Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications
Sunday, Apr 17, 2005
Financial Daily from THE HINDU group of publications Sunday, Apr 17, 2005 |
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Industry & Economy
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Leather Nike's decision to disclose names of suppliers hailed G. Gurumurthy
Coimbatore , April 16 THE International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers Federation (ITGLWF) has welcomed global sport gear manufacturer Nike's decision to voluntarily disclose the names of its suppliers numbering more than 700 worldwide. The ITGLWF has now called upon the other multinational brands to follow suit. "Nike is to be congratulated on its decision. Now the major challenge for the rest of the industry is to match Nike's courage and make disclosure common practice in the textile, clothing and footwear sectors," Mr Neil Kearney, General Secretary of ITGLWF, said in statement. The federation, according to Mr Kearney, had long rejected the argument put forward by retailers that they can't disclose their suppliers because the information was confidential. But the fact that retailers often share the same contractors gave the lie to such claims. In reality, the refusal by brand name companies to disclose their suppliers was nothing more than an attempt to avoid scrutiny of their working conditions. "Consumers have a right to know where their clothing is made and under what conditions. Most retailers have developed codes of conduct governing labour practices in their supply chain but without full disclosure it is almost impossible to monitor whether they make good on their promises," says Mr Kearney. For Mr Kearney, disclosure does not obviate the need for companies to continue to clean up their supply chain. In its social accountability report, Nike recognised that one of the biggest challenges it faces is freedom of association and that it needs to continue to work with suppliers to uphold this right. Disclosures also placed a major responsibility on trade unions around the world to ensure they played their part in enabling workers in Nike and other supply chains to combine together to eliminate workers' rights abuses. The ITGLWF General Secretary's latest statement circulated via e-mail has pointed out that the current system of sporadic social auditing across a hidden supply chain is not sustainable in the medium and long term.
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