For the past 15 years, many apparel companies have been actively monitoring their supply chains. Throughout, the majority has looked to factory owners and managers to make changes in factory conditions and operations to comply with local laws and meet brand compliance requirements. To meet requirements, demands were placed on suppliers to increase wages, minimize excessive overtime hours, secure freedom of association, and improve health and safety systems for workers. Simultaneously, brands were dictating lower and lower prices for products. Increasing demand for products at lower prices frequently prevents suppliers from having the resources necessary to abide by the standards laid out in codes of conduct.

Read More

“Toward a Safe, Just Workplace: Apparel Supply Chain Compliance Programs” provides a scorecard and report focus on company programs such as: factory auditing, remediation, continuous improvement, collaboration, company management accountability, and transparency. Participating companies include: WalMart Stores, Inc., Target Corp., Nordstrom Inc., The Gap Inc., and Levi Strauss & Co.

Read More

McDonald’s Corp., Walt Disney Co., and a group of organizations working to improve working conditions in company supply chains, including As You Sow, announced the release of a report on Project Kaleidoscope, a multi-year collaborative project designed to promote sustained compliance with labor standards mandated by corporate codes of conduct for manufacturers.

Read More