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Jobs & Internships
Development and Communications Manager
SAI - New York
SAI - New York
VF Coalitions: Jeanswear, Imagewear and Central & South America (CASA)
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Pillars in Practice Program
 'Like' & view photos of the program on Facebook
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2. SAI Publishing Living Wage Report
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Training Courses
-Getting Started in Your Company
-Building Your Internal Social Performance Team
Sao Paolo, Brazil
September 29 - October 3
SA8000 Advanced Auditor Training
NGOs & Trade Unions
Complimentary seats available for NGO & trade union representatives. For more information, email SAI Training Coordinator Stephanie Wilson at ECrain@sa-intl.org.
View Photos from SAI's Training Courses
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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
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 SAI on Child Labor and Young Workers
SAI Technical Director Badrinath Gulur contributes insights about young workers to New York Times Room for Debate
On July 16, SAI's Technical Director, Badrinath Gulur, was one of four contributors to a New York Times Room for Debate session titled "What Standards of Child Labor Should Apply Overseas".
Mr. Gulur detailed the express prohibition of child labor in SA8000. And he also highlights how SA8000 allows room for "adequate protection of young people who are legally allowed to work, usually aged 15 to 18"
The contribution by Mr. Gulur and SAI in the debate is titled "Young Workers deserve Opportunities not Exploitation" and can be read in full on the NY Times website linked above.
For more information about the SA8000 Standard and child labor, visit www.sa-intl.org/sa8000 or contact Technical Director Badrinath Gulur - BGulur@sa-intl.org.
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SA8000: 2014 Standard Released
SAI issues revised standard on June 30, 2014
SA8000:2014 was released and placed on SAI's website on June 30, 2014 after a 9 month long consultation and development process. In addition, SAI will soon publish Drafters Notes to review the changes made to the Standard and also a report reviewing 900+ comments received during the public consultation period. The comments were integral and extremely useful to the process, and SAI thanks all the commenters for taking the time to submit their well-crafted suggestions.
The SA8000:2014 official version is in English; SAI is seeking professionals to translate it into priority languages, including Spanish, Italian, Chinese (mandarin), Portuguese and Vietnamese. If you are interested in offering translation services, please contact Sr. Manager of Stakeholder Relations & Research Alex Katz - AKatz@sa-intl.org.
Two additional documents are under development and will support interpretation and implementation of the Standard. The first is the SA8000 Performance Indicator Annex; a normative document that sets out the minimum performance expectations for an SA8000 certified organization. The second is the SA8000:2014 Guidance Document, which provides interpretations of SA8000, guidance on how to implement its requirements, examples of methods for verifying compliance, and serves as a handbook for auditors and for organizations seeking SA8000 certification. Both documents will be freely available on the SAI website when they are published.
For more information about the SA8000 Standard, visit www.sa-intl.org/sa8000 or contact Sr. Manager of Stakeholder Relations & Research Alex Katz - AKatz@sa-intl.org.
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Cotton Made in Africa & Reliable Hosiery
SAI works with Canadian company Reliable Hosiery to have Cotton Made in Africa partnership socks sold at Walmart
SAI caught up with Reliable Hosiery to learn more about its work with Cotton Made in Africa (CmiA) to bring socially responsible cotton to Canadian consumers. CmiA is an environmentally sustainable social business that connects African cotton farmers to international markets. SAI has partnered with CmiA since 2010 to help facilitate access to North American markets. The partnership with Reliable Hosiery is an exciting new initiative to introduce consumers to socially responsible cotton products that are both sourced and produced ethically. The first product is a line of high-quality, fashionable socks - you can find them on shelves in Canadian Walmarts now.
SAI:
Can you tell us a little about Reliable Hosiery and how you first came to think about responsibility in your sourcing?
Reliable Hosiery (RH):
Reliable Hosiery has been operating successfully as a manufacturer since 1959, always updating our equipment according to the latest technological advances. We are one of the only mills still in business in Canada. For over 50 years, Canadian retailers and consumers have relied upon us for locally manufactured, high quality, and fashion forward hosiery at competitive prices. Being an ethically, globally and environmentally conscious company, that has supported our Canadian workforce and local economy, we are always on the lookout for programs espousing these values. As soon as we were introduced to CmiA and SAI, we were excited to bring this important initiative to Canada. We take pride in being the first Canadian member of the CmiA Demand Alliance as the exclusive distributer for the sock industry, and in really making a difference in the lives of smallholder African farmers, their families and their communities.
