Fair Labor Association

The Fair Labor Association (FLA) is a non-profit collaborative effort of universities, civil society organisations and socially-responsible companies. FLA promotes adherence to international and national labour laws as this non-governmental organisation advocates for greater accountability and transparency [1]. Its mission is to address any abusive labour practices by offering tools and resources to businesses, delivering training and conducting due diligence through independent assessments. FLA developed a code of conduct which address core labour issues, such as forced labour, child labour, harassment or abuse, discrimination, health and safety concerns, freedom of association and collective bargaining, wages and benefits, hours of work, and overtime compensation.FLA evolved out of a task force created by President Bill Clinton following sweatshop scandals involving major apparel and footwear brands [2]. Initially, the partnership was composed of retail companies, human rights groups, trade unions, religious organisations, and consumer advocates. The companies that join FLA commit themselves to upholding the association’s “Workplace Code of Conduct” which is based on the International Labour Organisation (ILO) standards. Associated companies source from more than 3,000 suppliers in 80 countries. They commit themselves to establish internal systems for monitoring workplace conditions, as they are required to maintain code standards throughout their supply chains [3]. FLA has an elaborated compliance regime of six major steps: Companies ought to incorporate a compliance programme within their organisation. This requires designating a person or division in the company responsible for promoting code compliance at all levels of the supply chain. Secondly, there is requirement for an internal system which monitors factory conditions. A third step allows and facilitates independent external monitoring. The fourth implies implementation remediation. If non-compliance is identified by either internal or external monitors, the company is responsible for effecting remediation in that facility. A fifth step is verifying the implementation of remediation. This necessitates annual independent and unannounced audits on members to evaluate their continuous compliance to FLA codes [2]. The sixth step requires the company to report its activities, publicly. FLA has an elaborate system of monitoring and sanctioning. It discloses relevant information of all members on its website [3]