Accountability
By consistently holding brands at the top of supply chains to account when implementing remedy in full, the WRC has set strategic precedents for trans-national corporate accountability and rule of law, concretely shifting the dial on what workers can achieve.
The WRC not only identifies labor rights violations but works to address and remediate these abuses. We center our approach in identifying the pathways in which to hold brands and employers to account for correcting abuses in their supply chains.
The pathways in which the WRC is able to secure remedies for workers include local and international laws, public and private binding agreements, and suppliers’ own codes of conduct. Once we have conducted and concluded our investigations, we then identify the most appropriate and effective pathway to justice and remedy for workers.
As part of our work advocating for supply chain transparency, we have maintained a publicly accessible database of factories producing collegiate licensed goods for over two decades, identifying the licensee brands and universities associated. The disclosure of supplier factories has now become a recognized standard of ethical business practice throughout the apparel and athletic gear industries, with most leading global athletic brands voluntarily disclosing their suppliers on their own corporate websites.
Driving Systemic Change Through Accountability
The WRC is focused on developing innovative strategies for moving corporations to action, and we are continuously refining our model. The WRC’s model of investigation and remedy is the only one in apparel supply chains that is led by local experts, rooted in worker testimony, and committed to full remedy for workers as its sole measure of success.
While our approach – uncovering abuses, winning remedies, and upholding the rule of law – begins at the individual factory level, it often sparks broader change. When a violation at one factory reveals a wider pattern of labor abuses ignored by brands and employers, we help workers challenge it across all affected workplaces. By holding brands and employers accountable case by case and identifying these covert patterns of abuses, we drive lasting and transformational improvements across entire supply chains.