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component of tinned tuna. Most of the work in the illegal Indonesian mine on Bangka Island

is done by hand (Simpson 2012 pp. 1-3), but the story of handmade tin is not as appealing as

hand caught pole and line tuna. The recent tragedy of Rosnan, a miner who died in a

collapsed mine in Bangka, reminds us that there are ecological and social consequences in

these unrecognised places and things. Not only are conditions precarious for workers but

demand for tin is pushing mining offshore where make-shift dredges suck ore from the

seabed (Simpson 2012, pp. 1-3). These mines may provide employment for anywhere

between 15,000-50,000 people on the island of Bangka and Belitung (Simpson 2012, pp. 1-

3), but they have also caused the local fishing industry to decline. Timah, the world’s biggest

exporter of refined tin, now gets more than 54% of its tin from the sea compared to 29% in

2008 (Simpson 2012 pp. 1-3). On the day that Rosnan was killed, about forty fishermen

marched to the gates of Timah’s headquarters in Pangkal Pinang carrying a banner declaring

it was time ‘to restore people’s rights’ (Simpson 2012 pp. 1-3).

So the response that sustainability campaigns should focus on marine ecosystems,

falls short when we follow the product beyond the story of the fishery, and begin to uncover

some of these shadow things and places. The term sustainable tuna is ironic when we think

about the marine ecosystems surrounding Bangka. This irony highlights the limitations of

traceability practices that neglect to take into account the full socio-ecological life cycle of a

product.

Conclusion

Reflecting on the process of following things and stories of following, Cook et al. ask ‘where

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exactly are the beginnings and ends of such a story? And where are the edges?’ (2006, p.

657). I have ended this chapter by suggesting that recent sustainability products and

campaigns actively define such beginnings, ends and edges, in the way crises are framed and

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