Studies & Publications

The recycling sector in Peru is relatively nascent and largely informal, but the growth and opportunity to be found in the sector is considerable, whether from an economic, societal or environmental perspective. For the purposes of this report, the opportunity of most interest is the growth to be found in the economy and associated value chain of Integrated Solid Waste Management in Peru. To understand this economy requires an assessment of the laws and regulations that support and govern the sector, the actors involved and how value is added and extracted throughout the value chain. Additionally, we must look at the constraints each actor faces and the investment they require to maximize enterprise potential, all with the goal of unlocking the inherent economic value found in the sector.

Over four decades of research, data, and analysis has established the primacy of the informal economy in international development, but we have not yet seen informality mainstreamed into development initiatives. In this report, we call for a movement to do just that. After years of implementing programs aimed at moving informality beyond the domain of white papers and development forums and into the mainstream of development initiatives, we at the Global Fairness Initiative seek to provide the core knowledge and tools that international development practitioners require to address the unique conditions of informal workers. This report is a first step in that process, providing foundational knowledge, relevant case studies, and actionable next steps for donors and implementers to begin to mainstream informality in their work.

This report provides an overview of the garment sector and key trends relevant to financial security priorities, a summary of financial security efforts to date, barriers to adoption, best practices for worker-centered initiatives, and opportunities for wide-scale expansion of financial security initiatives, with worker welfare at the forefront

Informal workers, many of them youth and women, account for 48% of North Africa’s economically active population. In Tunisia, half of all employed workers lack access to social security, and 39.2% of production goes undeclared to tax and regulatory authorities. This Roadmap addresses the economic exclusion of informal workers in Tunisia and presents strategies for incorporating them into the formal economy, with an emphasis on extending social safety nets to workers and expanding the government’s core revenue to increase and improve services. These recommendations, produced through a robust multi-stakeholder process, offer both initial steps and long-term opportunities to reduce informality and extend social services and protections to more Tunisians. Developed by Tunisians for Tunisia, the strategies in this Roadmap provide a tool for the Tunisian Government and CSOs, as well as donors and multilateral organizations, to generate targeted solutions to the problem of informality.

This study was developed in response to findings presented in a series of reports produced by the Global Fairness Initiative (GFI) that sought to understand the dynamics and details of the empowerment of women in the Tupperware Brands salesforce in Mexico, Indonesia and Germany. The reports were conducted over four years and included quantitative and qualitative data gathered from nearly 4,000 Tupperware saleswomen through the use of in-person and phone surveys as well as focus groups. Additional data on Tupperware’s Germany salesforce was also collected separate from the GFI reports by the firm COBUS for a separate study commissioned by Tupperware. The combination of findings from these reports form the basis for this study which seeks to look more closely at the specific condition of empowerment for representatives of migrant communities in Tupperware’s German salesforce. The goal of the study is to determine how Tupperware Brands’ unique direct sales model and empowerment dynamics manifest within the context of a migrant workforce in Germany, and to better understand certain conditions and commonalities of the migrant experience in that country.

Throughout its work, Tupperware Brands has found strong evidence of the empowerment of its sales force. From Brazil to South Africa, women share stories of dramatic changes in their lives: of gaining personal strength and confidence, gaining greater equality in the household, and changing their lives financially. In Germany this process of change has proven true as well: the majority of women surveyed state that Tupperware has changed their lives both personally and professionally. The woman who joins Tupperware in Germany is an educated woman attracted to the company for its multiple benefits. Overcoming institutional and cultural hurdles because of childcare, she finds in Tupperware a framework for her success. Thanks to the support of the company—which provides her with the backing of a renowned brand, equal opportunities to succeed, a strong culture of recognition, a robust internal communication structure, targeted transfers of knowledge, and a valuable source of income—the Tupperware woman flourishes personally and professionally. In all three countries studied, Tupperware’s support system allows women to develop and maximize their personal, social and entrepreneurial potential, and to focus existing and newly learned knowledge on building a successful livelihood with Tupperware and a more fulfilling life within their home and wider community.

