AAFA leads the fight against forced labour
26/10/2018
A total of 123 apparel and footwear companies have signed the “AAFA/FLA Apparel & Footwear Industry Commitment to Responsible Recruitment”.
Signatories include adidas, American & Efird, Columbia, Kathmandu, Levi’s, Lululemon, New Balance, Nike, Patagonia, Toms, Under Armour and VF.
They have all committed to working to create conditions where no worker pays for their job; where workers retain control of their travel documents and have full freedom of movement; and where workers are informed of the basic terms of their employment before joining the workforce.
In addition, they have agreed to work to “seriously and effectively” implement these practices and to incorporate the commitment into their social compliance standards by December 31, 2019.
“Creating a more transparent supply chain has long been a focus of the apparel and footwear industry and removing the possibility of forced labour is a major part of these efforts,” said Rick Helfenbein, president and CEO of AAFA. “Not only does this Commitment show that our industry does not tolerate forced labour, but it also shows our customers that we take this issue seriously and are proactively working together as an industry to initiate measures to ensure these values are respected throughout the supply chain.”
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