Social Compliance & CSR News
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Friday, 28 January 2022AAFA urges factories to pay garment workers
KARNATAKA – The American Apparel and Footwear Association (AAFA) is urging factory owners in the Indian garment hub state of Karnataka to honour a hike in the minimum wage which has gone unpaid since April 2020. More than 400,000 garment workers who… -
Thursday, 27 January 2022WRAP partners on consumer-facing campaigns
LONDON – UK waste recycling charity WRAP has teamed up with non-profit social enterprise Behaviour Change to raise awareness amongst consumers of the environmental impacts associated with the products they buy. The pair deem their skillsets… -
Monday, 24 January 2022BGMEA, ILO programme to improve workplace safety
DHAKA – The Bangladesh Garment Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA) has teamed up with the International Labour Organization (ILO) in a bid to improve workplace sectors in the ready-made garment (RMG) sector. The pair met over the weekend… -
Thursday, 20 January 2022Bergans to launch subscription repair and return service
ASKER – Outdoor company, Bergans of Norway, has partnered with brand identity specialist, Trimco Group, to launch a subscription-based option for kidswear, where parents can order and return specific snowsuits or coveralls for the winter season and… -
Thursday, 20 January 2022River Island to boost supply chain transparency
LONDON - High street retailer River Island (RI) has partnered with Segura, a SaaS-based platform for next generation supply chain transparency, to help validate whether its suppliers are ethical, sustainable, efficient and compliant. -
Friday, 14 January 2022Spinnova joins UN Global Compact
JYVÄSKYLÄ - Textile innovator Spinnova has joined the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC) in a commitment to support the initiative’s 10 principles which centre on protecting human rights, eliminating unfair labour, conserving the natural world and… -
Thursday, 13 January 2022Cambodia to protect workers from Omicron
PHNOM PENH - The Cambodian government has drafted new principles on health and safety in a bid to limit the spread of the Omicron variant of COVID-19 though the country's garment factories and other workplaces. The Labour Ministry has developed the… -
Tuesday, 11 January 2022Worker violations at US cotton ginneries
ATLANTA - Investigations by the US Department of Labor (DOL) have found that eight of ten cotton ginneries in the south-east of the country are underpaying their workers. Employers were found to be in breach of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA),… -
Friday, 07 January 2022Forced labour fears over Olympic merchandise
BEIJING - Campaigners are urging the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to disclose what due diligence steps it has taken to identify and eliminate products made with forced labour from its merchandise. The Coalition to End Forced Labour in the… -
Wednesday, 05 January 2022Study links garment workers to forced labour
KUALA LUMPUR - Migrant workers employed in Malaysia's garment industry experience conditions consistent with the use of forced labour, according to a new study by the Transparentem NGO. Investigators interviewed around 45 workers from Bangladesh,… -
Wednesday, 05 January 2022Beijing backlash on Xinjiang targets Walmart
BEIJING - US retail giant Walmart is the latest to be targeted by a backlash from China against western companies which have distanced themselves from the country's Xinjiang region over forced labour concerns. The Chinese Communist Party's Central… -
Wednesday, 05 January 2022California manufacturer flouts labour laws
LOS ANGELES – California’s Labor Commission has revoked the license of a Los Angeles-based garment manufacturer after it failed to follow labour laws. Veronica Rojas Pablo, the owner of VRP Fashion Inc, stated in her application that she had no… -
Tuesday, 04 January 2022
Bestseller bid to empower Turkish women workers
ISTANBUL - Danish fashion brand Bestseller has signed an agreement with Turkish NGO ACEV to develop an education programme aimed at empowering women garment workers employed by its suppliers in the country. Bestseller has historically worked with… -
Tuesday, 04 January 2022
Causes of mass worker faintings 'identified'
PHNOM PENH - A Cambodian government working group studying the phenomenon of mass fainting in the country's garment factories says it has identified the major causes. The working group was set up after a total of 38 workers reportedly fainted in… -
Thursday, 23 December 2021Employers and unions agree deal in Sri Lanka
COLOMBO - Garment factory owners in Sri Lanka have signed an agreement with trade unions in which they commit to work together to address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the industry. The Joint Apparel Association Forum Sri Lanka (JAAF)… -
Wednesday, 22 December 2021US funding for Malaysia labour abuse project
WASHINGTON DC – The US Department of Labor (DOL) has announced US$5 million in funding for a project to prevent and reduce forced and child labour abuses in the garment and palm oil industries in Malaysia. The Social Accountability International… -
Tuesday, 21 December 2021US grant addresses workplace safety