SAI:
What drew you to CmiA specifically and how are you working toward establishing it as a well-known brand?
RH:
Four years ago, having just opened a brand new, state-of-the-art factory to manufacture socks in Canada, we learned about CmiA at a trade show in France, and immediately saw we could use CmiA cotton for our socks. We knew that by purchasing the best machinery we could be competitive with manufacturers in Asia, making us able to employ Canadian workers, support African farmers, and offer consumers the opportunity to buy socially responsible products made ethically in Canada using a Canadian workforce. We have created a line of high quality, fashionable socks and beautiful CmiA packaging. They are already selling in Walmart Canada, one of our biggest accounts, and we have established a special sales department within Reliable to promote and expand the brand nationally. At the same time, we are involved in a PR campaign, targeting various Canadian media to explain the CmiA concept in order to increase public awareness of this humanitarian and environmentally friendly business model.
SAI:
Can you talk a little about the process of getting your socks sourced with CmiA cotton into Walmart stores and the partnership with SAI?
RH:
As one of our major retailers, we offered this new concept to Walmart, and it agreed to use CmiA sourced cotton and CmiA branding as part of its George brand. SAI was extremely helpful in helping us to promote CmiA to Walmart - even sending a representative to meet with them; we greatly appreciate this kind of collaboration which is very important in introducing this new concept to consumers nationwide.
SAI:
Do you have a broad goal/vision on what you hope this partnership with CmiA can achieve in Canada and the US?
RH:
We have a long way to go...and we are determined to go all the way! We intend to make CmiA as well known in North America as it is in Europe. We are convinced that with the help of SAI we can create a lot of awareness among retailers and consumers as to the value of this type of product that is win/win/win. People are really happy to buy ethically sourced, Canadian made merchandise, and we plan to make sure they discover the CmiA brand.
SAI:
How have the sales and reception of Cotton Made in Africa products in Canada been?
RH:
It's early days, and summer is not traditionally a strong sock season, but so far sales have been really encouraging. Consumers in Canada seem to appreciate the opportunity to make socially responsible purchases of high quality products at great prices. As awareness of the availability of these items grows, it is clear that the sales will be there.
SAI:
Are there any personal anecdotes from smallholder farmers that describe how the CmiA initiative has improved their standards of living?
RH:
There are so many wonderful stories! One of our favorites is about Yaya Arouna, a smallholder farmer in Benin, who has a family of seven children to feed. He describes how his life has changed since he began working with CmiA: "My soil was exhausted, depleted. Thanks to the initiative I learned how to improve the quality of my field." Sustainable growing methods such as crop rotation restored the soil. Mr.Arouna also enriches his field with manure and legumes and his production per hectare is now above average for the region. "I earn more than my fellow villagers who did not join Cotton made in Africa", he reports, and he is happy to share his knowledge with the other farmers. His father, Orou Yaya, 90-years-old and respected as a wise man in the village, knows: "Education makes a farmer a better farmer. I didn't go to school, but I do understand that education means progress."
SAI:
Do you foresee an increase in the demand for socially responsible products, and do you feel that the viral nature of social media has aided this increase in demand?
RH:
Consumers have become more and more sensitive to the global reality in terms of social and environmental challenges and injustices as well as potential solutions. They are more conscious of the distinction between ethical and abusive manufacturing practices, and they want to be more socially and ecologically conscious global citizens, especially if the products are readily available at their local retailers and the price variation from the other brands is not too great. Social media has increased awareness and a sense of brotherhood and responsiveness concerning issues around the world. It is definitely a strong influence not only socially and politically, but also in the marketplace. We are convinced that this trend will continue to grow into a global force for good business. We are thrilled to be at the forefront of this movement - people helping people to help themselves - in Canada.
