The FLA engaged the independent experts who conducted this Safeguards investigation at the request of FLA-affiliated companies Fanatics and adidas as well as adidas licensee Streetwear, Inc. and The Walt Disney Company.
The FLA administered a Special Independent Investigation, consistent with its established Safeguards procedures, regarding allegations of violation of freedom of association rights of the workers in Crescent Konfeksiyon Ürünleri Pazarlama San. Dış Tic. A.Ş., which produces coats, jackets and trousers for men; and shorts, coats, jackets, skirts, trousers, shirts, and blouses for women.
In February 2018, affiliated Participating Companies Nike Inc. and Under Armour Inc. requested that the Fair Labor Association (“FLA”) conduct a safeguards investigation at the factory New Holland Apparel de Nicaragua, S.A.
In November 2015, affiliated companies adidas-Group and Under Armour requested that the FLA engage an independent expert to examine freedom of association-related issues at the factory New Holland Nica (also known as New Holland Apparel S.A.), located in the Zona Franca Astro, Managua, Nicaragua.
In early 2015, at the request of affiliated companies Outerstuff and College Kids, the FLA engaged labor rights expert Katya Castillo to conduct a special investigation of the labor rights situation at the Style Avenue factory in El Salvador. The new verification exercise found improvement in the establishment of regular work-week hours and holidays, but found incomplete remediation actions related to: freedom of association, harassment or abuse, high temperatures inside the factory, and other issues.
In December of 2014, DanWatch, a Danish civil society organization that monitors the corporate social responsibility behavior of multinational companies, released the documentary “Seeds of Debt.” The documentary reported instances of exploitative high-interest money lending to farmers in rural Andhra Pradesh, India – a systemic problem in the agriculture sector – and featured testimony from farmers producing seeds for Syngenta, an affiliate of the Fair Labor Association (FLA).
On July 14, 2014, Participating Company H&M requested that the Fair Labor Association (FLA) commission an independent investigation into allegations regarding Freedom of Association (FOA) violations at three supplier facilities in Turkey owned by Orma Tekstil, one in Duzce and two in Istanbul.