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WASHINGTON, DC
— Ten years
ago, President Clinton brought together a diverse group of
industry, labor, human rights, and consumer leaders to the White
House to discuss concerns about apparel industry conditions
worldwide. The National Consumers League (NCL) was part of that
group, along with the Interfaith Center for Corporate
Responsibility, UNITE, Liz Claiborne, NIKE, and several others.
Clinton charged the group with the task of working together to
come up with a way to assure consumers that they were not buying
clothing or footwear made in sweatshops. He challenged the group
to take steps to assure that these companies’ products were made
in compliance with acceptable labor standards and to provide a
way to inform consumers that the products they buy were not made
under exploitative conditions.
Created
out of this challenge was the Apparel Industry Partnership (AIP),
which was co-chaired by NCL President Linda Golodner and Roberta
Karp of Liz Claiborne. The AIP developed a code of conduct and
principles on code implementation, and in 1999 established a new
nonprofit organization, the Fair Labor Association, to promote
corporate accountability and to work with companies to find
sustainable solutions to unfair labor practices. Since its
creation, the Fair Labor Association (FLA) has significantly
helped improve the lives of hundreds of thousands of workers. In
the ten years following President Clinton’s directive, the
influence of the FLA has grown tremendously; in its most recent
annual report, the group offers in-depth reporting on what
35 companies
did during 2005 to improve working conditions in over
3,700 factories
around the world.
The FLA
actively partners with companies to bring them into compliance
with the FLA code, as well as equip themselves to monitor and
maintain their compliance efforts. The FLA annually reports on
compliance information about each of its participating
companies.
Today
the FLA is made up of companies, colleges, universities, and
civil society members that are dedicated to protecting the
rights of workers around the globe. To date, more than 194
colleges and universities are affiliated with the FLA.
As a
member of the Board of Directors of the FLA, the National
Consumers League looks forward to continuing its partnership in
promoting companies’ timely and permanent compliance the Code of
Conduct and with workers rights laws domestically and
internationally.
“NCL is
proud to be part of the movement to improve the lives of workers
— and the confidence of consumers—both in the United States and
abroad,” said NCL’s Linda Golodner. “We look forward to
continuing our commitment for years to come.”
To learn
more about the FLA, visit
www.fairlabor.org. |
