AAFA releases new CSR resources for US apparel sector

“The U.S. apparel and footwear industry maintains the highest commitment to ensuring all workers in the global apparel and footwear industry are treated with fairness and respect,” said AAFA President and CEO Kevin M. Burke.  “At the same time, the mounting reporting requirements and disclosure mandates are proving difficult to manage.  Instead of shying away from these responsibilities, AAFA has worked with its membership to create helpful tools and resources to take the guess work out of corporate social responsibility.”

AAFA members and the industry at large have easy access to guidance on reporting conflict minerals as part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, resources on fire safety, and guidance on how to comply with the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act (SB 657).  These tools are being made available on the same day as the Dodd-Frank conflict minerals reporting requirements enter into force.

These three new corporate social responsibility resources, along with a growing tool box of additional resources addressing product safety, chemical management, restricted substances, labeling, and global retail growth, are available on the AAFA website at www.wewear.org.  The guidance contained in these resources will be featured at many upcoming AAFA domestic and international educational seminars and conferences, including AAFA’s International Product Safety and Environmental Compliance Conference in Dongguan, China on March 21, 2013. 

Conflict Minerals Resource Page

Congress approved the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act (Dodd-Frank Act) in 2010. Section 1502 of the Dodd-Frank requires publicly-held companies to disclose their use of conflict minerals, including tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold, which originated in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) or an adjoining country.

Enforced by the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC), the final conflict minerals rule applies to all products manufactured on or after January 31, 2013.  The first report, covering calendar year 2013, is due to the SEC by May 31, 2014.  The new AAFA Conflict Mineral Resource page is intended to be a resource for the apparel, footwear, and related fashion industry as they work to comply with the SEC final rule on conflict minerals.

Fire Safety Resource Page

This page provides resources to apparel and footwear companies to use as they work to improve the safety of workers in their supplier factories around the world. Visitors will find presentations made as part of the fire safety at the recent AAFA’s International Product Safety and Environmental Compliance Conference held in Dhaka, Bangladesh on December 5, 2012.  Fire safety training videos are also available for viewing and downloading to share with factories in Bangladesh. Finally, the page includes links to the various initiatives that are being launched, or are already in place, to address the fire safety issue.