Goals and progress
Supply chain | Our program in action
We have initiatives around the world focused on improving factory working conditions.
Freedom of association in Peru
When a group of workers at a major garment manufacturer lost their jobs after attempting to organize, we worked to ensure that they were reinstated and paid back wages.
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Handwork protections
A craft steeped in tradition, combined with modern pressures, creates a challenge for our company: how to ensure the fair treatment of women who do handwork.
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Code of Vendor Conduct (COVC) update
Our Code of Vendor Conduct (COVC) documents the legal, social, and environmental standards that we set for garment factories around the world. In 2008, we made substantive updates to reflect emerging needs and priorities.
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Addressing child labor
Child labor evokes a simple, swift reaction: it’s wrong and unacceptable. Here, an expert provides context, and examines Gap’s response to a child labor issue in its supply chain in 2007.
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Uzbek cotton
Factories are often the focus of human rights issues — but we’re also looking deeper into the supply chain. For example, we are collaborating with human rights groups, investors and other brands to address the use of government-orchestrated forced child labor to harvest cotton in Uzbekistan.
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The "why" of compliance
Compliance is usually described in terms of audits and findings, problems and how they are fixed. But what drives compliance work is improving things for the workers. It’s about the workers.
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Responsible transitions
When a factory relationship begins or ends, how can we help the factory and workers make the transition? We work closely with our factories to verify compliance with labor requirements and regulations.
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Purchasing practices
How does an order for dresses affect the life of a garment worker in a factory thousands of miles away? Taking a closer look at purchasing practices offers insights into how we can improve working conditions through internal decision-making practices.
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Freedom of association
Saying that we support freedom of association is one thing. To make real progress, we’ve worked to bring together groups and individuals who have little history of talking with each other. Here’s a look at what has enabled us to make progress in bridging the divide.
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ILO/IFC better work program
For more than a decade, we’ve played a role in a unique international collaboration to improve working conditions in garment factories. Today, Better Work is expanding throughout the world.
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