Hallmark: Fair Wear Foundation

What is Fair Wear Foundation? The Fair Wear Foundation (FWF) is a non-profit organization that works with clothing brands and other partners to improve working conditions for people working in garment factories. The label is not given to a single product or supplier, but to a clothing brand as a whole, looking at all production facilities in the chain.

The Fair Wear Foundation requires European member clothing brands to take new steps toward better working conditions every year.

The Fair Wear Foundation is not a certification, but a membership that requires a brand to meet an internationally recognized code of conduct. A clothing brand does not have to meet all the conditions at once, as the organization recognizes that this is virtually impossible in today's clothing industry. However, it is a requirement that the clothing brand continues to improve and at least 90% of their suppliers are under the control of the FWF. This is checked annually.

Fair production

When a clothing brand wants to become a member of the Fair Wear Foundation, it is checked for compliance with the code of conduct, which is based on the guidelines of the International Labor Organization (ILO). This code of conduct contains 8 internationally recognized labor standards, which must be implemented step by step in the factories.

The 8 internationally recognized labor standards are:

There is no forced or prison labor.
All workers have the right to form unions and bargain collectively.
No discrimination at work when it comes to hiring, promotions, training, pension plans, etc.
No child labor, which means no children under the age of 15, or younger than the minimum working age if it is higher than 15. People under 18 may not do dangerous work and must comply with compulsory education if there is one.
A living wage must be paid for a standard work week. No money should be withheld from wages as punishment.
There are "normal" working hours, meaning no more than 48 hours per week, one day off every seven days, and no more than 12 hours of overtime. Overtime should not be too frequent and workers should receive higher pay for it.
Clean and safe working conditions, which means that corporal punishment, unusual punishment, sexual and other harassment by the employer is prohibited.
There is a legally binding employment contract.

Belangrijk om te weten is dat een kledingmerk niet aan álle arbeidsnormen hoeft te voldoen, maar wel een deel hiervan en altijd moet blijven verbeteren. Kledingmerken mogen alleen het logo van Fair Wear op hun website gebruiken als ze een leaderstatus hebben behaald, wat gelijk staat aan goede werkomstandigheden.

Check

De Fair Wear Foundation voert elk jaar een uitgebreide controle uit om te kunnen garanderen dat merken die hun logo dragen ook echt aan de eisen voldoen. Kledingmerken moeten tijdens de Performance Check kunnen aantonen dat ze het afgelopen jaar aanzienlijke stappen hebben gezet op weg naar betere arbeidsomstandigheden. Wanneer er verbeterpunten zijn, wordt er samen met het merk een plan gemaakt voor verbetering. Daarnaast voert Fair Wear ook uitgebreide controles uit op de hoofdkantoren en in de fabrieken zelf.

Fair Wear is zeer transparant over deze controles en de rapportages van merken die lid zijn worden openbaar gemaakt. Hierin staan alle punten aangegeven waar het merk goed of slecht op scoort, wat de reden is van de score, en het advies van Fair Wear voor de verbetering van dat punt. Alle 129 merken die aangesloten zijn, waaronder ARMEDANGELS, staan met uitgebreide informatie op de website van de Fair Wear Foundation.