A move by the Fair Labor Association (FLA) to require its company affiliates to publicly disclose their supplier lists is being seen as a significant development towards greater transparency and corporate accountability for garment workers’ rights in global supply chains.
The FLA has confirmed to just-style that its board of directors voted on February 27 to give workers and the public more information about apparel and footwear sourcing by requiring its affiliates to publish their factory lists.
“The FLA believes that transparency builds trust, promotes accountability, and can promote better conditions for workers,” explains president and CEO Sharon Waxman. “The FLA board’s unanimous vote means that its affiliates will publicly disclose applicable facilities (typically known as tier one facilities) upon implementation of the requirement.”
Details concerning the implementation of this decision, including the scope of disclosure, remain to be seen, with the board due to consider the specifics of its factory list transparency requirement during 2019.
The nine organisations making up the Transparency Pledge Coalition say disclosure of factory lists is a critical first step towards the goal of improved working conditions.
Members of the Transparency Pledge Coalition, a group of global unions and other independent labour rights and human rights organisations have been pushing the the FLA require supply chain disclosure as a condition of membership. And they say they will be monitoring its decision “to ensure its full and meaningful implementation.”
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By GlobalData“While disclosure of factory lists will not automatically lead to improved working conditions on the ground, it is a critical first step towards that goal,” says Nicole Vander Meulen, the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable’s legal and policy coordinator.
“In addition to enhancing companies’ due diligence, it strengthens accountability by enabling workers and their advocates to bring human rights abuses to the attention of the brands for which they are producing. Other Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives (MSIs) should take note of the FLA’s decision and follow suit. Transparency is becoming a cornerstone of responsible business conduct against which all companies should be measured.”
Aruna Kashyap, senior women’s rights counsel at Human Rights Watch, adds: “Transparency needs to be a cornerstone of any serious effort by brands to build a supply chain free from serious rights abuses. The FLA’s decision is a significant step forward, and others need to follow.”
