Chiquita Brands and the banana business: brands and labour relations transformations

Gonzalez-Perez, M.A. and McDonough, T. (2006) "Chiquita Brands and the banana business: brands and labour relations transformations", CISC Working Paper No: 23.

Abstract

This paper reports the results of research investigating the evolution of environmentally and socially responsible strategies and practices within the banana industry. An historical overview of a major multinational banana company, Chiquita Brands Int., provides context for the research. Chiquita Brands has been involved in political, environmental, legal and labor controversies in many parts of the world. In Latin America, Chiquita Brands has attracted more attention than any other foreign company and is seen by many as the archetypical representative of United States imperialism. Over a considerable period of time, Chiquita Brands has adopted a succession of structural changes aiming to "clean the past" including innovative corporate social behaviours and building alliances with NGOs such as trade unions and community organizations. Since its bankruptcy in 2001, Chiquita Brands International has adopted a strategy of environmental and social responsibility, has been certified internationally by the Rainforest Alliance and has met Social Accountability International SA 8000 labour standards. The length of time and geographical scale over which the various structural changes have taken place and the high public profile of Chiquita Brands make the results of this case study of general significance.

Publisher

CISC

Rights

Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Ireland

cbn

Collections

The Whitaker Institute for Innovation and Societal Change (Working Papers)