Sweat shops are mostly associated with the apparel and footwear industry although they certainly are a reality in many other sectors. Since 1991, when Levi Strauss first came up with a labor practices code of conduct, the industry refined its approach and built up expertise to monitor suppliers' labor conditions.
These efforts have led to substantial improvements in the working conditions of the workforce around the world but also created a dire need for industry coordination in the face of the increasing number of sometimes conflicting reporting standards manufacturers have to comply to simultaneously.
This panel discussion from Bridging the Gap, the Stanford 2005 Net Impact Conference organized by the Stanford Graduate Business School, explores the effectiveness of current efforts to monitor and improve labor conditions abroad, the role of verification groups, and practical challenges faced by companies in implementing guidelines.
Panelists include:
Allison Devore manages fundraising and business development for Verité, a global social monitoring, training, and research services organization. Verité works with corporations such as The Gap, Inc., Timberland, Tommy Hilfiger, and Target to create and improve CSR programs and supplier performance globally. Devore comes to Verité with over 10 years of experience in business development, strategy, and marketing for the social enterprise sector. Prior to joining Verité, Devore managed the Boston operations of the Center for Women and Enterprise and was the VP of business development for MusicMatters, VP of business development for CitySoft, Inc; and the recipient of MIT’s Socially
Responsible Business Award, 2001.
Devore received the Nonprofit Performance Initiative (NPI) fellowship, a joint effort between McKinsey & Co., Harvard Business School, and Stanford’s Graduate School of Management, where she developed performance strategies for social enterprises. She has been an advisor to organizations such as Investing in Media that Matters—A Gathering at Sundance working to increase the social responsibility of the entertainment industry and the President’s Interagency Council on Women at the U.S. State Department. Devore received her master's degree from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government.
Monica Oberkofler oversees policy development and public reporting on labor standards for Gap Inc. She was a key player in the development of the company's 2003 and 2004 Social Responsibility Reports. Oberkofler works closely with several multi-stakeholder groups, including the Ethical Trading Initiative
(ETI) and Social Accountability International (SAI), as part of her policy and public reporting responsibilities. She also represents Gap Inc. on the Global Reporting Initiative's (GRI) working group to develop common reporting standards for the apparel and footwear industries. Oberkofler has a PhD in politics, an MPhil in European politics from Oxford University, England, and an AB in history, summa cum laude, from Dartmouth College. She joined Gap Inc. in 2003.
Chip Pitts, professor of law and CSR consultant, is former chief legal officer for Nokia, Inc., and a partner in a global law firm. His global corporate citizenship responsibilities at Nokia included drafting Nokia’s Code of Conduct, which referenced human rights as early as 1997. He has been involved with the U.N. Norms on Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations since their inception, and he has served as a U.N. delegate for the U.S. government and NGOs, including Amnesty International and the International Business Leaders Forum. Immediate past chair of Amnesty International USA, Pitts serves on other for-profit and nonprofit boards including the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, the Center for Social Entrepreneurship and Accountability, and the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre. His writings and commentaries have appeared in newspapers ranging from the Wall Street Journal to the Washington Post, and magazines ranging from the American Prospect to Business Horizons. Pitts was educated at Tulane, Oxford, Cambridge Universities, and Stanford Law School.
This free podcast is from our Bridging the Gap series.
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