Toward a Safe, Just Workplace: Apparel Supply Chain Compliance Programs
More than a decade ago, apparel companies began to adopt vendor codes of conduct to avoid risks associated with sweatshop conditions in their supply chains. But it’s been unclear which major brands actually adopted substantive policies and programs to address this daunting issue.
“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.
Disclosure can protect valuable brand names from lawsuits and controversies that can erode shareholder value. Failure to act on allegations of labor abuses at supplier factories has damaged the reputations of marketing giants like Nike and Gap. As You Sow’s leadership has helped to transform the quality of corporate reporting on vendor standards as reflected in the ground-breaking public reports on vendor compliance with their codes of conduct and challenges that remain.