LABOR PRACTICE

The Apparel Industry Partnership has addressed issues related to the eradication of sweatshops in the United States and abroad. On the basis of this examination, the Partnership has formulated the following set of standards defining decent and human working conditions. The Partnership believes that consumers can have confidence that products that are manufactured in compliance with these standards are not produced under exploitative or inhumane conditions.

Labor Practice Key

The apparel industry has addressed issues related to the eradication of sweatshops in manufacturers all over the world, there are different legal and cultural environments in which factories operate, corporate labor practice codes sets forth the basic requirements factories should meet in order to do business, following are the basic codes commonly found in various corporate in different countries.

Group A - Hong Kong, Taiwan, Korea, Macau, China and Mongolia

Group B - Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Bangladesh and India

Group C - Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia and Indonesia

Legal requirements

- Suppliers must observe all applicable laws of their respective country, including laws relating to employment, discrimination, environment and safety in the apparel and related fields.

- Suppliers must comply with applicable laws relating to the import of products, including country of origin labeling, product labeling, fabric product testing. Local or industry practices exceed local legal requirements; this higher standard should be met.

Wages, Hours and Benefits standards

-Suppliers must pay wages and benefits and provide compensation for overtime consistent with local laws.

-Suppliers must pay overtime and any incentive rates that meet all legal requirements or the local industry standard whichever is greater.

-Suppliers must adopt working hours that do not exceed prevailing local law. -Suppliers must not use corporal punishment or other mental or physical disciplinary actions or engage in sexual harassment.

-Suppliers must not discriminate based upon race, religion, national origin, -Hourly wage rates for overtime must be higher than the rates for the regular work shift.

-Workers may refuse overtime without any threat of penalty, punishment or dismissal. -Workers have at least one day off in seven.

-Suppliers provide paid annual leave and holidays as required by law or which meet the local industry standard, whichever is greater.

-For each pay period, supplier provides workers an understandable wage statement that includes days worked, wage or piece rate earned per day, hours of overtime at each specified rate, bonuses, allowances and legal or contractual deductions.

Working environment standards

-Factories shall comply with all applicable laws and regulations regarding working conditions of their respective country, including worker health and safety, sanitation, fire safety, risk protection, electrical, mechanical and structural safety. -Factories must treat all workers with respect and dignity and provide them with a safe and healthy environment -Factories should inform their workers about the workplace standards orally and through the posting of standards in a prominent place (in local languages) and undertake other efforts to educate about the standards on a regular basis. -Factories shall not use corporal punishment or any other form of physical or psychological coercion.

-Factories must be sufficiently lighted and ventilated, aisles accessible, machinery maintained, and hazardous materials sensibly stored and disposed.

-Factory is well ventilated. There are windows, fans, air conditioners or heaters in all work areas for adequate circulation, ventilation and temperature control.

-Factories providing housing for workers must keep these facilities clean and safe.

-Factory has an environmental management system.

-Factory does not engage in or permit physical acts to punish or coerce workers.

-Factory does not engage in or permit psychological coercion or any other form of non

-physical abuse, including threats of violence, sexual harassment, screaming or other verbal abuse.

-Sufficient and clearly marked emergency exit routes are posted in all sections of the factory.

-Aisles, exits and stairways are kept clear at all times when work in process, finished garments, bolts of fabric, boxes and all other objects that could obstruct the orderly evacuation of workers in case of fire or other emergencies.

-Doors and other exits are kept accessible and unlocked during all working hours for orderly evacuation in case of fire or other emergencies. All main exit doors open to the outside.

-Fire extinguishers are appropriate to the types of possible fires in the various areas of the factory, are regularly maintained and charged, display the date of their last inspection, and are mounted on walls and columns throughout the factory so they are visible and easily accessible to workers in all areas.

-Fire alarms are on each floor and emergency lights are placed above exits and on stairwells.

-Evacuation drills should be conducted periodically.

-Machinery is equipped with operational safety devices and is inspected and serviced on a regular basis.

