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ABOUT THIS REPORT: FLA Year Two Annual Public Report
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In an effort to provide reliable information, this report is based on independent factory monitoring visits, onsite audits of company headquarters offices, company reports, third party complaints, and other information collected in the field.
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What does this report do?
What is different about this report?
Who should use this report?
What to keep in mind when reading this report
What does this report do?
This is the second Annual Public Report published by the Fair Labor Association (FLA). It provides the public with an impartial, in-depth view into what 25 diverse companies have done in the past year to improve the working conditions in the factories where they produce around the world. The Year Two Public Report complements the FLA Tracking Charts, which are extremely detailed reports from FLA monitoring visits to FLA company supplier factories. Together, these macro- and micro-level views of companies' labor compliance activities represent the most comprehensive body of independent reporting on companies' efforts to promote adherence to international labor standards published to date. By perusing a company's factory monitoring reports and reading about its labor compliance program in the Year Two Public Report, a concerned consumer or shareholder can gain valuable perspective into a company's approach to improving factory conditions.
This report includes:
The FLA was formed in 1999 and developed a system of monitoring, remediation, third party complaints, and public reporting that aims to increase and sustain factory compliance with its Workplace Code of Conduct. The Code is based on the core labor standards of the International Labour Organization (ILO). While the FLA must continue to make improvements in public reporting, it considers that its efforts to push the boundaries in its field will ultimately contribute to more rigorous systems for corporate accountability and improved conditions for workers around the world. We look forward to continued experimentation with ways to improve workplace conditions and to communicate companies' activities to the public.
What is different about this report?
The Fair Labor Association is the only multi-stakeholder initiative that promotes international labor standards and provides an unprecedented level of detailed reporting on companies' efforts to improve workplaces. This report is different from other transparency reports in that it includes a wide range of companies - large and small, with diverse suppliers - and strives to report their activities in an objective and consistent manner. This report differs from the FLA's Year One Public Report mainly as a result of improvements that have been made to the FLA's systems for public reporting and verification, based on the FLA's experiences in Year One and feedback from the public.
Improvements in FLA public reporting in Year Two:
- This year's report covers more companies. It includes information about 25 companies, up from 6 in the first year's report.
- It contains an evaluative report of Reebok footwear, which is the first FLA accredited labor compliance program.
- The Year Two Public Report is more accessible to more readers. By putting the report in web format, it is easier to download and navigate, affording readers access to particular information in a matter of a few clicks.
- It offers a more in-depth look into an essential yet challenging Code provision: freedom of association.
Improvements in FLA verification measures in Year Two:
- In Year Two, all FLA independent external monitoring visits were conducted by FLA-accredited monitors who were selected and paid by the FLA. They were unannounced to the supplier factory and the company.
- Due to improved FLA oversight of monitoring, reports from visits were more rigorous and comprehensive.
- The FLA conducted verification visits to selected facilities following company remediation, signifying an added check on company and factory efforts to comply with the FLA Code.
- The FLA staff conducted on-site audits at all participating companies' headquarters, and in some cases at companies' field offices, to interview staff and review companies' databases, files, and other compliance systems.
Who should use this report?
Consumers and shareholders who seek to make educated buying decisions.
This report can be useful for consumers interested in learning more about companies that are committed to international labor standards. After a review of a particular company's section, a consumer or shareholder can make an informed decision about the products he/she is buying or wearing.
Other companies seeking to learn from good practices in labor compliance.
By providing examples of good practice, the FLA aims to raise the bar for company compliance with labor standards internationally. Companies within the FLA share different approaches to challenging situations, and the Public Report offers other companies the opportunity to benefit from some of these experiences.
Researchers and others seeking reliable information.
The FLA strives to provide credible, independently-verified information about company labor compliance activities. This report offers a broad view of companies' activities by bringing together information collected through factory monitoring visits, audits at participating company headquarters, company self-reporting, and third party complaints.
What to keep in mind when reading this report
Different companies have different needs and resources.
The FLA does not believe that there is any one tried and true approach to addressing noncompliance internationally. The size of a company, where it does business, how diffuse its supply chain is - all of these factors and more influence the approach a company takes to ensuring compliance with international labor standards. For this reason, direct comparisons or the application of a single labor compliance model may not necessarily prove helpful in designing or evaluating a company's compliance program.
Systems lead to sustainable compliance.
Over time we have learned that it is only once we address the root causes of noncompliance that sustainable solutions can be found. Therefore, we have moved to a reporting approach that has a greater focus on companies' progress in systematically addressing serious or persistent noncompliance issues.
The issues addressed here are global and pervasive.
The global challenges facing workers and their advocates are overwhelming. The FLA is working to address these challenges using a model of cooperation, monitoring, remediation, and public reporting. Other initiatives are taking different approaches to deal with these same issues. We look forward to continued experimentation and shared learning with the diverse group of people working to improve the lives of workers around the world.
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