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The new attitudes towards ethics

Paying low wages when we at the same time send money to many struggling economies to alliviate our bad conscience just doesn't make sense. A much better strategy is to pay a fair price for our products to ensure these economies become sustainable.

Labor rights, human rights, and ethical conduct in theapparel industry has been at the forefront of public concern for decades. Common issues include: fair wage payment (including minimum, living or decent wages), age of workers, hours worked per week (including excessive overtime), freedom of association and collective bargaining, poor worker-management communication, worker harassment, discrimination, occupational health and safety, and community impacts. While many companies are working aggressively to promote labor rights and ethics in their supply chain, problems persist. While supplier monitoring is a first step for many companies, there remains a fundamental need for aligning expectations between companies and their suppliers, and investing in training and capability building across the industry value chain to drive long-term sustainable development.

Our Vision
We believe the apparel industry should provide economic opportunities, build sustainable communities, and help stimulate economic growth. Through strategic market entry strategies, investments in supplier development, and uncompromising commitment to high labor and ethical standards, the apparel industry advances global progress in achieving the Millennium Development Goals.

 

Recommendations

 Objectives for Medium-Term
– Adopt a common set of sourcing and operating guidelines (resources: UN Global Compact, ILO Better Work Buyers Principles)
– Create training materials on worker rights and the business case for protecting worker rights. Materials should be developed for different audiences (facility managers, workers, etc.) and in different formats (video, print, etc.). Consider collaborating with ILO
Better Work or other organization to produce.
– Collaborate with industry peers to develop training on supplier efficiency (such as LEAN manufacturing principles)—integrating labor and environmental impacts into the training.
– Collaborate as an industry to share information between companies on supply chain social and ethical impacts, and with external stakeholders (potentially via industry report or website).
– Explore strategic consolidation of supplier base—giving more volume to a smaller set of suppliers where it is easier to develop deeper relationships that advance social and ethical expectations.
– Collaborate with industry peers and supply chain partners to publish a comprehensive, interactive supply chain map with information on social, ethical, and environmental performance of all players in the supply chain.