Even when nobody is looking...

It felt like there was more discussion of product transparency (the ability to know the 'who', 'where' and 'how' of a product's manufacture) in 2019 than in any previous year. The common phrase seemed to be 'trust and transparency' - as if they were similar concepts, intertwined.

If my plea for 2019 was that we stop referring to the complex and dynamic relationships between organisations as 'chains' (and start using the term 'networks') - then my hope for 2020 is for more clarity on the relationship between trust and transparency.

Transparency is valued where trust is missing. They're not mutually reinforcing but compensatory. We want to see what's going on when we can't believe those who tell us what happened. Trust is an asset, transparency a work in progress.

As Groucho Marx said "The main thing is honesty. If you can fake that you've got it made". Except, maybe he didn't (https://quoteinvestigator.com/2011/12/05/fake-honesty) - and that's the problem...