From February 2013 to August 2013, the Global Fairness Initiative (GFI), a Washington, DC-based non-governmental organization that works to promote more equitable, sustainable approaches to economic development, partnered with DEKA, an Indonesian survey firm, to explore how women's lives are affected through their work with Tupperware Brands. Using an established set of quantitative and qualitative tools-including focus groups, surveys, and field observations-GFI and DEKA collected and analyzed data on the lives and livelihoods of over 800 Indonesian women in the Tupperware sales force. The following report outlines the inputs, systems, and practices that define Tupperware and that support the personal and professional transformation of its sales force. Statistical results of the study are accompanied by an analysis of how these findings answer one fundamental question: "How is a woman's life changed as a result of her work with Tupperware?" Qualitative data, including excerpts from personal stories, reveal the extent to which Tupperware's impact goes beyond the social, financial, and professional growth experienced by its saleswomen to affect their families and communities as well. This study of Tupperware Indonesia's sales force is the second in a set of studies on the"Tupperware Effect," the first of which was conducted in 2012 with 1,600 saleswomen of Tupperware and Fuller Cosmetics in Mexico. The 2012 study "Empowering Women Entrepreneurs: A Study of the Impact of Tupperware Brands in Mexico" serves as the foundation for the statistical and analytical approach used in this latest research.

From November 2011 to May 2012, the Global Fairness Initiative, a Washington D.C. based not-for-profit organization focused on furthering inclusive labor markets, and IBOPE Inteligencia, a Latin American survey firm, conducted a thorough study of the sales force of Tupperware and Fuller Cosmetics in Mexico. Through established qualitative tools, including focus groups, and quantitative tools, including surveying approximately 1,600 women, the study shows the impact Tupperware Brands has on women entrepreneurs in Mexico. Both companies, members of the Tupperware Brands family, offer the basic benefits that participation in direct sales provides to working women. These benefits include a lexible schedule and the opportunity to earn an income through performance (instead of a university degree or technical skill). Gifts and opportunities to socialize are also an important benefit for Saleswomen, the majority of whom need to work to make ends meet. However, the study shows that both companies provide opportunities that go beyond the benefits of direct sales, ranging from the opportunity for personal growth to changing the lives of Saleswomen and their communities. The study sheds light on the companies’ two different approaches to direct sales: different products, corporate structures, and approaches to women’s development. This study will delve into what we have called the "Empowerment Process" of the Tupperware and Fuller Saleswoman and the impact she in turn has on her family and community.

Informality encompasses legal economic activities parallel to a nation's regulated economy. The absence of adequate documentation inherent to the informal sector contributes to the legal and economic disempowerment of workers, robbing them of the protections and benefits formalized institutions provide. The parallel economy informality creates tends to be larger in developing nations. In these countries, informal employment functions as a short-term survival strategy. With rapid population growth and urbanization, developing nations have yet to develop adequate social safety nets and regulatory structures to legally represent the majority of their populations. Thus, informal employment absorbs labor force expansion resulting from rapid growth in the absence of sufficient income-generating employment opportunities. Under these conditions, informal employment contributes substantially to job creation and income generation. Chronically high informality levels, however, are indicative of legal and political vulnerability, allowing institutional and regulatory inefficiencies to persist in the long run. Ultimately, informal employment undermines economic stability, providing a short-term solution for long-running, systemic problems. The broad scope of societal, economic, legal, and political issues associated with high informality renders favorable macroeconomic conditions alone insufficient to reduce informal employment in developing nations. This report examines the implications of informality in 15 developing nations, focusing on civil society, government, labor, and the private sector. Primary findings include: • The causes of informality are variable and not mutually exclusive; they tend to exist on a continuum. • The informal economy may contribute to short-term economic growth by bolstering income and production levels in developing nations. However, the long-term effects of informality are associated with underdevelopment and stagnation.