codes

Most brands and retailers now publish a code of conduct outlining the labour standards that they wish to see in the facilities that they source from. Codes of conduct are largely based on International Labour Organisation standards, although there is some variation in codes, particularly relating to a living wage, which not all companies make a commitment too. These codes should be translated into local languages and made accessible to workers and also be made available on a company's website, along with their corporate social responsibility report. More progressive companies are engaged with trade unions and other labour rights organisations (NGOs) to understand workers' perspectives and to educate and train workers so they know their rights and how to exercise them. Companies should ensure there is a complaints procedure in place so that workers can report if the code of conduct is not being respected.  

Of course the code means little without independent evidence that it is being observed in factories. Ideally, this independent evidence would come from workers themselves, through independent trade unions.  However, most companies have chosen to use social audits, an inspection of working conditions in factories, as the main mechanism for monitoring a company's codes of conduct.

In most factories, if a social audit has been done effectively, violations of a company's code of conduct will be found. When a company finds violations of their code of conduct they should not 'cut and run' from the supplier as this encourages suppliers to hide workers' rights abuses, but should work with the factory owners and other stakeholders, such as trade unions or non-governmental organisations (NGOs), to try and improve conditions within the factory. A corrective plan with reasonable deadlines should be developed and the supplier given time, support and opportunities to achieve compliance with the code of conduct. Brands and retailers should only cut off from a supplier as a last resort after it has become evident that the supplier is unwilling to comply with the company's code.

Often a company's buying practices, such as demands for low prices or shorter lead-times can undermine a supplier's ability to ensure a code of conduct is adhered too. More progressive companies are now looking at how their buying practices are affecting working conditions and if they are serious about improving conditions they will need to address the impact of their own behaviour.

Labour rights organisations often argue that if workers' rights to form a trade union were respected, and they could negotiate with management about their own pay and conditions through collective bargaining, this would be a far more sustainable and effective approach to ensuring that good conditions were upheld than codes of conduct and social audits.

Further information:

- Read how and why companies adopted codes of conduct and the limitations of this approach: Fashioning an Ethical Industry Factsheet 9: A brief history of company engagement. 

- What standards should be laid down in a company's code of conduct? The Clean Clothes Campaign has produced guidelines and a model code on what companies can do to better assess, implement and verify compliance with labour standards in their supply chains and eliminate abuses when they arise in  'The Full Package Approach to Labour Codes of Conduct'