To read a recent story from the Montreal Gazette on this partnership between Reliable Hosiery and Cotton Made in Africa click here. For more information on SAI's work with Sustainable Hosiery, contact SAI Director of Corporate Programs and training Jane Hwang-JHwang@sa-intl.org . Back to top
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A View into the SAI Spring Advisory Board Meeting
SA8000:2014, New Advisory Board Members, Living Wage, and SFRR Worker Engagement
In order to ensure our work is informed by a diverse set of viewpoints, SAI's Advisory Board and committees include experts from trade unions, businesses and non-governmental organizations. They represent a broad range of international expertise in human rights, child and labor rights, socially responsible investing, auditing, and supply chain management. The full list of our Advisory Board members can be found here on our website.
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Day two of the Spring 2014 Advisory Board meeting, at Rainforest Alliance offices in downtown Manhattan
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May 27-29, SAI's semi-annual Advisory Board meeting took place in New York City It was led by its Chair, Amy Hall, Head of Corporate Social Consciousness at Eileen Fisher. Meeting highlights included the approval of the SA8000:2014 revision, guidance for SAI's strategic implementation plan, and a discussion on living wage research and estimation led by Drs. Richard and Martha Anker who presented on their new methodology for calculating Living Wage, supported by SAI and several other social standard organizations. Anna McMullen, of Labour Behind the Label, joined the discussion by phone to share insight and an advocacy perspective on Living Wage.
The Worker Engagement Social Fingerprint Rapid Results (SFRR) project, launched in Brazil and now expanding to Turkey, was a major focus of the meeting. Jane Hwang and Craig Moss were joined by two program participants from Brazil--Vald�lis Fernandes de Andrade and Patricia Silva, to share the remarkable and measurable success they experienced first-hand. All attendees participated in a sample of an exercise used to help achieve the 'team, goal, process' mantra of the SFRR projects. This helped display the innovative and highly effective techniques being used in the project.
SAI is happy to welcome one newly elected Advisory Board Member: Laura Rubbo, Director of Corporate Citizenship of the International Labor Standards Department at the Walt Disney Company. We also welcome two new alternate members: Vinod Kulkarni of Tata Motors, and Anita Neville, for the Rainforest Alliance.
SAI thanks the Morrison & Foerster law firm for hosting the first and third days of the meeting in its beautiful new offices, and Rainforest Alliance for welcoming us on the middle day.
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Technical Director Joins SAI Team
Long time SAI Authorized Representative joins SAI's permanent full-time team as Technical Director
 | | Badrinath Gulur |
Technical Director - Badrinath Gulur is internationally recognized as a leading conformity assessment and sustainability expert. With a Masters of Arts Degree in Urban Environmental Management from Erasmus University, Rotterdam and Wageningen Agricultural University, Wageningen, he has over 21 years of consulting, training and audit experience in Quality, Environment, Health & Safety and Social Accountability systems. He has worked with KPMG and Bureau Veritas in senior positions and has successfully led a Swiss consulting company as its CEO of global operations from 2001- 2014. One of the pioneers and practitioners of SA 8000, he has been involved in establishing leadership in auditing, consulting and training business in over 30 countries. His main areas of expertise relate to conformity assessment auditing, management systems training and consultancy services worldwide. His international experience spans over 69 countries; he has lived and worked in The Netherlands, Switzerland, Asia and Africa, and is currently based in Bangalore, India.
Mr. Gulur has worked on developing, auditing and sustaining management systems across a wide spectrum of sectors and a multitude of organisations in the Government, Non Government, Multilateral and Private sector-with organizations including IFC, ILO, ENOC (UAE), DEG (Germany), FMO (The Netherlands), USAID, Standard Chartered Bank, GIZ, Responsible Jewellery Council, GBF, Oxfam, Gap Inc, M & S, Carrefour, Hugo Boss, Primark, Unilever, Nestle, TNT Express, GE, Tata Group, Reliance Group, and Adani Group.
