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Aminul Islam, member of the BCWS in Bangladesh, was found dead on April 5, 2012
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SAI joins the international community to express concern over the death of Aminul Islam and support calls for investigation.
Actions: >>SAI's letter to the Prime Minister of Bangladesh
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Training Courses
Social Fingerprint� Online Courses
- Getting Started in Your Company
-Building Your Internal Social Performance Team
SA8000� Online Auditor Training Courses
SA8000� Revision Course
May 14-18, Bucharest, Romania
May 21-25, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
June 11-15, Shenzhen, China
June 11-15, Chennai, India
June 18-22, Sao Paulo, Brazil
SA8000� Advanced Auditor Training
May 2-4, New Delhi, India
May 9-11, Bucharest, Romania
June 4-6, Phnom Penh, Cambodia
June 27-29, Shenzhen, China
July 16-18, NY/NJ, USA
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Social Accountability International (SAI) is a non-profit, multi-stakeholder organization established to advance the human rights of workers by promoting decent work conditions, labor rights, and corporate social responsibility through voluntary standards and capacity building.
SAI is headquartered in the United States with field representation in Brazil, China, Costa Rica, India, the Netherlands, Nicaragua, Philippines, Switzerland, and UAE.
SAI- Human Rights at Work
For newsletter inquiries contact:
SAI Communications Manager
Joleen Ong, jong@sa-intl.org |
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 Anvil Knitwear's Educational Approach to Sustainability
SAI interviews Anvil Knitwear's Caterina Conti to learn more about its efforts to promote ethical consumerism, and Earth Day events
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Highlights of Anvil Knitwear's Earth Day display in New York (from left): 1) An organic vegetable seedling display, part of the larger Organic Garden Program; 2) Anvil Knitwear staff by Anvil's TrackMyT display; 3) One of the board games Anvil gave away to children to teach where their t-shirt comes from.
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Established over a century ago, Anvil Knitwear is a leading apparel manufacturer, primarily in the imprintable and private label markets. Anvil, a SAI Signatory Corporate Program member since 2007, is an active player in the sustainability field. Headquartered in New York, it is a vertically integrated manufacturer, with an estimated 4,300 employees in the U.S., Central America and Europe. It is also the largest buyer of U.S.-grown organic and transitional cotton. Anvil has won numerous awards for its work, including for its interactive, educational website- www.TrackMyT.com - that educates consumers about how a shirt is created, from a cotton seed to the factory floor.
Q. Earth Day is always an eventful time for Anvil Knitwear - you're one of the key sponsors of the Earth Day festival in New York at Grand Central Station. What did you do this year?
This year, it's all about the kids. We wanted to showcase the schools that were recipients from our Organic Learning Garden program. We also gave used TrackMyT� board games to educate kids about what they could learn about who, and how, their clothing is being made and its carbon footprint. The organic gardens allows us to take the TrackMyT� into the classroom.
Q. I remember last year that TrackMyT� drew a lot of attention at the Earth Day event at Grand Central. Can you tell us more about the organic garden program?
We started the Organic Learning Garden program with Earth Day NYC, and then carried out a pilot program with 19 schools, and this received positive reviews from students and teachers. The program provides organic container gardens to classrooms in New York City public schools, with instructions on how to cultivate organic vegetables and educator lesson plans In the next year we expect to continue the program to penetrate at least 10 percent of NYC public schools and other communities.
Q. I noticed that Anvil takes a holistic and educational approach to communicate the 'story' of its products to its consumers- with TrackMyT�, and the Organic Garden Program - can you tell us more about the linkage between the two, as well as the inspiration?
Anvil has been a supporter of environmental education for kids. The Organic Garden Program is really an extension of the TrackMyT� program, where we are trying to help school children to learn about sustainability in a fun way from both the social and environmental angles. We believe that sustainability issues are often communicated in ways that may be too complex for consumers to understand and act upon, and therefore TrackMyT� is our tool to engage kids and their parents in a language that consumers understand.
With TrackMyT�, we wanted to find a tool to let our customers know that a t-shirt is not a commodity, to show that this product is 'not just a t-shirt'- that it has been on a journey all the way from the cotton fields, and touched by many human hands to create it. It was critically important for us to showcase this.
