The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) released three new resources designed to assist U.S. apparel and footwear companies as they navigate mounting social responsibility reporting requirements and other important social responsibility concerns within the global apparel and footwear industry supply chain.
“The U.S. apparel and footwear industry maintains the highest commitment to ensuring all workers in the global apparel and footwear industry are treated with fairness and respect,” said AAFA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke. “At the same time, the mounting reporting requirements and disclosure mandates are proving difficult to manage. Instead of shying away from these responsibilities, AAFA has worked with its membership to create helpful tools and resources to take the guess work out of corporate social responsibility.”
AAFA members and the industry at large have easy access to guidance on reporting conflict minerals as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, resources on fire safety, and guidance on how to comply with the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act (SB 657). These tools are being made available on the same day as the Dodd-Frank conflict minerals reporting requirements enter into force.
These three new corporate social responsibility resources, along with a growing tool box of additional resources addressing product safety, chemical management, restricted substances, labeling, and global retail growth, are available on the AAFA website at www.wewear.org. The guidance contained in these resources will be featured at many upcoming AAFA domestic and international educational seminars and conferences, including AAFA’s International Product Safety and Environmental Compliance Conference in Dongguan, China on March 21, 2013.
Conflict Minerals Resource Page
Congress approved the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) in 2010. Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank requires publicly-held companies to disclose their use of conflict minerals, including tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold, which originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or an adjoining country.
Enforced by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), the final conflict minerals rule applies to all products manufactured on or after January 31, 2013. The first report, covering calendar year 2013, is due to the SEC by May 31, 2014. The new AAFA Conflict Mineral Resource page is intended to be a resource for the apparel, footwear, and related fashion industry as they work to comply with the SEC final rule on conflict minerals.
Fire Safety Resource Page
This page provides resources to apparel and footwear companies to use as they work to improve the safety of workers in their supplier factories around the world. Visitors will find presentations made as part of the fire safety at the recent AAFA’s International Product Safety and Environmental Compliance Conference held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on December 5, 2012. Fire safety training videos are also available for viewing and downloading to share with factories in Bangladesh. Finally, the page includes links to the various initiatives that are being launched, or are already in place, to address the fire safety issue.
Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law on September 30, 2010 the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act of 2010 (SB 657). The law requires that any company selling product in the State of California to disclose on its website the extent of its efforts to address the use forced labor or human trafficking in its supply chain.
The resource page provides guidance and background information to AAFA members as they work to comply with the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act (SB 657) and eliminate human trafficking and slavery in their supply chains. The guidance is intended to walk AAFA member companies step by step through compliance with the law.
About AAFA
The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) is the national trade association representing apparel, footwear and other sewn products companies, and their suppliers, which compete in the global market. AAFA's mission is to promote and enhance its members' competitiveness, productivity and profitability in the global market by minimizing regulatory, commercial, political, and trade restraints.