In the accreditation arena, Mr. Gulur has done extensive work overseeing--witnessing, accrediting and evaluating-- the work of major certification bodies such as SGS, BVC, DNV, Intertek, TUV Nord, TUV Rheinland, BSI, ABS, Eurocert, UL, TUV Sud, Elevate, ALGI, Latu Sistemas,
Additionally, Mr. Gulur was a founding Board member of MAYA, a leading Indian NGO that works with child labor, women's empowerment and livelihood issues. Recently, he became a peer reviewer on an International journal in Nepal that publishes articles on social accountability and corporate governance. He has been a lead trainer, auditor, and advisor to SAI for nearly 15 years as well as serving as an authorized representative in India.
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Pillars in Practice Project Conclusion
Case Studies
In July 2014, SAI will publish three case studies on notable implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs). The case studies are conducted by SAI's local partners: 1) CSR Centre in Bangladesh; 2) uniRSE in Nicaragua; and 3) ZELA in Zimbabwe. The cases track project participation of companies in Bangladesh and Nicaragua and of an advocacy organization in Zimbabwe, describing the initiative each chose to undertake to integrate the UNGPs into its operations. Social Fingerprint assessments of the companies and the advocacy organization will provide baseline and final data to measure the maturation of the organizations' management systems. These case studies are public facing and will be available for download. They are intended to provide a learning opportunity for all concerned - the organization that is the subject of the case study, the reader, the case author and peer reviewers - and to increase the body of knowledge about the practical implementation of the UNGPs. Summaries of the projects will appear in upcoming newsletters.
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Meet SAI & SAAS' 2014 Summer Interns
Savitri Restrepo Alvarez:
I am a rising junior at Wellesley College and an International Relations-Political Science major and Chinese Language and Literature minor. I am from Colombia and I'm interested in community development, public policy and human rights issues. Interning this summer at SAI is a great opportunity to learn more about labor standards, corporate responsibility, and the complex supply chain. I am currently working with SAI's Training Coordinator and Program Assistant, Emily Crain and Alicia Mara respectively, helping them coordinate the global SA8000 auditor training courses. More specifically, I work on the SA8000 standard revision, the new course in Spain, analysis of data spreadsheets and with the creation of new marketing material for the courses. I am really excited to apply all my skills and background to work on these projects and discover many other interesting experiences that this internship with SAI has to offer me.
Yuna Hahn:
I am a rising sophomore at Wellesley College majoring in Computer Science. My interest in the developing countries of Central America and Asia has led me to become more aware of the importance of socially responsible business practices. Interning at SAI is an eye-opening experience for me and I am looking forward to learning more about labor rights in developing countries and how NGO programs aim to improve working conditions and worker-management relationships. I am supporting SAI's Director of Operations, Michelle Bhattacharyya, doing research on Honduras, mapping strategic geographic locations for future projects, working on newsletters, and updating SAI's website.
Joy ce Huey Lee Lim:
I am a rising junior at Wellesley College, with a double major in Economics and Chinese Language and Literature. Being originally from Malaysia, I grew up in a country which relies heavily on foreign labour and was exposed to the ill-treatment of these vulnerable workers. This caused me to be personally interested in SAI's work, which aims to improve working conditions globally. Through this experience, I am eager to learn about the process, the advantages as well as the difficulties of advocating for social change through the platform of a formal organization. I am currently working with SAI's Senior Program Manager, Stephanie Wilson, to support her on a new project she is managing.
Joseph Paquette:
I am a recent graduate of the University of Connecticut, where I majored in Political Science, with minors in Human Rights and History. Within my major, I focused on comparative politics and international relations. Interning with SAI this summer I hope to gain greater understanding of corporate social responsibility practices in the supply chain. I am interested in businesses working together with NGOs to implement better CSR practices. Specifically, I am working with Christie Daly, Manager of SAI Corporate Programs, to help evaluate corporate membership programs as well as the Social Fingerprint Program.
Saarim Zaman:
I am a rising junior at Wesleyan University majoring in Government, with a concentration in comparative politics. My upbringing in Dhaka, Bangladesh has allowed me to gain a first person insight into a lot of the social compliance and labor rights issues that SAI and SAAS work with on a daily basis, and I'm here to gain a better understanding of applied social justice practices that is so pertinent to growth in both developing and developed economies.
