BFC’s disclosure initiative makes it the only program in Southeast Asia to use greater transparency to accelerate improvements across the garment sector. More than 450 Cambodian garment factories are registered with the BFC program.

Starting in January 2014, BFC will publicly release information from its assessments reports about factories’ compliance with Cambodian labour law and international labour standards. BFC will also for the first time disclose details about strikes and labour unions, noting unions’ compliance with legal strike requirements.

For all factories that have had two or more assessments, a dedicated public website will disclose each factory’s compliance on 21 critical issues including fire safety, freedom of association, child labour, and accurate payment of regular and overtime wages.

More information will be disclosed for a sub-set of factories that have been monitored at least three times and have failed to comply with a broader scope of legal requirements included in BFC’s assessments.

Public disclosure reports will be published quarterly, and all factories and trade unions included in the reports will have the opportunity to provide information or update their progress directly on the website.

BFC’s Chief Technical Advisor, Jill Tucker, states: “We believe that our public disclosure program introduces a new and urgently needed tool for change. We hope that public exposure will prove beneficial to factories that comply with the law, and encourage those in violation of these measures to improve. We urge brands, auditing firms, and corporate social responsibility organizations to join us in this step towards greater transparency and increased accountability in the apparel sector.”

H&M, one of the largest international companies sourcing from Cambodia expressed their support for the program: “We believe that the public disclosure of Better Factories Cambodia’s assessment results is a positive step in the right direction. The industry has now taken the lead towards greater transparency to accelerate improvements across the whole garment sector in Cambodia,” says Anna Gedda, Social Sustainability Manager at H&M.

Better Factories Cambodia