Worker Rights
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In 1991, we were the first multinational apparel company to establish a comprehensive workplace code of conduct for our manufacturing suppliers. Our Terms of Engagement (TOE) specify the requirements by which all of our contract factories and licensees must abide — including ethical standards, legal requirements, environmental requirements and community involvement. They also set out employment standards and specifically address issues of child labor, forced labor, disciplinary practices, working hours, wages and benefits, freedom of association, discrimination, and health and safety. Learn more about the TOE and our product sourcing requirements. In April 2012, we announced that we were building on these standards by piloting a new approach with factories that moves beyond compliance to help improve the lives of workers in factories around the world. The new approach is outlined in this research paper. The way we care for our workers extends well beyond the factory. By providing grants through the Levi Strauss Foundation, we seek to ensure that workers have the training and tools they need to stay healthy outside the workplace, reducing absenteeism and lost wages and increasing productivity. We also support innovative local, regional and global nonprofit organizations that encourage enforcement of labor laws, increase awareness of healthcare issues and promote access to asset-building and life skills training for our employees, contractors and their families. Read a case study about our support for women apparel workers in developing countries. |
