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In a further sign that businesses are increasingly pooling their efforts on ethical supply chain monitoring, more than a dozen multinational clothing companies have agreed to share the results of their supplier inspections.
The retailers, which include Adidas, Levi Strauss, Nike, Nordstrom, Timberland and Abercrombie & Fitch, will share data and conclusions from audits of suppliers under a programme to be started this month by the US-based not-for-profit body Fair Factories Clearinghouse.
The Sharing Platform venture uses software that enables participants to access and post password-protected information on working conditions, overtime payments and health and safety infringements at supplier factories, reducing duplication of effort for companies and suppliers alike.
Caitlin Morris, director of collaboration and integration at Nike, said the creation of Sharing Platform was further confirmation that many companies had now come to the conclusion that only large-scale collaboration could 'create systemic change in supply chains around the world'.
The initiative is the first of its kind to be based in the US. A group of telecoms and IT companies, including BT, France Telecom, Motorola and Nokia, recently began sharing information collected in the course of factory visits as part of a programme initiated by the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (EP9, issue 7, p7).
Almost 170 companies, including Cadbury Schweppes, Chiquita Brands and Northern Foods, also use the Sedex supplier data-sharing service run by the non-profit body Sedex.
The retailers, which include Adidas, Levi Strauss, Nike, Nordstrom, Timberland and Abercrombie & Fitch, will share data and conclusions from audits of suppliers under a programme to be started this month by the US-based not-for-profit body Fair Factories Clearinghouse.
The Sharing Platform venture uses software that enables participants to access and post password-protected information on working conditions, overtime payments and health and safety infringements at supplier factories, reducing duplication of effort for companies and suppliers alike.
Caitlin Morris, director of collaboration and integration at Nike, said the creation of Sharing Platform was further confirmation that many companies had now come to the conclusion that only large-scale collaboration could 'create systemic change in supply chains around the world'.
The initiative is the first of its kind to be based in the US. A group of telecoms and IT companies, including BT, France Telecom, Motorola and Nokia, recently began sharing information collected in the course of factory visits as part of a programme initiated by the Global e-Sustainability Initiative (EP9, issue 7, p7).
Almost 170 companies, including Cadbury Schweppes, Chiquita Brands and Northern Foods, also use the Sedex supplier data-sharing service run by the non-profit body Sedex.
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