I am currently interning with SAAS, where I am assisting Lisa Bernstein in the collection, organization and analysis of SAAS's SA8000 certification data, as well as updating and testing the SAAS website, and providing support to various projects as they come up during the summer.
For more information, contact SAI Director of Operations Michelle Bhattacharyya-MBhattacharyya@sa-intl.org. Back to top
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Implementing the UN Guiding Principles & Human Rights: September Training
SAI will offer a two-day training in Utrecht, Netherlands on September 24-25:Implementing the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. This training is applicable to companies of any industry or size and aims to facilitate their implementation of the UN principles in daily business practices. It provides a clear understanding of how businesses can meet their responsibility to respect human rights not only in their own company, but also in their supply chains. In addition, the course introduces a six-step method on how to implement a supply chain management system that integrates the respect for human rights. The training will be carried out in English by Edwin Koster, head of Max Value; SAI's authorized Representative office in Europe. He has broad experience in sustainable supply chain management and is the co-author of the Handbook and Toolkit used in the training. The course is designed for a wide variety of senior management and professionals in the human resources, CSR, for NGO, trade union and government representatives interested in learning about the implications of the Guiding principles on their work.
There is not a test at the end of the two-day course, however all attendees receive a copy of the Handbook & Toolkit as well as a personalized SAI Certificate of Attendance.
 | | SAI UN Guiding Principles Course in Bangalore, India led by Edwin Koster (third from left) |
If you wish to enroll in this course, please visit: http://www.sa-intl.org/index.cfm?fuseaction=Page.ViewPage&PageID=554
For more information, please contact Emily Crain, Training Coordinator, at ecrain@sa-intl.org
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SA8000 Auditor Training Courses in Bangladesh, Mexico & Germany
Snapshots from courses that took place in Dhaka (Bangladesh), Guadalajara (Mexico) and Cologne (Germany)
SA8000 Basic Auditor Training course Dhaka, Bangladesh May 4-8, 2014 with SAI Lead Trainer Sanjiv Singh.
Primark SA8000 Advanced Auditor Training course Dhaka, Bangladesh June 1-3, 2014 with SAI Lead Trainer Badrinath Gulur (back row center)
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Highlights & Announcements
4th China Multi-stakeholder Advisory Committee (MAC) - "Constructive Labor Relations for Better Business Performance"
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Martin Ma [Solidaridad] and Jane Liu [SAI]
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Jane Liu of SAI and Rochelle Zaid of SAAS attended the 4th China MAC [Multi-stakeholder Advisory Committee] in June, in Shanghai China. It was coordinated with Sedex' 2014 Global Responsible Supply Chain Conference - China. The MACs are convened and steered by six Founding Partners: the China National Textile and Apparel Council (CNTAC), the Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI), Social Accountability International (SAI), Sedex (Supplier Ethical Data Exchange), Solidaridad, and Worldwide Responsible Accredited Production (WRAP). MACs provide a forum for dialogue about specific labor issues in a particular economic sector and geographic area and aim to contribute to the development of responsible, competitive and sustainable businesses.
The MAC seeks to develop solutions to cross-cutting labor issues, by:
- Cooperation among standards and code systems,
- Dialogue among global and local stakeholders, and
- Disseminating consensus-based strategies to improve industrial relations, labor conditions and business competitiveness.
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At MAC meetings, participants - representing workers, trade unions, employers, business associations, governments, brands, suppliers, standards organizations, social auditors and NGOs -- develop improvement strategies through facilitated dialogue. The MAC participants identify obstacles to compliance that are beyond the sphere of influence of any single stakeholder group and develop guidance on how to address them. These ideas are documented by the MAC participants, and include interpretations of labor standards and best practices to ensure decent work and to effectively audit workplaces on the specific labor issue addressed. The convening partners facilitate the dialogue, and the guidance documents recognize the participants' contributions to the process. MACs complement existing forums and initiatives - such as the Round Tables on social compliance which BSCI supports- by disseminating the guidance documents to companies, standards systems and other stakeholders to implement. This 4th MAC concentrated on constructive labor relations, with sections devoted specifically to the value of union relationships.
For more information, contact SAI Sr. Manager of Research & Stakeholder Relations Alex Katz- AKatz@sa-intl.org.
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