This year for Earth Day we focused on how to reinvent TrackMyT� to showcase all aspects of sustainability- such as highlighting employees and disclosing our carbon footprint. And with the Organic Garden program we're teaching kids about both farming, and the farmer.
At the end of the day, we want to help inform consumers to make more responsible choices. The more we can tell them about a t-shirt and the process behind its production, the more they will be informed to make responsible purchasing decisions and influence others to do the same. The next stage of TrackMyT� will revolve around our AnvilOrganic� line-we want to build a culture around organic choices.
Q. As Anvil is primarily a B2B company, it was interesting that the traceability concept behind TrackMyT� got so much attention - the website actually won a Webby Award, and your Shirt Scan app for smart phones has been downloaded by over 1,000 people. How else has TrackMyT� penetrated the consumer market?
Right now TrackMyT� is being used in 153 countries, and its pick up has been without too much marketing. I think people are interested in learning about the story behind products they just purchased, and hopefully they better value that product.
Q. One of the things that makes Anvil Knitwear really unique is its team - specifically how its senior management for sustainability is a tight knit group that puts forth an integrated effort. What is an example of a 'sustainability' initiative that you are taking on internally?
Currently, Anvil is working on implementing the Calvert Women's Principles, and we've adopted them across all operations to address gender issues, and to provide opportunities for women's education and professional advancement. Women comprise about 50% of our workforce, not just in the U.S. but also in Central America. In 2011, we completed a comprehensive self-assessment and we reported our findings and plan of action in Anvil's 2011 CSR Report.
This year, we are rolling out a mechanic's training program for women. Also, in collaboration with Foundations for Social Change, we are also launching a worker training program to encourage and develop more women engineers at our factories. We will continue to report our results in upcoming CSR reports.
Q. Any particular challenges so far? In terms of our worker training program, interestingly we found that the greatest barrier can be women themselves who find it difficult to perceive themselves in the role of engineer. Our challenge is in helping women overcome cultural perceptions of their own limitations. Caterina Conti is Anvil Knitwear's Executive Vice President and Head of Sustainability. Learn more about Anvil Knitwear's work at anvilcsr.com, and its TrackMyT� program at trackmyt.com.
This article was conducted by SAI Communications Manager Joleen Ong. For inquiries, contact JOng@sa-intl.org. Back to top |
Social Fingerprint�: STX Vietnam Shipbuilder
SAI teams up with the Norwegian Export Credit Agency (GIEK) to 'measure & improve' STX Vietnam's labor standards implementation, to meet lending criteria
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Photos from STX Vietnam's operations in Vung Tau (from left): 1) SAI Lead Trainer Badri Gulur (right) conducts an onsite assessment with STX General Director Roger Vassdal; 2) Group photo of STX Vietnam employees - the company employs some 700 people; 3) Aerial shot of STX Vietnam's shipbuilding operations. [Photo credit: Badri Gulur & STX Vietnam]
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On February 8-10, in Vung Tau, Vietnam, SAI Lead Trainer Badri Gulur conducted an onsite assessment and review of STX Vietnam. This site visit was part of a joint project among SAI, STX Vietnam and GIEK, designed to evaluate STX management systems for labor standards implementation. GIEK was specifically interested in STX Vietnam's efforts as related to the IFC's Performance Standard 2, addressing labor and working conditions. GIEK uses IFC (International Finance Corporation) as a reference. This project leverages SAI's expertise from our ongoing work with the IFC. That work focuses on development of handbooks and toolkits for IFC-invested companies, to provide an understanding of the management systems and internal staff capabilities required for improving labor standards performance in a company and its supply chain.
STX Vietnam, a branch of the international shipbuilding company, employs approximately 700 people in Vung Tau. Onsite, SAI's Social Fingerprint� Company Program used the 'measure and improve' approach to evaluate efforts in Social Fingerprint's� nine process-based categories to identify priority areas for improvement, and provide online tips for improvement. Following Mr. Gulur's visit, SAI will conduct a 5-day Basic Auditor and Introduction to SA8000� course for 10 people at STX Vietnam. After the training, SAI will stay involved to provide technical assistance as needed and to support STX Vietnam as it continues to develop and improve its management systems and working conditions.
