One of the great aspects of this new initiative is that the organizations involved have identified proactive steps companies can take to improve worker rights in their supply chains. The recommendations cover four key areas:
1. Develop a positive climate for freedom of association and collective bargaining;
2. Eliminate the use of precarious employment in sportswear supply chains;
3. Lessen both the frequency and negative impacts of factory closures; and
4. Take steps to improve worker incomes, with the goal of reaching a living wage for all workers.
Those recommendations are explained in a report [PDF] released before the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. The letter that the participating organizations sent to the sportswear companies is a very useful tool for identifying where companies stand on key worker rights issues and you can see it online here [PDF].
Another tool for consumers concerned about labor rights issues in the products you buy is the Free2Work website which is a collaboration between ILRF and the Not For Sale Campaign. Free2Work rates products and companies based on their policies related to forced and child labor. The website is constantly growing with new profiles from different industries and will eventually also include more information on sportswear companies.
Don't forget to check out the Clearing the Hurdles website and take action!
Comments
re: Olympic Skiers Aren't the Only Ones in a Race to the Bottom
The Clearing the Hurdles website is great! It is especially interesting to be able to read the responses from the companies themselves. Thanks for posting this!
re: Olympic Skiers Aren't the Only Ones in a Race to the Bottom
Hopefully focusing their efforts around an event as enormous as the Olympics will help them get the publicity needed to really make an impact. Based on the success of recent ILRF action campaigns, this is a good year to flood companies inboxes with demands for change!