WASHINGTON – El Salvador’s textiles and agricultural sectors, as well as the agricultural industries of Honduras and Guatemala, will share an US$8 million grant awarded by the US Department of Labor to improve workplace health and safety in these… -
Thursday, 16 December 2021
Indian garment workers 'denied minimum wage'
BANGALORE - Garment workers making clothes for major global brands in the Indian state of Karnataka say their families are going hungry because factories are refusing to pay the legal minimum wage. Karnataka is one of the hubs of India’s garment… -
Thursday, 16 December 2021New Social Justice Center backed by brands
NEW YORK – The Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT) has established a Social Justice Center (SJC) on campus in a bid to increase opportunity among people of colour. The centre has received pledges in excess of US$1 million from the likes of PVH… -
Thursday, 16 December 2021UK authorities to face Xinjiang challenge
LONDON - Campaigners have been granted High Court approval to go ahead with a landmark challenge against the UK authorities for allowing the import of cotton goods believed to have been produced with forced labour in China. The World Uyghur Congress… -
Wednesday, 15 December 2021ACT puts a halt to operations in Myanmar
YANGON - Members of the ACT initiative - which include leading brands such as H&M, Zara owner Inditex and Primark - have decided to put a halt on the organisation's actions in the troubled country of Myanmar. The decision has been taken because of… -
Wednesday, 15 December 2021US and Aussie brands urged to back new accord
WASHINGTON DC - Workers' rights campaigners are urging more US and Australian brands and retailers to sign up to the new International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry. The agreement seeks to make fashion companies… -
Wednesday, 15 December 2021Biden to sign Uyghur forced labour bill
WASHINGTON DC — US president Joe Biden will sign off the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act which would ban all imports made with forced labour in the Xinjiang region of China, the White House has confirmed for the first time. The legislation would… -
Monday, 13 December 2021More funding for Ethical Clothing Australia
CANBERRA - The Australian government has promised to provide AU$2 million (US$1.43m) annually for three years to the Ethical Clothing Australia (ECA) accreditation body which works to protect the rights of the country's garment workers. ECA said the… -
Monday, 13 December 2021Bid to help companies meet due diligence laws
AMSTERDAM - Businesses, trade unions and NGOs in the Netherlands have begun negotiations on a new agreement to protect human rights, workers' rights, the environment and animal welfare in garment and textile supply chains. Trade associations… -
Friday, 10 December 2021Circularity's 'threat to garment workers'
SAN FRANCISCO - The fashion industry's transition to circularity could represent bad news for vulnerable garment and textile workers in the supply chains of global brands and retailers, according to a new report. Entitled Keeping Workers in the… -
Thursday, 09 December 2021European Outdoor Group upbeat about decarbonisation project
ZUG - The European Outdoor Group (EOG) has reported significant progress from a project that it is facilitating, which is aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and increasing renewable energy usage within the outdoor industry supply chain. The… -
Tuesday, 30 November 2021Study seeks to establish cost of compliance
RALEIGH - Researchers have carried out what they say is the first in-depth study to establish all of the actions apparel factories would need to take in order to comply with international labour standards. The North Carolina State University study… -
Monday, 29 November 2021Factory safety progress 'slow' in Bangladesh
DHAKA - A new report says that progress on worker safety has been slow in garment factories inspected under a joint initiative of the Bangladesh government and the International Labour Organization (ILO). Factories covered by the Remediation… -
Monday, 29 November 2021Germany funds support for Laos garment workers
VIENTIANE - More than 20,000 garment workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in Laos have received emergency financial support worth about US$1.85 million from the German government. The funding, channeled through the International Labour… -
Friday, 05 November 2021
Bid to revive Madagascar's garment industry
ANTANANARIVO — A new 18-month pilot programme has been launched to transform Madagascar's garment industry by improving working conditions and business productivity. The Better Work Madagascar programme is a collaboration between the International… -
Friday, 05 November 2021Global brands urged to pull out of Myanmar
YANGON - The IndustriALL global trade union has directly called on multinationals doing business in Myanmar to take immediate action to cease their operations, divest, stop placing new orders and halt all business relations in the country.… -
Monday, 25 October 2021Factory owners threaten to quit garment hub
KARACHI - Factory owners are threatening to relocate away from Pakistan's textile and garment manufacturing hub of Sindh province over an increase of more than 40 per cent in the minimum wage. The Sindh provincial government announced proposals to… -
Friday, 15 October 2021
Worker rights 'decline in t-shirt capital'
