Programs and Activities
When a school affiliates with the WRC, they pass a Code of Conduct for the manufacturers of their apparel. The code of conduct typically includes bans on forced overtime, child labor, bonded labor, and discrimination of any kind, including sex discrimination, and affirms workers' rights to a living wage, a safe work environment, and freedom of association and collective bargaining. The WRC sends representatives to facilities in Global South where the apparel is being produced to monitor whether the code of conduct is being upheld. The WRC then makes annual, public reports on the working conditions in the facilities. When a factory is found to not be upholding the Code of Conduct, the company or companies – often major international brands – who sub-contracted to that factory are usually threatened with the termination of their licensing contract(s) unless they exert pressure on the factory to improve work conditions.
The WRC, working with many U.S. universities, is currently working on designing and launching the Designated Suppliers Program (DSP) to address some of the major obstacles to code of conduct enforcement that are embedded in the of the apparel industry's distended global supply chains.
Read more about this topic: Worker Rights Consortium
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