sourcing (cotton, polyester, nylon, manmade cellulosics, wool, down and leather), as well as alignment with global efforts like the Sustainable Development Goals and the transition to a circular economy. This company was rated "Maturing", the second highest performance band.
Source: Textile Exchange (2020)

The 2021 Food and Agriculture Benchmark assessed 350 keystone companies across the entirety of the food system, from farm to fork. It covers three dimensions where transformation is needed: nutrition, environment and social inclusion. This company ranked #51/350, with a total score of 37.2/100.
Source: World Benchmarking Alliance (2021)

This 2010 Der Spiegel article explores "What Makes the Aldi Discount Empire Tick".
Source: Der Spiegel (2010)