"Our cooperation with SAI has increased our awareness of social and working conditions at the yard, as it emphasized the importance of systemic approaches in daily work," said Roger Vassdal, General Director of STX Vietnam. "As we build trust with our customers, we simultaneously want to be a trusted employer. Our yard in Vung Tau is a Greenfield Investment literally built on our long experiences as a recognized Norwegian shipbuilder. We developed the yard in accordance with our high quality standards and trained our Vietnamese employees into skilled shipbuilders."
The project originated when Kamil Zabielski, Senior Advisor at GIEK, approached SAI, looking for a way to integrate labor standards performance measurements into lending practices. Working together, Mr. Zabielski and SAI Director of Corporate Programs and Training, Craig Moss, developed a program to use SAI's Social Fingerprint� to measure borrower labor standards performance at the time of the initial loan, and then establish measurable improvement targets tied to subsequent releases of funds.
"This project has been very satisfying. It started out by developing an innovative and progressive pilot with Mr. Zabielski at GIEK, who in turn brought STX Vietnam into the project," said Mr. Moss. "Mr. Vassdal has shown tremendous leadership by committing to measure and improve working conditions at STX Vietnam. He recognized that the operating systems transferred from Norway needed to be localized and he embraced SAI's process-based approach. Having Mr. Gulur return to deliver 5-day training to the core team at STX Vietnam will help to really build a foundation for continual improvement at STX Vietnam - all to the ultimate benefit of the workers."
This project takes place in a challenging and promising context; the highly competitive global shipbuilding market, with an annual growth rate of nearly 23%, wherein Vietnam is one of the leaders. According to the 2011 Global Shipbuilding Market Report -- the major distinguishing quality of a shipbuilding company is its workforce, as measured through criteria such as productivity and worker skills.
For more information, contact SAI Communications Manager, Joleen Ong- JOng@sa-intl.org.
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SAI Evaluates Timberland's Code of Conduct Program
In 2010, SAI worked with Timberland to review whether Timberland's code is implemented in the field as designed. Here are the results:
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Read SAI's complete evaluation of Timberland's Code of Conduct program @bit.ly/I8Djnw
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Excerpted sections from Timberland's 'Bootmakers Blog,' written by Timberland's Senior Manager of Code of Conduct, Colleen Von Haden: "In 2010, Timberland commissioned Social Accountability International (SAI) to review whether our Code of Conduct program is implemented in the field as designed. SAI is a non-governmental organization whose mission is to advance the rights of workers around the world. As a Corporate Member of SAI, we share their mission to improve working conditions in our or supply chain in accordance with relevant ILO conventions and national law. We asked SAI to validate our program's capability of achieving our objectives, including a review of our team's necessary skills to be effective. SAI's comprehensive assessment concluded that there are key areas of our Code of Conduct program that are working well, producing positive results and even "best practice." SAI also uncovered a number of areas for improvement and opportunities for us to mitigate potential risks and improve the impact of our Code of Conduct program. You can read more about SAI's detailed findings and recommendations on the Responsibility section of our website. 'Overall, the Timberland Code of Conduct program is extremely sophisticated in its design and places Timberland among the leaders in the field.'
- Craig Moss, project lead and SAI Director of Corporate Programs and Training
SAI's thoroughness enabled this process to truly validate our program's capability and effectiveness. We look forward to continued partnership with SAI as we continue to work to create real improvements in our supply chain. Ensuring that the thousands of people worldwide who make our products have fair and safe workplaces is part of our commitment to running a responsible business. To learn more about our Code of Conduct program, visit the Responsibility section of our website."
For more information, contact SAI Communications Manager Joleen Ong - JOng@sa-intl.org.
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SAI's President Responds to New York Times Article, 'Electronic Giant Vowing Reforms in China Plants'
 Dear Editor: On behalf of SAI, I applaud John Ruggie's April 5 letter to the NY Times. He recommends that, in addition to imposing stricter conditions on suppliers, brands must also acknowledge and improve their ordering practices.
