Commitment and Practices
About the data
The Clean Clothes Initiative believes that suppliers must be adequately compensated for the costs involved in meeting compliance demands. This requires that pricing practices do not prevent suppliers from being decent employers. Global buyers must be sure that the prices they pay will, at the very least, cover payment of a living wage. At the same time, global buyers should also express a willingness to establish long-term relations with their suppliers. Lead times and factory capacity must also be taken into account to ensure use of overtime does not become standard practice. Buyers can further take positive steps to drive change by giving incentives for suppliers displaying best practice.
Practical steps we were looking for evidence of included:
- Adoption of figures for living-wage benchmarks in main production countries and evidence of their use
- Buying systems that break down the free-on-board (FOB) price to include specified labour costs; open costing with suppliers
- Buying practices that show a preference for factories with high wage standards or factories that support the establishment and functioning of independent trade unions
- Work to consolidate supply chains.
Methodology
The campaign defines Wages and benefits paid for a standard working week shall meet at least legal or industry minimum standards and always be sufficient to meet basic needs of workers and their families and to provide some discretionary income. (See p.98 of the report)
In this report, fifty of the most influential or strategic companies retailing in Europe were approached to take part in the study. These represent a mixture of fashion, sportswear, budget and supermarket retailers, as well as luxury fashion brands. Check whether the company you would like answers to this metric has participated in the Campaign’s search and add the score the campaign has determined in relation to commitment & practice?