-Appropriate personal protective equipment such as masks, gloves, goggles, earplugs and rubber boots is made available at no cost to all workers and instruction in its use is provided.

-Factory must provide potable water for all workers and allows reasonable access to it throughout the working day. -Factory places at least one well-stocked first aid kit on every factory floor and trains specific staff in basic first aid. Factory has procedures for dealing with serious injuries that require medical treatment outside the factory.

-Factory maintains throughout working hours clean and sanitary toilet areas and places no unreasonable restrictions on their use.

-Factory stores hazardous and combustible materials in secure and ventilated areas and disposes of them in a safe and legal manner.

Housing (if applicable):

-Dormitory facilities must meet all applicable laws and regulations related to health and safety, including lighting, fire safety, sanitation, risk protection, electrical, mechanical and structural safety.

-Living space per worker in the sleeping quarters must meets minimum legal requirement and local industry standard. Sufficient toilets and showers are segregated by sex and provided in safe, sanitary, accessible and private areas

-Sleeping quarters are segregated by sex. Workers are provided with their own individual mats and beds. Workers are provided with their own storage space for their clothes and personal possessions Dormitory facilities are well ventilated. There are windows to the outside or fans and/or air conditioners and/or heaters in all sleeping areas for adequate circulation, ventilation and temperature control.

-There are at least two clearly marked exits on each floor; emergency lighting is installed in halls, stairwells and above each exit.

-Halls and exits are kept clear of obstructions for safe and rapid evacuation in case of fire or other emergencies. Directions for evacuation in case of fire or other emergencies are posted in all sleeping quarters.

-Fire extinguishers are placed in all sleeping quarters and must be easily accessible. Fire drill should be conducted periodically.

-Hazardous and combustible materials used in the production process are not stored in the dormitory or in buildings connected to sleeping quarters.

-Potable water or facilities to boil water are available to dormitory residents.

-Dormitory residents are free to come and go during their off-hours under reasonable limitations imposed for their safety and comfort.

Equal opportunity

-Workers are free to join associations of their own choosing. Factories must not interfere with workers who wish to lawfully and peacefully associate, organize or bargain collectively. The decision whether or not to do so should be made solely by the workers.

-Factory should not threaten, penalize, restrict or interfere with workers' lawful efforts to join associations of their choosing.

-Develop a secure communications channel, in a manner appropriate to the culture and situation, to enable employees to report to the management on noncompliance with the workplace standards, with security that they shall not be punished or prejudiced for doing so.

Educations and Training

-Factory encourages and allows eligible workers, especially younger workers, to attend night classes and participate in work-study programs and other government-sponsored educational programs.

-Factories are encouraged to develop lawful workplace apprenticeship programs for the educational benefit of their workers.

Employment discrimination

-Factories shall employ workers on the basis of their ability to do the job, not on the basis of their personal characteristics or beliefs.

-Factory employs workers without regard to race, color, gender, nationality, religion, age, maternity, marital status, political affiliation and who encourage free association and freedom of expression.

-Factory pays workers wages and provides benefits without regard to race, color, gender, nationality, religion, age, maternity, marital status, political affiliation and who encourage free association and freedom of expression.

Forced labor

-Factory does not use involuntary labor of any kind, including prison labor, debt bondage or forced labor by governments.

-If the factory recruits foreign contract workers, the factory pays agency recruitment commissions and does not require any worker to remain in employment for any period of time against his or her will.

Child labor

-Factories shall employ only workers who meet the applicable minimum legal age requirement or are at least 14 years of age.

-Factories must also comply with all other applicable child labor laws.

-Factory complies with all applicable child labor laws, including those related to hiring, wages, and hours worked, overtime and working conditions.

-Factory maintains official documentation for every worker that verifies the worker's date of birth. In those countries where official documents are not available to confirm exact date of birth, the factory confirms age using an appropriate and reliable assessment method.

Factories that determine to adopt the Labor Practice codes shall apply the higher standard in cases of differences. Any manufacturers that determine to adopt the Labor Practice codes shall also require its contractors and suppliers to comply with applicable local laws and with these codes.

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