Consideration of both the buy-side and the sell-side of business should be integrated into any leading company's approach to measure and improve its supply chain management of social performance. Such leaders and all their stakeholders -- including human rights, development and trade union organizations -- are not only committed to eliciting decent work conditions and freedom of association at manufacturing sites, but also ensuring decent supply chain management: assuring that orders actually fit the capacity of their suppliers to fulfill while complying with ILO conventions, the SA8000� standard, the IFC Performance Standard 2, and the brands and retailers' own codes for decent work. These are sophisticated and easy to use tools, training and systems to help. Over 400 brands and suppliers, including Carrefour, Disney and Timberland, already implement SAI's Social Fingerprint� program of tools, guidance, training and technical assistance to carry out such systems. In this 'measure & improve' approach, supply chain management is achieved from two perspectives: 1) how a brand or retailer manages social performance in its supply chain and 2) how a supplier manages social performance in its company. The former examines a range of ordering practice aspects, including the internal integration of compliance and sourcing, minimizing last minute spec changes, allowing adequate time between placing an order and its delivery time, supplier communication, stakeholder involvement, and various other aspects of purchasing practices. Ultimately, all of the steps from product design to setting delivery dates should incorporate considerations for promoting decent work in suppliers.
Alice Tepper Marlin
President, Social Accountability International (SAI)
For more information, contact SAI Communications Manager Joleen Ong - JOng@sa-intl.org.
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SAI India: Quarterly Project Review
SAI President Alice Tepper Marlin attends meetings in New Delhi and meets with Tata
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April 19 - SAI President Alice Tepper Marlin discusses the joint India "Scaling Up" Project with India Project Director Rishi Sher Singh and members of GIZ & BSCI in New Delhi.
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On April 19, SAI President Alice Tepper Marlin joined SAI India Project Director Rishi Sher Singh in attending the Steering Committee meeting for the joint project "Scaling Up Indian Responsible Business Initiatives" in New Delhi. The meeting was part of a quarterly project review by the three project partners - GIZ, SAI and BSCI - with discussion on the goals and objectives. This public-private partnership (PPP) aims to act as a platform to support the scaling up of current high quality initiatives for responsible business practices in India. Key techniques are development of local enabling and qualifying structures for trainers and qualifying the first set of such trainers. In this program, SAI and the local trainees involved in the 'training-of-trainers' activity have trained over 400 participants including suppliers to Gap Inc., Timberland and PGC Switcher (all three are Signatory Corporate Program members) and others. Four courses were developed for the project's nascent Center for Responsible Business and tested at these trainings. The courses were developed with valuable input from stakeholder advisory meetings. This is also linked to the findings and activities of SAI's RAGS Project in India, which looks specifically at the ready made garment sector. Ms. Tepper Marlin also met with SAI Advisory Board members, Kishor Chaukar, Managing Director of Tata Industries Ltd. (TIL) and Anant Nadkarni, VP of Group Corporate Sustainability of Tata. Fourteen Tata facilities are SA8000� certified, including Tata Coffee, Tata Steel, Tata Motors and Tata Tea. More information on these facilities can be found on the SA8000� public list of certified facilities.
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Multi-Stakeholder Forum for Decent Work in Peru
The forum convened stakeholders of Peru's garment and textile industry, to discuss the issue of short-term employment contracts
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Snapshot from the forum (from left): Julian Vargas, Adidas; Yolanda Brenes, SAI; Marietta Shimizu-Larenas, Independent Consultant; Samuel Diaz, Nike.
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On March 20-21, SAI Senior Project Manager Yolanda Brenes participated in the multi-stakeholder forum: " Decent Work in the Textile & Garment Sector in Peru: Challenges & Opportunities." The forum brought together a range of active stakeholders, including representatives of national and international trade unions and labor rights organizations, major apparel brands, multi-stakeholder initiatives, the labor ministry, and local suppliers. The focus of the meeting was to discuss how short-term employment contracts impact workers' rights in the country's garment and textile industry. The following were the forum's key principles:
- Use and impact of consecutive short-term employment contracts in the sector;
- Contribute to a common understanding of how misuse of short-term contracts violate international labor standards and explore strategies for ensuring compliance with buyers' contractual requirements on social compliance;
- Promote tripartite social dialogue between the Peruvian union movement, industry and government on this issue; and
- Explore the labor rights provisions of the Trade Promotion Agreement between Peru and the United States (U.S. Peru TPA), and implications for the use of consecutive short-term contracts and other labor rights issues in Peru.
