Fair Wear Foundation
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Fair Wear Foundation
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| legal form | Nonprofit organization |
| founding | 1999 |
| Seat | Amsterdam , Netherlands |
| management | Alexander Kohnstamm, managing director |
| Branch | Clothing products, certification of companies, development of standards |
| Website | fairwear.org |
The Fair Wear Foundation ( FWF , German : Organization for fair clothing) is an independent foundation based in Amsterdam that works with clothing brands, textile workers and industry giants to improve working conditions in textile factories. The FWF is active in eleven production countries worldwide: Bangladesh , Bulgaria , China , India , Indonesia , Myanmar , Macedonia , Romania , Tunisia , Turkey and Vietnam . The FWF has local auditors and trainers in all countries who are in close contact with the Foundation's headquarters in Amsterdam.
Goal setting
The FWF works with companies in the textile industry that are willing to take a fairer way of producing their clothing. The FWF has over 80 member companies who represent over 130 clothing brands from ten European countries. By joining the FWF, a textile company undertakes to implement the eight FWF labor standards in the supply chain .
The work of the FWF is based on the principle of “shared responsibility”. This means that every actor in the supply chain of a particular textile is responsible for the conditions under which the product is manufactured. Management decisions made by European companies also have a major impact on working conditions in production countries, some of which are far away.
The FWF also creates changes beyond the supply chains of its member brands. The organization works with a number of stakeholders and other organizations to develop a sustainable system with good working conditions: with governments, trade unions , non-governmental organizations , international organizations, UN bodies, business associations and stakeholders.
Code of Labor Practices and Labor Rights
The FWF Code of Labor Practices and Labor Rights contains eight labor standards based on the conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights . These are:
- Free choice of job
- No discrimination in employment
- No exploitative child labor
- Freedom of assembly and the right to collective bargaining
- Payment of a living wage
- Limitation of working hours
- Safe and healthy working conditions
- Legally binding employment contract
Measures for change
The FWF creates changes by carrying out so-called “Brand Performance Checks”, audits , training courses and by operating complaint hotlines in eleven countries.
- The Brand Performance Check helps member companies determine what they are doing well and where they can improve in order to bring about positive change. The FWF publishes the results as part of the transparency of its work and the efforts of its member companies.
- Audits : During an FWF audit, an interviewer for the workers in a textile factory, an expert on checking working papers and a health and safety specialist are the keys to identifying any problems in a textile factory. The team always consists of local experts. After the audit, the team discusses steps to improve working conditions with the manufacturing company and the plant management. The company and plant management create a concrete action plan with a clear time frame for implementation.
- Training programs in the workplace : In order to inform and support brands and factories in fulfilling their fundamental responsibility to inform employees and management about employee rights and access to complaint systems, the FWF has designed several training courses for different countries.
- Complaint management : The FWF offers telephone complaint hotlines in the production countries . When a textile worker files a complaint, the FWF initiates an investigation and demands that the affected member company work with the supplier to address the problem.
history
The FWF was founded in 1999. As in other countries, garment production was in the Netherlands in low-wage countries has shifted. After several years of campaigns against poor working conditions in low-wage countries, the Dutch Trade Union Federation contacted FNV and the Clean Clothes Campaign (Clean Clothes Campaign CCC), employer organizations and targeted a joint initiative for improved working conditions in the clothing sector.
In the period from 1999 to 2002 the organization carried out pilot projects in the implementation of the Code of Labor Practices with four Dutch companies. These experiences formed the basis for the development of fair wear standards. The next step was to recruit members. In March 2003, a first group of eleven members joined the Fair Wear Foundation. In 2019, the FWF has over 50 employees at its headquarters in Amsterdam as well as local teams in the eleven countries of the member companies.
Sources of income
Between 2000 and 2008, funding for the organization was fairly evenly split (17-22%) across the following sources: membership fees from companies, trade unions, NGOs, governments and business associations. Financial support came from certain social funds that arose as a result of industry-specific collective bargaining (in the clothing and retail sectors). The organization has also received some support from the European Union and donors such as UN Women .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Countries. Retrieved July 11, 2019 (American English).
- ↑ Brands. Retrieved July 11, 2019 (American English).
- ^ Labor Standards. Retrieved July 11, 2019 (American English).
- ^ Fair Wear Foundation: Shared responsibility. June 7, 2016, accessed July 11, 2019 .
- ↑ ILO Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work (DECLARATION). Accessed July 11, 2019 .
- ↑ FWF Brand Performance Check guide 2018. Accessed July 11, 2019 (American English).
- ^ Resources. Retrieved July 11, 2019 (American English).
- ↑ FWF Factory Guide. Retrieved January 1, 2019 .
- ↑ Workplace Education Program 2018. Retrieved July 11, 2019 (American English).
- ^ Complaints handling. Retrieved July 11, 2019 (American English).
- ^ Fair Wear Foundation. Fair Wear Formula. Amsterdam, Netherlands, 2010.
- ↑ Clean Clothes Campaign (2007) ( Memento of the original from July 25, 2011 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ UN Women ( Memento of the original dated December 3, 2013 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
