The board of the Fair Labor Association, a US non-profit which promotes adherence to international and national labor laws, has voted in favor of associate businesses requiring full factory list transparency. The move, the first of its kind for such an organisation, has been welcomed by stakeholders in the global apparel industry.

FLA is a collaboration of universities, civil society organisations and businesses dedicated to protecting workers’ rights around the world. It places the onus on affiliate companies – which include Adidas, Hugo Boss, Patagonia and Fruit of the Loom – to voluntarily meet internationally recognised labor standards wherever their products are made. As affiliates of FLA, companies agree to subject their supply chains to independent assessments and monitoring, the results of which are published online.

The criteria of the FLA are certainly among the more robust of those operating in the space. However, now that it has made this move, there will be undoubted call for other standards and auditing organisations to take a similar stance.