TIRUPPUR - Workers' rights in the garment industry hub of Tiruppur - dubbed the "t-shirt capital of the world" - are reportedly declining amidst increasing demand as COVID-19 restrictions ease in western countries. The Social Awareness and Voluntary… -
Thursday, 14 October 2021Leveson calls for body to tackle worker abuse
MANCHESTER - Retired judge Sir Brian Leveson, who is leading Boohoo's Agenda for Change programme, is calling on the government to set up and fund a single body to tackle the abuse of workers' rights in UK supply chains. Boohoo launched Agenda for… -
Tuesday, 12 October 2021Bangladesh factories 'still need to improve'
DHAKA - Bangladesh's garment industry remains below the basic level of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs), according to a new study by the country's Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD) think tank. The CPD study -… -
Monday, 11 October 2021ILO adopts textiles and clothing safety code
GENEVA – More than 60 million workers around the world could benefit from a new code of practice on occupational safety and health (OSH) in the textiles, clothing, leather and footwear industries. The new code, based on international labour… -
Thursday, 07 October 2021
Worker risks 'hit key sourcing locations'
BATH - Global risk consultants Verisk Maplecroft are warning that brands and retailers face increasing exposure to rising modern slavery, child labour and occupational health and safety (OHS) risks. The company's new Human Rights Outlook 2021 report… -
Monday, 04 October 2021Report highlights benefits of social procurement
BERLIN – German organisation Yunus Social Business has developed a social procurement manual to spotlight how companies can accelerate their sustainability work by partnering with social enterprises. Produced in collaboration with Dutch non-profit… -
Monday, 04 October 2021New minimum wage does not meet needs - ETI
PHNOM PENH - The Ethical Trading Inititative (ETI) is calling on garment factory owners in Cambodia to regard the new minimum wage settlement as a "floor not a ceiling". The ETI says the new figure of US$194 per month, agreed following tripartite… -
Wednesday, 29 September 2021Cambodia sets US$2 rise for garment workers
PHNOM PENH - The minimum wage for garment workers in Cambodia has been set at US$194 per month from the beginning of next year following tripartite talks between employers, unions and the government. The figure represents a US$2 increase on this… -
Monday, 20 September 2021ETI, Fair Wear to assess Myanmar sourcing
YANGON - The Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) has linked up with the Fair Wear Foundation to carry out a human rights impact assessment of the evolving political crisis in Myanmar. It follows fears for garment workers in Myanmar, following the… -
Friday, 17 September 2021More fears for garment workers in Myanmar
YANGON - Union leaders fear another 200,000 garment workers in Myanmar could lose their jobs by the end of the year due to factory closures caused by both the political crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic. Nay Lin Aung, assistant secretary of the… -
Tuesday, 14 September 2021Bangladesh factories 'more dangerous' - study
DHAKA - Garment factories have become more dangerous in Bangladesh since the closure of safety initiatives set up to represent brands and retailers following the Rana Plaza disaster, according to a new report. The Centre for Policy Dialogue (CPD)… -
Friday, 10 September 2021Call to extend new safety Accord to Pakistan
KARACHI - Campaigners are marking the anniversary of a horrific garment factory fire in Pakistan by backing plans for a new workplace safety initiative for Bangladesh to be extended to other countries. More than 250 workers were killed in the blaze… -
Thursday, 09 September 2021California wage bill clears another hurdle
CALIFORNIA - A bill which would require Californian garment factories to pay their workers hourly - instead of a 'piece-rate' which can leave them earning less than the minimum wage - has cleared a key hurdle. The Garment Worker Protection Act, also… -
Tuesday, 07 September 2021
Sri Lankan manufacturers hit back at campaigners
COLOMBO – Garment manufacturers in Sri Lanka have again crossed swords with workers' rights campaigners over the protection of factory workers from the COVID-19 pandemic. Sri Lanka’s Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) has criticised the Clean… -
Monday, 06 September 2021International microfibre shedding standard getting closer
BRUSSELS - A sector alliance that was formed to tackle issues relating to microplastics has completed the next phase of its project to develop a harmonised industry standard for the supply chain, according to European textile industry trade body,… -
Wednesday, 01 September 202177 fashion companies back new safety Accord
DHAKA - The new International Accord for Health and Safety in the Textile and Garment Industry - which aims to ensure workplace safety for garment workers in Bangladesh - has come into effect with 77 international apparel brands and retailers so far… -
Wednesday, 01 September 2021Garment workers' pay 'increases by up to 57%'
WASHINGTON DC - A new report by the Fair Labor Association (FLA) non-profit details how apparel factories in China and Vietnam were able to increase workers' wages by up to 57 per cent over a three year period. The FLA says the cases provide a…
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