This piece highlights some of the benefits companies may realize as a result of participating in a WSR program. The Fair Food Program’s recent expansion to several new states and crops suggests that more companies are seeing its value. From the perspective of suppliers, WSR has been effective in preventing and addressing human rights violations, particularly in small- and medium-sized enterprises, for which third-party certification, and compliance with human rights standards, is otherwise costly and hard to achieve.

Yet, despite the successes of the WSR model, its expansion beyond agriculture to pilot programs in the construction and independent film production industries, and the recognition it has gained, retail buyers have not widely embraced it. Instead, its proponents have been forced to rely on public campaigns – such as those against Hannaford and Wendy’s – to push for wider adoption. The benefits outlined here may help lead companies and their suppliers alike to embrace WSR as an opportunity to measurably improve their human rights performance – and their management systems overall.