UW continues anti-sweatshop campaign

UW-Madison continues to be a national leader among colleges and universities working to curb sweatshop abuses in licensed-apparel manufacturing.

On the agenda for the university and its Labor Licensing Policy Committee this fall are continuing efforts to assist the former workers of Hermosa Manufacturing in El Salvador, UW–Madison “fair-trade” company engagements and a discussion of the “designated suppliers” program.

During the summer, the university committed to spending an additional $20,000 of its 2006–07 licensing royalty revenue to go toward ongoing monitoring and evaluation of workers’ rights in El Salvador.

In cooperation with Adidas and the Workers’ Rights Consortium, the funds will also be used to pursue back pay, severance, Social Security and health benefits, along with alleviating extreme hardships experienced by former workers of Hermosa Manufacturing.

The university will host a meeting on campus with senior Adidas executive Gregg Nebel on Friday, Oct. 26.

In other developments, the university has secured a new trademark license for Counter Source Inc., a “fair-trade apparel company” that previously met with the LLPC. New orders have been placed with the University Book Store.

The retailer Fair Indigo has identified a co-op in Peru to source materials from for a future UW licensing agreement.

UW-Madison has contracts allowing more than 450 companies to make products bearing the university’s name or logos. The products are made in approximately 3,300 factories in 47 countries worldwide.

As part of university standards, brands and suppliers are required to adhere to a code of conduct. The code addresses workers’ wages, working hours, overtime compensation, child labor, forced labor, health and safety, nondiscrimination, harassment or abuse, women’s rights, freedom of association and full public disclosure of factory locations.

If violations occur, a licensee has the opportunity to correct the problem or have its relationship with the university terminated.

For more information, visit http://www.news.wisc.edu/laborlicensing/.