Labor Standards, Transparency, and the Global Supply Chain
The expansion of supply chains to the far corners of the world has resulted in numerous advantages for global companies, including cost advantages, efficiencies of scale, and otherwise impossible time-to-market rates. Along with these advantages, however, reliance on third party manufacturers has also posed some challenges and risks to companies, as evidenced by the recent media spotlight on labor conditions of suppliers based in China.
Concern over supply chain labor standards is not a new phenomenon – the concern gained significant traction in the early ‘90s, as labor activists and others began to question the labor practices of suppliers manufacturing products for high profile apparel brands, including Nike. Concern over the practices, pressure from labor activists and the the threat to corporate reputations resulting from media attention, led Nike and other apparel companies to institute a number of measures to address labor issues in their supply chains. Eventually much of the focus on supply chains shifted to environmental practices, including resource consumption and efficiency (energy, water, raw materials, etc.). Read the rest of this entry »
