Apparel Online India Magazine April 1st Issue 2019 | Page 16

SUSTAINABILITY TO ADVERTISE GOING TO A GOOD EVENT? Contact Rani Mahendru [phone] (512) [email protected] Send your industry gossip, photos and news to [email protected] Under Armour receives accreditation from FLA The Fair Labor Association (FLA) has recently accredited US sportswear brand Under Armour’s social compliance programme in a move that confirms that the brand has implemented strong policies and practices in place so as to set goals, monitor and re-mediate problems to improve working conditions for the workers within its global supply chain. FLA works to promote and protect the rights of the workers and improve the workplace conditions. Their accreditation process is a multi- year examination of a company’s labour compliance programme. It is the only organisation to which brands and suppliers commit to meeting the standards of transparency, regular review and assessment of corporate systems that support worker’s rights. “We are proud to have been recognised by the FLA for this significant sustainability milestone. The FLA’s multi-stakeholder composition which includes civil society, university and business members that hold brands and suppliers accountable for their labour compliance performance is a holistic approach that empowers our goal of becoming a more operationally excellent company,” informed Patrik Frisk, President and COO, Under Armour. Earlier too, Under Armour published a factory list representing 90 per cent of its production volume including licensee factories that produce collegiate products. Sharon Waxman, FLA President and CEO, praised Under Armour’s commitment to embedding international labour standards and best practices into its global sourcing operations. Vietnam workers for Australian brands struggling with no pay hike, food & water! The Vietnamese garment workers committed to Australian fashion brands are struggling to meet their basic daily requirements. This was highlighted in the recently released Oxfam Australia report. The report distinctly showed how 16 Apparel Online India | little attention Australian brands like Target and CottonOn were paying on the working conditions of apparel workers in Vietnam. The report exposed the ways in which Australian firms have been driving wages down and imposing APRIL 1-15, 2019 | www.apparelresources.com harsh working conditions on the workers of Vietnam. What is shocking is that these brands have been consistently going back on their commitment to important fundamental rights at work in their Codes of Conduct. The brands have been compelling the garment factories to reduce the lead times for orders and jump contracts in-between instead of building long-lasting relations. Around 27 per cent of garment workers in Vietnam said there were no changes in their wages with 5 per cent even complaining of their wages being reduced in last one year. Lot of them complained of struggling to even afford sufficient food, housing and clean water. Reportedly, 23 per cent of garment workers even complained of regular verbal abuse at the workplace. Similarly, by law, employers need to pay social insurance premium to workers on the basis of latter’s wages and allowances but in reality their payslips portrayed a different picture. The report suggested that while the brands should be transparent and fair while dealing with human right abuses, the Government too should make stringent laws to protect the rights of workers. “We are working to promote the well-being of workers within our supply chain,” said Big W while responding to the report. The report was based on the interviews conducted in April and July 2018 and of the 88 garment workers interviewed from six factories, 13 were male and 75 were female.