Re. Companies bill amendment Traidcraft Letter to the Financial Times October 25 2006

Sir, It is not surprising that the amendment to the companies bill requiring supply chain disclosure has triggered objections from the usual quarters ("Industry slams new law on disclosure", October 23). Whatever the lobbyists might say, this amendment makes sound business sense.

The new amendment will improve companies' disclosure about their impact on their supply chains. The process of collecting and assessing this information need not be onerous or bureaucratic. As company secretary of a medium-sized trading company it is a necessary part of my role to understand and manage the impact our actions have on our trading partners. And the benefits to shareholders are clear: proper disclosure helps avoid potential nasty surprises - alerting directors to risks of disruption to supply or brand reputation issues.

Many companies already provide this information to their shareholders, but there are still many that do not. Traidcraft publishes such data annually as part of our social accounts and we find this an invaluable business discipline.

Company directors cannot take responsibility for every action taken by every partner in their supply chain. With this amendment to the companies bill, the government is not requiring us to.

However, it is rightly putting in place a level playing field requiring supply-chain disclosure for all public companies, which will help to maintain healthy, sustainable international supply chains in the interests of shareholders and of the UK economy as a whole.

Tim Morgan, Finance Director, Traidcraft, Gateshead, Tyne & Wear NE11 0NE