A Government minister has praised UK retailers for their efforts to improve factory conditions in the developing world, but said that more still needed to be done to help workers who produce their goods.

International development minister Gareth Thomas told Retail Week that consumers will increasingly ask questions about where their goods are produced and called upon those retailers that have not done so to join the Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI).

“There have been some impressive examples of retailers taking this seriously, but there are some others that haven’t and it’s in their interests to do more,” he said.

Thomas admitted that not every ETI member had a 100 per cent track record, but added that the processes set down by the ETI for its members were thorough.

He rejected calls for the UK Government to regulate factory standards, saying that it was the role of the local governments in the developing world to do that themselves, although the British Government could provide advice and could draw on the agencies of the United Nations to provide further support.