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Enroll in Global SA8000� Auditor Training Courses International Locations & Online Courses Available
 | Participants at the Advanced SA8000� Auditor Training in Istanbul, Turkey - April 11-13, 2012.
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Upcoming: SA8000� Basic Auditor Training Location: Jakarta, Indonesia Date: July 16-20 SA8000� Advanced Auditor Training Location: Hanoi, Vietnam Date: July 23-25 SAI training courses are designed to encourage proficiency in social compliance issues and emphasize the implementation of management systems. Learn about a management-system approach to social compliance auditing and supply chain management. These courses are required for all SA8000� and BSCI auditors, and are just as valuable to internal auditors, buyers, managers and workers for auditing to any labor code or standard. The courses are open to all.
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Highlights & Announcements
 | | SA8000� Basic Auditor Training Course, New Delhi - April 2-6, 2012. Participants included representatives from certifying bodies - SGS, Bureau Veritas, DNV; food companies - Saudi Arabia, MAS Sri Lanka, Fat Face UK, Asia Inspection Ltd.; fashion distributors -Inditex Group, Dharampal Satyapal Group, MAERSK; consulting firm - Ernst & Young USA; and government - GIZ. |
SAI Spring Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Board Meeting On May 8-10, SAI will convene its semi-annual multi-stakeholder Advisory Board meeting in New York. The main focus of the meeting will be to discuss strategic issues for scaling up and increasing impact. Article forthcoming in May newsletter.
3BL Media: Interview with Disney's Laura Rubbo At Intertek's Ethical Sourcing Forum (March 29-30), 3BL Media caught up with Disney's Director of Corporate Citizenship. Disney is an SAI Corporate Program member, and Ms. Rubbo serves as a member of SAAS' Board of Directors. Watch it @bit.ly/I7eJTi
Responsible Jewellery Council 2012 Annual Progress Report The report profiles RJC's first year of its member certifications system and multi-stakeholder dialogue processes and partnerships. Read it @bit.ly/HU1QLY. On April 25 SAI & RJC carried out a joint training in Mumbai. Article forthcoming in May newsletter.
Improving Vendor Social Performance with Management Systems SAI's Craig Moss led a two-day training for Gap Inc.'s employees in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam on April 18-19. Article forthcoming in May 2012 newsletter.
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SAI Communications Manager Joleen Ong speaks at the Green Festival in NYC on Earth Day
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GRI Supply Chain Disclosure Working Group On April 16-18, SAI's Jane Hwang participated in the 3rd in-person meeting of the working group in Amsterdam. The group is part of the revision process for the GRI Guidelines (G4).
"Child Labor in Agriculture: Some New Developments to an Ancient Problem" SAI Advisory Board Member Dorianne Beyer, Esq., published this article in the Journal of Agromedicine, Vol. 12, Issue 2, view it @bit.ly/Iqhxci
"5 Misperceptions of the Electronics Supply Chain" SAI's Joleen Ong gave a presentation at Green America's Green Festival 2012 in NYC to raise consumer awareness about the electronics supply chain. Sarah o' Brien, EPEAT's Director of Outreach & Communications, co-presented. View the presentation @slidesha.re/IPb8Wm
SAI Signs on to Cotton Campaign Letter to U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton SAI joined NGOs, companies and industry groups to sign on to a letter to Secretary Clinton to urge the government of Uzbekistan to end its state-sponsored forced and child labor. Read it @bit.ly/Ih1oaV
Environmental Politics in Bolivia - "Buen Vivir vs. New Extractivism" SAI Development Manager Eliza Wright attended this conference at NYU, which covered the social and environmental impacts of the extractive industry in Bolivia, as well as in the wider context of South America. Details @bit.ly/IpFiB7
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