Nike earns third Fair Labor Association reaccreditation

The Fair Labor Association (FLA) announced today that its board of directors voted to re-accredit Nike’s social compliance program, the third FLA accreditation for the company. Nike, Inc., is the world’s leading designer, marketer and distributor of authentic athletic footwear, apparel, equipment and accessories for a wide variety of sports and fitness activities is a multinational company headquartered near Beaverton, Ore., and an original FLA member company.

“Nike for nearly 20 years has demonstrated a steadfast commitment to improving its labor practices by maintaining its Fair Labor Association accreditation. As Nike has grown the company has expanded its efforts to promote high labor standards across its supply chain,” said Sharon Waxman, president and CEO of the FLA. “Nike’s emphasis on transparency and its increased engagement with outside stakeholders on its labor practices benefits workers and the broader field of labor rights.”

The FLA reaccreditation report noted Nike’s continuous review and improvement of its social compliance tools and social compliance program strengths that include:

• Nike’s executive management and board of directors’ commitment to uphold workplace standards
• Staff understanding of labor violations trends and expertise on methods for remedy with suppliers
• Strict protocols to ensure responsible purchasing practices
• Ongoing development of partnerships with external stakeholders to address systemic labor violations
• Innovative programs to support suppliers to improve factory-level working conditions

“At Nike we are deeply invested and engaged in respecting and advancing human rights,” said Jaycee Pribulsky, vice president of Sustainable Manufacturing and Sourcing, Nike, Inc. “When brands, organizations and governments work together, we can help make a global impact and improve the lives of workers in global supply chains. We have worked with the FLA since its inception because we know that collaboration plays an important role in driving consistent industry standards, and we look forward to continue working together into the future.”

Nike’s social compliance program has been FLA-accredited since 1999 and received its last re-accreditation in October 2008. The FLA’s network of accredited companies includes other major sports apparel companies such as Adidas, New Balance, Under Armour and Puma.

The new report notes that Nike, FLA, and the industry should continue to focus on issues including grievance systems and wages. The FLA will continue to provide programmatic recommendations to further every member’s labor compliance in support of the FLA mission to protect worker rights and ensure decent working conditions.

The FLA is the only organization of its kind to which companies and suppliers commit to meeting the standards of regular review and assessment of corporate systems that support workers’ rights. FLA accreditation is the gold standard for a systems-level approach to human rights compliance and social responsibility. Companies must regularly assess supply chain production facilities for adherence to international labor standards and pursue continuous improvement efforts to address conditions for workers in order to achieve accreditation.

###