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Consumers and governments are demanding companies source ethically: are businesses prepared to deliver?

Monday, 12 June 2017 08:17 GMT

In this 1998 archive photo an Uzbek woman picks up cotton in a field outside Tashkent. The harvest is in full swing in Uzbekistan, which relies heavily on cotton exports to support its cash-starved economy. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov

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* Any views expressed in this opinion piece are those of the author and not of Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Great strides can be made in protecting adult workers and children from exploitation

The cotton garment industry is vast and complex, winding its way from farms, through ginning and spinning mills, all the way to textile mills and factories, and ultimately to the hands of consumers. It’s not uncommon for manufacturers (even those with active social responsibility programs) to have difficulty tracking the process by which cotton ultimately makes it to their shop floors, and thus, not know if child labor or hazardous work conditions exist in their supply chains. However, companies are increasingly being held accountable for labor rights violations wherever they happen, whether it is within a factory the brand has a direct relationship with, or on a small farm half a world away.

The global community has begun to demand greater corporate adherence to human rights norms, and this demand is increasingly supported by global legislative and regulatory bodies. The proposed Dutch Child Labour Due Diligence Law, for instance, would require companies to examine whether child labor occurs anywhere in their supply chains, and to develop a plan of action to address any they uncover. The proposed legislation would represent a monumental step forward if passed. However, with an estimated168 million children currently engaged in child labor globally, complying with the new standard may prove challenging for multinational corporations.

The most prudent business leaders are already digging deeper into their supply chains. However, tracing supply chains is no simple task. The regular use of subcontractors, agents, and informal business relationships creates a daunting opacity that can thwart even the most exacting efforts at transparency.

report just released by the Fair Labor Association (FLA) documents the challenges such efforts face. Inspired by an earlier collaboration of Dutch NGOs with textile organizations, the FLA worked with Netherlands-based Stop Child Labour Coalition (SCL) and the Turkey-based Development Workshop Cooperative (DW) to design a pilot project implementing a rigorous investigation of every stage of the textile supply chains of seven multinational companies sourcing from Turkey and doing business in the Netherlands. 

With a particular emphasis on child labor, researchers reported on the working conditions through all four “tiers” of the textile supply chain: garment manufacturing; textile and spinning mills; cotton ginning; and cotton farms. Once past the factory floor, it was increasingly difficult to establish direct links between the tiers due to the few documented business relationships and frequent use of agents. As a result, researchers found companies policing for human rights infractions are often unable to complete the job, falling short of achieving full supply chain traceability or transparency. The research also revealed the extensive use of subcontractors for production of the final garment, which can lead to weak oversight and increased vulnerability for workers in these units.

The research also shows, however, that with a combination of capital investment, stronger local regulations with increased government enforcement, and unwavering corporate commitment, great strides can be made in protecting adult workers and children from exploitation.

The regulatory environment surrounding supply chain labor issues is still evolving, but it is clear that global scrutiny of and expectations for businesses’ respect for human rights will expand in the future. Transparency initiatives focusing on improving factory working conditions remain a critical component of any company’s comprehensive social responsibility plan, but companies must now expand their efforts to include all the tiers in complex sourcing relationships around the world. The challenge, then, will be to develop new tools by which the garment and textile industry can respect the rights of workers no matter where they are in the supply chain. Doing so successfully, however, must involve all stakeholders – civil society, governments, multinational corporations, and suppliers – working together to achieve this goal.

Creating these programs to ensure greater supply chain visibility and, most importantly, accountability is fast becoming the expectation as more legislative and regulatory frameworks are crafted to compel multinational corporations to be transparent about the impact of their business practices. Businesses that devise and implement their own programs ahead of pending legislation will not only be protecting workers, they will also be setting an example for other companies to follow and helping to shape the future of regulation and industry norms.

Sharon Waxman is the President and CEO of the Fair Labor Association, a collaborative effort of socially responsible companies, colleges, universities and civil society organizations working around the world to create lasting solutions to abusive labor practices.

 

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